About the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

How to Make a FOIA Request

Government Guidance, Directives and Statistics on FOIA

President George W. Bush and his administration have as yet undertaken no policy initiatives concerning the Freedom of Information Act.  Indeed, President Bush’s only known comments on the subject are provided below.  Additionally, as many of the President’s political appointees—who will administer the Act—still await confirmation, it is not possible to forecast agency responsiveness to FOIA under the new Bush Administration.  Interestingly, however, current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in 1974 a congressman from Illinois, contributed remarks to the House debate on the FOIA in 1966 (see The FOIA and President Lyndon Johnson).

Below are President Bush’s remarks, the GAO study of agency compliance with the 1996 EFOIA amendments begun in the last year of the Clinton Administration, and a US Justice Department memo following up on the GAO report.

GAO Report on Agency Compliance with EFOIA (General Accounting Office, “Information Management: "Progress in Implementing the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments", dated March 2001)

US Department of Justice Memo Concerning Findings and Recommendations of General Accounting Office Report (Memorandum to Principal FOIA Administrative and Legal Contacts at All Federal Agencies, "Further Efforts to Implement E-FOIA Provisions", dated March 23, 2001)

President Bush Comments on Public Access to White House Email Records (Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, "Remarks by the President at American Society of Newspaper Editors Annual Convention," dated April 5, 2001)