SE

NA

TE

R

ero

rr I N

o. 0

8-t2

1

9137U C

oNcineas

lit Sessio

n

Calendar N

o. 367

1

FR

EE

DO

M O

F IN

FO

RM

AT

ION

RE

FO

RM

AC

T

RE

PO

RT

Or T

HE

Com

mittee on the Judiciary

United S

tates Senate

ON

S. 774

Serre

ete

me I2

, 1982.--O

rdere

d to

be p

rinte

d

Prin

ted

for th

e u

se o

f the C

om

mitte

e o

n

the

Ju

dic

iary

GJ

I. GO

V IN

INN

ICH

T P

RIN

TIN

G O

rrice

lea

s

•

• , •

CO

NT

EN

TS

l'..E.

Intro

du

ctio

n

I

His

tory

of c

om

mitte

e a

ctio

n

3

97th

Co

ng

ress

3

98th

Co

ng

ress

5

S

ectio

n-b

y-a

ectio

n a

naly

sis

6

Reg

ula

tory

imp

act

3

4

Co

st e

stim

ate

34

C

ha

ng

es

in e

xis

ting

law

95

aT

hIM

ITT

EE

ON

TH

E J

UD

ICIA

RY

ST

RO

M T

HU

RM

ON

D,

ClIA

RL

ES

WC

MA

TH

IAS

, JIL

, Mary

lan

d

PA

UL

LA

XA

LT

„ Nevad

a G

. HA

TC

H, U

tah

R

OB

ER

T D

OL

E, K

ow

a

AL

AN

It SIM

PS

ON

. Wyo

min

g

It PIM

p

. EA

ST

. No

rth C

aro

lina

C

lIAR

LE

S E

GR

AS

SL

EY

, Iow

a

JE

RE

MIA

H D

EN

TO

N, A

lab

am

a

AR

LE

N S

PE

CT

ER

. Pen

nsylvan

ia

Yo

ram

DaV

asa L

ion

, Ch

ief C

ou

tue

l an

d S

taff D

inic

tar

Mad

man

K. O

WE

N. G

an

mil C

ou

naal

Paio

usT

J. P

AN

NIN

G, C

hie

f Cie

rk

Wa

n H

. Orria

ters

oi, M

ino

rity C

hief C

ou

nsel

SIN

IOO

NL

IITT

ILZ

ON

TH

E C

ON

ST

ITU

TIO

N

OR

RIN

0. H

AT

CH

. Uta

h. M

uir/n

ail

iTR

OM

TH

UR

MO

ND

, So

uth

Caro

lina

DE

NN

IS D

e00N

CIN

I. Arizo

na

t'llAR

LE

S E

. GR

AS

SIL

KY

. low

s P

AT

RIC

K J

. LE

AH

Y, V

erm

on

t

ittINU

N M

AR

KM

AN

, olliff

an

d S

kill D

lItetla

r R

AN

DA

LL RA

DM

A, G

eneral C

ou

nael

130. FO

WL

S*, M

ino

rity C

on

ne

d

til l

INN

So

uth

Caro

lina, C

hairm

an

JO

SE

PH

R B

IDE

N, J

a. D

ela

ware

E

DW

AR

D M

. KE

NN

ED

Y M

asaach

tmella

R

OB

ER

T C

. BY

RD

, Weat V

irgin

ia

HO

WA

RD

M. M

ET

ZE

NB

AU

M, O

hio

D

EN

NIS

DE

CO

NC

INI, A

rizon

a

PA

TR

ICK

J. L

EA

HY

, Verm

on

t M

AX

BA

UC

US

, Mo

nta

na

H

OW

EL

L H

UL

K A

lab

am

a,

•

Calendar N

o. 367 9

8T

II CO

NO

RL

B8

I S

EN

AT

E

RS

PO

RT

1st S

essio

n

I

No. 9

9-2

21

FR

EE

DO

M O

F IN

FO

RM

AT

ION

RE

FO

RM

AC

T

Scetraw

ara 12, 1983.—O

rdered to be printed

Mr. T

HU

RM

ON

D, fro

m th

e C

om

mitte

e o

n th

e J

udic

iary

, subm

itted th

e fo

llow

ing

RE

PO

RT

[To accom

pany S. '174, es emended]

The C

om

mitte

e o

n th

e J

udic

iary

, to w

hic

h w

as re

ferre

d th

e b

ill (S

. 77

4) to

am

en

d title

V, U

nite

d S

tate

s Co

de

, sectio

n 5

62

, com

mo

n-

ly c

alle

d th

e F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct, to

pro

vid

e p

rote

ctiv

e c

on-

fide

ntia

lity fo

r ce

rtain

law

en

forc

em

en

t, priv

ate

bu

sin

ess, a

nd

se

n-

sitiv

e p

ers

onal re

cord

s a

nd fo

r oth

er p

urp

oses, h

avin

g c

onsid

ere

d

the s

am

e, re

ports

favora

bly

there

on a

nd re

com

mends th

at th

e b

ill a

s am

en

de

d d

o p

ass.

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

Tw

o y

ea

rs a

go

the

Se

na

te J

ud

icia

ry C

om

mitte

e u

nd

erto

ok th

e

most e

xhaustiv

e e

xam

inatio

n o

f the F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct

(FO

IA) in

its h

isto

ry. In

the in

terv

enin

g p

erio

d, n

ow

spannin

g tw

o

Congre

sses, th

e C

om

mitte

e h

as h

eld

nin

e h

earin

gs a

nd e

nte

rtain

ed

over s

ixty

expert w

itnesses w

ith th

e g

oal o

f dra

fting a

bill th

at w

ill im

pro

ve th

e A

ct w

ithout c

om

pro

mis

ing its

mis

sio

n o

f pro

vid

ing o

ur

citiz

en

ry w

ith a

too

l to le

arn

ab

ou

t fed

era

l go

ve

rnm

en

t activ

ities.

S. '7

74 a

nd its

pre

decessor, S

. 1730 in

the 9

7th

Congre

ss, e

ach re

-ceiv

ed th

e u

nanim

ous a

ppro

val o

f this

Com

mitte

e a

s a

n in

dic

atio

n

of th

e s

uccess o

f the b

ill in a

mendin

g F

OIA

's m

oat g

larin

g w

eak-

ne

sse

s w

itho

ut c

om

pro

mis

ing

its v

ital s

tren

gth

s. In

sh

ort, th

is b

ill w

ill serv

e to

fine-tu

ne th

e m

oat im

porta

nt c

om

ponent o

f our n

a-

tion

's in

form

atio

n p

olic

y, a

po

licy w

hic

h d

istin

gu

ish

es th

e U

nite

d

Sta

tes a

mong o

ther n

atio

ns.

Du

ring

the

Co

mm

ittee

's c

om

pre

he

nsiv

e o

ve

rsig

ht o

f FO

IA, th

e

witn

esse

s exp

resse

d a

warm

appre

ciatio

n fo

r the p

olicy o

f open g

ov-

ern

ment c

onveyed b

y F

OIA

. The w

itnesses a

lso p

roduced e

vid

ence,

111

2

how

ever, th

at F

OIA

has n

ot a

lways o

pera

ted to

pro

duce a

more

ef-

fectiv

e g

ove

rnm

en

t. In m

an

y o

f tho

se

are

as, th

e C

om

mitte

e h

as a

t-te

mpte

d to

corre

ct. th

e w

eakness w

hile

main

tain

ing th

e b

enefic

ial

policy. A

majo

r aspect o

f the

se h

ea

ring

s w

as th

e C

om

mitte

e's

concern

th

at th

e c

on

fide

ntia

lity o

f info

rma

nts

an

d s

en

sitiv

e la

w e

nfo

rce

- m

ent in

vestig

atio

ns is

jeopard

ized b

y F

OIA

dis

clo

sure

s. T

he A

tter-

ne

y G

ene

ral's

198

1 T

ask F

orc

e o

n V

iole

nt C

rime

found th

at F

OIA

sh

ou

ld b

e a

me

nd

ed

be

ca

use

it is u

se

d b

y la

wb

rea

ke

rs "to

eva

de

crim

inal in

vestig

atio

n o

r to re

talia

te a

gain

st in

form

ants

." In a

ddi-

tion, fiv

e d

iffere

nt s

tudie

s' c

onclu

ded th

at th

e A

ct h

as h

arm

ed

the

ab

ility o

f law

en

forc

em

en

t. offic

ers

to e

nlis

t info

rma

nts

an

d c

arry

o

ut c

on

fide

ntia

l inve

stig

atio

ns. T

he

Co

mm

ittee

is a

lso

co

nce

rne

d

about e

vid

ence th

at th

e A

ct h

as s

low

ed th

e flo

w o

f confid

entia

l in-

form

atio

n to

the la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent c

om

munity

for th

at re

ason.

It is a

lso c

lear th

at s

om

e s

ubm

itters

of c

onfid

entia

l info

rmatio

n

are

fearfu

l of lo

sin

g v

alu

able

trade s

ecre

ts a

s a

result o

f FO

IA re

-le

ases to

com

petito

rs. S

tatu

tory

pro

cedure

s to

pro

tect s

ubm

itters

a

re d

esig

ne

d to

alle

viate

this p

rob

lem

.. In

ad

ditio

n, th

e e

xte

nsiv

e C

om

mitte

e h

ea

ring

s re

ve

ale

d o

the

r as-

pe

cts

of F

OIA

in n

ee

d o

f fine

-tun

ing

. As m

en

tion

ed

ea

rlier, th

e

costs

of th

e A

ct. to

the ta

xpayer s

uggest th

at th

ose w

ho d

irectly

benefit b

y re

questin

g in

form

atio

n s

hould

readily

accept th

e re

spon-

sib

ility o

f pa

yin

g th

e c

ost o

f pro

du

cin

g th

e in

form

atio

n, s

ub

ject, o

f cours

e, to

an a

dequate

waiv

er p

olic

y fo

r requests

made in

the

public

inte

rest. T

he g

overn

ment a

gencie

s' in

ability

to c

om

ply

with

th

e A

ct's

short tim

e lim

its re

com

mends

a m

ore

work

able

time

sch

ed

ule

for c

om

ply

ing

with

req

ue

sts

in th

e e

ve

nt o

f a b

acklo

g o

f re

quests

or o

ther 'u

nusual c

ircum

sta

nces." O

n th

e o

ther h

and,

agencie

s s

hould

have a

ppro

pria

te in

centiv

es to

com

ply

with

the

lime lim

its fo

r the b

ulk

of a

ll requests

. R

evis

ing

the

Act's

se

co

nd

exe

mp

tion

to p

rovid

e a

de

qu

ate

pro

tec-

tion fo

r law

enfo

rcem

ent m

anuals

and in

stru

ctio

ns to

investig

ato

rs,

audito

rs, o

r negotia

tors

, was a

noth

er a

spect o

f the te

stim

ony. R

e-

mo

vin

g im

po

rtan

t limita

tion

s o

n th

e e

xe

mp

tion

de

sig

ne

d to

gu

ar-

an

tee

pe

rso

na

l priv

acy a

lso

em

erg

ed

as a

n a

sp

ect o

f FO

IA re

form

. N

ew

exem

ptio

ns to

pro

tect "te

chnic

al d

ata

" (pre

dom

inantly

natio

n-

al s

ecurity

info

rmatio

n) th

at m

ay n

ot b

e la

wfu

lly e

xporte

d w

ithout

a lic

ense a

nd to

pro

tect S

ecre

t Serv

ice re

cord

s w

ere

featu

red a

s

su

bje

cts

wo

rthy o

f the

pro

tectio

n c

urre

ntly

giv

en

oth

er in

form

atio

n

cove

red

un

de

r the

curre

nt e

xem

ptio

ns.

The h

earin

gs a

lso n

ote

d th

e n

eed to

reconsid

er th

e fa

cto

r gov-

ern

ing c

urre

nt d

ete

rmin

atio

ns o

f types o

f info

rmatio

n th

at m

ay b

e

released because the

y a

re "re

aso

na

bly

se

gre

ga

ble

" from

cla

ssifie

d

or e

xem

pt p

ortio

ns o

f certa

in s

ensitiv

e re

cord

s.

Ge

ne

ral A

cc

ou

ntin

g O

ffar, im

pa

rt of M

t F

rrt.da

rn o

f Info

rma

tion

Art o

n L

ain

En

farre

me

nt

Agencies 1

19151, liepont o

f the A

ttorn

ey G

en

era

l's T

aal

Fo

rce

on

V

iole

nt C

rime

11581), D

ep

ort

mu

ral o

f Tre

asu

ry. lio

nn

grin

en

t Rf o

,.w O

n the

Pe

rform

an

ce

of th

e U

.S D

ep

artm

en

t of T

rea

su

ry

in f'o

nn

ertio

n m

eth

Th

e M

arc

h M

. 1281, A

ssassin

atio

n A

ttem

pt

on

Pre

sid

en

t Ro

na

ld R

ea

ga

n

419141k Dep

artm

en

t of J

uatiC

e. D

rug

En

forc

em

en

t Ad

min

istra

tion

. Eife

l of th

e Freed

om

of In

fo,

ma

ts. A

rt on

DE

A In

iestigan

oris 11 N

CI; S

tate

men

ts o

f Dire

cto

r Willio

m W

olu

ter, fle

orin

ge

on

Fre

rdw

it of info

rmario

n.

Erc

rion

of L

aw

En

forc

em

en

t Inte

lligen

t* an

d O

w Im

pact o

n th

e

Nb

lic &

cu

rtly S

ub

co

mm

ittee

on

Crim

ina

l La

wa

, Se

na

te J

ud

icia

ry C

01

11

Mille

a, 9

6th

Co

ng

raw

k

led

Sw

ig. 0

91

91

.

3

Anoth

er ite

m c

overe

d w

as th

e a

ppro

pria

teness o

f requests

from

ce

rtain

cla

sse

s o

f req

ue

ste

rs, in

clu

din

g a

lien

s, im

pris

on

ed

felo

ns, o

r p

artie

s in

litiga

tion

with

the

go

ve

rnm

en

t wh

o h

ave

acce

ss to

info

r-m

atio

n v

ia th

e a

ltern

ativ

e ro

ute

of d

iscovery

under th

e F

edera

l R

ule

s o

f Civ

il Pro

ce

du

re. F

ina

lly c

om

pilin

g a

list o

f sta

tute

s w

hic

h

trigger w

ithhold

ing u

nder E

xem

ptio

n 3

als

o e

merg

ed a

s a

n im

por-

tan

t asp

ect o

f FO

IA re

form

. Th

ese

ma

tters

ea

ch

be

ca

me

an

ele

-m

en

t of th

e b

ill ap

pro

ve

d b

y th

e J

ud

icia

ry C

om

mitte

e u

na

nim

ou

s-

ly. T

his

bill e

njo

ys b

road b

ipartis

an s

upport a

nd re

flects

the a

ccu-

mu

late

d w

isd

om

of m

an

y d

ive

rse

inte

rests

, inclu

din

g m

ed

ia re

pre

-se

nta

tive

s, p

ub

lic in

tere

st g

rou

ps, th

e R

ea

ga

n A

dm

inis

tratio

n,

mem

bers

of th

e b

usin

ess c

om

munity

, and la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent a

gen-

cie

s. T

he

FO

IA R

efo

rm A

ct h

as b

ee

n w

ide

ly h

aile

d a

s a

rea

so

na

ble

and w

orth

while

com

pro

mis

e b

y th

ese d

ivers

e a

nd o

ften d

iverg

ent

inte

rests

be

ca

use

it ach

ieve

s th

e d

ua

l go

als

we

se

t wh

en

em

ba

rkin

g

up

on

imp

rovin

g th

e A

ct.

Na

me

ly, th

e b

ill elim

ina

tes m

an

y o

f the

cu

rren

t pro

ble

ms o

f the

A

ct w

itho

ut w

ea

ke

nin

g its

effe

ctiv

en

ess a

s a

va

lua

ble

me

an

s o

f keepin

g th

e p

ublic

info

rmed a

bout g

overn

ment a

ctiv

ities. A

s T

he

Wa

sh

ing

ton

Po

st a

ccu

rate

ly n

ote

d:

It is q

uin

tesse

ntia

lly A

me

rica

n to

be

lieve

tha

t the

pe

op

le

contro

l the g

overn

ment a

nd th

at th

ey h

ave a

right to

know

what th

e g

overn

ment is

doin

g. T

he J

udic

iary

Com

-m

ittee B

ill pre

serv

es th

at rig

ht (W

ashin

gto

n P

oe

t, Ma

y 2

5,

19

82

, pa

ge

A1

6).

Indeed, th

is rig

ht. is

pre

serv

ed, a

nd c

oncom

itantly

the p

ub

lic is

b

ette

r se

rve

d b

y th

e e

nh

an

ce

me

nts

to th

e A

ct w

hic

h a

re in

clu

de

d

in th

is b

ill. N

o o

ne q

uestio

ns th

e o

bvio

us v

irtues o

f an o

pen g

overn

ment; n

or

sh

ou

ld a

nyo

ne

qu

estio

n th

e g

ove

rnm

en

t's o

blig

atio

n to

pro

tect th

e

ide

ntitie

s o

f co

nfid

en

tial in

form

an

ts. N

o o

ne

qu

estio

ns th

e v

alu

e o

f an

info

rme

d c

itize

nry

; no

r sh

ou

ld a

nyo

ne

qu

estio

n th

e g

ove

rn-

ment's

oblig

atio

n to

respect th

e p

rivacy o

f those s

am

e c

itizens. N

o

on

e q

ue

stio

ns th

e m

erits

of a

free

info

rma

tion

po

licy; n

or s

ho

uld

anyo

ne q

uestio

n th

e n

eed to

pro

tect b

usin

ess tra

de se

crets.

S. 7

74 is a

substa

ntia

l ste

p to

ward

resto

ring th

e b

ala

nce b

etw

een

pu

blic

acce

ss to

go

ve

rnm

en

t info

rma

tion

an

d e

fficie

nt e

xe

cu

tion

of

ne

ce

ssa

ry, a

nd

occa

sio

na

lly c

on

fide

ntia

l, go

ve

rnm

en

t fun

ctio

ns.

Th

is b

ill ach

ieve

s th

is b

ala

nce

in a

ma

nn

er th

at p

rese

rve

s b

oth

g

oa

ls o

f the

Act: a

mo

re in

form

ed

citiz

en

ry e

nd

a re

sp

on

sib

le a

nd

effe

ctiv

e g

overn

ment.

HIS

TO

RY

OF

CO

MM

ITT

EE

AC

TIO

N

97

TH

CO

NO

RM

S

Th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

on

the

Co

nstitu

tion

of th

e S

en

ate

Co

mm

ittee

o

n th

e J

ud

icia

ry h

ad

refe

rred

to it d

urin

g th

e 9

7th

Co

ng

ress s

ix

bills

to a

me

nd

the

Fre

ed

om

of In

form

atio

n A

ct: S

. 68

6 a

nd

S. 5

87

(in

trod

uce

d b

y S

en

ato

r Ha

tch

), S. 1

23

5 (in

trod

uce

d b

y S

en

ato

r D

'Am

ato

), S. 1

24

7 (in

trod

uce

d b

y Se

na

tor D

ole

), S. 1

73

0 (in

trod

uce

d

by S

en

ato

r Ha

tch), a

nd

S. 1

75

1 (in

trod

uce

d b

y Se

na

tor H

atch

).

■AN

FT

,PW

/97

/....1.,- • -

al

4

Durin

g th

e firs

t sessio

n o

f the 9

7th

Congre

ss, th

e S

ubcom

mitte

e

he

ld s

eve

n d

ays o

f he

arin

gs o

n th

e F

ree

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act

from

July 1

5, 1

981 th

rough D

ece

mber 9

, 1981. A

ppearin

g b

efo

re th

e

Su

bco

mm

ittee

we

re th

e fo

llow

ing

witn

esse

s: O

n J

uly

15

, the

Su

b-

com

mitte

e to

ok te

stim

ony fro

m R

obert L

Salo

schin

, of L

erc

h,

Ea

rly &

Ro

se

ma

n; W

illiam

Ta

ft, Ge

ne

ral C

ou

nse

l, De

pa

rtme

nt o

f D

efe

nse

; Ste

ve

n R

. Du

rnfe

ld, W

ash

ing

ton

Co

rresp

on

de

nt fo

r K

nig

ht-R

idd

er N

ew

sp

ap

ers

an

d N

atio

na

l Se

cre

tary

, rep

rese

ntin

g

the S

ocie

ty o

f Pro

fessio

nal J

ourn

alis

ts, S

igm

a D

elta

Chi, a

ccom

pa-

nie

d b

y T

ed

Ca

pe

ne

r, Vic

e P

resid

en

t of N

ew

s &

Pu

blic

Affa

irs,

Bonneville

Bro

adcastin

g C

orp

ora

tion, a

nd B

ruce S

anfo

rd, o

f Baker

Hu

eL

ed

er; a

nd

Jo

na

tha

n C

. Ro

se

, Assis

tan

t Atto

rne

y G

en

era

l of th

e

Offic

e o

f Le

ga

l Po

licy, D

ep

artm

en

t of J

ustic

e, a

cco

mp

an

ied

by

Judge C

harle

s B

. Renfre

w, fo

rmer D

eputy

Atto

rney G

enera

l. O

n J

uly

22, th

e S

ubcom

mitte

e h

eard

Jam

es T

, O'R

eilly

, Senio

r C

ounsel fo

r Pro

cte

r & G

am

ble

Com

pany; B

urt A

. Bra

verm

an, o

f C

ute

, Rayw

id &

Bra

verm

an; J

ack I. P

ulle

y, S

enio

r Atto

rney fo

r D

ow

Co

rnin

g C

orp

ora

tion

; Na

ncy D

uff C

am

pb

ell, N

atio

na

l, W

om

en

's L

aw

Ce

nte

r; Da

vid

C. V

lad

eck, S

taff A

ttorn

ey, P

ub

lic

Citiz

en L

itigatio

n G

roup; A

rthur R

. Whale

, Genera

l Pate

nt C

ounsel

and A

ssis

tant S

ecre

tary

, Eli L

illy a

nd C

om

pany; P

rospere

S.

Vird

en, J

r., Senio

r Counsel, H

oneyw

ell, In

c.; a

nd D

r. Stu

art B

on-

dura

nt, D

ean, S

ch

oo

l of M

edic

ine, U

niv

ers

ity o

f North

Caro

lina, a

c-

co

mp

an

ied

by J

ose

ph

A. K

eye

s, S

taff C

ou

nse

l, Asso

cia

tion

of

Am

erica

n M

ed

ical C

olle

ge

s. O

n J

uly

31

, the

su

bco

mm

ittee

he

ard

Ro

be

rt R. B

urk

e, A

ssis

tan

t D

irecto

r of th

e U

.S. S

ecre

t Serv

ice; J

am

es W

ieghart, A

meric

an S

o-

cie

ty o

f Ne

wsp

ap

er E

dito

rs; K

ath

erin

e A

. Me

ye

r, Dire

cto

r, Fre

ed

om

of In

form

atio

n C

learin

ghouse; R

obert N

esoff, n

atio

nal re

pre

senta

-tiv

e fo

r Federa

l Crim

inal In

vestig

ato

rs A

ssocia

tion; a

nd V

ince

Ivic

Oold

eric

k, c

hairm

an o

f the

Natio

nal L

egis

lativ

e C

om

mitte

e o

f th

e F

rate

rnal O

rder o

f Polic

e, a

ccom

panie

d b

y A

nth

ony J

. Morris

, lie

ute

nant o

f the In

vestig

ativ

e S

erv

ices D

ivis

ion, M

etro

polita

n

Polic

e D

epartm

ent, W

ashin

gto

n, D

.C.

On S

epte

mber 2

4, th

e S

ubcom

mitte

e to

ok te

stim

ony fro

m U

.S.

Senato

r Alfo

nse M

. D'A

inato

of N

ew

York

; Willia

m J

. Case

y, Dire

c-

tor o

f the

Centra

l Inte

lligence A

gency, a

cco

mpanie

d b

y E

rnest

Mayerfe

ld, D

eputy

Genera

l Counsel o

f the C

IA; M

orto

n H

. Hal-

perin

and A

llan R

obert A

dle

r, Cente

r for N

atio

nal S

ecurity

Stu

d-

ies; a

nd

An

n C

ara

crie

ti, De

pu

ty D

irecto

r of th

e N

atio

na

l Se

cu

rity

Agency, a

ccom

panie

d b

y J

am

es H

udel, L

egis

lativ

e C

ounsel, N

atio

n-

al S

ecu

rity A

ge

ncy.

On

Octo

ber 1

5, th

e S

ubcom

mitte

e h

eard

Jonath

an C

. Rose, A

s-

sis

tant A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l of th

e O

ffice o

f Legal P

olic

y, D

epartm

ent

of J

ustic

e; R

og

er M

ilgrim

of M

ilgrim

, Th

om

aja

n, J

aco

bs &

Le

e,

Paul L

, Perito

, repre

sentin

g A

dvanced H

ealth

Syste

ms, In

c., a

nd

Rale

igh H

ills H

ospita

ls; D

avid

M. W

orth

en, M

.D., A

ssis

tant C

hie

f M

edic

al D

irecto

r for A

cadem

ic A

ffairs

of th

e V

ete

rans A

dm

inis

tra-

tion

; Jera

ld J

aco

bs, re

pre

se

ntin

g th

e A

me

rican

Intra

-Ocu

lar 1

m.

pla

nt S

ocie

ty a

nd

Intra

-Ocu

lar L

en

s M

an

ufa

ctu

rers

Asso

cia

tion

; Jack L

andau, D

irecto

r of th

e R

eporte

rs C

om

mitte

e fo

r Fre

edom

of

the

Pre

ss, a

cco

mp

an

ied

by T

on

da

Ru

sh

, Dire

cto

r of th

e F

ree

do

m o

f In

form

atio

n S

erv

ice

Ce

nte

r; Bru

ce

Ric

h, G

en

era

l Co

un

se

l of th

e A

s-

'iod

atio

n o

f Am

eric

an

Pu

blis

he

rs; a

nd

Jo

an

Ho

ff-Wils

on

, Dire

cto

r o

f the

Org

an

iza

tion

of A

me

rica

n H

isto

rian

s.

On

No

ve

mb

er 1

2, th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

too

k te

stim

on

y fro

m J

ea

n

Otto

rep

rese

ntin

g th

e S

ocie

ty o

f Pro

fessio

na

l Jo

urn

alis

ts, S

igm

a

De

lta C

hi; C

ha

rles R

ow

e, re

pre

se

ntin

g th

e A

me

rica

n N

ew

sp

ap

er

Publis

hers

Associa

tion; E

dw

ard

Cony, re

pre

sentin

g th

e A

meric

an

Socie

ty o

f New

spaper E

dito

rs; E

rnie

Ford

, repre

sentin

g th

e S

ocie

ty,

of P

rofe

ssio

na

l Jo

urn

alis

ts, S

igm

a D

elta

Ch

i; Willia

m H

. We

bste

r, D

irecto

r of th

e F

ed

era

l Bu

rea

u o

f Inve

stig

atio

n; M

orto

n H

. Ha

l-p

erin

, rep

rese

ntin

g th

e A

me

rica

n C

ivil L

ibe

rties U

nio

n, a

nd

Co

r- n

ish

F. H

itch

co

ck, o

f the

Fre

ed

om

of In

form

atio

n C

lea

ring

ho

use

; P

rofe

sso

r An

na

K. N

els

on

of th

e O

rga

niz

atio

n o

f Am

eric

an

His

tori-

an

s; a

nd

Pro

fesso

r An

ton

in S

ca

lia, S

ch

oo

l of L

aw

, Un

ive

rsity

of

Chica

go,

On

De

ce

mb

er 9

, the

Su

bco

mm

ittee

invite

d th

e m

em

be

rs o

f the

Judic

iary

Com

mitte

e to

join

them

for a

hearin

g. D

irecto

r Willia

m

Casey o

f the C

IA a

nd D

irecto

r Willia

m H

. Webste

r of th

e F

BI te

ati-

lied a

t this

hearin

g.

In a

dditio

n, th

e S

ubcom

mitte

e re

ceiv

ed a

larg

e n

um

ber o

f writ-

ten

sta

tem

en

ts fro

m o

the

r inte

reste

d in

div

idu

als

an

d o

rga

niz

atio

ns

that w

ill becom

e p

art o

f.the p

erm

anent re

cord

of th

ese h

earin

gs.

Se

na

tor O

rrin G

. Ha

tch

of U

tah

, Ch

airm

an

of th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

on

th

e C

onstitu

tion, c

haire

d th

e h

earin

gs o

f the S

ubcom

mitte

e.

On

De

ce

mb

er 1

4, 1

98

1, th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

on

the

Co

nstitu

tion

m

et In

executiv

e s

essio

n to

consid

er le

gis

latio

n to

am

end th

e F

ree-

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act. S

. 17

30

, intro

du

ce

d b

y S

en

ato

r Ha

tch

, wa

s

rep

orte

d o

ut o

f Su

bco

mm

ittee

by a

3-2

vo

te.

On

Ma

y 2

0, 1

98

2, th

e fu

ll Ju

dic

iary

Co

mm

ittee

too

k u

p S

, 17

30

. S

en

ato

r Orrin

G. H

atc

h o

ffere

d a

su

bstitu

te a

me

nd

me

nt fo

r S. 1

73

0

consis

ting o

f 17 s

ectio

ns. T

his

substitu

te w

as th

e p

roduct o

f dis

cus-

sio

ns b

etw

een S

enato

rs H

atc

h, L

eahy, D

eC

oncin

i, and o

ther S

ena-

tors

. Th

is a

me

nd

me

nt, c

on

tain

ing

ma

jor s

ub

sta

ntiv

e c

ha

ng

es in

m

any o

f the s

ectio

ns, w

as c

osponsore

d b

y S

enato

rs G

rassle

y, D

e-

Co

ncin

i, an

d L

ea

hy. A

fter o

pe

nin

g s

tate

me

nts

by e

ach

of th

ese

prin

cip

als

, the C

om

mitte

e a

ccepte

d th

e s

ubstitu

te a

mendm

ent. T

he

motio

n to

favora

bly

report th

e b

ill carrie

d u

nanim

ously

, 17-0

, on a

ro

lleall v

ote

.

98TH CONGRESS

Durin

g th

e 9

8th

Congre

ss, th

e s

ubcom

mitte

e h

as h

eld

hearin

gs

on

thre

e b

ills to

am

en

d th

e F

ree

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act: S

. 77

4 (in

-tro

du

ce

d b

y S

en

ato

r Ha

tch

), S. 4

09

(intro

du

ce

d b

y S

en

ato

r Nu

nn

), and S

. 1034 (in

troduce

d b

y Senato

r Leahy).

Du

ring

the

first s

essio

n o

f the

98

th C

on

gre

ss, th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

h

eld

two

da

ys o

f he

arin

gs, A

pril 1

8, 1

98

3 a

nd

Ap

ril 21

, 19

83

, on

the

F

ree

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act. A

pp

ea

ring

be

fore

the

Su

bco

mm

ittee

w

ere

the

follo

win

g w

itne

sse

d: O

n A

pril 1

8, th

e s

ub

co

mm

ittee

too

k

testim

ony fro

m J

onath

an R

ose, A

ssis

tant A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l from

th

e D

ep

artm

en

t of J

ustic

e; C

ha

rles R

ow

e, e

dito

r an

d c

o-p

ub

lish

er,

Fre

e L

ance-S

tar, F

redric

ksburg

, Vs.; W

illiam

Taft, G

enera

l Coun-

se

l, for th

e D

ep

artm

en

t of D

efe

nse

; Jo

an

Cla

yb

roo

k, p

resid

en

t, P

ub

lic C

itize

n, In

c.; a

nd

Ja

me

s O

'Re

illy re

pre

se

ntin

g P

rocte

r an

d

Ga

mb

le.

9.1,14-pt. 98-221 --- 2

6

On

Ap

ril 21, th

e Su

bco

mm

ittee hea

rd fro

m W

illiam

Web

ster, Di-

recto

r o

f the F

ed

eral B

ureau

of In

vestig

atio

n; B

ob

Lew

is, Treasu

r-

er, r

ep

rese

ntin

g th

e S

ocie

ty o

f Profe

ssion

al J

ou

rn

alists, S

igm

a

Delta

Ch

i; Profe

ssor D

avid

O'B

rie

n, S

ch

ool o

f Law

, Un

iversity

of

Vir

gin

ia; A

llan

Ad

ler, le

gisla

tive c

ou

nse

l for th

e A

meric

an

Civ

il

Lib

ertie

s Un

ion

; an

d D

r. P

age P

utn

am

Mille

r, d

irecto

r o

f the N

a-

tion

al C

oord

inatin

g C

om

mittee fo

r Pro

motio

n o

f Histo

ry.

In a

dd

ition

, the S

ub

com

mitte

e r

eceiv

ed

a la

rge n

um

ber o

f writ-

ten

state

men

ts from

oth

er in

tereste

d in

div

idu

als a

nd

organ

izatio

ns

that w

ill becom

e p

art o

f the p

erm

an

en

t record

of th

ese

hearin

gs.

Sen

ato

r Orrin

G. H

atch

of U

tah

, Ch

airm

an

of th

e Su

bco

mm

ittee on

the C

on

stitutio

n ch

aired

the h

earin

g o

f the S

ub

com

mittee.

At th

e c

on

clu

sion

of th

ese

hearin

gs, th

e S

ub

com

mitte

e o

n th

e

Con

stitutio

n u

nan

imou

sly a

pp

roved

S. 7

74, w

hic

h is v

irtu

ally

iden

-

tical to

S. 1

73

0 fro

m th

e 97

th C

on

gress, w

ith th

ree no

nco

ntro

versia

l

am

en

dm

en

ts. Th

e fir

st am

en

dm

en

t ch

an

ged

the p

rovisio

n p

erm

it-

ting a

n a

gen

cy to

reta

in o

ne-h

alf o

f an

y fe

es it c

olle

cts u

nd

er th

e

Act to

provid

e so

me in

cen

tive fo

r a

gen

cie

s to c

om

ply

with

the tim

e

limits o

f S. 7

74

, Acco

rd

ing

ly, a

n a

gen

cy

ma

y n

ot r

eta

in c

olle

cte

d

fees (b

ut m

ust r

em

it them

to th

e T

reasu

ry) if th

e G

en

eral A

ccou

nt-

Mg O

ffice o

r th

e O

ffice o

f Man

agem

en

t an

d B

ud

get fin

ds th

at th

e

agen

cy is n

ot in

sub

stan

tial c

om

plia

nce w

ith th

e tim

e lim

its. Th

is

am

end

men

t was th

e recom

men

datio

n o

f Sen

ato

r Lea

hy.

An

oth

er su

bco

mm

ittee a

men

dm

en

t bro

ug

ht th

e sta

nd

ard

for p

ri-

vacy p

rote

ctio

n in

the S

even

th E

xem

ptio

n in

to c

on

form

an

ce w

ith

the o

ther a

men

ded

stan

dard

s in th

e e

xem

ptio

n. T

he la

ngu

age

"w

ou

ld c

on

stitute

an

un

wa

rra

nte

d in

va

sion

of p

erso

na

l priv

acy

"

wa

s ch

an

ged

to "

co

uld

rea

son

ab

ly b

e e

xp

ecte

d to

co

nstitu

te a

n u

n-

warra

nted

invasio

n o

f perso

nal p

rivacy

."

Fin

ally

, a n

ew

provisio

n w

as a

dd

ed

req

uir

ing a

n a

gen

cy to

list in

the F

ed

eral R

egiste

r a

ny sta

tute

relie

d u

pon

to w

ithh

old

info

rm

a-

tion

un

der th

e T

hir

d E

xem

ptio

n. T

his w

ill, for th

e fir

st time, fa

cili-

tate

an

au

tho

rita

tive listin

g o

f all sta

tute

s trig

gerin

g w

ithh

old

ing

un

der th

e T

hir

d E

xem

ptio

n. W

ith th

ese

three a

lteratio

ns, th

e S

ub

-

com

mittee a

pp

roved

the b

ill un

an

imou

sly.

On

Ju

ne 1

6, th

e fu

ll Ju

dic

iary

Co

mm

ittee, c

ha

ired

by

Sen

ato

r

Str

om

Th

urm

on

d o

f So

uth

Ca

ro

lina

, co

nsid

ered

the S

ub

co

mm

ittee

versio

n o

f S. 7

74

. With

ou

t ob

jectio

n, th

e b

ill, as a

men

ded

by

the

Su

bco

mm

ittee, was o

rdered

favora

bly

reported

.

SE

CIIO

N-B

Y-S

6CtIO

N A

NA

LY

SIS

SE

CT

ION

2: F

EE

S A

ND

WA

IVIE

SS

Un

iform

sched

ule o

f fees O

ne p

rob

lem

iden

tified

by w

itnesse

s befo

re th

e C

om

mitte

e is th

e

cu

rren

t lack

of u

nifo

rm

ity o

f fee sc

hed

ule

s at th

e v

ario

us a

gen

cie

s.

Th

ese

varia

tion

s can

lead

to c

on

fusio

n a

mon

g m

em

bers o

f the

pu

blic w

ho

dea

l with

differen

t agen

cies. Alth

ou

gh

som

e o

f the v

ari-

atio

ns in

fees d

o a

pp

ea

r to

refle

ct r

ea

l diffe

ren

ces in

the c

osts to

the a

gen

cie

s, in m

ost c

ase

s grea

ter u

nifo

rm

ity o

f fee sc

hed

ule

s

wo

uld

be po

ssible a

nd

desira

ble.

Th

e b

ill accord

ingly

au

thoriz

es th

e O

ffice o

f Man

agem

en

t an

d

Bu

dg

et to

pro

mu

lga

te, p

ursu

an

t to n

otic

e a

nd

receip

t of p

ub

lic

7

com

men

t, gu

idelin

es to

all a

gen

cie

s to p

rom

ote

a u

nifo

rm

sch

ed

ule

of fe

es. E

ach

ag

en

cy

wo

uld

be su

bje

ct to

these

gu

idelin

es in

esta

b-

lishin

g its sc

hed

ule

of fe

es. T

his p

rovisio

n w

ou

ld p

rom

ote

un

iform

-

ity o

f fee sc

hed

ule

s throu

gh

ou

t the g

overn

men

t wh

ile p

rese

rvin

g

the fle

xib

ility o

f partic

ula

r a

gen

cie

s to ta

ke a

ccou

nt o

f pecu

liar fe

e

con

sidera

tion

s.

Review

costs

Sectio

n 2

of S

. 774 w

ou

ld e

men

d su

bse

ctio

n (a

X4X

A) o

f the F

OIA

to r

eq

uir

e th

at fe

e sc

hed

ule

s provid

e fo

r th

e p

aym

en

t of "

all c

osts

reaso

nab

ly a

nd

dir

ectly

attr

ibu

tab

le to

resp

on

din

g to

the r

eq

uest,

wh

ich

shall in

clu

de r

easo

nab

le sta

nd

ard

ch

arges fo

r th

e c

osts o

f

servic

es b

y a

gen

cy p

erso

nn

el in

search

, du

plic

atio

n, a

nd

oth

er p

roc-

essin

g o

f the r

eq

uest."

Sectio

n 2

also

provid

es th

at th

e te

rm

"p

roc-

essin

g,"

as u

sed

in th

e a

men

dm

en

t, "d

oes n

ot in

clu

de se

rvic

es o

f

ag

en

cy

perso

nn

el in

reso

lvin

g issu

es o

f law

an

d p

olic

y o

f gen

era

l

ap

plic

ab

ility w

hic

h m

ay b

e r

aise

d b

y a

req

uest, b

ut d

oes in

clu

de

servic

es in

volv

ed

in e

xam

inin

g r

ecord

s for p

ossib

le w

ithh

old

ing o

r

dele

tion

s to c

arry o

ut d

ete

rm

inatio

ns o

f law

or p

olic

y."

Cu

rren

t law

, as e

stab

lished

in th

e 1

974 a

men

dm

en

ts to th

e

FO

IA, r

eq

uir

es th

at fee

sch

ed

ule

s pro

vid

e fo

r p

ay

men

t limite

d to

the "

recovery o

f on

ly' th

e d

irect c

osts"

of se

arch

an

d d

up

licatio

n.

As sp

ecific

ally

no

ted

in th

e 1

97

4 C

on

feren

ce R

ep

ort, c

osts to

the

ag

en

cy

for "

ex

am

ina

tion

or r

ev

iew

" o

f reco

rd

s ca

nn

ot b

e in

clu

ded

in

fees c

harged

to r

eq

ueste

rs.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e n

ow

prop

ose

s to a

uth

oriz

e r

ecovery o

f such

revie

w c

osts b

ecau

se te

stimon

y p

rese

nte

d a

t Com

mitte

e h

earin

gs

esta

blish

ed

tha

t the n

um

ber o

f FO

IA r

eq

uests h

an

dle

d a

nn

ua

lly b

y

ag

en

cy

perso

nn

el—

an

d th

e c

on

seq

uen

t pro

cessin

g c

osts n

ow

bo

rn

e

by

the G

ov

ern

men

t—fa

r e

xceed

tho

se a

ntic

ipa

ted

by

Co

ng

ress

wh

en

it dete

rm

ined

no

t to p

erm

it reco

very

of r

ev

iew

co

sts in 1

97

4.

Moreover, r

ecovery o

f such

processin

g c

osts is c

on

sisten

t with

the

polic

y o

f the F

ed

eral u

ser fe

e sta

tute

. 31 U

.S.C

, § 9

701.

S. 7

74 w

ou

ld p

erm

it agen

cy fe

e sc

hed

ule

s to p

rovid

e fo

r r

ecovery

of th

e c

osts o

f revie

win

g r

esp

on

sive r

ecord

s to d

ete

rm

ine w

hat m

a-

teria

l sho

uld

be r

ele

ase

d to

the r

eq

ueste

r a

nd

wh

at m

ate

ria

l shou

ld

be w

ithh

eld

pu

rsu

an

t to o

ne o

r m

ore o

f the e

xem

ptio

ns in

the

FO

IA. "

Pro

cessin

g"

—th

e te

rm

use

d to

desc

rib

e su

ch

revie

win

g—

is

exp

ressly

defin

ed

to in

clu

de "

servic

es in

volv

ed

in e

xam

inin

g

reco

rd

s for p

ossib

le w

ithh

old

ing

or d

ele

tion

s to c

arry

ou

t dete

rm

i-

natio

ns o

f law

or p

olic

y,"

an

d to

exclu

de "

servic

es o

f agen

cy p

er-

son

net in

reso

lvin

g issu

es o

f law

an

d p

olic

y o

f gen

era

l ap

plic

ab

ility

wh

ich

may b

e r

aise

d b

y a

req

uest."

Th

us, a

part fr

om

search

an

d

du

plic

atio

n, th

ose

"processing se

rv

ices fo

r w

hic

h fees

may b

e a

s-se

ssed

mu

st inv

olv

e im

ple

men

tatio

n o

f esta

blish

ed

disc

losu

re la

w

an

d p

olicy

thro

ugh

review

an

d red

actio

n o

f docu

men

ts. Su

ch "

pro

c-

essin

g"

serv

ices w

ou

ld n

ot in

clu

de a

ny

leg

al c

on

sulta

tion

s with

in

en

ag

en

cy

for p

urp

ose

s of r

eso

lvin

g a

disc

losu

re p

olic

y o

f gen

era

l a

pp

licatio

n.

Reco

vera

ble

"p

ro

cessin

g"

co

sts do

no

t inclu

de c

osts e

xp

en

ded

in

pro

cessing a

dm

inistra

tive a

pp

eals. A

dm

inistra

tive "

overh

ead

" co

sts

ca

nn

ot b

e c

on

sidered

as "

processin

g"

costs a

nd

can

not b

e a

ssesse

d

in c

harges to

a r

eq

ueste

r a

t an

y tim

e.

_

8

An e

xceptio

n fro

m th

e n

orm

al c

oat re

covery

prin

cip

le is

pro

vid

ed

for s

ituatio

ns in

whic

h m

em

bers

of th

e p

ublic

request d

ocum

ents

and th

e costs o

f colle

ctio

n o

f fees fo

r the re

quest w

ould

exceed o

r

equal th

e a

mount o

f the fe

e. W

here

routin

e c

olle

ctio

n a

nd p

rocess-

ing o

f the fe

e w

ould

cum

ula

tively

cost th

e g

overn

ment m

ore

than

the s

um

s w

hic

h th

e in

div

idual re

queste

r would

pay, th

e a

gency

should

not c

harg

e a

feu. M

uny a

gencie

s c

urre

ntly

opera

te u

nder

such a

polic

y o

n a

form

al o

r an in

form

al b

asis

. For e

xam

ple

, a

rece

nt re

po

rt by th

e G

en

era

l Acco

un

ting

Offic

e fo

un

d th

at s

om

e

units

with

in th

e D

epartm

ent o

f Justic

e d

o n

ot c

harg

e a

fee u

nle

ss

sea

rch a

nd

du

plica

tion

costs exceed

$26. T

his

sectio

n a

dopts

this

appro

ach a

nd re

quire

s th

e a

gency, c

onsis

tent w

ith th

e O

MB

guid

e-

line

s, to

se

t a th

resh

old

figu

re, b

elo

w w

hic

h th

e a

ge

ncy w

ill no

t

cha

rge

for d

isclosu

re re

qu

ests.

Com

mercially valu

able techn

ological inform

ation

Se

ction

2 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d su

bse

ction

(aX

4X

A) o

f' the

FO

IA

to p

erm

it agencie

s to

charg

e a

"fair v

alu

e fe

e" o

r royaltie

s, in

addi-

tion to

oth

er p

rocessin

g fe

es, in

the c

ase o

f a re

quest fu

r record

s

conta

inin

g "c

om

merc

ially

valu

able

technolo

gic

al in

form

atio

n

whic

h w

as g

enera

ted o

r pro

cure

d b

y th

e G

overn

ment a

t substa

ntia

l cost to

the p

ublic

, is lik

ely

to b

e u

sed fo

r a c

om

merc

ial p

urp

ose,

an

d w

ill de

priv

e th

e g

ove

rnm

en

t of its

co

mm

erc

ial v

alu

e."

Th

e C

om

mitte

e h

ea

rd te

stim

on

y fro

m th

e D

ep

artm

en

t of D

efe

nse

and o

thers

com

pla

inin

g th

at p

resent F

OIA

fee p

rovis

ions n

ow

re-

qu

ire v

alu

ab

le te

ch

no

log

ica

l info

rma

tion

to b

e re

lea

se

d to

priv

ate

partie

s fo

r fees th

at re

flect little

more

than th

e c

ost o

f copyin

g.

Co

mm

erc

ial u

se

of s

uch

info

rma

tion

by F

OIA

requ

este

rs re

su

lts in

an u

nju

stifia

ble

win

dfa

ll to a

few

people

, who p

ers

onally

obta

in fi-

nancia

l gain

s fro

m in

form

atio

n th

at a

ll taxpayers

paid

to d

evelo

p.

In o

ne

ca

se

, for e

xa

mp

le, th

e c

urre

nt la

w p

erm

itted

a J

ap

an

ese

co

mp

an

y to

acq

uire

at a

pitta

nce

so

ph

istic

ate

d w

ate

r de

sa

liniz

atio

n

tech

no

log

y th

at A

me

rica

n ta

xp

aye

rs p

aid

larg

e s

um

s to

de

ve

lop

. T

he C

om

mitte

e p

ropose to

am

end th

e F

OIA

to c

arry

out fe

dera

l

polic

y s

et fo

rth in

the F

edera

l User F

ee s

tatu

te, 3

1 U

.S.C

. 9701, to

allo

w a

gencie

s to

be "s

elf-s

usta

inin

g to

the fu

ll exte

nt p

ossib

le"

thro

ugh a

uth

ority

to "re

coup c

osts

from

identifia

ble

'specia

l

benefic

iarie

s' w

here

the s

erv

ices re

ndere

d in

ure

d to

the b

enefit o

f

specia

l recip

ients

not th

e g

enera

l public

." New

E

ng

lan

d P

ow

er Co

.

v. Fed

eral P

ow

er C

om

mis

sio

n,

46

7 F

.2d

42

5, 4

28

(D.C

. Cir. 1

97

2).

Dis

clo

su

re u

nd

er s

uch

po

licy w

ou

ld n

ot re

qu

ire th

e g

ove

rnm

en

t to

be d

epriv

ed

of th

e in

co

me it m

igh

t oth

erw

ise

receiv

e in

the fo

rm o

f

license

e a

nd ro

yaltie

s for lice

nsa

ble

tech

nolo

gica

l data

. T

he

Co

mm

ittee

inte

nd

s "c

om

me

rcia

lly v

alu

ab

le te

ch

no

log

ica

l In-

form

atio

n" to

mean o

nly

such te

chnic

al in

form

atio

n a

s w

as g

ener-

ate

d o

r pro

cure

d b

y th

e G

overn

ment a

t substa

ntia

l cost to

the

pu

blic

, is lik

ely

to b

e u

se

d fo

r co

mm

erc

ial p

urp

ose

, an

d w

ill de

priv

e

the

Go

ve

rnm

en

t of its

co

mm

erc

ial v

alu

e. T

his

is n

ot in

ten

de

d to

cover s

tatis

tical d

ata

, such a

s th

at g

ath

ere

d b

y th

e C

ensus B

ure

au

or th

e B

ure

au

of L

ab

or S

tatis

tics. O

nly

req

ue

ste

rs w

ho

are

like

ly to

rece

ive

a c

om

me

rcia

l be

ne

fit from

"co

mm

erc

ially

va

lua

ble

tech

no

- lo

gic

al in

form

atio

n" o

bta

ined th

rough th

e F

OIA

may b

e a

ssessed a

fa

ir va

lue

fee o

r roya

lty. T

his

mea

ns, fo

r exa

mp

le, th

at a

req

ue

ste

r w

ho

se

eks s

uch

info

rma

tion

for th

e p

urp

ose

of e

xa

min

ing

an

d e

va

l-

9

uatin

g a

partic

ula

r Govern

ment a

ctiv

ity to

whic

h th

e in

form

atio

n

is re

levant, a

nd th

e in

form

atio

n is

not lik

ely

to b

e u

sed fo

r com

-

me

rcia

l pu

rpo

se

, mlik

no

t be

asse

sse

d a

ny fa

ir va

lue

fee

or ro

ya

l-

ties. T

he

reg

ula

tion

s s

ho

uld

ma

ke

pro

vis

ion

to s

pre

ad

the

co

st o

f th

e te

chnic

al d

ata

am

ongst a

ll requeste

rs. R

ecoupin

g g

overn

menta

l

researc

h a

nd d

evelo

pm

ent c

osts

when a

requeste

r makes a

n F

OIA

re

quest fo

r com

merc

ially

valu

able

technolo

gic

al d

ata

is w

arra

nte

d

wh

en

limite

d to

circ

um

sta

nce

s s

uch

as th

ose

me

ntio

ne

d a

bo

ve

. T

hus, th

e C

om

mitte

e in

tends to

limit "c

om

merc

ially

valu

able

tech-

nolo

gic

al d

ata

" to a

ny b

lueprin

ts, d

raw

ings, p

lans, in

stru

ctio

ns,

co

mp

ute

r so

ftwa

re a

nd

do

cu

me

nta

tion

, or s

imila

r tech

no

log

ica

l in-

form

atio

n th

at c

an b

e u

sed o

r adapte

d fo

r use to

desig

n, e

ngin

eer,

pro

duce, m

anufa

ctu

re, o

pera

te, re

pair, o

verh

aul, o

r repro

duce a

ny

valu

able

equip

ment o

r technolo

gy.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e w

ou

ld p

rovid

e th

at fe

e d

ete

rmin

atio

ns ta

ke

into

account th

e e

stim

ate

d v

alu

e o

f the in

form

atio

n in

the c

om

merc

ial

mark

etp

lace; g

overn

ment c

osts

of g

enera

ting o

r pro

curin

g s

uch in

-fo

rmatio

n; th

e c

om

merc

ial u

se in

tended, o

n th

e o

ne h

and; a

s w

ell

as a

ny p

ub

lic in

tere

st in

en

co

ura

gin

g th

e u

tiliza

tion

of th

at in

for-

ma

tion

. Mo

reo

ve

r, this

pro

vis

ion

do

es n

ot a

ffect a

n a

ge

ncy's

dis

cre

-tio

n to

rele

ase

tech

no

log

ica

l info

rma

tion

free

of c

ha

rge

wh

en

the

public

inte

rest, th

e m

issio

n o

f the a

gency, a

nd b

udgeta

ry c

onsid

era

-tio

n w

ould

be b

est se

rved.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e w

ou

ld a

lso

pro

vid

e th

at th

is p

rovis

ion

no

t ove

r-

ride

fee

s c

ha

rge

ab

le u

nd

er u

se

r co

st re

co

ve

ry s

tatu

tes, o

r oth

er

sta

tute

s s

ettin

g le

vels

of fe

es fo

r partic

ula

r types o

f record

s. S

ee S

DC

Develo

pm

ent C

orp

. v. Math

ew

s, 6

42

F.2

d 1

16

(9th

Cir. 1

97

6).

Fee w

aiver issues

The d

ebate

about th

e e

ffectiv

eness o

f the F

OIA

ofte

n c

oncern

s in

-te

rpre

tatio

ns o

f the e

xceptio

ns, b

ut a

ccess to

info

rmatio

n c

an b

e

scu

ttled

as e

ffectiv

ely

by th

e b

arrie

rs o

f cost a

s b

y o

verly

bro

ad e

x-

ce

ptio

ns. A

s a

resu

lt of a

n e

xte

nsiv

e re

po

rt by th

e H

ou

se

Go

ve

rn-

ment O

pera

tions C

om

mitte

e in

1972, C

ongre

ss w

as w

ell a

ware

of

the u

se o

f excessiv

e c

harg

es to

deny a

ccess w

hen th

e F

OIA

was

am

ended in

1974. In

that y

ear th

e fe

e w

aiv

er p

rovis

ion w

as e

n-

acte

d, a

nd

the

Se

na

te R

ep

ort m

ad

e it c

lea

r tha

t the

se

ctio

n w

as to

be lib

era

lly constru

ed b

y the a

gencie

s to p

rom

ote

acce

ss. T

he lib

era

l constru

ctio

n p

rincip

le is

an im

porta

nt fa

cto

r in th

e

inte

rpre

tatio

n o

f the

fee

wa

ive

r pro

vis

ion

, an

d it h

as b

ee

n c

ited

w

ith a

ppro

val b

y th

e c

ourts

. See, e

.g., E

udey v. C

entra

l Intellig

ence

Agen

cy, 478 F

. Supp. 1

175 (1

979); R

izzo v. T

yler, 438 F

. Supp. 8

95

(1977).

Co

ng

ress a

nd

the

co

urts

notw

ithsta

ndin

g, e

vid

ence o

n a

gency fe

e

pra

ctic

es s

up

po

rts o

ve

rsig

ht fin

din

gs th

at "[m

ice

ag

en

cie

s h

ave

been to

o re

stric

tive w

ith re

gard

to g

rantin

g fe

e w

aiv

ers

for th

e in

-

dig

ent, n

ew

s m

edia

, schola

rs, a

nd n

onpro

fit public

inte

rest g

roups."

Re

po

rt on

Ove

rsig

ht H

ea

ring

s b

y th

e S

taff o

f the

Su

bco

mm

ittee

on

Adm

inis

trativ

e P

ractic

e a

nd P

rocedure

of th

e S

enate

Com

mitte

e o

n

the

Ju

dic

iary

, "Ag

en

cy Im

ple

me

nta

tion

of th

e 1

97

4 A

me

nd

me

nts

to th

e F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct, 9

5th

Congre

ss, 2

d S

essio

n 9

0

(March

1980) (C

om

mitte

e P

rint).

These p

roble

ms w

ere

still e

vid

ent o

n J

anuary

7, )9

83 w

hen th

e

Departm

ent o

f Justic

e is

sued n

ew

guid

elin

es o

n th

e a

dm

inis

tratio

n

10

of th

e fe

e w

aiv

er p

rovis

on

a o

f the

FO

IA, w

hic

h d

o n

ot m

en

tion

the

p

rincip

le o

f libe

ral c

on

stru

ctio

n a

nd

wh

ich

inste

ad

em

ph

asiz

e th

e

ag

en

cy's view

of th

e p

ub

ic's ne

ed

for th

e re

qu

este

d in

form

atio

n.

Wh

en

ap

ply

ing

an

y a

dm

inis

trativ

e g

uid

elin

es, a

ge

ncie

s s

ho

uld

re

me

mb

er th

e la

ng

ua

ge

of th

e 1

97

4 co

nfe

ree

s tha

t "Fe

es sh

ou

ld n

ot

be used fo

r the p

urp

ose o

f dis

coura

gin

g re

quests

for in

form

atio

n o

r a

s ob

stacle

s to d

isclosu

re o

f req

ue

sted

info

rma

tion

."

Fe

e w

aiv

er p

rov

isio

ns

in S

. 77

4

S. 7

74

pro

po

se

s c

ha

ng

es in

cu

rren

t law

wh

ich

are

inte

nd

ed

to e

f-fe

ctu

ate

the

Congre

ssio

na

l inte

nt c

onta

ine

d in

the 1

974 A

mend-

me

nts

to th

e F

OIA

by d

escrib

ing

mo

re c

lea

rly th

e c

ircu

msta

nce

s in

w

hich

Co

ng

ress in

ten

ds fe

es to

be

wa

ived

or re

du

ced

. In

the

pre

se

nt la

w, S

ec. (a

X4

XA

) req

uire

s d

ocu

me

nts

to b

e fu

r-nis

hed to

the re

queste

r with

out c

harg

e o

r at a

reduced c

harg

e

wh

ere

the

ag

en

cy d

ete

rmin

es th

at s

uch

actio

n is

in th

e p

ub

lic in

-te

rest "b

ecau

se fu

rnis

hin

g th

e in

form

atio

n c

an b

e c

onsid

ere

d a

s

prim

arily

be

ne

fiting

the

ge

ne

ral p

ub

lic." S

ec. 2

of S

. 77

4 m

ake

s it

ab

so

lute

ly c

lea

r tha

t the

"ge

ne

ral p

ub

lic" is

to b

e d

istin

gu

ish

ed

fro

m th

e "c

om

merc

ial o

r oth

er p

rivate

inte

rests

of th

e re

queste

r." S

ec. 2

go

es o

n to

sta

te th

at "W

ith re

spe

ct to

all o

the

r ch

arg

es,

wh

ere

the

ag

en

cy d

ete

rmin

es th

at th

e in

form

atio

n is

no

t req

ue

ste

d

for a

com

me

rcia

l use a

nd th

e re

que

st is

bein

g m

ade b

y o

r on b

ehalf

of (a

l an

ind

ivid

ua

l, or e

du

ca

tion

al o

r no

nco

mm

erc

ial s

cie

ntific

in-

stitu

tion

, wh

ose

pu

rpo

se

is s

ch

ola

rly o

r scie

ntific

rese

arc

h; (b

) a

repre

senta

tive o

f the n

ew

s m

edia

, or (e

l a n

onpro

fit gro

up th

at in

-te

nds to

make th

e in

form

atio

n a

vaila

ble

to th

e g

enera

l public

," a

com

ple

te w

aive

r is require

d.

With

resp

ect to

reco

ve

rab

le s

ea

rch

an

d d

up

lica

tion

fee

s, S

. 77

4

reta

ins th

e c

urre

nt la

nguage fo

r waiv

er o

r reductio

n o

f fees w

here

d

isclo

su

re "c

an

be

co

nsid

ere

d a

s p

rima

rily b

en

efitin

g th

e g

en

era

l public

," and a

dds th

e c

larify

ing p

hra

se "a

nd n

ot th

e c

om

merc

ial o

r o

the

r priv

ate

inte

rests

of th

e R

eq

ue

ste

r." Th

is a

dd

ition

exp

ressly

sta

tes w

ha

t wa

s p

revio

usly

imp

lied

, i.e., th

at b

en

efit to

the

ge

ne

ral

pu

blic

is to

be

dis

ting

uis

he

d fro

m p

ers

on

al b

en

efit to

the

req

ue

ste

r. T

he e

xis

ting s

tandard

for fe

e w

aiv

ers

or re

ductio

ns, th

us, w

ill contin

ue to

require

a b

ala

ncin

g o

f "benefit to

the g

enera

l public

" again

st "c

om

merc

ial o

r oth

er p

rivate

interests of th

e re

qu

este

r." W

he

re n

ew

s m

ed

ia o

rga

niz

atio

ns—

a te

levis

ion

sta

tion

, for e

xa

m-

ple

—are

makin

g th

e re

quest, th

e e

norm

ous "b

enefit to

the g

enera

l public

" of n

ew

s d

issem

inatio

n, w

ill ord

inarily

pre

vail to

make

the

m e

ligib

le fo

r wa

ive

r or re

du

ctio

n o

f se

arc

h a

nd

du

plic

atio

n

fees. A

n u

nduly

larg

e o

r unfo

cused re

quest, h

ow

ever, e

ven in

these

ina

La

nce

s m

ay e

ffect th

e fe

e a

sse

ssm

en

t de

cis

ion

. Oth

er in

tere

sts

th

at, in

a s

imila

r fashio

n, a

re lik

ely

to w

arra

nt w

aiv

er o

r reductio

n

would

be n

onpro

fit org

aniz

atio

ns a

nd re

searc

hers

whose w

ork

will

be m

ade a

vaila

ble

to th

e g

enera

l public

. W

ith re

sp

ect to

all o

the

r ch

arg

es, S

. 77

4 w

ou

ld re

qu

ire a

ma

nd

a-

tory

waiv

er o

f all n

ew

pro

cessin

g fe

es w

here

the a

gency d

ete

rmin

es

tha

t the

req

ue

st d

oe

s n

ot h

ave

a c

om

me

rica

l pu

rpo

se

an

d th

e re

-queste

r seeks th

e in

form

atio

n in

the c

ours

e o

f researc

h o

r new

s-

gath

erin

g, o

r is a

nonpro

fit gro

up in

tendin

g to

make th

e in

form

a-

tion

ava

ilab

le to

the

pu

blic

. Th

e "o

the

r ch

arg

es" s

pe

cifie

d a

re th

ose

asse

ssed to

reco

ver "p

roce

ssing" co

ats.

11

The C

om

mitte

e w

ishes to

make it c

lear th

at fo

r purp

oses o

f this

se

ctia

e, th

e p

hra

se

"req

ue

ste

d fo

r a c

om

me

rica

l use

" do

es n

ot in

-dun/re

quests

by re

pre

senta

tives o

f the n

ew

s m

edia

whic

h o

pera

te

on

a fo

r-pro

fit ba

sis

. T

he

fee

wa

ive

r lan

gu

ag

e o

f S. 7

74

ma

ke

s it c

lea

r tha

t ag

en

cy °M

-ends s

hould

look to

see if th

e in

form

atio

n is

truly

goin

g to

the

pu

blic

bu

t sh

ou

ld n

ot a

sk w

he

the

r it is s

om

eth

ing

the

pu

blic

rea

lly

wa

nts

an

d n

ee

ds. T

he

diffe

ren

ce

is c

rucia

l, for o

nce

go

ve

rnm

en

t be

-com

es th

e d

ecid

ers

of w

hat is

, and is n

ot, im

po

rtan

t to k

no

w, th

e

freedom

in F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n d

eparts

and in

div

idual p

reju

-d

ices co

me

to d

om

ina

te.

In th

is s

ense th

e J

anuary

fee w

aiv

er g

uid

elin

es o

f the D

epart-

ment o

f Justic

e ta

ke a

diffe

rent v

iew

of fe

e w

aiv

er p

rocedure

s fro

m

that o

f the C

om

mitte

e a

nd w

ould

not a

ccord

with

the in

tent o

f S.

774. T

he firs

t two o

f five c

riteria

in th

e D

OJ g

uid

elin

es a

sk if th

ere

is

(1) g

en

uin

e p

ub

lic in

tere

st in

the

su

bje

ct m

atte

r of th

e d

ocu

-m

ents

and (2

) valu

e to

the p

ublic

of th

e re

cord

s th

em

selv

es. T

he

guid

elin

es a

re c

orre

ct th

at th

ere

is a

n a

gency d

ete

rmin

atio

n to

be

ma

de

un

de

r the

fee

wa

iver la

nguage in

sec. (a

)(4X

A), b

ut th

at d

ete

r-m

ina

tion

sh

ou

ld b

e d

irecte

d a

t the

issu

e o

f wh

eth

er th

e in

form

a-

tion w

ill prim

arily

benefit th

e g

enera

l public

, as o

pposed to

priv

ate

in

tere

sts

. Th

e a

ge

ncy w

ill still b

e le

ft with

a d

ete

rmin

atio

n o

f w

he

the

r the

ch

ain

of tra

nsm

issio

n fro

m th

e a

ge

ncy file

, to th

e re

-queste

r, and fin

ally

to th

e p

ublic

is o

ne th

at w

ill exis

t in fa

ct o

r is

me

rely

on

e s

ug

ge

ste

d b

y th

e re

qu

este

r with

ou

t su

bsta

ntia

tion

. In

additio

n, th

e a

gency re

tain

s its

dis

cre

tion

to c

on

sid

er w

he

the

r a

pa

rticu

lar re

qu

est is

un

usu

ally

larg

e o

r va

gu

e w

he

n c

on

sid

erin

g a

fe

e w

aiv

er re

qu

est. B

ut if a

rep

orte

r or a

sch

ola

r see

ks info

rma

tion

, an a

gency s

hould

not s

eek to

decid

e w

heth

er th

e n

ew

s s

tory

or re

-searc

h p

roje

ct s

hould

be u

nderta

ken o

r wheth

er th

e p

ublic

will

rea

lly b

en

efit fro

m th

e re

qu

este

r's u

nd

erta

kin

g, o

nce

the

y h

ave

se

en

it. T

he C

om

mitte

e re

cogniz

es th

at c

om

merc

ial re

queste

rs, ra

ther

than th

ose fa

lling w

ithin

the c

ate

gorie

s a

bove, a

re re

sponsib

le fo

r th

e b

ulk

of s

uch

co

sts

. Th

ere

fore

, the

lan

gu

ag

e o

f the

bill e

xclu

din

g

requeste

rs in

the th

ree e

num

era

ted c

ate

gorie

s fro

m a

ssessm

ent o

f such "p

rocessin

g" c

harg

es s

hould

not a

dd a

ny s

ubsta

ntia

l financia

l b

urd

en

to th

e g

ove

rnm

en

t. U

ltimate

ly, th

e C

om

mitte

e b

elie

ves th

at a

stro

ng a

nd e

ffectiv

e

fee w

aiv

er p

olic

y w

ill pro

ve to

be a

coat-e

ffectiv

e w

ay to

expose

wa

ste

ful o

r co

rrup

t go

ve

rnm

en

t an

d to

pro

vid

e v

alu

ab

le n

ew in

-sig

hts

into

govern

ment p

ractic

es a

nd p

olic

ies.

The a

mendm

ents co

nta

ined in

S. 7

74 d

o n

ot a

ffect fe

e p

olic

y w

ith

respect to

requests

from

indiv

iduals

under th

e P

rivacy A

ct.

Dis

po

sitio

n o

f fee c

olle

ctio

ns

A w

ell-a

rticu

late

d c

om

me

nt w

as m

ad

e b

y s

eve

ral o

f tho

se

ap

-p

ea

ring

be

fore

the

Co

mm

ittee

tha

t ag

en

cie

s h

ave

no

so

urc

e o

f fu

nd

s to

co

mp

en

sa

te fo

r the

ad

ditio

na

l pro

ce

ssin

g c

osts

of F

OIA

re-

quests

and th

at c

ost c

an s

om

etim

es s

train

the a

gency b

udget.

Wh

ile th

e C

om

mitte

e a

ckn

ow

led

ge

d th

is p

rob

lem

, it wis

he

d to

stro

ngly

link its

solu

tion to

the c

oncom

itant p

roble

m o

f excessiv

e

de

lays in

resp

on

din

g to

FO

IA re

qu

ests.

• ,

•

• - m

iaxgre., •

•

12

Wh

ere

an

ag

en

cy Is

in s

ub

sta

ntia

l co

mp

lian

ce

with

its tim

e

limits

, this

'mim

e-W

en

pe

rmits

the

rete

ntio

n o

f on

e-h

alf o

f its c

om

-plia

nce c

oats

revenues, w

hic

h th

e a

gency s

hall a

pply

to o

ffsettin

g

Its o

wn

co

sts

of c

om

ply

ing

with

FO

IA d

isclo

su

re re

qu

irem

en

ts. B

ut

if the G

enera

l Accountin

g O

ffice o

r the O

ffice o

f Ma

nagem

ent a

nd

Budget c

onclu

de a

n in

vestig

atio

n a

nd c

onclu

des in

a re

port th

at

an

y a

ge

ncy h

as n

ut b

ee

n in

su

bsta

ntia

l co

mp

lian

ce

with

the

time

lim

its c

onta

ined in

Sec. 5

521aX

6), th

e a

gency m

ay n

ot re

tain

fees

co

llecte

d a

lter th

e d

ate

of th

e re

po

rt an

d m

ay n

ot re

su

me

reta

inin

g

su

ch

fees u

ntil th

e a

ge

ncy m

akin

g th

e fin

din

g d

ete

rmin

es th

at th

e

sub

stan

tial n

on

com

plia

nce

ha

s en

de

d.

This

pro

vis

ion re

flects

a s

trong C

om

mitte

e v

iew

that a

sense o

f fa

irne

ss is

an

inh

ere

nt e

lem

en

t In a

ny g

ove

rnm

en

t resp

on

se

to a

citiz

en

's re

qu

est u

nd

er th

e F

OIA

. An

ag

en

cy th

at is

fair w

ill ge

ne

r-a

lly m

ee

t FO

1A

time

limits

an

d w

ill wa

nt to

do

so

be

ca

use

ad

he

r-ence to

time lim

its is

the o

nly

rule

that w

ill guara

nte

e th

e e

ffec-

tiveness o

f the A

ct, g

iven th

e lim

ited m

eans o

f moat re

queste

rs a

nd

the

siz

e a

nd

po

we

r of m

oa

t ag

en

cie

s. B

ut a

n a

ge

ncy th

at is

co

nsis

t-e

ntly

fair s

ho

uld

ha

ve

so

me

fina

ncia

l rew

ard

, an

d u

p to

no

w th

at

rew

ard

has n

ot b

een g

iven. T

his

pro

vis

ion s

tresses fa

irness to

both

th

e re

queste

r and th

e a

gency a

nd s

hould

result in

gre

ate

r coopera

-tio

n b

etw

een th

e tw

o.

The C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

at a

ny a

gen

cy w

hic

h, b

y v

irtue o

f its

cu

rren

t sta

tuto

ry m

an

da

te, e

.g., th

e T

en

ne

sse

e V

alle

y A

uth

ority

, m

ain

tain

fee

co

llectio

ns s

ha

ll be

un

affe

cte

d b

y th

is p

rovis

ion

.

BE

INIO

N 3: T

IME

em

irs

In 1

97

4, C

on

gre

ss e

sta

blis

he

d tim

e d

ea

dlin

es fo

r the

ha

nd

ling

of

FO

1A

requests

, in re

sponse to

evid

ence th

at a

gency d

ela

y w

as th

e

ma

jor o

bsta

cle

to u

se

of th

e A

ct b

y th

e p

ress a

nd

oth

er m

em

be

rs o

f th

e p

ub

lic. H

ea

ring

s in

19

77

be

fore

the

Su

bco

mm

ittee

on

Ad

min

-stra

tive

Pra

ctic

e a

nd

Pro

ce

du

re a

nd

in 1

98

1 b

efo

re th

e S

ub

co

mm

it- te

e o

n th

e C

onstitu

tion h

ave re

veale

d th

at m

ost a

gencie

s a

re c

om

-p

lyin

g w

ith th

e a

dm

inis

trativ

e re

sp

on

se

time

s e

na

cte

d in

19

74

.

H How

ever, s

om

e a

gencie

s, in

clu

din

g th

e D

epartm

ent o

f Justic

e a

nd

the C

IA h

ave

been u

nable

to m

eet th

ese

deadlin

es.

In v

iew

of th

e C

om

mitte

e's

recognitio

n th

at d

ela

y in

pro

cessin

g

requests

is o

ften L

anta

mout to

denia

l of th

e p

ublic

's rig

ht o

f accees

to g

ove

rnm

en

t info

rma

tion

, the

bill re

tain

s th

e e

sse

ntia

l stru

ctu

re

of th

e A

ct's

time

de

ad

line

s-1

0 w

ork

ing

da

ys fo

r a re

sp

on

se

to a

n

initia

l req

ue

st a

nd

20

wo

rkin

g d

ays fo

r resp

on

se

to a

n a

pp

ea

l. Ho

w-

ever, th

e C

om

mitte

e a

lso re

cogniz

es th

at th

e u

nexpecte

dly

larg

e

nu

mb

er o

f FO

IA re

qu

ests

filed

sin

ce

the

en

actm

en

t of th

e 1

97

4

Am

en

dm

en

ts w

arra

nts

so

me

ad

ditio

na

l time

for a

ge

ncy re

sp

on

se

in

sp

ecifie

d u

nu

su

al c

ircu

msta

nce

s. A

cco

rdin

gly

, the

bill a

me

nd

s e

x-

istin

g la

w in

ce

rtain

resp

ects

. U

nd

er th

e 1

974 A

me

ndm

ents

, an

ag

ency w

as a

llow

ed a

limite

d

exte

nsio

n o

f time

for p

roce

ssin

g a

req

ue

st o

r ap

pe

al. T

his

exte

nsio

n

was n

ot to

exce

ed 1

0 w

orkin

g d

ays. S

ectio

n (a

X6X

C) is a

mended to

p

rovid

e fa

r exte

nsio

ns o

f the

10

- or 2

0-d

ay tim

e lim

its fo

r a p

erio

d

not to

exce

ed a

n a

gg

reg

ate

of 9

0 w

ork

ing

da

ys. T

hu

s, fo

r exa

mp

le,

wh

ere

a fu

ll 30

-da

y e

xte

nsio

n is

so

ug

ht fo

r the

initia

l resp

on

se

to a

re

qu

est, n

o fu

rthe

r exte

nsio

n w

ill be

ava

ilab

le o

n a

pp

ea

l. Acco

rd-

13

ingly

, under th

e tim

e lim

its a

s a

mended, th

e to

tal p

erio

d fo

r pro

c-

essin

g sh

ou

ld n

ot e

xcee

d G

O w

orkin

g d

ays, e

xcep

t un

de

r "exce

ptio

n-

al c

ircum

sta

nces."

Fu

rthe

rmo

re, a

s th

e A

ct n

ow

pro

vid

es, e

xte

nsio

ns w

ill be

allo

we

d

on

ly in

sp

ecific

ally

de

fine

d "u

nu

su

al c

ircu

msta

nce

s." T

he

bill a

dd

s

thre

e n

ew

de

finitio

ns o

f un

usu

al c

ircu

me

ten

ce

s to

tho

se

sp

ecifie

d in

1

97

4. F

or e

xa

mp

le, th

e b

ill pe

rmits

an

exte

nsio

n w

he

re th

e h

ea

d o

f a

n a

ge

ncy s

pe

cifie

s in

writin

g th

at a

req

ue

st "c

an

no

t be

pro

ce

sse

d

with

in tim

e lim

its s

tate

d in

pa

rag

rap

h (6

XA

) with

ou

t sig

nific

an

tly

obstru

ctin

g o

r impairin

g th

e tim

ely

perfo

rmance o

f a s

tatu

tory

agency fu

nctio

n." T

his

pro

vis

ion is

to b

e in

voked w

here

com

plia

nce

with

the 1

0- a

nd 2

0-d

ay tim

e lim

its o

f the A

ct w

ould

sig

nific

antly

obstru

ct o

r impair th

e a

gency's

ability

to p

erfo

rm its

oth

er s

tatu

-to

ry re

sponsib

ilities in

a tim

ely

fashio

n.

The n

eed fo

r notific

atio

n o

f aubm

itters

of in

form

atio

n a

nd fo

r consid

era

tion o

f any o

bje

ctio

ns to

dis

clo

sure

is in

tended to

accom

- m

odate

the n

ew

busin

ess c

onfid

entia

lity p

rocedure

s a

dded in

sec-

tion 4

of th

e b

ill. These p

rocedure

s h

ave b

een s

pecific

ally

tailo

red

to a

llow

ag

en

cie

s to

me

et th

e re

qu

irem

en

ts fo

r n

otic

e a

nd

the

su

b-

mis

sio

n o

f ob

jectio

ns w

ithin

a s

ixty

wo

rkin

g d

ay tim

e fra

me

. T

he e

xis

tence o

f "an u

nusually

larg

e v

olu

me o

f requests

or a

p-

pe

als

by a

n a

ge

ncy, c

rea

ting

a s

ub

sta

ntia

l ba

cklo

g," is

an

oth

er c

ir- cum

sta

nce ju

stify

ing th

e n

ew

30-w

ork

ing d

ay e

xte

nsio

n. In

ord

er to

in

vo

ke

this

pro

vis

ion

, the

nu

mb

er o

f req

ue

sts

an

ag

en

cy re

ce

ive

s

must b

e u

nusually

larg

e. A

bsent th

is c

onditio

n, th

is s

ectio

n m

ay

not b

e u

sed to

invoke th

e 3

0-d

ay e

xte

nsio

n, n

or is

it inte

nded to

p

erp

etu

ate

the

su

bsta

ntia

l ba

cklo

gs w

hic

h c

urre

ntly

pe

rsis

t at s

uch

a

ge

ncie

s a

s th

e F

BI a

nd

CIA

. Un

de

r the

se

pro

vis

ion

s, th

e C

om

mit-

tee

inte

nd

s th

at th

ese

ag

en

cie

s w

ill, as s

oo

n a

s p

ossib

le, e

limin

ate

th

e d

ela

ys w

hic

h in

the

pa

st h

ave

forc

ed

req

ue

ste

rs to

wa

it up

to

six

mo

nth

s o

r mo

re fo

r a re

sp

on

se

. If a

n a

ge

ncy fa

ils to

co

mp

ly w

ith th

ese

de

ad

line

s, a

req

ue

ste

r shall b

e d

eem

ed to

have e

xhauste

d a

dm

inis

trativ

e re

medie

s a

nd

may file

suit in

Court. T

he b

ill reta

ins th

e la

nguage, in

terp

rete

d in

O

pen A

merica

v. Wate

rgate

Specia

l Pro

secu

tion F

orce

, 54

7 F

.2d

60

5

(D.0

Cir. 1

97

6), w

hic

h p

erm

its a

co

urt to

de

term

ine

tha

t "exce

p-

tional c

ircum

sta

nces" ju

stify

additio

nal tim

e fo

r pro

cessin

g, w

here

an a

gency is

oth

erw

ise e

xerc

isin

g d

ue d

iligence in

respondin

g to

a

req

ue

st. H

ow

eve

r, the

bill a

dd

s th

e fo

llow

ing

se

nte

nce

: "An

ag

en

cy

shall n

ot b

e c

onsid

ere

d to

have v

iola

ted th

e o

therw

ise a

pplic

able

tim

e lim

its u

ntil a

co

urt ru

les o

n th

e is

su

e."

Th

is s

en

ten

ce

is a

dd

ed

on

ly fo

r the

pu

rpo

se

of e

nsu

ring

tha

t agencie

s w

ill not b

e p

erc

eiv

ed to

be in

vio

latio

n o

f law

in c

ases

wh

ere

a c

ou

rt ultim

ate

ly d

ete

rmin

es th

at it h

as p

rop

erly

invo

ke

d

the

"exce

ptio

na

l circ

um

sta

nce

s" p

rovis

ion

. It is n

ot in

ten

de

d in

an

y

wa

y to

affe

ct th

e firs

t se

nte

nce

of s

ub

se

ctio

n (C

), wh

ich

cle

arly

sta

tes th

at a

req

ue

ste

r sh

all b

e d

ee

me

d to

ha

ve

exh

au

ste

d a

dm

inis

- tra

tive re

medie

s, a

nd is

thus e

ligib

le to

file s

uit, w

henever th

e

ag

en

cy fa

ils to

co

mp

ly w

ith th

e tim

e lim

its p

rovis

ion

s o

f this

sec- tio

n. N

or is

it inte

nd

ed

to in

an

y w

ay a

ffect a

co

urt's

ab

ility to

re

tain

juris

dic

tion o

ver a

FO

IA c

ase e

ven a

fter it c

onclu

des th

at

'exceptio

nal c

ircum

sta

nces" w

arra

nt a

dditio

nal tim

e fo

r pro

cess-

ing. T

he C

om

mitte

e re

cogniz

es th

at it m

ay b

e a

ppro

pria

te fo

r the

co

urt to

imp

ose

a d

ea

dlin

e fo

r co

mp

letio

n o

f the

ad

min

istra

tive

14

pro

cess a

nd th

en p

roceed to

consid

er th

e re

queste

r's c

laim

s if a

ny

docum

ents

are

with

held

. More

over, th

is s

ente

nce is

not in

tended to

in a

ny w

ay a

ffect th

e o

pe

ratio

n o

f the

atto

rne

ys fe

es p

rovis

ion

of

section (aX4)(E

). F

ina

lly, th

e b

ill ad

ds a

pro

vis

ion

wh

ich

reco

gn

ize

s th

at, in

co

m-

pe

lling

circ

um

sta

nce

s, a

FO

IA re

qu

est s

ho

uld

be

pro

ce

sse

d o

n a

n

exp

edite

s! basis. T

he C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

at su

ch re

lief b

e a

fford

ed

all re

queste

rs w

ho c

an d

em

onstra

te a

genuin

e n

eed a

nd re

ason fo

r

urg

ency in

gain

ing e

arlie

r access to

Govern

ment re

cord

s. F

or e

x-

am

ple

, wh

ere

the

req

ue

st is

from

a jo

urn

alis

t se

ekin

g in

form

atio

n

ab

ou

t a n

ew

sw

orth

y e

ve

nt, a

time

ly re

sp

on

se

ma

y re

qu

ire p

roce

sa

-in

g in

less th

an

the

10

- an

d 2

0-d

ay tim

e fra

me

s e

sta

blis

he

d in

the

Act. W

ith th

e re

lief a

fford

ed

by th

ese

am

en

dm

en

ts, a

nd

the

ad

ditio

n-

al re

so

urc

es w

hic

h w

ill be

reco

up

ed

by th

e a

ge

ncy th

rou

gh

the

ne

w

form

ula

for th

e d

isp

ositio

n o

f co

llecte

d fe

es, th

e C

om

mitte

e in

ten

ds

that a

ll agencie

s th

ere

afte

r will c

om

e in

to s

ubsta

ntia

l com

plia

nce

with

the tim

e lim

its h

ere

specifie

d.

secrio

N 4

: BU

SIN

ES

S C

ON

YIU

EN

TIA

UT

Y P

RO

CE

DU

RE

S

Se

ction

4 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d su

bse

ction

55

2(a

) of th

e F

OIA

to

require

agencie

s to

pro

mulg

ate

regula

tions s

pecify

ing p

rocedure

s

that w

ould

perm

it subm

itters

of tra

de s

ecre

ts o

r confid

entia

l com

-m

erc

ial o

r financia

l info

rmatio

n to

pre

sent c

laim

s o

f confid

entia

l-

ity to

an a

gency b

efo

re s

ubm

itted in

form

atio

n is

rele

ased in

re-

sponse

to a

n F

OIA

request.

Wh

en

Co

ng

ress e

na

cte

d th

e F

OIA

in 1

96

6, it e

xp

ressly

so

ug

ht to

pro

tect le

gitim

ate

confid

entia

lity in

tere

sts

of th

e p

rivate

busin

ess

secto

r by e

xe

mp

ting

trad

e s

ecre

ts a

nd

co

nfid

entia

l co

mm

erc

ial o

r fin

ancia

l info

rmatio

n fro

m th

e m

andato

ry d

isclo

sure

require

ments

of th

e A

ct. U

nfo

rtunate

ly, h

ow

ever, C

ongre

ss d

id n

ot p

rovid

e s

ub-

mille

rs o

f su

ch

info

rma

tion

with

an

y p

roce

du

ral rig

hts

tha

t wo

uld

enable

them

to e

nsure

that th

eir c

onfid

entia

lity in

tere

sts

would

be

adequate

ly com

pre

hended a

nd co

nsid

ere

d b

y an a

gency co

nfro

nte

d

with

the tu

sk o

f dete

rmin

ing w

heth

er s

ubm

itted in

form

atio

n

sho

uld

be

disclo

sed

or w

ithh

eld

in re

spo

nse

to a

n F

OIA

req

ue

st. T

he a

bsence o

f any s

tatu

tory

require

ments

for a

n a

gency to

giv

e

subm

itters

notic

e a

nd a

n o

pportu

nity

to o

ppose d

isclo

sure

with

re-

spect to

FO

IA re

quests

for s

ubm

itted in

form

atio

n le

ft the p

rote

c-

tion

of b

usin

ess c

on

fide

ntia

lity in

tere

sts

en

tirely

in, th

e h

an

ds o

f a

gen

cy p

ers

onn

el, w

ho m

ay n

ot p

ossess s

uffic

ient k

now

ledge to

fu

lly a

ppre

cia

te s

uch in

tere

sts

in th

e c

onte

xt o

f partic

ula

r record

s.

Th

is s

itua

tion

is in

larg

e p

art re

sp

on

sib

le fo

r the

do

ub

ts th

at h

ave

b

ee

n v

oic

ed

with

in th

e b

usin

ess c

om

mu

nity

ab

ou

t the

go

ve

rnm

en

t's

ability

to p

rote

ct b

usin

ess c

onfid

entia

lity in

tere

sts

. In

response to

this

concern

, the C

om

mitte

e p

roposes to

am

end

the

FO

IA to

req

uire

ag

en

cie

s to

cre

ate

sp

ecific

pro

ce

du

res th

at

would

perm

it any b

usin

ess s

ubm

itter to

make a

n a

gency a

ware

of

his

pa

rticu

lar c

on

fide

ntia

lity c

on

cern

s w

ith re

sp

ect to

su

bm

itted

in-

form

atio

n th

at is

sought b

y a

third

-party

under th

e F

OIA

. The

Co

mm

ittee

be

lieve

s th

at it is

bo

th im

po

rtan

t for s

ub

mitte

rs to

enjo

y p

rocedura

l rights

befo

re re

cord

s a

re re

leased a

nd a

lso im

por-

tant to

bala

nce th

ose rig

hts

again

st th

e p

ublic

inte

rest in

obta

inin

g

15

nonexem

pt m

ate

rial p

rom

ptly

, and th

ese p

rocedura

l refo

rms

sh

ou

ld n

ot re

su

lt in u

nd

ue

de

lays.

Under s

ectio

n 4

of S

. 774, a

gencie

s a

re d

irecte

d to

use in

form

al

rule

makin

g u

nder §

553 o

f title 5

to s

pecify

their p

rocedure

s fo

r the

handlin

g o

f exem

pt p

rivate

busin

ess in

form

atio

n. M

any a

gencie

s

alre

ady h

ave s

uch ru

les in

pla

ce. T

he a

gency h

as th

e o

ptio

n to

specify

in its

rule

s th

at th

e s

ubm

itter m

ust d

esig

nate

info

rmatio

n

wh

ich

is w

ithin

se

ve

ral c

lasse

s.

Th

e a

ge

ncy m

ay c

ho

ose

to re

qu

ire d

esig

na

tion

of tra

de

se

cre

ts,

com

merc

ial, re

searc

h, fin

ancia

l or b

usin

ess in

form

atio

n. T

he in

for-

matio

n d

esig

nate

d m

ust, h

ow

ever, b

e a

lleged to

qualify

for p

rote

c-

tion u

nder E

xem

ptio

n 4

of th

e A

ct.

Tim

ing o

f the d

esig

natio

n w

ill necessarily

vary

. The d

esig

natio

n

should

be m

ade in

the s

ubm

issio

n o

f form

s to

the a

gency if th

e

ag

en

cy p

rovid

es n

otic

e o

f the

ne

ed

for a

nd

op

po

rtun

ity fo

r de

sig

na

- tio

n. T

he re

quire

ment th

at d

esig

natio

n o

ccur m

ust, in

fairn

ess, b

e

com

munic

ate

d a

dequate

ly to

those w

ho w

duld

incur th

e fin

ancia

l consequences o

f a fa

ilure

to d

esig

nate

. Where

the a

gency in

spects

or a

udits

the p

rivate

firm a

nd re

moves re

cord

s, n

ote

s, p

hoto

gra

phs,

etc

., the a

gency h

as a

n o

blig

atio

n th

ere

afte

r to p

rovid

e fa

ir oppor-

tun

ity fo

r de

sig

na

tion

of th

e m

ate

rial w

hic

h th

e s

ub

mitte

r be

lieve

s

to b

e e

xem

pt. A

nd th

e d

esig

natio

n is

inte

nded to

be a

s a

dm

inis

tra-

tively

sim

ple

as p

ossib

le. T

he a

gency c

an re

quire

identific

atio

n o

f p

ortio

ns w

hic

h a

re c

on

fide

ntia

l. So

me

ag

en

cie

s n

ow

ma

ke

the

su

b-

mis

sio

n o

f info

rmatio

n th

e e

quiv

ale

nt o

f an a

dju

dic

ate

d e

xam

ina-

tion o

f its e

xem

pt s

tatu

s (s

ee, e

.g.,

40 C

.F.R

. § 2.2

04, E

PA

). Such a

b

urd

en

is n

ot in

ten

de

d to

be

pa

rt of th

is d

esig

na

tion

req

uire

me

nt.

No

tifica

tion

tha

t an

ag

en

cy is

pla

nn

ing

to ta

ke

an

ad

ve

rse

actio

n

is o

ne o

f the m

ost b

asic

of a

dm

inis

trativ

e p

rocedura

l rights

, yet

un

til this

am

en

dm

en

t it had

by in

ad

ve

rten

ce

be

en

om

itted

from

the

pro

ce

du

res re

qu

ired

un

de

r the

Fre

ed

om

of In

form

atio

n A

ct.

Sin

ce n

otific

atio

ns w

ill not b

e re

quire

d w

here

the in

form

atio

n w

ill be e

ither w

ithheld

or c

learly

must b

e d

isclo

sed. T

he n

um

ber o

f no-

tificatio

ns is

not e

xpecte

d to

be e

xcessiv

e. E

nactm

ent o

f this

sectio

n

carrie

s th

rough o

n th

e S

upre

me C

ourt's

sta

tem

ent c

oncern

ing th

e

Adm

inis

trativ

e P

rocedure

Act, w

here

the c

ourt a

pplie

d A

PA

rem

e-

die

s in

the F

OIA

conte

xt: "C

ongre

ss m

ade a

judgm

ent th

at n

otio

ns

of fa

irne

ss a

nd

info

rme

d a

dm

inis

trativ

e d

ecis

ion

ma

kin

g re

qu

ire

tha

t ag

en

cy d

ecis

ion

s b

e m

ad

e o

nly

afte

r affo

rdin

g in

tere

ste

d p

er-

SO

US

notic

e a

nd a

n o

pportu

nity

to c

om

ment."

Ch

rys

ler C

orp

. v.

Bro

wn

, 441 U

.S. 2

81, 3

16 (1

979). N

otific

atio

n is

not re

quire

d u

nder

seve

ral circu

msta

nce

s, discu

ssed u

nder §

552(a

X7)(1

3) b

elo

w.

Writte

n o

bje

ctio

ns m

ay b

e m

ade b

y th

e s

ubm

itter, u

pon th

e

agency's

decis

ion to

dis

clo

se th

e d

ocum

ents

. These o

bje

ctio

ns

should

specify

all th

e g

rounds th

en k

now

n to

the s

ubm

itter u

pon

whic

h th

e s

ubm

itter c

onte

nds th

e in

form

atio

n s

hould

not b

e d

is-

clo

se

d. A

su

bm

itter w

ho

lea

rns o

f ad

ditio

na

l factu

al in

form

atio

n

rele

va

nt to

the

dis

clo

su

re d

ecis

ion

, e.g

., from

an

acco

un

ting

or

mark

et s

tudy, s

hould

pre

sent th

at in

form

atio

n p

rom

ptly

for c

onsid

-e

ratio

n b

y th

e a

ge

ncy.

The s

ubm

itter w

ho w

ishes to

assert a

n o

bje

ctio

n to

dis

clo

sure

should

subm

it the in

form

atio

n w

ithin

10 w

ork

ing d

ays a

fter th

e

postm

ark

date

of th

e a

gency n

otific

atio

n. W

here

because o

f dela

ys

in m

ail o

r geogra

phic

al d

ista

nce fro

m th

e a

gency, th

e s

ubm

itter

AXLEY, 01..ur ,-wer...e.r. • • 1

,71

,41

, INV

9 e

Pa

rAN

alc

rWiire

• .^."

16

do

es n

ot h

ave

su

fficie

nt o

pp

ortu

nity

to re

ply

with

in th

e 1

0-d

ay

perio

d, th

e su

bm

itter sh

ould

com

munica

te to

the a

gency in

form

ing

the a

gency th

at th

e a

nsw

er is b

ein

g tra

nsm

itted to

the d

esig

nate

d

ag

en

cy officia

l. An

ag

en

cy will b

ala

nce

the

fair h

an

dlin

g o

f sub

mit-

ter co

mm

un

icatio

ns w

ith th

e n

ee

d to

exp

ed

ite th

e d

isclosu

re p

roc-

ess. T

here

may a

lso b

e ca

ses in

which

notifica

tion is n

ot re

ceive

d

by th

e su

bn

iitter, b

ut in

wh

ich th

e su

bm

itter le

arn

s of th

e p

en

din

g

req

ue

st fo

r dis

clo

su

re fro

m a

pu

blic

log

of re

qu

ests

or a

no

the

r so

urce

. Obje

ctions u

nder th

is sectio

n m

ay b

e file

d w

ith th

e a

gency

prio

r to th

e re

ceip

t of a

notifica

tion u

nder th

e su

bectio

n (a

X7X

AX

ii). T

he su

bm

itler m

ust b

e p

rovid

ed w

ith n

otice

of th

e a

gency's fin

al

de

cision

reg

ard

ing

rele

ase

. Th

is pro

vision

con

ne

cts with

the

wa

it- ing period described in subsection (aX

7XC

) below.

Th

e p

rovis

ion

for n

otific

atio

ns to

su

bm

ittera

ma

y b

e e

xcu

se

d

un

de

r seve

ral d

efin

ed

circum

stan

ces su

bje

ct to a

ny o

the

r req

uire

-m

en

t of la

w, th

e a

ge

ncy h

as fu

ll discre

tion

to p

rovid

e th

e n

otifica

-tio

n, n

otw

ithsta

nd

ing

the

exce

ptio

n, if it ch

oo

ses to

do

so.

if an

ag

en

cy de

cide s th

at th

e re

qu

est s

ho

uld

be

de

nie

d, n

otific

a-

tion

ne

ed

no

t be

giv

en

. Ii. ah

uu

ld b

e g

ive

n la

ter if th

e a

ge

ncy

changes its

positio

n u

pon a

requeste

r's a

dm

inis

trativ

e a

ppeal o

f th

e d

en

ial. lf th

e a

ge

ncy m

ake

s a

find

ing

tha

t the

info

rma

tion

in

fact h

ad

be

en

law

fully m

ad

e a

vaila

ble

to th

e p

ub

lic by th

e su

bm

it-tin

g p

ers

on, th

en th

e c

laim

to n

otific

atio

n w

ould

not s

tand. O

f cours

e, a

n a

gency s

hould

giv

e n

otific

atio

n in

case o

f doubts

, for

som

etim

es th

e in

form

atio

n w

hic

h a

ppears

to b

e p

ublic

is m

ere

ly

mis

lea

din

g s

pe

cu

latio

n a

bo

ut p

riva

te c

om

me

rcia

l activ

ity ra

the

r th

an la

wfu

l public

atio

n. W

rongfu

l takin

g o

f the in

form

atio

n, e

.g.,

disclo

sure

by a

noth

er co

mm

ercia

l firm in

bre

ach

of co

ntra

ctual o

b-

ligatio

ns to

the o

wner, d

oes n

ot co

nstitu

te la

wfu

l ava

ilability to

the

pu

blic.

If a fin

al ru

le re

qu

ires d

esig

na

tion

of c

on

fide

ntia

l info

rma

tion

and th

e 8

611-litte

r fails

to s

ubsta

ntia

lly c

om

ply

with

the ru

le.

no

tice m

ay b

e e

xcuse

d. T

he

sub

mitte

r's failin

g w

ill he

me

asu

red

again

st the p

recisio

n w

ith w

hich

the a

gency h

as ca

rried o

ut its o

wn

resp

onsib

ility to g

ive n

otice

of th

e re

quire

ments fo

r desig

natio

n o

f co

nfid

en

tial in

form

atio

n. D

esig

na

tion

is op

tion

al w

ith th

e a

ge

ncy.

No

tifica

tion

i5 a

lso

excu

se

d if a

fed

era

l sta

tute

, oth

er th

an

5

U.S

.C. §

55

2, re

qu

ires d

isclosu

re b

y law

, if the

ag

en

cy ha

s no

tified

th

e su

bm

itter co

nce

rnin

g th

e d

isclosu

re re

quire

ment p

rior to

aub-

missiu

n o

f the

info

rma

tion

. Th

e te

rm "b

y law

" ha

s the

sam

e co

n-

ten

t as its

inte

rpre

tatio

n in

Ch

rysler v. B

row

n, 441 U

.S. 281 (1979).

Su

ch

no

tice

to th

e s

ub

mittin

g p

ers

on

mu

st b

e e

xp

licit a

nd

ma

y

take

the sa

me fo

rm a

s the P

rivacy A

ct state

ment re

quire

d u

nder 5

U

.S.C

. §552a(e

X3), o

r oth

er e

xpre

ss writte

n n

otice

. T

he fin

al e

xceptio

n fro

m n

otifica

tion o

ccurs w

hen a

crimin

al la

w

en

forc

em

en

t ag

en

cy a

cq

uire

d th

e in

form

atio

n in

the

co

urs

e o

f a

law

ful c

rimin

al in

vestig

atio

n. T

his

exem

ptio

n p

rovis

ion p

ara

llels

th

e P

riva

cy A

ct e

xe

mp

tion

for la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt o

pe

ratio

ns. 5

U

.S.C.

5624)(2

). The C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

at th

e p

rincip

al fu

nc-

tion o

f the a

gency b

e e

nfo

rcem

ent o

f crimin

al la

ws, in

cludin

g p

olice

e

fforts to

pre

ven

t, con

trol o

r red

uce

crime

or to

ap

pre

he

nd

crimi-

na

ls, such

as th

e fu

nctio

ns o

f the

Fe

de

ral B

ure

au

of In

vestig

atio

n

an

d th

e U

nite

d S

tate

s Se

cret S

ervice

. Ma

ny a

ge

ncie

s ha

ve so

me

sta

tuto

ry c

rimin

al s

anctio

ns in

their o

therw

ise c

ivil e

nfo

rcem

ent

17

sche

me

s, bu

t the

se a

re n

ot w

ithin

the

na

rrow

me

an

ing

of crim

ina

l la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent a

gencie

s for p

urp

ose

s of th

is exce

ptio

n fro

m n

otifi-

catio

n.

Th

e a

ge

ncy sh

ou

ld co

mm

un

icate

to th

e re

qu

este

r on

two

occa

-sio

ns, w

hen it n

otifie

s th

e e

ubm

itter o

f a re

ceip

t of a

request fo

r in

form

atio

n a

nd

wh

en

it no

tifies th

e e

ub

mitte

r of its fin

al d

ecisio

n.

Afte

r forw

ard

ing

to a

sub

mitte

r wh

o h

as o

bje

cted

to d

isclosu

re;

its final d

ecisio

n to

disclo

se th

e a

gency m

ust w

ait 1

0 w

orkin

g d

ays

be

fore

ma

king

disclo

sure

of th

e re

cord

s. W

he

re e

ithe

r req

ue

ste

r or s

ub

mitte

r initia

tes a

su

it, the

oth

er

pa

rty w

ill ha

ve

no

ob

liga

tion

to e

xh

au

st its

ad

min

istra

tive

rem

e-

die

s be

fore

inte

rpo

sing

its de

fen

se o

r takin

g o

the

r actio

n in

the

pro

-ce

edin

g.

Sectio

n (a

X7) is p

ure

ly pro

ced

ura

l in n

atu

re. It h

as n

o e

ffect o

n

existin

g la

w w

hich

cove

rs the su

bsta

nce

of th

e co

nfid

entia

lity deci-

sion

, inclu

din

g sp

ecific w

ithh

old

ing

statu

tete

un

de

r Exe

mp

tion

3, 5

U

.S.C

. § 5

52(b

X8), su

ch a

s the C

ensu

s Act, 1

3 U

.S.C

. § 2

14, a

nd th

e

Fe

de

ral T

rad

e C

om

missio

n, 1

5 U

.S,C

. § 6

7-2

. Th

e rig

hts e

stab

lishe

d

by la

w p

rote

ctin

g th

ese

priv

ate

co

nfid

en

tiality

inte

rests

co

ntin

ue

u

na

ffecte

d b

y the

se p

roce

du

ral p

rovisio

ns.

SECTIO

N 6: J

UD

ICIA

L R

EV

IEW

Sectio

n 6

of th

e b

ill would

make

seve

ral p

roce

dura

l and su

bsta

n-

tive

revis

ion

s to

the

jud

icia

l revie

w p

rovis

ion

s o

f 6 U

.S.C

. § 5

52(0

(4). F

irst, the b

ill would

am

end su

bse

ction (a

X4X

11) to

in-

clud

e a

statu

te o

f limita

tion

s, an

d to

pro

vide

eq

uiva

len

t jurisd

iction

in

the

dis

trict c

ou

rts fo

r su

its b

y s

ub

mitte

rs o

f info

rma

tion

to

enjo

in a

n a

gency's d

isclosu

re o

f info

rmatio

n a

nd re

queste

rs of in

-fo

rma

tion

to co

mp

el d

isclosu

re.

Seco

nd, th

is sectio

n m

ake

s it clear th

at th

e co

urts h

ave

jurisd

ic-tio

n to

enfo

rce se

ctions o

f the A

ct oth

er' th

an th

ose

requirin

g th

e

disclo

sure

of re

cord

s. Thus th

e se

ction p

erm

its suits fo

r inju

nctive

re

lief a

ga

inst n

on

-ind

exin

g o

f reco

rds co

vere

d b

y sub

sectio

n (a

X1

) or

(a)(2). T

hird

, the

bill w

ou

ld a

me

nd

the

atto

rne

y fee

s pro

vision

s of re

de

s- ig

na

ted

sub

sectio

n (a

X4

XH

) (curre

ntly su

bse

ction

(aX

4X

E)) to

allo

w

requeste

rs who su

bsta

ntia

lly pre

vail to

reco

ver a

ttorn

ey fe

es fro

m

a s

ubm

itter p

artic

ipatin

g in

litigatio

n.

Sta

tute

of lim

itatio

ns

The p

resent A

ct c

onta

in n

o tim

e lim

it for a

requeste

r to in

itiate

a ju

dicia

l actio

n a

fter a

n a

gency's fin

al d

enia

l of a

request. T

he

bill

would

am

end su

bse

ction (a

X4X

B) to

require

that su

its by re

queste

rs m

ust b

e b

rou

gh

t with

in 1

80

da

ys of th

e a

ge

ncy's fin

al a

dm

inistra

-tive

actio

n. T

his is th

e sa

me p

erio

d a

s that se

t forth

in T

itle V

II of

the

Civil R

igh

ts Act o

f 19

64

, 42

U.S

.C. {§

2000e-5(e), 2000e-16(c); th

e A

ge D

iscrimin

atio

n in

Em

plo

yme

nt A

ct, 20

U.S

.C. §

63

3(d

); an

d

the F

air H

ousin

g A

ct of 1

968, 4

2 U

.S.C

. 13613(a

). The b

ill would

n

ot se

t a sp

ecific lim

itatio

ns p

erio

d fo

r actio

ns b

y sub

mitte

re. H

ow

-e

ver, it w

ou

ld e

stab

lish a

s a p

rere

quisite

to d

istrict court ju

risdic-

tion, th

at th

e s

ubm

itter m

ust file

a c

om

pla

int b

efo

re th

e in

form

a-

tion

ie d

isclose

d.

• r.

18

Th

is pro

visio

n sh

ou

ld p

rom

oteju

dicia

l econ

om

y a

nd

ease a

dm

in-

istrativ

e bu

rden

s with

ou

t preju

dice to

requ

esters of in

form

atio

n.

Ag

ency

perso

nn

el wo

uld

be a

ble to

close files in

stead

of h

old

ing

a

requ

ester's file ind

efinitely

in a

nticip

atio

n o

f a la

wsu

it to co

mp

el d

isclosu

re at a

ny tim

e in th

e futu

re. Req

uesters co

uld

alw

ays file

en id

entica

l requ

est to rein

itiate th

e pro

cess wh

ich w

ou

ld in

itiate

an

ew th

e requ

est an

d g

ive th

em a

fresh ca

use o

f actio

n if th

e new

req

uest is den

ied.

Su

bject matter ju

risdiction

Th

e bill w

ou

ld a

men

d su

bsectio

n (a

X41113) to

vest th

e district

mu

ss with

jurisd

iction

to en

join

an

agen

cy fro

m a

ny

disclo

sure o

f in

form

atio

n w

hich

was o

bjected

to b

y a

sub

mitter u

nd

er sub

section

(a

XiX

AX

iii) for w

hich

wou

ld h

ave b

een o

bjected

to h

ad

the su

bm

it-ter receiv

ed th

e requ

ired n

otice fro

m th

e agen

cy p

ursu

an

t to su

b-

section

(a)(7

Xiii). U

nd

er the a

men

ded

pro

visio

n a

fter an

ag

ency

's d

ecision

to d

isclose, th

e sub

mitter m

ay file a

com

pla

int a

t an

y tim

e p

rior to

the d

isclosu

re of th

e info

rmatio

n b

y th

e agen

cy..

Th

is pro

visio

n w

ou

ld c

rea

te a

rig

ht o

f actio

n fo

r su

bm

ittera

w

ithin

the str

uctu

re o

f the F

reed

om

of In

form

atio

n A

ct. U

nd

er

prese

nt la

w, su

bm

itters h

ave n

o su

ch

rig

ht to

actio

n u

nd

er th

e

Freed

om

of In

form

atio

n A

ct, bu

t mu

st resort to

section

10 o

f the

Ad

min

istrativ

e Pro

cedu

re Act, 6

U.S

.C. §

706, in

ord

er to sa

fegu

ard

co

nfid

entia

l bu

sinees in

form

atio

n fro

m d

isclosu

re by th

e govern

-m

ent. C

hrysler C

orp

. v. Bro

wn

, 4

41

U.S

. 28

1, 2

85

, 31

7-1

8 (1

97

9).

Th

is bill w

ou

ld esta

blish

pro

cedu

ral rig

hts fo

r sub

mitters in

the

Freed

om

of In

form

atio

n A

ct itself. Th

is section

cha

ng

es the ju

dicia

l rev

iew p

rovisio

ns o

f the cu

rrent F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct to es-

tab

lish eq

uiv

alen

t cau

ses of a

ction

for req

uesters a

nd

sub

mitters.

Su

bm

itter actio

ns to

enjo

in d

isclosu

re mu

st be b

rou

gh

t prio

r to

release o

f the d

ocu

men

ts, an

d u

sually

will b

e com

men

ced w

ithin

10

days a

fter the fin

al a

gen

cy d

ecision

. If the su

bm

itter has n

ot b

een

giv

en n

otifica

tion

bu

t learn

s of th

e pen

din

g d

isclosu

re, suit m

ay b

e b

rou

gh

t in th

e sam

e ma

nn

er as if su

ch n

otice h

ad

been

giv

en.

Th

is sub

section

also

clarifies th

at th

e cou

rts ma

y o

rder in

jun

c-tiv

e relief again

st non

-pu

blica

tion

or n

on

-ind

exin

g o

f record

s cov-

ered b

y su

bsectio

n (a

)(1) o

r (aX

2) o

f this sectio

n. S

ee, e.g., A

merican

M

ail L

ine, L

td. v. G

ulick

, 411 F

.2d

69

6, 7

01

(D.C

. Civ

. 19

69

); Epstein

v. R

esor,

42

1 F

.2d

93

0, 9

32

(9th

Cir).

cert. den

ied,

39

8 U

.S. 9

65

(1

970). T

he C

om

mittee in

tend

s that a

gen

cies may b

e requ

ired to

in

dex

record

s with

in is rea

son

ab

le time if th

ey h

ave n

ot d

on

e so a

l-rea

dy u

nd

er existin

g req

uirem

ents.

Person

al jurisdiction

P

rop

osed

sub

section

(aX

4X

C) w

ou

ld p

rovid

e the d

istrict cou

rts w

ith p

erson

al ju

risdictio

n, in

an

y su

it filed u

nd

er the A

ct, ov

er all

requ

esters an

d su

bm

itters of in

form

atio

n. If a

requ

ester filed

com

pla

int to

com

pel d

isclosu

re of certa

in in

form

atio

n, th

e district

cou

rt in w

hich

the co

mp

lain

t wa

s filed o

n its o

wn

mo

tion

wo

uld

h

av

e jurisd

iction

ov

er an

y su

bm

itter of th

e info

rma

tion

. Sim

ilarly

. in

a su

it by

a su

bm

itter, the co

urt w

ou

ld h

av

e jurisd

iction

ov

er an

y

requ

ester of th

e info

rma

tion

. Th

ese pro

po

sed p

rov

ision

s wo

uld

en

sure th

at a

n a

dv

erse pa

rty receiv

es no

tice of th

e com

pla

int, h

as

the, rig

ht to

interv

ene, a

nd

will b

e bou

nd

by th

e court

s decisio

n.

19

Wh

ile this p

rov

ision

allo

ws a

district co

urt to

con

solid

ate su

bm

it-te

r a

nd

req

ueste

r c

au

ses o

f actio

n in

to a

single

suit, it d

oes n

ot

alte

r c

urren

t law

with

reg

ard

to v

en

ue. In

a c

on

solid

ate

d su

it, ven

ue w

ou

ld b

e determ

ined

in a

ccord

an

ce with

the cu

rrent sta

tu-

tory

stan

da

rds.

Notice o

f litigatio

n

Wh

en th

e agen

cy is serv

ed w

ith a

cop

y o

f the co

mp

lain

t filed b

y

either req

uester o

r sub

mitter, it m

ust p

rom

ptly

giv

e no

tice of th

e a

ction

to th

e op

po

site pa

rty o

r to m

ultip

le sub

mitters o

r requ

esters, a

s the situ

atio

n m

ay

wa

rra

nt. T

his is a

lrea

dy

the b

ette

r a

gen

cy

p

ractice, a

nd

it is end

orsed

. P

rop

osed

sub

section

(aX

4X

D) w

ou

ld req

uire a

gen

cies to n

otify

re-q

uesters a

nd

sub

mitters w

hen

ever a

suit is b

rou

gh

t con

cernin

g a

p

articu

lar req

uest o

r sub

missio

n. If a

perso

n w

ho req

uested

con

fi-d

en

tial b

usin

ess in

form

atio

n e

xem

pt u

nd

er E

xem

ptio

n 4

filed

a

com

pla

int to

com

pel d

isclosu

re, the a

gen

cy w

ou

ld b

e requ

ired to

n

otify

each

sub

mitter o

f that in

form

atio

n th

at th

e com

pla

int h

ad

b

een filed

. Sim

ilarly

, if a su

bm

itter filed a

com

pla

int to

enjo

in d

ia-

cloeu

re of su

ch in

form

atio

n, th

e ag

ency

wo

uld

be req

uired

to n

otify

ea

ch req

uester.

Su

bsectio

n ta

X4X

E) p

rovid

es equ

al trea

tmen

t for req

uesters a

nd

su

bm

itters in th

e actio

n, b

y req

uirin

g th

at ca

ses bro

ugh

t by ea

ch

party

shall b

e determ

ined

de n

ovo

by

the co

urt. T

he ju

dicia

l deter-

min

atio

ns m

ad

e de n

om

un

der th

e curren

t law

have o

pera

ted to

en

han

ce the cred

ibility

of th

e decisio

ns m

ad

e ab

ou

t disclo

sure b

y

agen

cies, since a

n im

partia

l jud

ge w

ill con

sider th

e full m

erits of

the ca

se for d

isclosu

re un

con

fined

by th

e agen

cy's reco

rd. T

he sa

me

imp

artia

lity a

nd

thu

s the sa

me cred

ibility

will b

e bro

ug

ht to

cases

seekin

g th

e non

disclo

sure o

f priv

ate in

form

atio

n u

pon

com

pla

int o

f th

e priv

ate a

ub

mitter.

Bu

rden

s of p

roof rest w

ith th

e agen

cy in

a w

ithh

old

ing ca

se an

d

with

the su

bm

itter in a

case seek

ing to

enjo

in d

isclosu

re.

Atto

rney fees

Su

bsectio

n (3

) of sectio

n 5

of th

e bill p

rovid

es that th

e cou

rt may

in its d

iscretion

aw

ard

atto

rney

's fees an

d co

sts again

st a su

bm

itter w

ho is a

party

to th

e litigatio

n, in

favor o

f the req

uester w

ho h

as

sub

stan

tially

prev

ailed

in th

e litigatio

n. T

his d

oes n

ot ch

an

ge th

e ex

isting

case la

w w

hich

perm

its such

recov

eries ag

ain

st the a

gen

-cies th

emselv

es, in o

rder b

oth

to en

cou

rage p

rivate en

forcem

ent o

f, a

nd

ag

en

cy

co

mp

lian

ce w

ith th

e A

ct. F

or th

e sa

me r

ea

son

s, the

Com

mittee b

ill wou

ld a

llow

a req

uester w

ho su

bsta

ntia

lly p

revails

in litig

atio

n to

recover a

ttorn

ey's fees a

gain

st a su

bm

itter wh

o h

as

sou

gh

t to en

join

the d

isclosu

re of req

uested

record

s. Th

e discretio

n-

ary

stan

dard

s articu

lated

in cu

rrent ca

se law

interp

reting th

e 1974

atto

rney

's fees pro

visio

n sh

ou

ld a

pp

ly. S

ee, e.g., N

atio

nw

ide B

uild

-in

g M

ain

tenan

ce Inc. v. S

am

pso

n,

659 F

.2d

704, (D

.C. C

ir. 1977);

Cu

neo

v. Ru

ntsfeld

, 55

3 F

.2d

13

60

(D.C

. Cir. 1

97

71

. Un

der th

ese sta

nd

ard

s, a co

urt reta

ins d

iscretion

to a

ward

no fees o

r to a

ward

su

ch fees o

nly

again

st agen

cy.

20

SE

CT

ION

6: PU

BL

IC K

am

m im

quite

rs

Se

ction

6 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d su

bse

ction

55

2(a

) of th

e F

OIA

so

that in

cases w

here

a p

otio

n o

f the re

cord

s re

queste

d "c

onsis

ts o

f new

spaper c

lippin

gs, m

agazin

e a

rticle

s, o

r any o

ther ite

m w

hic

h is

a p

ublic

record

or o

therw

ise a

vaila

ble

in p

ublic

record

s" th

p a

gency

ma

y o

ffer th

e re

qu

este

r a c

ho

ice

of (A

) furn

ish

ing

the

req

ue

ste

r w

ith a

n in

dex id

entify

ing s

uch c

lippin

gs, a

rticle

s, u

r oth

er ite

ms b

y

date

and s

ourc

e, p

rovid

ed th

at s

uch in

dex is

alre

ady in

exis

tence,

or (B

) notw

ithsta

ndin

g th

e w

aiv

er re

quire

ments

conta

ined in

this

se

ctio

n, fu

rnis

hin

g th

e re

qu

este

r with

co

pie

s o

f su

ch

clip

pin

gs, a

rti-cle

s, o

r oth

er ite

ms a

t the re

asonable

sta

ndard

charg

e fo

r duplic

a-

tion e

stablish

ed in

the a

gency's fe

e sch

edule

. "

The C

om

mitte

e b

elie

ves th

at th

e a

dm

inis

trativ

e b

urd

en o

f com

-plia

nce w

ith F

OIA

could

be a

llevia

ted to

a s

ignific

ant d

egre

e, w

ith-

out a

ny c

onsequent lo

ss o

f public

accounta

bility

, if agencie

s w

ere

n

ot re

qu

ired

to p

rovid

e re

que

ste

rs w

ith c

op

ies o

f reco

rds in

ag

en

cy

files th

at a

re a

lso re

adily

availa

ble

in th

e p

ublic

dom

ain

. Public

li-bra

ries, fo

r exam

ple

, have a

wealth

of n

ew

spapers

and m

agazin

es

un file

whic

h a

re e

asily

retrie

vable

and a

vaila

ble

to th

e p

ublic

. Yet,

requests

under F

OIA

ofte

n re

quire

agency e

mplo

yees to

duplic

ate

hu

ndre

ds o

f pa

ges o

f ma

teria

ls th

at a

re p

ub

lic re

cord

s o

r are

oth

er-

wise

ava

ilable

in p

ublic re

cord

s. T

he p

ropose

d a

mendm

ent in

ten

ds to

acco

mm

odate

this co

nce

rn—

as w

ell a

s th

e c

oncern

that s

om

e p

ublic

record

s (e

.g. c

ourt re

cord

s

and e

ven so

nic n

ew

spapers a

nd m

agazin

es) a

re n

ot re

adily a

ccessi-

ble

except th

roug

h th

e g

overn

men

t due

to th

e m

anner, p

lace, a

nd

time

in w

hic

h th

ey a

re c

rea

ted

, use

d a

nd

sto

red

—by s

pecific

ally

p

erm

itting

the

ag

en

cy to

offe

r the

req

ue

ste

r a c

ho

ice

be

twe

en

en

in

dex id

entify

ing re

queste

d ite

ms th

at a

re p

ublic

record

s b

y d

ate

and s

ourc

e (if s

uch a

n in

dex e

xis

ts), o

r copie

s o

f the d

ocum

ents

for

ord

inary

duplic

atio

n c

osta

. The firs

t optio

n, w

here

it is a

vaila

ble

a

nd

ap

pro

pria

te, s

ho

uld

co

ntrib

ute

to re

du

ctio

n o

f the

pro

ce

ssin

g

bu

rde

n. In

no

eve

nt, h

ow

eve

r, sh

ou

ld a

n a

ge

ncy b

e c

om

pe

lled

to

pro

du

ce

an

ind

ex n

ut a

lrea

dy in

exis

ten

ce

at th

e tim

e o

f the

re-

qu

est. If n

o in

de

x e

xis

ts, a

nd

the

ag

en

cy is

un

willin

g to

cre

ate

on

e,

the re

queste

r must b

e a

fford

ed a

ccess to

copie

s of th

e re

cord

s. W

hile

the a

gency m

ay c

harg

e s

earc

h a

nd c

upyin

g fe

es n

otw

ith-

sta

ndin

g th

e w

aiv

er re

quire

ments

of th

e A

ct, th

e a

gency m

ay, in

its

dis

cre

tion, p

rovid

e th

e re

queste

r with

copie

s o

f the re

cord

s a

t no

charg

e.

stw

rioN

7: CL

AR

IPY

EX

EM

PT

ION

S

Sectio

n 7

of th

e b

ill is in

tended m

ere

ly to

cla

rify th

e e

ffect o

f the

exem

ptio

ns lis

ted in

the p

ara

gra

phs o

f sectio

n 5

52(b

). In p

lace o

f th

e c

urre

nt la

nguage s

tatin

g th

at "T

his

auctio

n (5

52) d

oes n

ot

apply

" to m

atte

rs c

overe

d b

y th

e e

num

era

ted e

xem

ptio

ns, th

e b

ill w

ould

make c

lear th

at "T

he c

om

puls

ory

dis

clo

sure

require

ments

of

this se

ction (5

52) d

o n

ot a

pply "

to m

atte

rs s

o e

xe

mp

ted

.

SE

CT

ION

8: MA

NU

AL

S A

ND

EX

AM

INA

TIO

N M

AT

ER

IAL

S

Sectio

n 8

of S

. 774 w

ould

am

end s

ubsectio

n (b

X2) o

f the F

OIA

to

ma

ke

it cle

ar th

at c

erta

in m

ate

rials

are

pro

tecte

d fro

m d

isclo

su

re

21

as m

atte

rs th

at a

re "re

late

d s

ole

ly to

the in

tern

al p

ers

onnel ru

les

and

p

ractic

es o

f an

agen

cy," M

ate

riala

inclu

ded u

nder s

ubpara

-gra

ph (A

) are

"manuals

and in

stru

ctio

ns to

investig

ato

rs, in

spec-

tors

, audito

rs, o

r negotia

tors

to th

e e

xte

nt th

at d

isclo

sure

of s

uch

manuals

and in

stru

ctio

ns c

ould

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

jeopard

-iz

e in

ve

stig

atio

ns, in

sp

ectio

ns, a

ud

its, o

r ne

go

tiatio

ns". T

his

pro

vi-

sio

n is

inte

nd

ed

to e

sta

blis

h a

unifo

rm s

tandard

for w

ithhold

ing in

-te

rnal la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent m

anuals

and in

stru

ctio

ns.

Sin

ce e

xem

ptio

n 2

was firs

t enacte

d in

1966, th

e c

ase la

w h

as

genera

lly e

volv

ed to

hold

that s

uch m

ate

rials

are

pro

tecte

d u

nder

the

exe

mp

tion

if dis

clo

su

re w

ou

ld h

arm

law

en

forc

em

en

t effo

rts.

Se

e d

iscussio

n o

f case

law

in C

roaker v

. Bu

reau

of A

lco

ho

l, To

bacco

&

Flre

arn

a, 6

70

F.2

d 1

05

1 (D

.C. C

ir. 19

81

) (en

ba

ne

). Ho

we

ver, th

e

de

cis

ion

s h

ave

no

t be

en

un

iform

as to

the

de

gre

e o

f ha

rm a

n

agency m

ust d

em

onstra

te to

justify

its w

ithhold

ing.

Under s

ubpara

gra

ph (A

), to w

ithhold

inte

rnal la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent

manuals

and in

stru

ctio

ns a

n a

gency m

ust d

em

onstra

te th

at d

isclo

-sure

"could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

jeopard

ize" th

e in

vestig

a-

tion

s, in

sp

ectio

ns, o

r au

dits

of th

e a

ge

ncy. T

he

use

of th

e w

ord

"je

opard

ize" is

inte

nded to

require

the a

gency to

show

that th

e e

f-fe

ctiv

eness o

f investig

atio

ns, in

spectio

ns, o

r audits

is lik

ely

to b

e

imp

erile

d if th

e d

ocu

me

nt is

dis

clo

se

d. L

ike

wis

e, in

stru

ctio

ns to

ne

-gotia

tors

are

exem

pt if d

isclo

sure

could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

je

op

ard

ize

an

ag

en

cy's

ne

go

tiatio

ns w

ith a

priv

ate

pa

rty. A

ltho

ug

h

the

Co

mm

ittee

be

lieve

s th

at s

uch

inte

rna

l de

libe

rativ

e c

om

mu

nic

a-

tions a

mong a

gency p

ers

onnel a

re a

lready p

rote

cte

d u

nder e

xem

p-

tion 5

of th

e A

ct a

s in

ter-a

ge

ncy m

em

ora

nd

um

s, th

ese

ma

teria

ls

are

inclu

ded h

ere

to m

ake it c

lear th

at th

ey a

re p

rote

cte

d a

s m

at-

ters

rela

ted

so

lely

to in

tern

al p

ers

on

ne

l pra

ctic

es. S

ub

pa

rag

rap

h

(A) is

not in

tended to

exem

pt in

tern

al a

gency g

uid

elin

es w

hic

h

allo

w m

em

bers

of th

e p

ublic

to c

onfo

rm th

eir a

ctio

ns to

an a

gen-

cy's

un

de

rsta

nd

ing

of th

e la

w, o

r "sa

cra

l law

", wh

ich

the

Co

mm

it-te

e e

mphasiz

es is

antith

etic

al to

the a

ct's

fundam

enta

l prin

cip

le o

f• o

pe

n g

ove

rnm

en

t. M

ate

rials

inclu

ded u

nder s

ubpara

gra

ph (1

)) are

"exam

inatio

n

mate

rials

used s

ole

ly to

dete

rmin

e in

div

idual q

ualific

atio

ns fo

r em

-plo

ym

ent, p

rom

otio

n, o

r licensin

g to

the e

xte

nt th

at d

isclo

sure

could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

com

pro

mis

e th

e o

bje

ctiv

ity o

r fair-

ne

ss o

f the

exa

min

atio

n p

roce

ss." T

his

pro

vis

ion

is in

clu

de

d to

brin

g th

e e

xem

ptio

n in

to c

onfo

rmity

with

a s

imila

r exem

ptio

n fo

r such e

xam

inatio

n m

ate

rials

under th

e P

rivacy A

ct, 5

U.S

.C.

§ 5

52a(k).

SE

CT

ION

9: PE

RS

ON

AL

PR

IVA

CY

Sin

ce

pa

ssa

ge

of th

e F

OIA

in 1

96

6, C

on

gre

ss h

as re

co

gn

ize

d th

e

ne

ed

to b

ala

nce

an

op

en

go

ve

rnm

en

t ph

iloso

ph

y a

ga

inst le

gitim

ate

concern

s fo

r the p

rivacy o

f ind

ivid

ua

ls. E

xe

mp

tion

6 o

f the

Act w

as

desig

ned to

giv

e w

eig

ht to

both

inte

rests

, by p

rovid

ing a

n e

xem

p-

tion

for "p

ers

on

ne

l an

d m

edic

al a

nd s

imila

r files," if d

isclo

sure

w

ou

ld re

su

lt in a

"cle

arly

unw

arra

nte

d in

va

sio

n o

f pe

rso

na

l priv

a-

cy." T

he S

upre

me C

ourt h

as d

escrib

ed th

is b

ala

ncin

g s

tandard

as

"a w

ork

ab

le c

om

pro

mis

e b

etw

ee

n in

div

idu

al rig

hts

'an

d th

e p

rese

r-

22

natio

n o

f public

rights

to G

overn

ment in

form

atio

n.'" D

epartment

of the Air F

orce v. Rose, 4

25 U

.S. 3

52, 3

81

(197

6).

The C

om

mitte

e d

oes in

tend to

confirm

in s

tatu

tory

form

the S

u-

pre

me C

ourt's

1982 d

ecis

ion in

T

he W

ash

ingto

n P

ost C

om

pany v.

Departm

ent of Sta

te, 4

56 U

.S. 5

96 (1

982), re

vers

ing a

line o

f court

decis

ions th

at in

terp

rete

d th

e th

reshold

"pers

onnel, m

edic

al a

nd

sim

ilar file

s" la

nguage h

i an o

verly

form

alis

tic w

ay. S

ee B

oard

of T

rade v. C

.on

imo

dity F

utu

res Tra

din

g C

om

missio

n, 6

2'7

F

. 2d 3

92

(D.C

. Cir. 1980); S

impso

n v. V

ance, 6

48 F

. 2d

10

(D.C

. Cir. 1

98

0); T

he

W

ash

ing

ton

Po

st Co

mp

an

y v. Dep

artm

ent o

f Sla

te, 6

47

F.2

d 1

97

(D

.C. C

ir. 1981), reu'd, 4

56 U

.S. 5

95 (1

982).

Th

e Wa

shin

gto

n P

ost

case c

onfirm

ed th

at in

form

atio

n a

bout

"an

y p

artic

ula

r ind

ivid

ua

l" sh

ou

ld n

ot lo

se

the

pro

tectio

n o

f Ex-

em

ptio

n 6

"me

rely

be

ca

use

it is s

tore

d b

y a

n a

ge

ncy in

reco

rds

oth

er th

an 'p

ers

onal' o

r 'medic

al' file

s." T

he b

ill makes it c

lear

that w

hen in

form

atio

n c

oncern

ing p

artic

ula

r indiv

iduals

is s

ought

from

govern

ment file

s, th

e p

rote

ctio

ns g

rante

d u

nder th

e e

xem

p-

tion a

pply.

In a

dditio

n, th

e b

ill makes tw

o fu

rther c

hanges w

hic

h a

ddre

ss

the

Co

mm

ittee

's c

on

ce

rn th

at th

e p

rote

ctio

n o

f the

priv

acy in

tere

st

be p

ractic

al in

its a

Rplic

utio

n. 1

.irat, w

hile

the b

ill reta

ins th

e

"cle

arly

unw

arra

nte

d b

ala

ncin

g s

tandard

, info

rmatio

n w

ould

now

be e

xem

pt u

nder th

is te

st if d

isclo

sure

"could

reasonably

be e

xpect-

ed

to c

on

stitu

te a

cle

arly

un

wa

rran

ted

inva

sio

n o

f pe

rso

na

l priv

a-

cy," T

he

su

bstitu

tion

of th

e "c

ou

ld re

aso

na

bly

be

expected' la

n-

gu

ag

e fo

r the

wo

rd "w

ou

ld" in

the

orig

ina

l Act is

de

sig

ne

d to

ma

ke

it c

lear th

at c

ourts

should

apply

a c

om

mon s

ense a

ppro

ach to

this

bala

ncin

g te

st. T

his

change w

ill elim

inate

anypossib

ility o

f an

overly

litera

l inte

rpre

tatio

n o

f the u

se o

f the w

ord

"would

' in th

e

Act's

orig

inal la

nguage a

nd e

nsure

that n

ecessary

priv

acy p

rote

c-

tion is p

rovid

ed.

Fin

ally

, the

am

en

dm

en

t ma

ke

s it c

lea

r tha

t lists

of n

am

es a

nd

a

dd

resse

s w

hic

h "c

ou

ld b

e u

se

d fo

r so

licita

tion

pu

rpo

se

s" a

re s

ub

-je

ct to

the e

xem

ptio

n, if d

isclo

sure

could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

constitu

te a

cle

arly

unw

arra

nte

d in

vasio

n o

f pers

onal p

rivacy

un

de

r the

ba

lan

cin

g te

st. B

y re

qu

iring

the

co

urts

to b

ala

nce

the

in-

tere

st in

dis

clo

su

re o

f su

ch lis

ts a

gain

st th

e in

tere

st in

priv

acy, th

e

Com

mitte

e re

cogniz

es th

at d

isclo

sure

may b

e a

ppro

pria

te in

som

e

circum

stan

ces. S

ee Disa

bled

Officers A

ssocia

tion v. R

insfeld

, 428

F. S

tipp

. 45

4 (D

.D.C

. 19

77

) (list o

f dis

ab

led re

tired

milita

ry p

ers

on

-n

el d

isclo

se

d to

no

np

rofit o

rga

niz

atio

n e

sta

blis

he

d to

assis

t me

m-

bers

in p

urs

uin

g b

enefits

and a

dvocatin

g th

eir in

tere

st n

atio

nally

).

SE

CT

ION

1.0: LA

W K

NY

OR

CE

ME

NT

RE

CO

RD

S

Sectio

n 10 o

f S. 7

74 w

ould

am

end p

ara

gra

ph (b

X7) o

f the F

OIA

to m

od

ify th

e s

co

pe

of th

e e

xe

mp

tion

for la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt re

co

rds,

codify

certa

in e

xpla

nato

ry c

asela

w, a

nd c

larify

Congre

ssio

nal

inte

nt w

ith re

spect to

the a

gency's

burd

en in

dem

onstra

ting th

e

pro

bability

of h

arm

from

dis

clo

sure

. U

nd

er c

urre

nt la

w, a

n a

ge

ncy m

ay in

vo

ke

the

(bX

7) e

xe

mp

tion

to

with

ho

ld "in

ve

stig

ato

ry re

co

rds c

om

pile

d fu

r law

en

forc

em

en

t pu

r-poses" to

the e

xte

nt th

at d

isclo

sure

of s

uch re

cord

s w

ould

inte

rfere

w

ith e

nfo

rce

me

nt p

roce

ed

ing

s; d

ep

rive

a p

ers

on

of a

righ

t to a

fair

23

trial o

r an

imp

artia

l ad

jud

ica

tion

; co

nstitu

te a

n u

nw

arra

nte

d in

va

-sio

n o

f pe

rso

na

l priv

acy; d

isclo

se

the

ide

ntiy

of a

co

nfid

en

tial

sourc

e o

r, in c

erta

in cases, in

form

atio

n p

rovid

ed o

nly

by a

confi-

de

ntia

l so

urc

e; d

isclo

se

inve

stig

ativ

e te

ch

niq

ue

s a

nd

pro

ce

du

res; o

r, endanger th

e life

or p

hysic

al s

afe

ty o

f law

enfo

rcem

ent p

ers

onnel.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e fin

ds, b

ase

d u

po

n te

stim

on

y o

f the

FB

I an

d o

the

r fe

dera

l law

enfo

rcem

ent a

gencie

s, th

at th

is e

xem

ptio

n, in

pra

ctic

e„

has c

reate

d p

roble

ms w

ith re

spect to

the d

isclo

sure

of s

ensitiv

e

non-in

vestig

ativ

e la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent m

ate

rials

, pre

matu

re d

isclo

sure

of in

vestig

ativ

e a

ctiv

ities, a

nd th

e p

rote

ctio

n o

f confid

entia

l sourc

es. A

lthough E

xem

ptio

n 7

curre

ntly

atte

mpts

to p

rote

ct c

onfi-

dentia

l info

rmants

arid

investig

atio

ns, th

is p

rote

ctio

n c

an b

e c

orn

-p

rom

ise

d w

he

n s

ma

ll pie

ce

s o

f info

rma

tion

, insig

nific

an

t by th

em

-se

lve

s, a

re re

lea

se

d a

nd

the

n p

iece

d to

ge

the

r with

oth

er p

revio

usly

re

leased in

form

atio

n a

nd th

e re

queste

r's o

wn p

ers

onal k

now

ledge

to c

om

ple

te a

whole

and a

ccura

te p

ictu

re o

f info

rmatio

n th

at

sh

ou

ld b

e c

on

fide

ntia

l an

d p

rote

cte

d, s

uch

as'a

n in

form

an

t's id

en

ti-ty

. S. 7

74 w

ould

make th

e fo

llow

ing c

hanges in

Exem

ptio

n (b

X7) to

addre

ss these

pro

ble

ms:

Su

bstitu

te "record

s or in

form

atio

n" fo

r "investig

ato

ry record

s" as th

e thresh

old

qu

alifica

tion

for th

e exemp

tion

: Th

is am

endm

ent

would

bro

aden th

e s

cope o

f the e

xem

ptio

n to

inclu

de "re

cord

s o

r in

form

atio

n c

om

pile

d fo

r law

enfo

rcem

ent p

urp

oses," re

gard

less o

f w

he

the

r the

y m

ay b

e in

ve

stig

ato

ry o

r no

nin

ve

stig

ato

ry. It is

in-

ten

de

d to

en

su

re th

at s

en

sitiv

e la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt in

form

atio

n is

pro

-te

cte

d u

nder E

xem

ptio

n 7

regard

less o

f the p

artic

ula

r form

at o

r re

cord

in w

hic

h th

e re

cord

is m

ain

tain

ed

. Cf F

BI v. A

bra

mso

n, 466

U.S

. 61

6 (1

98

2). It s

ho

uld

als

o re

so

lve

an

y d

ou

bt th

at la

w e

nfo

rce

-m

ent m

anuals

and o

ther n

on-in

vestig

ato

ry m

ate

rials

can b

e w

ith-

he

ld u

nd

er (b

X7

) if the

y w

ere

co

mp

iled

for la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt p

ur-

pases a

nd th

eir d

isclo

sure

would

result in

one o

f the s

ix re

cogniz

ed

ha

rms to

law

en

forc

em

en

t inte

rests

se

t fOrth

in th

e s

ub

pa

rag

rap

hs

of th

e e

xem

ptio

n. S

ee

contra

, Sla

dek v. B

ensin

ger, 6

06

F.2

4 8

99

(5th

C

ir. 1979) (E

xem

ptio

n 7

is n

ot a

pplic

able

to D

EA

agents

Manual b

e-

cause m

anual "w

as n

ot c

om

pile

d in

the c

ours

e o

f a s

pecific

investi-

gatio

n"), C

ar v

. Dep

artm

ent o

f Justice, 5

76

F.2

d 1

30

2 (8

th C

ir. 19

78

) (E

xem

ptio

n 7

does n

ot a

pply

to D

EA

manual th

at "c

onta

ins n

o in

-fo

rma

tion

co

mp

iled

in th

e c

ou

rse

of a

n in

ve

stig

atio

n.") T

he

Co

m-

mitte

e a

me

nd

me

nt, h

ow

eve

r, do

es n

ot a

ffect th

e th

resh

old

qu

estio

n

of w

he

the

r "reco

rds o

r info

rma

tion

" with

he

ld u

nd

er (b

X7

) we

re

"co

mp

iled

for la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt p

urp

ose

s." T

his

sta

nd

ard

wo

uld

still

have to

be s

atis

fied in

ord

er to

cla

im th

e p

rote

ctio

n o

f the (b

X7) e

x-

em

ptio

n. S

ee, e

.g., F

BI v. A

bramson, supra.

Su

bstitu

te "cou

ld rea

son

ab

ly be exp

ected to

" for "w

ou

ld" a

s a

standard

for th

e risk of h

arm

with

respect to

(b)(7

) (A) in

terference

with

enfo

rcemen

t pro

ceedin

gs, (b

k7)(C

) unw

arra

nted

inva

sions o

f 41

personal privacy, (bX

7AD

) disclo

sure o

f the id

entity o

a c

on

fide

ntia

l so

urce

, and (h

k7A

F) en

danger th

e life or p

hysica

l safety

of a

ny n

atu

-ral p

erso

n: T

his

am

endm

ent is

inte

nded to

cla

rify t e

degre

e o

f risk

of h

arm

from

dis

clo

sure

whic

h m

ust b

e s

how

n to

justify

with

hold

-in

g re

cord

s u

nder a

ny o

f these s

ubpara

gra

phs. T

he F

BI a

nd o

ther

law

enfo

rcem

ent a

gencie

s h

ave te

stifie

d th

at th

e c

urre

nt "w

ould

" la

nguage in

the e

xem

ptio

n p

laces u

ndue s

trictu

res o

n a

gency a

t-

--:...11Mffis.1.-,

• • .v

tLffliN

tiYl 'w

..

24

temp

ts to p

rote

ct a

gain

st th

e h

arm

s s

pecifie

d in

Exem

ptio

n 7

's s

ub-

parts- T

his

bu

rde

n o

f pro

of is

trou

blin

g io

so

me

ag

en

cie

s in

the

co

nte

xt

of sh

ow

ing th

at a

partic

ula

r dis

clo

sure

"would

" inte

rfere

with

an

enfo

rcem

ent p

roceedin

g. M

ore

over, a

s th

e F

BI h

as te

stifie

d, it is

pa

rticu

larly

vexin

g w

ith re

sp

ect to

whe

the

r pro

du

ctio

n o

f req

ue

st-

ed

reco

rds "w

ou

ld" d

isclo

se

the

ide

ntity

of a

co

nfid

en

tial s

ou

rce

, substa

ntia

lly c

ontrib

utin

g to

the a

sserte

d "p

erc

eptio

n" p

roble

m o

f sourc

es d

oubtin

g th

e F

BI's

ability

to p

rote

ct th

eir id

entitie

s fro

m

dis

clo

sure

thro

ugh F

O1A

. The "c

ould

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

" sta

ndard

has b

een e

ffectiv

ely

used in

the p

rote

ctio

n o

f natio

nal s

e-

curity

sourc

es u

nder p

rovis

ions o

f the N

atio

nal S

ecurity

Act o

f 1947, 5

0 U

.S.C

. §403(d

X3). It re

cogniz

es th

e la

ck o

f certa

inty

in a

t-te

mp

ting

to p

red

ict h

arm

, bu

t req

uire

s a

sta

nd

ard

of re

aso

na

ble

-ness in

that p

roce

ss, base

d o

n a

n o

bje

ctive te

st. In

cludin

g S

tate, lo

cal, a

nd fo

reign

agen

cies or a

uth

orities a

nd p

ri-va

te institu

tion

s with

in th

e mea

nin

g o

f "co

nfid

entia

l sou

rce": T

his

am

endm

ent is

inte

nded to

codify

the c

asela

w in

whic

h th

e w

eig

ht

of ju

dic

ial in

terp

reta

tion

ha

s h

eld

tha

t "co

nfid

en

tial s

ou

rce

" pro

-te

ctio

n u

nder (b

X7X

D) is

applic

able

to e

ntitie

s, a

s w

ell a

s n

atu

ral

pe

rso

ns. th

at fu

rnis

he

d in

form

atio

n to

an

ag

en

cy o

n a

co

nfid

en

tial

basis. S

ee, e,g., L

esar v. D

ept. o

f Ju

stice, 636 F

.2d 4

72 (D

.C. C

ir.

1980); Ch

urch

of S

ciento

logy v. D

ept. o

f Ju

stice, 612 F

.2d 4

17 (9

th

Cir. 1

979); N

ix v. U

.S., 5

72 F

.2d 9

98 (4

th C

ir. 1978); K

eeney v. F

BI,

630 F

.2d 1

14 (2

d C

ir. 1980).

Delete "

only"

from th

e second clau

se of (bX7X

D): C

ou

rts in

terp

ret-

ing th

e s

econd c

lause o

f (bX

7X

D) h

ave o

ccasio

nally

stu

mble

d o

ver

the

me

an

ing

of th

e w

ord

"on

ly" in

the

co

nte

xt o

f de

cid

ing

wh

eth

er

confid

entia

l info

rmatio

n fu

rnis

hed b

y a

confid

entia

l sourc

e in

a

crim

inal in

vestig

atio

n o

r a la

wfu

l natio

nal s

ecurity

inte

lligence in

-

ve

stig

atio

n m

ay b

e w

ithh

eld

. Co

mpa

re, e.g., R

ud

ow

ich v. U

.S. A

ttor-

ney, D

istrict of M

aryla

nd, 5

01 F

. Supp. 2

84 (D

. Md. 1

980), re

v d, 6

58

F.2

d 9

57 (4

th C

ir. 19

81

) (Win

ter, C

.J., disse

ntin

g) w

ith N

ix v, U

nited

States,

57

2 F

.2d

99

8 (4

th C

ir. 19

78

). A lite

ral re

ad

ing

of th

e p

rovi-

sio

n w

ou

ld a

pp

ea

r to in

dic

ate

tha

t co

nfid

en

tial in

form

atio

n is

e

xe

mp

t on

ly if it h

as b

ee

n "fu

rnis

he

d" to

the

ag

en

cy "o

nly

by th

e

confid

entia

l sourc

e;" w

hic

h is

to s

ay, a

ppare

ntly

, that th

e c

onfid

en-

tial in

form

atio

n w

ould

not b

e e

xem

pt if it h

as a

lso b

een fu

rnis

hed

to the a

gency b

y som

e o

ther so

urce

or m

eans.

By d

ele

ting th

e w

ord

"only

", the C

om

mitte

e in

tends to

make

cle

ar th

at, in

the c

ase o

f a re

cord

com

pile

d b

y a

crim

inal la

w e

n-

forc

em

ent a

uth

ority

in th

e c

ours

e o

f a c

rimin

al in

vestig

atio

n, o

r by

en a

gency c

onductin

g a

law

ful n

atio

nal s

ecurity

inte

lligence in

ves-

tigatio

n, c

onfid

entia

l info

rmatio

n fu

rnis

hed b

y a

confid

entia

l so

urc

e is

exe

mp

t, reg

ard

less o

f wh

eth

er it m

igh

t als

o h

ave

be

en

ob

-ta

ine

d fro

m a

no

the

r sou

rce.

Delete "

investig

ative"

an

d a

dd

"g

uid

elines"

to (b

)(7X

.E1

: T

his

am

en

dm

en

t, like

the

de

letio

n o

f "inve

stig

ato

ry" fro

m th

e e

xe

mp

- tio

n's

thre

ahhold

language, is

inte

nded to

facilita

te th

e p

rote

ctio

n

of n

on-in

vestig

ato

ry m

ate

rials

under th

e e

xem

ptio

n. In

this

case, it

is in

tended to

make c

lear th

at "te

chniq

ues a

nd p

rocedure

s fo

r law

enfo

rcem

ent In

vestig

atio

ns a

nd p

rosecutio

ns" c

an b

e p

rote

cte

d, re

-gard

less o

f wheth

er th

ey a

re "in

vestig

ativ

e" o

r non-in

vestig

ativ

e.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e, h

ow

eve

r, ree

mp

ha

siz

es th

e in

ten

tion

of th

e c

on

fer-

25

.

se

a o

n th

e 1

97

4 a

me

nd

me

nts

wh

ich

first c

rea

ted

(bX

7X

E) th

at th

e

subpara

gra

ph d

oes n

ot a

uth

oriz

e w

ithhold

ing o

f routin

e te

chniq

ues

and p

rocedure

s a

lready w

ell k

now

n to

the p

ublic

, such a

s b

allis

tics

tests

, fing

erp

rintin

g, a

nd

oth

er s

cie

ntific

tests

or c

om

mo

nly

-kn

ow

n

tech

niq

ue

s an

d p

roce

du

res. S

ee

H.R

. Re

p. N

o. 9

3-1

38

0, 9

3d

Co

ng

., 2d S

ees. 1

2 (1

974). T

he a

mendm

ent a

lso e

xpends (b

X7X

E) to

perm

it w

ithhold

ing o

f "guid

elin

es fo

r law

enfo

rcem

ent in

vestig

atio

ns o

r

pro

secutio

ns if s

uch d

isclo

sure

could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

tisk

circ

um

ventio

n o

f the la

w." T

his

is in

tended to

addre

ss s

om

e c

onfu

-sio

n c

reate

d b

y th

e D

.C. C

ircuit's

en b

ane h

old

ing in

Jord

an

v. U.S

. D

ept. o

f Ju

stice, 591 F

.2d 7

53 (D

.C. C

ir. 1978), d

enyin

g p

rote

ctio

n

for p

rose

cu

toria

l dis

cre

tion

gu

ide

line

s u

nd

er th

e (b

X2

) exe

mp

tion

. T

he

Co

mm

ittee

inte

nd

s th

at a

ge

ncie

s a

nd

co

urts

will c

on

sid

er th

e

da

ng

er o

f cre

atin

g "s

ecre

t law

" tog

eth

er w

ith th

e p

ote

ntia

l for

aid

ing la

wbre

akers

to a

void

dete

ctio

n o

r pro

secutio

n. In

so d

oin

g,

the

Co

mm

ittee

wa

s g

uid

ed

by th

e "c

ircu

mve

ntio

n o

f the

law

' sta

nd

ard

tha

t the

D.C

. Circ

uit e

sta

blis

he

s in

its e

n b

an

e decision

in

Crooker v. B

AT

F, 6

70

F.2

d 1

05

1 (D

.C. C

ir. 19

81

) (en

ba

ne

) (inte

rpre

t-in

g E

xem

ptio

n 2

).

Inform

ant records exclu

sion

Se

ctio

n 1

0 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d th

e F

OIA

by a

dd

ing

a n

ew

su

b-

se

ctio

n w

hic

h w

ou

ld m

ake

the

FO

IA in

ap

plic

ab

le to

"info

rma

nt

record

s m

ain

tain

ed b

y a

law

enfo

rcem

ent a

gency u

nder a

n in

for-

mant's

nam

e o

r pers

on

al id

entifie

r, whenever a

ccess to

such

reco

rds is

so

ug

ht b

y a

third

pa

rty a

cco

rdin

g to

the

info

rma

nt's

n

am

e o

r pe

rso

na

l ide

ntifie

r." A

lthough s

ubpara

gra

ph (b

X7X

D) o

f the F

OIA

perm

its la

w e

n-

forc

em

en

t ag

en

cie

s to

de

ny p

ub

lic a

cce

ss to

reco

rds w

he

re re

lea

se

"w

ould

dis

clo

se th

e id

entity

of a

confid

entia

l sourc

e," th

e C

om

mit-

tee

find

s th

at th

e n

ece

ssity

of a

ssertin

g th

is e

xe

mp

tion to

de

ny d

is-

clo

sure

may in

itself c

om

pro

mis

e in

form

ant c

onfid

entia

lity w

hen

the re

quest is

for a

n in

form

ant's

record

s a

nd th

e re

queste

r is a

th

ird p

arty

who h

as re

queste

d th

e re

cord

s b

y th

e in

form

ant's

nam

e

or p

ers

onal id

entifie

r. Denyin

g a

ccess to

John D

oe's

record

s o

n th

e

gro

un

ds th

at re

lea

se

"wou

ld d

isclo

se

the

ide

ntity

of a

co

nfid

en

tial

sourc

e" c

ould

be ta

nta

mount to

confirm

ing th

at J

ohn D

oe is

a c

on-

fide

ntia

l so

urc

e.

S. 7

74 w

ould

exclu

de fro

m th

e re

quire

ments

of th

e F

OIA

info

rm-

an

t reco

rds m

ain

tain

ed

by a

law

en

forc

em

en

t, ag

en

cy u

nd

er a

n in

-fo

rmant's

nam

e o

r pers

onal id

entifie

r, but o

nly

in cases w

here

the

requeste

r is a

third

party

seekin

g a

ccess a

ccord

ing to

the in

for-

mant's

nam

e o

r pers

onal id

entifie

r. This

pro

vis

ion o

pera

tes a

s a

n

exclu

sion. In

such

case

s, the a

gency w

ould

have

no o

blig

atio

n to

ac-

kn

ow

led

ge

the

exis

ten

ce

of s

uch

reco

rds in

resp

on

se

to s

uch

re-

qu

est. W

he

re th

e re

qu

este

r is th

e in

form

an

t him

se

lf, or a

third

party

who d

escrib

es th

e re

sponsiv

e re

cord

s w

ithout re

fere

nce to

the

info

rmant's

nam

e o

r pers

onal id

entifie

r, the re

cord

s a

re s

ubje

ct to

o

rdin

ary

co

nsid

era

tion

un

de

r the

pro

vis

ion

s o

f the

FO

IA.

_

26

SE

CTIO

N 11: A

DD

CTIO

NA

L EX

EM

PTIO

NS

Technical data

Se

ctio

n II o

f the

bill w

ou

ld a

me

nd

the

FO

IA b

y a

dd

ing

a n

ew

E

xe

mp

tion

16

)(10

) to e

xe

mp

t from

ma

nd

ato

ry d

isclo

su

re, te

ch

nic

al

da

ta th

at m

ay n

ot b

e e

xp

orte

d la

wfu

lly o

uts

ide

of th

e U

nite

d

Sta

tes e

xcept in

com

plia

nce w

ith th

e A

rms E

xport C

ontro

l Act, 2

2

U.S

.0 §

2751, e

t. seq., a

nd th

e E

xport A

dm

inis

tratio

n A

ct o

f 1979,

50 U

.S.C

. App. 2

404.

Testim

ony fro

m th

e J

ustic

e D

epartm

ent a

nd th

e D

epartm

ent o

f

Defe

nse h

as m

ade th

e C

om

mitte

e a

ware

that te

chnic

al d

ata

in th

e

form

of b

lueprin

ts, m

anuals

, pro

ductio

n a

nd lo

gis

tics in

form

atio

n

form

ula

e, d

esig

ns, d

raw

ing

s, a

nd

oth

er s

imila

r ma

teria

ls in

the

po

s-

se

ssio

n o

f ag

en

cie

s m

ay b

e s

ub

ject to

rele

ase

un

de

r the

Fre

ed

om

of

Info

rma

tion

Act. M

uch

of th

is d

ata

wa

s e

ithe

r de

ve

lop

ed

by th

e

go

ve

rnm

en

t or m

ore

typ

ica

lly s

ub

mitte

d to

the

go

ve

rnm

en

t in c

on

-ju

nctio

n w

ith re

searc

h a

nd d

evelo

pm

ent o

r pro

cure

ment c

ontra

cts

. T

his

new

exem

ptio

n w

ould

ensure

that C

ongre

ss in

tent to

contro

l th

e e

xport o

f sig

nific

ant te

chnolo

gy w

ill not b

e fru

stra

ted b

y a

F

ree

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act re

qu

est fo

r info

rma

tion

reg

ard

ing

te

chnolo

gy th

at is

subje

ct to

export c

ontro

l under th

ese s

tatu

tes. It

would

make c

lear th

at a

gencie

s s

uch a

s th

e D

epartm

ent o

f Defe

nse

ha

ve

the

au

tho

rity to

refu

se

to d

isclo

se

su

ch

info

rma

tion

in re

-sponse to

a F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct re

quest w

hen th

e in

form

a-

tion

"ma

y n

ot b

e e

xp

orte

d la

wfu

lly o

uts

ide

the

Un

ited

Sta

tes w

ith-

out a

n a

ppro

val, a

uth

oriz

atio

n o

r a lic

ense u

nder th

e F

edera

l E

xport la

ws u

nle

ss re

gula

tions p

rom

ulg

ate

d u

nd

er s

uch la

ws a

u-

tho

rize

the

exp

ort o

f su

ch

da

ta w

itho

ut re

stric

tion

to a

ny p

ers

on

and a

ny d

estin

atio

n."

Exe

mp

tion

10

, ho

we

ve

r, is n

ot in

ten

de

d to

restric

t the

flow

in re

-searc

h in

form

atio

n fro

m o

r with

in th

e s

cie

ntific

com

munity

or s

oci-

ety

in g

en

era

l. Mo

reo

ve

r, the

pro

po

se

d e

xe

mp

tion

ha

s n

oth

ing

to d

o

with

technic

al in

form

atio

n d

evelo

ped a

nd m

ain

tain

ed w

ithin

the

aca

de

mic

co

mm

un

ity. O

n th

e c

on

trary

, this

exe

mp

tion

me

rely

giv

es

the

fed

era

l go

ve

rnm

en

t Lim

e d

iscre

tion

no

t to d

isclo

se

ce

rtain

tech

-nic

al in

form

atio

n in

its p

ossessio

n, u

sually

purs

uant to

researc

h

an

d d

eve

lop

me

nt o

r pro

cu

rem

en

t co

ntra

cts

, in re

sp

on

se

to a

n F

OIA

req

ue

st. T

he

su

bm

ittal- o

f such te

chnic

al d

ata

is not

in a

ny w

ay

pre

clu

ded fro

m d

issem

inatin

g it to

the s

cie

ntific

com

munity

or e

lse-

wh

ere

, un

de

r the

exe

mp

tion

. It is

the in

tent o

f the C

om

mitte

e th

at E

xem

ptio

n 1

0 e

ncom

pass

tech

nic

al d

ata

in th

e fo

rms a

bove if s

uch d

ata

is c

overe

d b

y e

ither

gen

era

l lice

nse

s o

r sp

ecific

licen

se

s, in

asm

uch

as a

sig

nific

an

t

am

ount o

f importa

nt te

chnic

al d

ata

may b

e e

xporte

d u

nder re

-stric

ted

ge

ne

ral lic

en

se

s o

r exe

mp

tion

s. E

ve

n th

ou

gh

the

term

"genera

l license" is

used, s

uch lic

enses o

ften lim

it export a

uth

ority

to

sp

ecific

pe

rso

ns o

r sp

ecific

de

stin

atio

ns. T

hu

s, a

limite

d g

en

era

l lic

ense fo

r the e

xport o

f certa

in d

ata

could

still s

ubje

ct s

uch d

ata

to

un

limite

d re

lea

se

un

de

r the

FO

IA if E

xe

mp

tion

10

did

no

t co

ve

r

ge

ne

ral lice

nse

s. It is

an

om

alo

us to

restric

t the

exp

ort o

f da

ta im

po

rtan

t to th

e

Un

ited

Sta

tes o

n o

ne

ha

nd

, wh

ile a

llow

ing

its p

ub

lic re

lea

se

un

de

r th

e F

OIA

on th

e o

ther. E

xem

ptio

n (b

X10) w

ill redre

ss th

at a

nom

-aly

.

27

Secret Service

Sectio

n 1

1 o

f S. 7

74 w

ould

am

end th

e F

OIA

to c

reate

a n

ew

Ex-

em

ptio

n (b

X11) fo

r "record

s o

r info

rmatio

n m

ain

tain

ed o

r orig

inat-

ed

by th

e S

ecre

t Se

rvic

e in

co

nn

ectio

n w

ith its

pro

tectiv

e fu

nctio

ns

to th

e e

xte

nt th

at th

e p

roductio

n o

f such re

cord

s o

r info

rmatio

n

could

reasonably

be e

xpecte

d to

advers

ely

affe

ct th

e S

erv

ice's

abili-

ty to

perfo

rm its

pro

tectiv

e fu

nctio

ns."

Alth

ou

gh

the

co

urts

ha

ve

reco

gn

ize

d th

e n

ee

d to

pro

tect c

erta

in

Secre

t Serv

ice re

cord

s fro

m d

isclo

sure

under th

e F

OIA

, Moorefield

v. U.S

. Secret S

ervice, 61

1 F

.2d

10

21

(5th

Cir. 1

98

0) (in

div

idu

al w

ho

was tw

ice c

onvic

ted fo

r thre

ate

nin

g th

e life

of th

e P

resid

ent w

as

denie

d a

ccess to

his

Serv

ice file

under E

xem

ptio

n (7

XA

)), the C

om

-m

ittee

be

lieve

s th

at a

sp

ecific

exe

mp

tion

wh

ich

dire

ctly

focu

se

s o

n

the

sp

ecific

co

nse

qu

en

ce

s o

f dis

clo

su

re in

the

co

nte

xt o

f the

pro

tec-

tive re

sponsib

ilities o

f the S

erv

ice is

more

appro

pria

te th

an re

li-a

nce

up

on

the

mo

re g

en

era

l law

en

forc

em

en

t reco

rds e

xe

mp

tion

.

Th

e C

om

mitte

e received co

mm

en

ts from

seve

ral p

ress) g

rou

ps e

x-p

ressin

g c

on

ce

rn th

at th

e p

rop

ose

d S

ecre

t Se

rvic

e e

xe

mp

tion

co

uld

p

erm

it the

Se

rvic

e to

refu

se

to d

isclo

se

the

ba

sis

for d

en

yin

g W

hite

House p

ress c

redentia

ls to

a b

ona fid

e jo

urn

alis

t. The C

om

mitte

e

reco

gn

ize

s th

at im

po

rtan

t Firs

t Am

en

dm

en

t righ

ts a

re im

plic

ate

d

by a

ny re

fusal to

gra

nt W

hite

House p

ress p

asses to

bona fid

e jo

ur-

nalis

ts, a

nd th

at jo

urn

alis

ts m

ay n

ot b

e d

enie

d s

uch p

asses w

ithout

due p

rocess o

f law

, inclu

din

g n

otic

e o

f the fa

ctu

al b

asis

for d

enia

l w

ith a

n o

pportu

nity

to re

but th

em

. Sherrill v. K

nig

ht,

569 F

.2d

124, 1

30-1

31 (D

.C. C

ir. 197

7).

The C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

e p

roposed e

xem

ptio

n to

be in

terp

rete

d

in a

ma

nn

er c

on

sis

ten

t with

this

righ

t.

SE

CTIO

N L2: R

EA

SO

NA

BLY

BR

GR

EO

AB

LE

This

am

endm

ent is

sim

ply

inte

nded to

take n

otic

e o

f the p

rinci-

ple

that, in

the case o

f the le

t and 7

th e

xem

ptio

ns in

subsectio

n

552(b

), in d

ecid

ing w

heth

er th

e re

lease o

f partic

ula

r info

rmatio

n

would

be h

arm

ful, th

e a

gency m

ay ta

ke a

ccount o

f oth

er in

form

a-

tion w

hic

h it k

now

s o

r reasonably

belie

ves to

be a

vaila

ble

to th

e

req

ue

ste

r. Th

is p

rincip

le is

esta

blis

he

d in

ca

se

law

. Fo

r exa

mp

le, in

Halp

erin v. C

entra

l Intellig

ence A

gen

cy, 629 F

.2d 1

44 (D

.C. C

ir.

19

80

), the

cou

rt state

s:

The A

gency's

genera

l ratio

nale

for re

fusin

g to

dis

clo

se

rate

s a

nd to

tal fe

es p

aid

to a

ttorn

eys is

that s

uch in

form

a-

tion c

ould

giv

e le

ads to

info

rmatio

n a

bout c

overt a

ctiv

ities

that c

onstitu

te in

tellig

ence m

eth

ods. F

or e

xam

ple

, if a

larg

e le

gal b

ill is in

curre

d in

a c

overt o

pera

tion, a

train

ed

inte

llige

nce

an

aly

st c

ou

ld re

aso

n fro

m th

e s

ize

of th

e le

ga

l bill to

the s

ize a

nd n

atu

re o

f the o

pera

tion. T

his

scenario

ra

ises a

reasonable

poasib

ility o

f harm

to th

e c

overt a

ctiv

i-ty

follo

win

g fro

m d

isclo

sure

of th

e s

ize o

f legal fe

es. W

e

note

that th

e C

IA's

show

ing o

f pote

ntia

l harm

here

is n

ot

so g

reat

as

its

show

ing c

oncern

ing a

ttorn

ey n

am

es. W

e

must ta

ke in

to a

ccount, h

ow

ever, th

at

each

individ

ual

piece o

f intellig

ence in

form

atio

n, m

uch

like a p

iece o

f

jigs

aw

pu

zzle

, ma

y a

id in

piecing tog

eth

er o

the

r Ws

of in

-

28

form

atio

n e

ve

n w

he

n th

e in

div

idu

al p

iec

e is

no

t of o

bv

iou

s

imp

orta

nce in

itself

When c

om

bin

ed w

ith o

ther s

mall

leads, th

e a

mount o

f a le

gal fe

e c

ould

well p

rove u

sefu

l for

identify

ing a

covert tra

nsactio

n. V

iew

ed in

this

light, th

e

Ag

en

cy's

sta

tem

en

ts o

ffer s

uffic

ien

t pla

usib

le d

eta

il for a

court to

accord

substa

ntia

l weig

ht to

the s

tate

ments

and

acce

pt th

e A

gen

cy's

expe

rt judg

ment o

n th

e p

ote

ntia

l ef-

fects o

f disclo

sing le

gal fe

es.

Id. a

t 150, fo

otn

ote

s om

itted a

nd e

mphasis a

dded.

SE

CT

ION

13: PR

OP

ER

RE

QU

ES

TS

Se

ctio

n 1

3 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d 5

52

(aX

3) to

pro

hib

it FO

IA re

-q

ue

sts

by fo

reig

n n

atio

na

ls; a

uth

oriz

e th

e A

ttorn

ey G

en

era

l to p

re-

scrib

e lim

itatio

ns o

r conditio

ns o

n u

se o

f the F

OIA

by in

carc

era

ted

felo

ns; a

nd to

ll time re

quire

ments

for a

gency re

sponse to

requests

fro

m p

artie

s to

adju

dic

ato

ry p

roceedin

gs in

whic

h th

e G

overn

ment

is also

a p

arty a

nd

ma

y be

req

ue

sted

to p

rod

uce

the

reco

rds so

ug

ht.

Un

de

r cu

rren

t FO

IA la

w, a

n a

ge

ncy is

req

uire

d to

co

mp

ly w

ith

an

y re

qu

est fo

r reco

rds c

ove

red

by th

e s

tatu

te m

ad

e b

y "a

ny

pe

rso

n". T

his

ab

se

nce

of e

xclu

sio

n p

erm

its fo

reig

n n

atio

na

ls a

nd

govern

ments

, inclu

din

g th

ose w

ho a

re h

ostile

to th

e in

tere

sts

of th

e

Un

ited

Sta

tes, to

free

ly u

tilize

a s

tatu

tory

righ

tof-a

cce

ss s

ch

em

e

tha

t wa

s c

rea

ted

prim

arily

to in

form

the

Am

eric

an

eublic

about

govern

ment a

ctiv

ities. A

t. the s

am

e tim

e, it p

erm

its In

carc

era

ted

felo

ns L

a file

exte

nsiv

e F

OIA

requests

for th

e p

urp

ose o

f hara

ssin

g

go

ve

rnm

en

t offic

ials

or d

ete

rmin

ing

the

ide

ntitie

s o

f co

nfid

en

tial

law

enfo

rce

men

t sou

rces a

nd p

ryin

g in

to in

ve

stig

ato

ry re

cord

s. It

als

o p

erm

its p

artie

s o

pposin

g th

e G

overn

ment in

judic

ial o

r adm

in-

istra

tive a

dju

dic

ato

ry p

roceedin

gs to

duplic

ate

exis

ting d

iscovery

rig

hts

, to c

ircum

vent d

iscovery

require

ments

and to

conduct e

xte

n-

siv

e d

ocum

enta

ry "fis

hin

g-e

xpeditio

ns" th

at h

ara

ss g

overn

ment a

t-to

rne

ys a

nd

avo

id trig

ge

ring

recip

roca

l dis

co

ve

ry re

qu

irem

en

ts.

The C

om

mitte

e v

iew

s e

ach o

f these u

ses o

f the F

OIA

to b

e o

ut-

sid

e th

e p

urv

iew

of C

ongre

ss p

rimary

inte

nt in

enactin

g th

e s

tat-

ute

. Alth

ou

gh

so

me

sa

luta

ry c

on

sid

era

tion

s m

ay ju

stify

cu

rren

t pra

ctic

e in

partic

ula

r circ

um

sta

nces, th

e C

om

mitte

e fin

ds th

at its

essentia

l concern

for fa

cilita

ting th

e u

se o

f FO

IA in

ways th

at c

on-

tribute

to e

n in

form

ed p

ublic

and a

n a

ccounta

ble

Govern

ment w

ar-

rants

certa

in lim

itatio

ns o

n re

queste

rs in

the ty

pes o

f situ

atio

ns

ide

ntifie

d a

bo

ve.

Re

qu

es

ts lim

ited

to "

Un

ited

Sta

tes

pe

rso

ns

"—

Th

is w

ou

ld a

me

nd

th

e F

OIA

to re

quire

agencie

s to

make in

form

atio

n a

vaila

ble

only

to

a re

queste

r who is

a "U

nite

d S

tate

s p

ers

on" a

s th

at te

rm w

ould

be

defin

ed in

Sectio

n 1

7 o

f the b

ill. This

defin

ition, w

ould

limit th

e

use

of th

e F

OIA

to U

nite

d S

tate

s c

itize

ns, p

erm

an

en

t resid

en

t alie

ns, a

nd c

erta

in c

orp

ora

tions a

nd u

nin

corp

ora

ted a

ssocia

tions, a

s

de

fine

d b

y s

ectio

n 1

7 o

f the

bill. It w

ou

ld p

roh

ibit u

se

of F

OIA

by

an

y o

the

r pe

rso

n o

r en

tity. T

he

Co

mm

ittee

inte

nd

s th

at a

ny re

-q

ue

ste

r den

ied

acce

ss p

urs

uant to

this

limita

tion s

ha

ll be

giv

en

an

o

pp

ortu

nity

to p

rese

nt p

roo

f tha

t su

ch

req

ue

ste

r is a

"Un

ited

S

tate

s p

ers

on" w

ithin

the m

eanin

g o

f the p

rovis

ion.

FO

/A lim

ited

as

a d

isc

ove

ry d

ev

ice

.—T

he

Supre

me C

ourt h

as re

c-

ogniz

ed th

at th

e "F

OIA

was n

ot in

tended to

functio

n a

s a

priv

ate

29

dis

co

ve

ry to

ol." N

LR

B v

. Ro

bb

ins T

ire &

Ru

bb

er C

o., 4

37 U

.S. 2

14,

24

2 (1

97

8). A

cco

rdin

g to

the

Co

urt's

inte

rpre

tatio

n o

f the

act a

nd

its

legis

lativ

e h

isto

ry, a

requeste

r's rig

hts

'are

neith

er in

cre

ased n

or

decre

ased" b

ecause o

f the re

queste

r's s

tatu

s a

s a

litigant. N

LR

B v

. S

ears

, Ro

eb

uck &

Co

., 421 U

.S. 1

32, 1

43, n

. 10 (1

975).

In c

ivil c

ase

s, p

artie

s o

ften

op

en

ly u

se

the

FO

IA to

byp

ass d

isco

v-

ery

pro

ce

du

res o

r to c

ircu

mve

nt d

isco

ve

ry re

qu

irem

en

ts th

at th

ey

sh

ow

a n

ee

d fo

r the

req

ue

ste

d in

form

atio

n, th

e re

leva

nce

of th

e in

-fo

rma

tion

to th

e c

ase

, an

d th

at c

om

plia

nce

with

the

req

ue

st w

ou

ld

no

t be

un

rea

son

ab

ly ha

rassin

g, o

pp

ressive

or b

urd

en

som

e. S

ee

Fe

d.

R. C

iv. P

.26. S

imila

rly in

crim

inal c

ases, a

defe

ndant s

eekin

g d

is-

co

ve

ry m

ust d

em

on

stra

te n

ot o

nly

the

rele

va

nce

of th

e in

form

atio

n

sought, b

ut a

lso th

at th

e re

quest is

"reasonable

" and w

ithin

the

scope o

f crim

inal d

iscovery

. See F

ed. R

. Crim

. P. M

a). In

additio

n,

a c

rimin

al d

efe

nd

an

t's re

qu

est m

ay trig

ge

r a g

ove

rnm

en

t righ

t to

recip

rocal d

iscovery

. See F

'ed. R

. Crim

. P. 1

6(b

). In p

ractic

e, s

om

e

crim

inal d

efe

ndants

make fre

quent u

se o

f the F

OIA

clo

se to

sched-

ule

d tria

l date

s to

dis

rupt th

e p

rosecuto

r's

ca

se

pre

para

tion o

r d

ela

y th

e tria

l wh

ile d

isp

ute

s o

ve

r the

FO

IA re

qu

est a

re re

so

lve

d

by th

e c

ourts

. T

his

pro

vis

ion re

medig

s th

ese c

oncern

s, n

ot b

y d

ecla

ring th

at a

pers

on's

right to

use th

e F

OIA

is e

limin

ate

d b

ecause o

f his

party

sta

tus, b

ut b

y re

quirin

g th

e to

lling o

f time lim

its fo

r govern

ment

response "w

henever th

e re

qu

es

ter (o

r any p

ers

on o

n w

hose b

ehalf

the re

quest is

made) is

a p

arty

to a

ny o

ngoin

g ju

dic

ial p

roceedin

g

or a

dm

inis

trativ

e a

dju

dic

atio

n in

whic

h th

e G

overn

ment is

als

o a

party

and m

ay b

e re

queste

d to

pro

duce th

e re

cord

s s

ought."

The C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

at th

e a

gency's

oblig

atio

n to

respond to

th

e re

quest w

ithin

the s

tatu

tory

time re

quire

ments

is s

imply

post-

poned u

ntil th

e p

roceedin

g its

elf is

no lo

nger p

endin

g. T

he a

mend-

me

nt d

oe

s n

ot b

ar a

req

ue

st fo

r reco

rds w

hic

h a

re n

ot re

late

d to

th

e s

ubje

ct m

atte

r of th

e p

endin

g p

roceedin

g, n

or w

ould

it bar a

re

qu

est fo

r reco

rds w

hic

h h

ave

be

en

de

nie

d d

urin

g th

e c

ou

rse

of a

ju

dic

ial o

r ad

min

istra

tive

pro

ce

ed

ing

tha

t is n

o lo

ng

er p

en

din

g.

Au

tho

rity fo

r the

Atto

rne

y G

en

era

l to L

imit R

eq

ue

sts

by

Fe

lon

s. —

T

estim

on

y b

y v

ario

us fe

de

ral la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt a

ge

ncie

s, c

om

pla

in-

ing o

f the tre

mendous a

dm

inis

trativ

e b

urd

en a

nd ris

k o

f harm

to

law

en

forc

em

en

t inte

rests

tha

t flow

s fro

m th

e e

xte

nsiv

e n

um

be

r of

FO

IA re

qu

ests

ma

de

by in

ca

rce

rate

d fe

lon

s,

has

convin

ced th

e

Co

mm

ittee

to a

pp

rove

au

tho

rity fo

r the

Atto

rne

y G

en

era

l to p

ro-

mulg

ate

regula

tions p

rescrib

ing "lim

itatio

ns o

r conditio

ns o

n th

e

exte

nt to

wh

ich

an

d o

n th

e c

ircu

msta

nce

s o

r ma

nn

er in

wh

ich

" re-

qu

este

d re

co

rds w

ou

ld b

e m

ad

e a

va

ilab

le to

"req

ue

ste

rs w

ho

are

pers

ons im

pris

oned u

nder s

ente

nce fo

r a fe

lony u

nder F

edera

l or

Sta

te la

w o

r wh

o a

re re

aso

na

bly

be

lieve

d to

be

req

ue

stin

g re

co

rds

on b

ehalf o

f such

perso

ns."

The p

roposed a

mendm

ent d

irects

the A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l to p

re-

scrib

e s

uch lim

itatio

ns o

r conditio

ns "a

s h

e fin

ds to

be (i) a

ppro

pri-

ate

in th

e in

tere

sts

of la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent, o

r fore

ign re

latio

ns a

nd n

a-

tion

al d

efe

nse

, or o

f the

effic

ient a

dm

inis

tratio

n o

f the F

OIA

"a

nd (ii) n

ot in

dero

gatio

n o

f the p

ublic

info

rmatio

n p

urp

oses o

ft th

e F

OIA

. The C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

is g

uid

ance to

assure

the A

t-to

rney G

enera

l of h

is a

uth

ority

to p

ropose th

at re

quests

from

in-

carc

era

ted fe

lons, o

r from

anyone re

asonably

belie

ved to

be a

ctin

g

30

on

the

ir be

ha

lf, be

trea

ted

diffe

ren

tly fro

m th

ose

of o

the

r req

ue

st-

era

. Fo

r exa

mp

le th

ese

limita

tion

s c

an

be

fash

ion

ed

to lim

it the

num

ber o

r exte

nt o

f FO

IA re

quests

, to d

iscoura

ge d

uplic

ativ

e o

r hara

ssin

g re

quests

, or to

giv

e th

e re

spondin

g a

gencie

s g

reate

r flexi-

bility

in th

e m

od

e a

nd

timin

g o

f the

ir rep

lies. S

uch

limita

tion

s o

r co

nd

ition

s s

ha

ll be

pre

scrib

ed

thro

ug

h ru

lem

akin

g.

SE

CT

ION

14: oitGA

N1E

Xo C

RIM

E ttecottue xxcLuS

ION

Se

ctio

n 1

4 o

f S. 7

74

wo

uld

am

en

d th

e F

OIA

by a

dd

ing

a n

ew

su

b-

se

ctio

n Ic

) tha

t wo

uld

ma

ke

the

FO

IA in

ap

plic

ab

le to

do

cu

me

nts

w

hic

h w

ere

genera

ted o

r acquire

d b

y a

crim

inal la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent

au

tho

rity in

the

co

urs

e o

f a la

wfu

l org

an

ize

d c

rime

inve

stig

atio

n

with

in fiv

e y

ea

rs o

f the

da

te o

f req

ue

st.

Curre

nt la

w, a

s e

sta

blis

hed b

y th

e 1

974 a

mendm

ents

to th

e

FO

IA, p

erm

its a

ge

ncy w

ithh

old

ing

of la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt re

co

rds

un

de

r on

e o

r mo

re o

f the

su

bp

ara

gra

ph

s o

f Exe

mp

tion

7. It d

oe

s

not p

rovid

e fo

r any c

ate

goric

al tre

atm

ent o

f record

s c

om

pile

d in

in-

vestig

atio

ns o

f org

an

ized

crime

. T

estin

enty

pre

sente

d b

efo

re th

e C

onstitu

tion S

ubcom

mitte

e b

y

F1

11

Dire

cto

r Willia

m W

eb

ste

r de

pic

ted

a c

red

ible

co

nce

rn th

at th

e

FO

IA. in

its c

urre

nt fo

rm is

syste

ma

tica

lly e

xp

loite

d b

y o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e fig

ure

s a

ttem

ptin

g to

lea

rn w

heth

er th

ey a

re ta

rgets

of in

-ve

stig

ativ

e la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt a

ctiv

ities. B

oth

in p

ub

lic h

ea

ring

s a

nd

a

n e

xe

cu

tive

se

ssio

n b

efo

re th

e S

ub

co

mm

ittee

, Ju

dg

e W

eb

ste

r pre

-se

nte

d e

xa

mp

les o

f the

use

of th

e F

OIA

by o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e fig

ure

s

in c

on

ce

rted

effo

rts to

ide

ntify

info

rma

nts

an

d d

isco

ve

r the

sco

pe

and p

rogre

ss o

f partic

ula

r investig

atio

ns,

Th

e C

om

mitte

e u

nd

ers

tan

ds th

e s

ke

ptic

ism

of th

e p

ress a

nd

oth

er c

ritics o

f the c

ase p

resente

d b

y th

e F

BI, fo

r the B

ure

au's

cla

ims o

f ab

use

are

no

t co

nvin

cin

gly

su

bsta

ntia

ted

on

the

pu

blic

re

cord

. The C

om

mitte

e, h

ow

ever, h

as v

iew

ed m

ore

substa

ntia

l evi-

de

nce in

sp

ecia

l executiv

e p

rese

nta

tions s

up

po

rting

the

FB

I's a

rgu

-m

ents

, and u

nders

tands tim

e F

BI's

con

cern

that th

e d

eta

ils o

f this

evid

ence w

ould

have to

be h

ighly

dilu

ted o

r elim

inate

d a

ltogeth

er

to a

void

aggra

vatin

g th

e p

roble

m in

any p

ublic

pre

senta

tion,

Th

e C

om

mitte

e b

elie

ve

s th

at s

pe

cia

l trea

tme

nt o

f reco

rds c

om

-p

iled

in c

urre

nt a

nd

rece

nt o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e in

ve

stig

atio

ns is

esse

n-

tial. T

he

FB

I's s

ho

win

g o

f syste

ma

tic e

xp

loita

tion

of th

e F

OIA

by

org

aniz

ed c

rime, to

geth

er w

ith th

e th

reat th

at s

uch e

xplo

itatio

n

will in

cre

ase

in th

e fu

ture

, ca

rries s

uffic

ien

t we

igh

t to u

rge

an

ad

-ju

stm

ent in

the F

OIA

when c

om

bin

ed w

ith re

asonable

assum

ptio

ns

co

nce

rnin

g th

e m

otiv

atio

ns a

nd

reso

urc

es o

f org

an

ize

d c

rime

. S

. 77

4 p

rop

ose

s to

exclu

de

from

the

pro

vis

ion

s o

f the

FO

IA,

under s

pecifie

d c

ircum

sta

nces, a

ny re

cord

whic

h w

as g

enera

ted o

r a

cq

uire

d w

ithin

five

ye

ars

of th

e d

ate

of th

e F

OIA

req

ue

st b

y a

crim

ina

l law

en

forc

em

en

t ag

en

cy c

on

du

ctin

g a

law

ful o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e in

vestig

atio

n. U

nder th

e a

mendm

ent, th

e F

BI w

ould

have n

o

ob

liga

tion

to a

ckn

ow

led

ge

the

exis

ten

ce

of o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e re

co

rds

if (11

the

req

ue

ste

d re

co

rds w

ere

co

mp

iled

in a

ny la

wfu

l inve

stig

a-

tion

of "o

rga

niz

ed

crim

e" a

s d

efin

ed

in s

ectio

n 1

8 o

f S. 7

74

; (2) s

uch

in

vestig

atio

n is

or w

as c

onducte

d b

y a

crim

inal la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent

au

tho

rity fo

r law

en

forc

em

en

t pu

rpo

se

s; (3

) su

ch

inve

stig

atio

n w

as

desig

nate

d b

y th

e A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l for th

e purposes o

f this su

be

ec-

31

tion

; an

d, (4

) the

req

ue

ste

d re

co

rds w

ere

first g

en

era

ted

or a

cq

uire

d

by th

e la

w e

nfo

rcem

ent a

gency w

ithin

five y

ears

of th

e d

ate

of th

e

req

ue

st. E

xce

ptio

ns to

the

ba

sic

exclu

sio

n tim

efra

me

wo

uld

be

ap

-p

rop

riate

wh

en

the

ag

en

cy d

ete

rmin

es, p

urs

ua

nt to

reg

ula

tion

s

pro

mulg

ate

d b

y th

e A

ttorn

ey G

enera

l, that th

ere

is a

n o

verrid

ing

public

inte

rest in

earlie

r dis

clo

sure

or in

longer e

xclu

sio

n n

ot to

exce

ed th

ree ye

ars.

Th

e p

rop

ose

d a

me

nd

me

nt a

lso

pro

vid

es th

at n

o d

ocu

me

nt s

ub

ject

to th

is e

xclu

sio

n p

rovis

ion

ma

y b

e d

estro

ye

d o

r oth

erw

ise

dis

po

se

d

of u

ntil th

e d

ocu

me

nt is

ava

ilab

le fo

r dis

clo

su

re, s

ub

ject o

nly

to th

e

ord

ina

ry F

OIA

exe

mp

tion

s, fo

r a p

erio

d o

f no

t less th

an

ten

ye

ars

. T

his

me

an

s th

at, u

nle

ss a

n e

xte

nsio

n o

f no

mo

re th

an

thre

e y

ea

rs

is o

rde

red

, org

an

ize

d c

rime

inve

stig

atio

n d

ocu

me

nts

wo

uld

ord

ina

r-ily

be

su

bje

ct to

exclu

sio

n fro

m F

OIA

on

ly fo

r a p

erio

d o

f five

ye

ars

afte

r genera

tion o

r acquis

ition b

y th

e a

gency. D

ocum

ents

subje

ct to

e

xclu

sio

n m

ay n

ot b

e d

estro

ye

d o

r dis

po

se

d o

f du

ring

the

exclu

sio

n

perio

d, o

r for a

perio

d o

f not le

ss th

an te

n y

ears

afte

r the e

nd o

f th

e e

xclu

sio

n p

erio

d. W

hen th

e e

xclu

sio

n p

erio

d is

com

ple

ted, th

e

do

cu

me

nts

wo

uld

be

co

me

su

bje

ct to

the

req

uire

me

nts

of th

e F

OIA

and m

ay b

e w

ithheld

from

a re

queste

r only

purs

uant to

a p

roper

asse

rtion

of o

ne

or m

ore

of th

e n

ine

FO

IA e

xe

mp

tion

s.

SE

CT

ION

16

: RE

PO

RT

ING

UN

IFO

RM

ITY

Under c

urre

nt G

U.S

.C. §

552(d

), each a

gency is

require

d to

su

bm

it to th

e C

on

gre

ss b

y M

arc

h 1

of e

ach

ye

ar a

rep

ort o

n its

F

ree

do

m o

f Info

rma

tion

Act a

ctiv

ities d

urin

g th

e p

rece

din

g c

ale

n-

dar y

ear. S

ectio

n 1

6 o

f the b

ill would

am

end th

e re

portin

g re

quire

-m

en

t to p

rovid

e fo

r a re

po

rt to b

e file

d o

n D

ec

em

be

r 1 o

f each

year

co

ve

ring

the

pre

ce

din

g fis

ca

l, rath

er th

an

ca

len

da

r ye

ar. M

ost

agencie

s m

ain

tain

their re

cord

s o

n a

fiscal y

ear b

asis

and m

ust

convert th

em

to a

n a

nnual y

ear b

asis

in o

rder to

com

ply

with

exis

t-in

g la

w. T

he

am

en

dm

en

t wo

uld

rem

ed

y th

is p

rob

lem

by c

on

form

-in

g th

e re

po

rting

req

uire

me

nt to

da

ta c

olle

ctio

n p

ractic

es.

SE

CT

ION

la: TE

CH

NIC

AL

DA

TA

PR

OC

ED

UR

ES

The C

om

mitte

e w

ishes to

stre

ss th

at n

oth

ing in

Exem

ptio

n (h

g10)

is in

ten

de

d to

limit th

e G

ove

rnm

en

t's a

bility

or d

uty

to p

rovid

e

acce

ss to

info

rma

tion

ne

ce

ssa

ry to

U.S

. co

mp

an

ies in

tere

ste

d in

in-

vestig

atin

g o

r bid

din

g o

n p

rocure

ment c

ontra

cts

with

the G

overn

-m

ent. T

he C

om

mitte

e re

cognize

s that p

rosp

ective

contra

ctors, e

spe-

cia

lly s

mall b

usin

esses, n

eed a

ccess to

what m

e re

ferre

d to

as "p

ro-

du

ctio

n e

ng

ine

erin

g a

nd

log

istic

s in

form

atio

n". S

uch

ava

ilab

ility

may s

erv

e to

incre

ase c

om

petitio

n, p

artic

ula

rly b

y s

mall b

usin

ess-

es, a

nd

the

reb

y red

uce

price

s. T

he C

om

mitte

e in

tends th

is s

ectio

n to

apply

to te

chnic

al d

ata

ow

ned b

y th

e F

edera

l Govern

ment. S

ince th

is in

form

atio

n is

out-

sid

e th

e p

rote

ctio

ns o

f (bg

4), th

e c

om

bin

atio

n o

f (bX

10

) for p

rote

c-

tion

an

d s

ectio

n 6

60

for q

ua

lified

access sh

ou

ld a

pp

ly.

Se

ctio

n 6

60

is n

ot to

be

co

nstru

ed

as p

art o

f the

Fre

ed

om

of In

-fo

rmatio

n A

ct a

nd n

one o

f the s

pecia

l adm

inis

trativ

e o

r judic

ial

pro

vis

ion

s o

f the

MIA

ap

ply

to re

qu

ests

un

de

r Se

ctio

n 6

60

. R

e-

lea

se

s u

nd

er S

ectio

n 5

60

ma

y b

e c

on

ditio

ne

d o

n re

aso

na

ble

restric

-tio

ns o

n re

dis

se

min

stio

n, e

.g.,

requirin

g s

ubsequent p

artie

s re

ceiv

-

32

ing

the

info

rma

tion

to b

e p

rop

erly

reg

iste

red

or in

ap

pro

pria

te

ca

se

s, p

reclu

din

g re

dis

se

min

atio

n. A

ge

ncie

s o

pe

ratin

g u

nd

er S

ec-

tion 6

60 c

an in

vestig

ate

and e

nfo

rce th

ese a

gre

em

ents

and fa

ilure

b

y c

om

pa

nie

s to

co

mp

ly w

ith n

on

-dis

clo

su

re a

gre

em

en

ts m

ay b

e

gro

unds fo

r appro

pria

te c

ivil, c

rimin

al o

r adm

inis

trativ

e s

anctio

ns.

Se

ctio

n 5

60

au

tho

rize

s a

ge

ncie

s to

esta

blis

h re

aso

na

ble

pro

ce

-d

ure

s to

pro

vid

e a

cce

ss to

tech

nic

al d

ata

to q

ua

lified

co

nce

rns. T

he

"p

rod

uclio

n e

ngin

eerin

g a

nd

log

istic

s d

ata

" refe

rred

to a

bo

ve

in-

clu

de

s s

uch

form

ula

e, d

esig

ns, d

raw

ing

s a

nd

rese

arc

h d

ata

as m

ay

be

asso

cia

ted

the

rew

ith, w

hic

h a

re d

eve

lop

ed

for o

r ge

ne

rate

d b

y

the

Go

ve

rnm

en

t an

d w

hic

h th

e G

ove

rnm

en

t ha

s a

n u

nre

stric

ted

rig

ht to

use

and d

isclose

, It is

exp

ecte

d th

at a

ge

ncy h

ea

ds s

ha

ll pro

mu

lga

te re

gu

latio

ns

se

tting

forth

pro

ce

du

res, s

tan

da

rds a

nd

crite

ria fo

r the

ce

rtifica

tion

and re

gis

tratio

n o

f Unite

d S

tate

s c

itizens a

nd b

usin

ess c

oncern

s a

s

au

tho

rize

d re

cip

ien

ts o

f su

ch

tech

nic

al d

ata

. Th

e C

om

mitte

e e

x-

pects

that in

certify

ing d

ata

recip

ients

, the a

gency w

ill consid

er

go

od

faith

inte

nt to

co

mp

ote

an

d a

bility

of a

co

nce

rn a

nd

its s

ub

-contra

cto

rs a

nd s

upplie

rs to

perfo

rm U

.S. c

ontra

cts

. It is

als

o in

ten

de

d th

at a

n a

ge

ncy h

ea

d m

ay p

rom

ulg

ate

reg

ula

-tio

ns w

hic

h s

hall c

harg

e a

ny p

ers

on re

ceiv

ing in

form

atio

n u

nder

Se

ctio

n 5

60

the

actu

al c

oa

t of s

ea

rch

ing

for a

nd

du

plic

atin

g s

uch

in

form

atio

n. In

additio

n, if re

coupm

ent o

f researc

h a

nd d

evelo

p-

ment c

osts

is re

quire

d b

y la

w o

r regula

tions, re

coupm

ent s

hall b

e

paid

by th

e re

queste

r in a

ccord

ance th

ere

with

. It is

furth

er th

e in

ten

t of th

e C

om

mitte

e th

at n

oth

ing

in S

ectio

n

560 s

hall re

quire

the d

isclo

sure

of m

ate

rial c

lassifie

d p

urs

uant to

e

xe

cu

tive

ord

er. M

ore

ove

r, no

thin

g in

Se

ctio

n 6

60

req

uire

s th

e d

ie-

clo

sure

of m

ate

rial p

rote

cte

d fro

m d

isclo

sure

under s

ubsectio

n (b

X4)

of th

e A

ct.

SE

CTIO

N

1.7

: DE

FIN

ITIO

NS

"Su

bm

iiter"

Th

e te

rm "s

ub

mitte

r" is in

ten

de

d to

inclu

de

tho

se

pe

rso

ns w

ho

h

ave

a c

om

me

rcia

l or p

rop

rieta

ry in

tere

st in

info

rma

tion

wh

ich

te

with

in th

e c

om

merc

ial, re

searc

h, fin

ancia

l or tra

de s

ecre

t cate

go-

ries d

iscu

sse

d in

the

Co

mm

ittee

's a

na

lysis

of s

ectio

n 4

of th

e b

ill, su

pra

. Th

e p

ers

on

is a

su

bm

itter e

ve

n if th

e a

ge

ncy o

bta

ine

d a

cce

ss

with

ou

t a d

irect s

ub

mis

sio

n, e

.g., b

y in

sp

ectio

n o

r au

dit o

r reco

rda

-tio

n o

r ph

oto

gra

ph

ing

the

priv

ate

pe

rso

n's

info

rma

tion

. Tw

o e

xclu

-sio

ns e

xis

t. Pe

rso

na

l fina

ncia

l info

rma

tion

is c

ove

red

by th

e te

rms

of E

xem

ptio

n tb

X6), se

e R

ura

l Housin

g A

lliance v. U

.S. D

epartm

ent

oi".4

gric

ultu

re,

498 F

.2d '7

3 (D

.C. C

ir., 1974). In

tellig

ence in

form

a-

tion

is p

rote

cte

d u

nd

er s

pe

cific

exe

mp

ting

sta

tute

s, re

co

gn

ize

d b

y

exe

mp

tion

(bxa

), or b

y te

rms o

f exe

mp

tion

(1:4

1). T

his

latte

r exce

p-

tion

is in

ten

de

d to

sh

ift pro

tectio

n to

an

oth

er e

xe

mp

tion

an

d is

no

t in

ten

de

d to

exclu

de

exe

mp

t Ma

ths fo

r su

ch

info

rma

tion

in th

e ra

re

and e

xceptio

nal in

sta

nces in

whic

h c

om

merc

ial d

ata

would

be

giv

en to

an in

tellig

ence a

gency.

33

"Req

uester"

Sectio

n 1

7 o

f the b

ill defin

es th

e te

rm "re

queste

r" as "a

pers

on

who m

akes o

r causes to

be m

ade, o

r on w

hose b

ehalf is

made, a

pro

per re

quest fo

r disclo

sure

of re

cord

s under su

bse

ction ta

)." In

part, th

is d

efin

ition is

inte

nded a

s a

mere

dra

fting c

hange in

su

bstitu

tion

for c

um

be

rso

me

ph

rase

s in

the

pre

se

nt A

ct, s

uch

as

"Any p

ers

on m

akin

g a

request to

any a

gency fo

r record

s u

nder

pa

rag

rap

h (1

), (2), o

r (3) o

f this

su

bse

ctio

n' a

nd

"su

ch

pe

rso

n

makin

g su

ch re

quest" (su

bse

ction (a

X41(C

)}. How

eve

r, this

de

finitio

n

inclu

des n

ot o

nly

the p

ers

on w

ho m

akes th

e re

quest b

ut a

lso a

ny

pe

rso

n w

ho

ca

use

s a

req

ue

st to

be

ma

de

or o

n w

ho

se

be

ha

lf a re

-q

ue

ster is m

ad

e.

"Un

ited S

lates p

erson

"

Se

ctio

n 1

7 o

f the

bill d

efin

es th

e te

rm "U

nite

d S

tate

s p

ers

on

," w

hic

h is

dis

cu

sse

d in

co

nn

ectio

n w

ith th

e a

na

lysis

of s

ectio

n 1

3 o

f th

e b

ill.

"Workin

g d

ays"

Sectio

n 1

7 o

f the b

ill defin

es th

e te

rm "w

ork

ing d

ays" to

mean

"every

day e

xclu

din

g S

atu

rdays, S

undays, a

nd fe

dera

l legal h

oli-

days.' T

his

defin

ition is

essentia

lly th

e s

am

e a

s th

e la

nguage o

f the

pre

sent A

ct, a

nd is

inte

nded to

pla

ce c

onvenie

ntly

in o

ne p

rovis

ion

of th

e A

ct th

e s

tandard

rule

for c

alc

ula

ting tim

e p

erio

ds u

nder th

e

Act.. T

his

de

fintio

n is

no

t inte

nd

ed

to b

e a

su

bsta

ntiv

e c

ha

ng

e.

"Org

anized

crime"

Sectio

n 1

7 o

f the b

ill defin

es th

e te

rm "o

rganiz

ed c

rime," w

hic

h

is d

iscu

sse

d in

co

nn

ectio

n w

ith th

e a

na

lysis

of s

ectio

n 1

4 o

f the

bill.

SE

CT

ION

IS: P

UB

LIC

AT

ION

OF

EX

EM

PT

ION

3 S

TA

TU

TE

S

Exe

mp

tion

(b)(3

) exclu

de

s fro

m th

e M

an

da

tory

dis

clo

su

re re

qu

ire-

ment in

form

atio

n "s

pecific

ally

exem

pte

d fro

m d

isclo

sure

by s

tat-

ute

." There

has n

ever b

een a

com

pila

tion o

f such s

tatu

tory

non-d

is-

clo

sure

pro

vis

ions. T

hus, n

eith

er th

e C

ongre

ss n

or th

e A

meric

an

people

know

for s

ure

how

many (b

X3) e

xem

ptio

ns e

xis

t or w

hat

the

ir sco

pe

is. T

he

ab

se

nce

of in

form

atio

n c

rea

tes a

dile

mm

a: If th

e

aim

s o

f the

FO

IA a

re b

ein

g w

ea

ke

ne

d, C

on

gre

ss h

as little

gu

ide

to

ho

w to

Blu

me

a c

on

sis

ten

t po

licy th

at c

an

cu

re th

e e

xce

sse

s, if th

ey

exis

t. T

he c

hie

f com

modity

for a

cure

is c

om

ple

te in

form

atio

n, a

nd s

o

the C

om

mitte

e's

appro

ach to

solv

ing th

is p

roble

m is

based o

n d

is-

clo

su

re. W

ithin

27

0 d

ays o

f en

actm

en

t, ag

en

cie

s th

at w

an

t to re

ly

on s

pecific

sta

tuto

ry e

xem

ptio

ns w

ill have to

publis

h a

list o

f them

in

the

Fe

de

ral R

eg

iste

r. Th

e D

ep

artm

en

t of J

ustic

e is

sp

ecific

ally

in

clu

de

d a

s a

n a

ge

ncy re

qu

ired

to s

o p

ub

lish

. No

leg

al rig

hts

are

affe

cte

d b

y th

e s

ectio

n, e

xcept th

ose o

f the a

gency fa

iling th

e e

ffect

the re

quire

d p

ublic

atio

n. T

hat a

gency w

ill lose th

e rig

ht to

rely

on

the

un

dis

clo

se

d s

tatu

tory

exe

mp

tion

. A

s a

resu

lt of th

is p

rovis

ion

, for th

e firs

t time

the

Co

ng

ress a

nd

th

e p

ublic

will h

ave a

com

pre

hensiv

e g

uid

e to

what is

on th

e s

tat-

ute

books w

ithin

the a

mbit o

f sectio

n (b

)(3). T

he p

ublic

and th

e

•

34

Co

ng

ress, thu

s, will b

e a

ble

to e

va

lua

te th

e e

ffect o

f the

(bX

3) e

x-

em

ptio

n o

n th

e F

O1A

.

RE

GU

LA

TO

RY

IMP

AC

T

In c

om

plia

nce w

ith s

ubsectio

n 1

1(b

) of ru

le X

XV

I of th

e S

tandin

g

Rule

s o

f the S

enate

, the C

om

mitte

e fin

ds th

at th

e b

usin

ess c

onfi-

dentia

lity p

rocedure

s o

f S. 1

730 w

ill substa

ntia

lly im

pro

ve th

e p

ro-

tectio

n o

f trad

e s

ecre

ts a

nd

oth

er v

alu

ab

le c

om

me

rcia

l info

rma

tion

su

bm

itted

to th

e G

ove

rnm

en

t by re

gu

late

d b

usin

esse

s. T

his

sh

ou

ld

en

ha

nce

the

eco

no

mic

po

sitio

n o

f bu

sin

esse

s a

nd

ind

ivid

ua

ls w

ho

h

ave

in

the p

ast o

r mig

ht h

ave p

ossib

ly in

the fu

ture

lost s

uch

trad

e s

ecre

ts o

r pro

prie

tary

info

rma

tion

to a

co

mp

etito

r or s

om

e

oth

er re

qu

este

r pu

rsu

an

t to a

n F

OIA

req

ue

st. T

he

Co

mm

ittee

als

o

finds th

at S

. 1730 w

ill impro

ve p

ers

onal p

rivacy p

rote

ctio

ns fo

r every

indiv

idual a

bout w

hom

the G

overn

ment m

ain

tain

s in

form

a-

tion

. Fin

ally

, the

Co

mm

ittee

find

s th

at n

o a

dd

ition

al p

ap

erw

ork

w

ill be re

quire

d o

f regula

ted b

usin

esses o

r indiv

iduals

, but th

at th

e

bill im

pro

ve

s p

rote

ctio

ns fo

r pe

rso

na

l priv

acy a

nd

co

mm

erc

ial in

-fo

rmatio

n.

CO

ST

ES

TIM

AT

E

In a

cco

rda

nce

with

pa

rag

rap

h 1

1(a

), rule

XX

VI o

f the

Sta

nd

ing

R

ule

s o

f the S

enate

, the c

om

mitte

e o

ffers

the fo

llow

ing re

port o

f th

e C

ongre

ssional B

udget O

ffice:

U.S

CO

NG

RE

SS

,

CO

NG

RE

SS

ION

AL

BU

DG

ET

0/4

ICE

,

Wa

sh

ing

ton

, DC

, Ju

ly 1

1, 1

98

3.

Ho

n. &

mo

m T

HU

RM

ON

D,

Ch

airm

un

, Co

mm

ittee o

n th

e J

ud

icia

ry,

U.S

. Se

na

te, W

as

hin

gto

n, D

.C.

DE

AR

MR

. CH

AIR

MA

N: P

urs

ua

nt to

Sectio

n 4

03 o

f the C

ongre

s-

sio

na

l Bu

dg

et A

ct o

f 19

74

, the

Co

ng

ressio

na

l Bu

dg

et O

ffice

ha

s re

-vie

wed S

. 774, th

e F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n R

efo

rm A

ct, a

s o

rdere

d

reporte

d b

y th

e S

enate

Com

mitte

e o

n th

e J

udic

iary

, June 1

6, 1

983.

The b

ill require

s th

e O

ffice o

f Managem

ent a

nd B

udget (O

MB

) to

esta

blis

h a

un

iform

fee

stru

ctu

re to

co

ve

r ce

rtain

co

sts

to th

e fe

de

r-al g

overn

ment re

sultin

g fro

m th

e F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct

(FO

IA). F

ed

era

l ag

en

cie

s a

re to

use

the

OM

B fe

e g

uid

elin

es in

co

n-

stru

ctin

g re

gula

tions g

overn

ing th

e p

rocessin

g o

f requests

for in

for-

ma

tion

. Th

e fe

es c

olle

cte

d u

nd

er th

e b

ill are

to b

e a

de

qu

ate

to

co

ve

r the

co

sts

of p

roce

ssin

g th

e re

qu

ests

. In a

dd

ition

, the

bill re

-q

uire

s fe

de

ral a

ge

ncie

s to

pro

vid

e d

ocu

me

nts

free

of c

ha

rge

wh

en

th

e c

ost o

f co

llectin

g a

fee

exce

ed

s th

e a

mo

un

t tha

t wo

uld

be

co

l-le

cte

d. F

ed

era

l ag

en

cie

s a

re a

lso

allo

we

d to

red

uce

or w

aiv

e th

e fe

e

in e

ases w

here

rele

asin

g th

e in

form

atio

n w

ill prim

arily

benefit th

e

pu

blic

rath

er th

an

the

priv

ate

or c

om

me

rcia

l inte

rests

of th

e p

arty

m

akin

g th

e re

qu

est. T

he

bill a

lso a

llow

s ag

en

cies to

colle

ct fee

s cov-

erin

g n

inn

y o

f the

costs o

f pro

cessin

g a

n a

pplic

atio

n. C

onfid

entia

l in

form

atio

n p

rovid

ed to

the g

overn

ment b

y b

usin

ess c

oncern

s is

af-

ford

ed in

cre

ased p

rote

ctio

n u

nder th

e b

ill. The b

ill als

o in

cre

ases

the

fed

era

l go

ve

rnm

en

t's rig

ht to

with

ho

ld c

erta

in in

form

atio

n

36

from

the p

ublic

, inclu

din

g c

erta

in te

chnic

al d

ata

and m

any S

ecre

t S

ervice

reco

rds.

The c

ost o

f adm

inis

terin

g th

e F

reedom

of In

form

atio

n A

ct a

re

hig

hly

un

ce

rtain

, an

d n

o c

om

pre

he

nsiv

e d

ata

are

ava

ilab

le. B

ase

d

on in

form

atio

n p

rovid

ed b

y th

e J

ustic

e D

epartm

ent, it a

ppears

that.

the

dire

ct c

ost o

f ad

min

iste

ring

the

act is

at le

st $

60

millio

n a

ye

ar.

Assu

min

g th

is le

ve

l of c

osta

, the

bill is

exp

ecte

d to

sa

ve

the

fed

era

l g

ove

rnm

en

t at le

ast $

10

millio

n a

ye

ar—

thro

ug

h th

e e

sta

blis

hm

en

t of a

unifo

rm fe

e s

chedule

, recovery

of a

portio

n o

f the c

ost o

f pro

c-

essin

g a

n a

pp

lica

tion

, va

riou

s a

pp

lica

nt e

xclu

sio

ns, a

nd

an

an

tici-

pate

d d

eclin

e in

the u

se o

f FO

IA re

sultin

g fro

m h

igher fe

es. H

ow

-e

ve

r, in v

iew

of th

e u

nce

rtain

co

sta

of F

OIA

an

d th

e la

ck o

f info

r-m

atio

n o

n th

e fe

e g

uid

elin

es O

MB

will e

ve

ntu

ally

pro

po

se

, the

sa

v-

ing

s re

su

lting

from

this

bill c

ou

ld b

e s

ign

ifica

ntly

gre

ate

r. E

na

ctm

en

t of th

is b

ill wo

uld

no

t affe

ct th

e b

ud

ge

ts o

f sta

te a

nd

lo

ca

l go

ve

rnm

en

ts.

Should

the C

om

mitte

e s

o d

esire

, we w

ould

be p

leased to

pro

vid

e

furth

er d

eta

ils o

n th

is e

stim

ate

. S

ince

rely

,

CH

AN

GE

S IN

EX

IST

ING

LA

W

In c

om

plia

nce

with

su

bse

ctio

n (1

2) o

f rule

XX

VI o

f the

Sta

nd

ing

R

ule

s o

f the

Se

na

te, c

ha

ng

es in

exis

ting

law

ma

de

by S

. 77

4 a

re a

s

follo

ws: E

xis

ting

law

pro

po

se

d to

be

om

itted

is e

nclo

se

d in

bla

ck

bra

ckets

, new

mate

rial is

prin

ted in

italic

, exis

ting la

w in

whic

h n

o

cha

ng

e is p

rop

ose

d is sh

ow

n in

rom

an

.

TIT

LE

5-GO

VE

RN

ME

NT

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

A

ND

EM

PL

OY

EE

S •

•

SU

BC

HA

PT

ER

II—A

DM

INIS

TR

AT

IVE

PR

OC

ED

UR

E

56

1, D

efin

itign

s.

66

2. P

ub

lic in

form

atio

n; a

ge

ncy ru

les, o

pin

ion

s, o

rde

rs, re

co

rds, a

nd

pro

ce

ed

ing

s

662a. R

ecord

. about in

div

iduals

. 552h. O

pen m

eetin

gs

66

9. R

ule

ma

kin

g.

654. A

dju

dic

atio

ns.

655 A

ncilla

ry m

atte

rs.

66

8 H

ea

ring

.; pre

sid

ing

em

plo

ye

es; p

ow

ers

an

d d

utie

s; b

urd

en

of p

roo

f; evid

en

ce

; re

cord

as b

asis o

f de

cision

. 6

57

. Initia

l de

cis

ion

s; c

on

clu

siv

en

ess; re

vie

w b

y a

ge

ncy; s

ub

mis

sio

ns b

y p

artie

s; c

on

- te

nt. o

f de

cis

ion

s re

co

rd.

558. Im

positio

n o

f unctio

ns, d

ete

rmin

atio

n o

f applic

atio

n. fo

r licenses; e

usperu

sio

n,

revo

ca

tion

, an

d e

xp

iratio

n o

f lice

nse

s.

669. E

ffect o

n o

ther ta

ws; e

ffect o

f subsequent s

tatu

te.

• •

•

NA

NC

Y M

. GO

RD

ON

(Fo

r Alic

e M

. Riv

lin, D

irecto

r).

36

I/ 65

2. P

ub

lic in

form

atio

n; a

ge

ncy ru

les, o

pin

ion

s, o

rde

rs, re

co

rds,

an

d p

roce

ed

ing

s

(al E

ach

ag

en

cy s

ha

ll ma

ke

ava

ilab

le to

the

pu

blic

info

rma

tion

as

follo

ws: (1

) Each a

gency s

hall s

epara

tely

sta

te a

nd c

urre

ntly

publis

h

in th

e F

ed

era

l Re

gis

ter fo

r the

gu

ida

nce

of th

e p

ub

lic—

(A) d

escrip

tions o

f its c

entra

l and fie

ld o

rganiz

atio

n a

nd

the e

sta

blis

hed p

laces a

t whic

h, th

e e

mplo

yees (a

nd in

the

case o

f a u

nifo

rmed s

erv

ice, th

e m

em

bers

) from

whom

, and

the m

eth

ods w

here

by, th

e p

ublic

may o

bta

in in

form

atio

n,

ma

ke s

ub

mitta

ls o

r req

uests

, or o

bta

in d

ecis

ion

s;

(l)) sta

tem

en

ts o

f the

ge

ne

ral c

ou

rse

an

d m

eth

od

by

whic

h its

functio

ns a

re c

hannele

d a

nd d

ete

rmin

ed, in

clu

d-

ing

the

na

ture

an

d re

qu

irem

en

ts o

f all fo

rma

l an

d in

for-

nia

l pro

ce

du

res a

va

ilab

le;

(C) ru

les o

f pro

cedure

, descrip

tions o

f form

s a

vaila

ble

or

the

pla

ce

s a

t wh

ich

form

a m

ay b

e o

bta

ine

d, a

nd

instru

c-

tion

s a

s to

the s

co

pe a

nd

conte

nts

of a

ll pa

pe

rs, re

po

rts, o

r exam

inatio

ns;

(D) s

ub

sta

ntiv

e ru

les o

f ge

ne

ral a

pp

lica

bility

ad

op

ted

as auth

oriz

ed b

y la

w, a

nd s

tate

ments

of g

enera

l polic

y o

r in-

terp

reta

tions o

f genera

l applic

ability

form

ula

ted a

nd

adopte

d b

y the a

gency; a

nd

El e

ach

am

en

dm

en

t, revis

ion

, or re

pe

al o

f the

fore

go

ing

. E

xce

pt to

the

exte

nt th

at a

pe

rso

n h

as a

ctu

al a

nd

time

ly n

otic

e

of th

e te

rms th

ere

of, a

pe

rso

n m

ay n

ot in

an

y m

an

ne

r be

re-

quire

d to

resort to

ur b

e a

dvers

ely

affe

cte

d b

y, a

matte

r re-

quire

d to

be p

ublis

hed in

the F

edera

l Regis

ter a

nd n

ot s

o p

ub-

lish

ed

. Fo

r the

pu

rpo

se

of th

is p

ara

gra

ph

, ma

tter re

aso

na

bly

availa

ble

to th

e c

lass o

f pers

ons a

ffecte

d th

ere

by is

deem

ed

publis

hed in

the F

edera

l Regis

ter w

hen in

corp

ora

ted b

y re

fer-

en

ce

the

rein

with

the

ap

pro

va

l of th

e D

irecto

r of th

e F

ed

era

l R

eg

ister.

(2) E

ach

ag

en

cy, in

acco

rda

nce

with

pu

blis

he

d ru

les, s

ha

ll m

ake a

vaila

ble

fur p

ublic

inspectio

n a

nd c

opyin

g—

(A

) fin

al o

pin

ion

s, in

clu

din

g c

on

cu

rring

an

d d

isse

ntin

g

opin

ions, a

s w

ell a

s o

rders

, made in

the a

dju

dic

atio

n o

f cases;

(B) th

ose s

tate

ments

of p

olic

y a

nd in

terp

reta

tions w

hic

h

have b

een a

dopte

d b

y th

e a

gency a

nd a

re n

ot p

ublis

hed in

th

e F

edera

l Regis

ter; a

nd

(C) a

dm

inis

trativ

e s

taff m

an

ua

ls a

nd

instru

ctio

ns to

sta

ff th

at a

ffect a

mem

ber o

f the p

ublic

; u

nle

ss th

e m

ate

riels

ore

pro

mp

tly p

ub

lish

ed

an

d c

op

ies o

ffere

d

fur s

ale

. To th

e e

xte

nt re

quire

d to

pre

vent a

cle

arly

unw

ar-

rante

d in

vasio

n o

f pers

onal p

rivacy, a

n a

gency m

ay d

ele

te

ide

ntify

ing

de

tails

wh

en

it ma

ke

s a

va

ilab

le o

r pu

blis

he

s a

n

opin

ion, s

tate

ment o

f polic

y, in

terp

reta

tion, o

r sta

ff manual o

r in

stru

ctio

n. H

ow

eve

r, in e

ach

ca

se

the

justific

atio

n fo

r the

de

-le

ctio

n s

ha

ll be

exp

lain

ed

fully

in w

riting

. Ea

ch

ag

en

cy s

ha

ll als

o m

ain

tain

and m

ake a

vaila

ble

for p

ublic

inspectio

n a

nd

co

pyin

g c

urre

nt in

de

xe

s p

rovid

ing

ide

ntify

ing

info

rma

tion

for

the

pu

blic

as to

an

y m

atte

r issu

ed

, ad

op

ted

, or p

rom

ulg

ate

d

37

afte

r Ju

ly 4

, 19

67

, an

d re

qu

ired

by th

is p

ara

gra

ph

to b

e m

ad

e

availa

ble

or p

ublis

hed. E

ach a

gency s

hall p

rom

ptly

publis

h,

quarte

rly o

r more

freq

ue

ntly

, an

d d

istrib

ute

(by s

ale

or o

the

r-w

ise) co

pie

s of each

index o

r supple

ments

there

to u

nle

ss it d

e-

term

ine

s b

y a

ord

er p

ub

lish

ed

in th

e F

ed

era

l Re

gis

ter th

at th

e

pu

blic

atio

n w

ou

ld b

e u

nn

ecessary and im

pra

ctic

able

in w

hic

h

case th

e a

ge

ncy s

ha

ll no

ne

the

less p

rovid

e c

op

ies o

f su

ch

ind

ex

on re

quest a

t a c

ost n

ot to

exceed the d

irect c

ost o

f duplic

atio

n.

A fin

al o

rde

r, op

inio

n, s

tate

me

nt o

f po

licy in

terp

reta

tion

or

sta

ff ma

nu

al o

r instru

ctio

n th

at a

ffects

a m

em

be

r of th

e p

ub

lic

ma

y b

e re

lied

on

, use

d, o

r cite

d a

s p

rece

de

nt b

y a

n a

ge

ncy

again

st a

party

oth

er th

an a

n a

gency o

nly

if- (i) it h

as b

een in

dexed a

nd e

ither m

ade a

vaila

ble

or p

ub-

lished a

s p

rovid

ed b

y th

is p

ara

gra

ph; o

r (ii)

the

pa

rty h

as a

ctu

al a

nd

time

ly n

otic

e o

f the

term

s

the

reo

f. [(3

) Exce

pt w

ith re

sp

ect to

the

reco

rds m

ad

e a

va

ilab

le u

nd

er

pa

rag

rap

hs (1

) an

d (2

) of th

is s

ub

se

ctio

n, e

ach

ag

en

cy, u

po

n

an

y re

qu

est fo

r reco

rds w

hic

h (A

) rea

so

na

ble

de

scrib

es s

uch

re

co

rds a

nd

(B) is

ma

de

in a

cco

rda

nce

with

pu

blis

he

d ru

les

sta

ting th

e tim

e, p

lace, fees (if a

ny), a

nd p

rocedure

s to

be fo

l-lo

wed, s

hall m

elte

the re

cord

s p

rom

ptly

availa

ble

to a

ny

pe

rso

n.]

(9X

A) E

xcept w

ith resp

ect to th

e record

s mad

e available u

nd

er p

aragrap

hs (1) an

d (2) o

f this su

bsectio

n, each

agen

cy, up

on

any

requ

est by a req

uester w

ho

is a Un

ited S

tates perso

n fo

r record

s w

hic

h (1

) rea

so

na

bly

de

sc

ribe

s s

uc

h re

co

rds

an

d (ii) is

ma

de

in

acco

rdan

ce w

ith p

ub

lish

ed

rule

s s

tatin

g th

e tim

e, p

lace, fe

es o

f an

y), a

nd

pro

ced

ure

s to

be fie

llow

ed

, sh

all m

ake th

e re

cord

s p

rom

ptly availab

le to th

e requ

ester. (B

) Th

e tim

e lim

its p

rescrib

ed

in s

ub

para

gra

ph

(A) o

f para

-g

rap

h (6

) sh

all b

e to

lled

wh

en

ever th

e re

qu

este

r (or a

ny p

ers

on

o

n w

ho

se b

eh

alf th

e re

qu

est is

md

de) is

a p

arty

to a

ny o

ng

oin

g

jud

icia

l pro

ce

ed

ing

or a

dm

inis

trativ

e a

dju

dic

atio

n in

wh

ich

the

G

overn

men

t is also a p

arty and

may b

e requ

ested to

pro

du

ce the

rec

ord

s s

ou

gh

t. No

thin

g in

this

su

bp

ara

gra

ph

sh

all b

e c

on

• stru

ed

to b

ar (i) a

req

uest fo

r an

y re

co

rds w

hic

h a

re n

ot re

late

d

to th

e s

ub

jec

t ma

tter o

f su

ch

pe

nd

ing

pro

ce

ed

ing

, or (ii) a

re-

qu

es

t for a

ny

rec

ord

s w

hic

h h

av

e b

ee

n d

en

ied

to a

pa

rty in

the

co

urs

e o

f a ju

dic

ial p

roceed

ing

or a

dm

inis

trativ

e a

dju

dic

atio

n

that is n

o lo

ng

er pen

din

g.

(C) T

he A

ttorn

ey G

en

era

l, in a

cco

rdan

ce w

ith p

ub

lic ru

lem

ak-

ing

pro

cedu

res set forth

in sectio

n 553 o

f this title, m

ay by reg

u.

lotio

n p

rescrib

e s

uch

limita

tion

s o

r co

nd

ition

s o

n th

e e

xte

nt to

w

hich

and

on

the circu

mstan

ces or m

ann

er in w

hich

record

s re-q

ueste

d u

nd

er th

is p

ara

gra

ph

or u

nd

er s

ectio

n 5

52a o

f this

title

sh

all b

e m

ad

e a

vaila

ble

to re

qu

este

rs w

ho

are

pers

on

s im

pris

-o

ne

d u

nd

er s

en

ten

ce

for a

felo

ny

un

de

r Fe

de

ral o

r Sta

te la

w o

r w

ho

are

rea

so

na

bly

be

liev

ed

to b

e re

qu

es

tin4

rec

ord

s o

n b

eh

alf

of su

ch p

erson

s, as he fin

ds to

be (i) ap

pro

pn

ate in th

e interests

of la

w e

nfo

rce

me

nt, o

r fore

ign

rela

tion

s o

r na

tion

al d

efe

ns

e, o

r o

f the e

fficie

nt a

dm

inis

tratio

n o

f this

sectio

n, a

nd

(ii) no

t in

dero

gatio

n o

f the p

ub

lic info

rmatio

n p

urp

oses o

f this sectio

n_

39

Iii) With

respect to

searc

h a

nd d

uplic

atio

n c

harg

es, d

ocu-

ments

shall b

e fu

rnis

hed w

ithout c

harg

e o

r at a

reduced c

harg

e

where

the a

gency d

ete

rmin

es th

at w

aiv

er o

r reductio

n o

f the fe

e

is in

the p

ublic

inte

rest b

ecause fu

rnis

hin

g th

e in

form

atio

n c

an

be c

onsid

ere

d a

s p

rimarily

benefitin

g th

e g

enera

l public

and n

ot

the c

om

merc

ial o

r oth

er p

rivate

inte

rests

of th

e re

queste

r. With

respect to

all o

ther c

harg

es, d

ocum

ents

shall b

e fu

rnis

hed w

ith-

out su

ch ch

arg

es w

here

the a

gency d

ete

rmin

es th

at th

e in

form

a-

tion is

not re

queste

d fo

r a c

om

merc

ial u

se a

nd th

e re

quest is

bein

g m

ade b

y o

r on b

ehalf o

f (a) a

n in

div

idual, o

r educatio

nal,

or n

oncom

merc

ial s

cie

ntific

institu

tion, w

hose p

urp

ose is

schol-

arly

or s

cie

ntific

resea

rch; (b

) a re

pre

senta

tive o

f the n

ew

s

media

; or (c

) a n

onpro

fit gro

up th

at in

tends to

make th

e in

for-

motio

n a

vaila

ble

to th

e g

enera

l public

. (iii) O

ne-h

alf o

f the fe

es c

olle

cte

d u

nder th

is s

ectio

n s

hall b

e

reta

ined b

y the co

llectin

g a

gency to

offse

t the co

sts of co

mplyin

g

with

this

sectio

n. T

he re

main

ing fe

es c

olle

cte

d u

nder th

is s

ec-

tion s

hall b

e re

mitte

d to

the T

reasury

's g

enera

l fund a

s m

iscel-

laneous re

ceip

ts, e

xcept th

at a

ny a

gency d

ete

rmin

ed u

rn a

n in

-

vestig

atio

n a

nd report.

G

by th

e (,e

nro

l Accountin

g Offic

e o

r the

Office

of M

anage-m

eat a

nd B

udget n

ut to

have

been in

substa

n-

tial c

om

plia

nce w

ith th

e a

pplic

able

lime lim

its o

f para

gra

ph (6

)

of th

is s

ubsectio

n s

hall n

ot th

ere

afte

r reta

in a

ny su

ch fe

es u

ntil

dete

rmin

ed b

y th

e a

gency m

akin

g s

uch fin

din

g to

be in

substa

n-

tial c

om

plia

nce.

[(B) O

n c

om

pla

int, th

e d

istric

t court o

f the U

nite

d S

tate

s in

the d

istric

t in w

hic

h th

e c

om

pla

inant re

sid

es, o

r has h

is p

rinci-

pal p

lace o

f busin

ess, o

r in w

hic

h th

e a

gency re

cord

s a

re s

itu-

ate

d, o

r in th

e D

istric

t of C

olu

mbia

, has ju

risdic

tion to

enjo

in

the a

gency fro

m w

ithhold

ing a

gency re

cord

s im

pro

perly

with

-

held

from

the c

om

pla

inant. In

such a

case th

e c

ourt s

hall d

e-

term

ine th

e m

atte

r de n

ovo, a

nd m

ay e

xam

ine th

e c

onte

nts

of

such a

gency re

cord

s in

cam

era

to d

ete

rmin

e w

heth

er s

uch

record

s o

r any p

art th

ere

of s

hall b

e w

ithheld

under a

ny o

f the

exem

ptio

ns s

et fo

rth in

subsectio

n (b

) of th

is s

ectio

n, a

nd th

e

bu

rde

n is

on

the

ag

en

cy to

su

sta

in its

actio

n.]

(B) O

n c

om

pla

int file

d b

y a

requeste

r with

in o

ne h

undre

d

and e

ighty

days fro

m th

e d

ate

of fin

al a

gency a

ctio

n o

r by a

subm

itter a

fter a

final d

ecis

ion to

dis

clo

se s

ubm

itted in

form

a-

tion b

ut p

rior to

its re

lease, th

e d

istric

t court o

f the U

nite

d

Sta

tes in

the d

istric

t in w

hic

h th

e c

om

pla

inant re

sid

es, o

r has

his

prin

cip

al p

lace o

f busin

ess, o

r in w

hic

h th

e a

gency re

cord

s

are

situ

ate

d, o

r in th

e D

istric

t of C

olu

mbia

, has ju

risdic

tion-

(i) to e

njo

in th

e a

gency fro

m w

ithhold

ing a

gency re

cord

s

an

d to

ord

er th

e p

rod

uctio

n o

f an

y ag

en

cy reco

rds im

pro

pe

r-

ly w

ithh

eld

from

the

req

ue

ste

r; (ii)

to e

njo

in th

e a

ge

ncy fro

m a

ny d

isclo

su

re. o

f reco

rds

wh

ich

wa

s o

bje

cte

d to

by a

su

bm

itter u

nd

er p

ara

gra

ph

(7X

AX

ii) or w

hic

h w

ou

ld h

ave

be

en

ob

jecte

d to

ha

d n

otic

e

been g

iven a

s require

d b

y para

gra

ph (2

)(AX

D; o

r (iii)

to e

njo

in th

e a

gency fro

m fa

iling to

perfo

rm its

dutie

s under se

ctions (a

) (1) a

nd (&

t (C

) In a

n a

ction b

ase

d o

n a

co

mp

lain

t-

38

IftIMM

In o

rder to

carry

out th

e p

rovis

ions o

f this

sectio

n,

each a

gency s

hall p

rom

ulg

ate

regula

tions, p

urs

uant to

notic

e

and re

ceip

t of p

ublic

com

ments

, specify

ing a

unifo

rm s

chedule

of fe

es a

pplic

able

to a

ll constitu

ent u

nits

of s

uch a

gency. S

uch

fees s

hall b

e lim

ited to

reasonable

sta

ndard

charg

es fo

r docu-

ment s

earc

h a

nd d

uplic

atio

n a

nd p

rovid

e fo

r recovery

of o

nly

the d

irect c

osts

of s

uch s

earc

h a

nd d

uplic

atio

n, D

ocum

ents

shall b

e fu

rnis

hed w

ithout c

harg

e o

r at a

reduced c

harg

e

whe

re th

e a

gency d

ete

rmin

es th

at w

aiv

er o

r red

uctio

n o

f the

lee is

in th

e p

ublic

inte

rest b

ecause fu

rnis

hin

g th

e in

form

atio

n

ca

n b

e c

onsid

ere

d a

s p

rimarily

ben

efitin

g th

e g

en

era

l pu

blic

.]

(4)(A

ltil In o

rder to

curry

out th

e p

rovis

ions o

f this

sectio

n,

each a

gency s

hall p

rom

ulg

ate

regula

tions, p

urs

uant to

notic

e

and re

ceip

t of p

ublic

com

ment, s

pecify

ing th

e s

chedule

of fe

es

applic

able

to th

e p

rocessin

g o

f requests

under th

is s

ectio

n a

nd

esta

blis

hin

g p

rocedure

s a

nd g

uid

elin

es fo

r dete

rmin

ing w

hen

such fe

es s

hould

be w

aiv

ed o

r reduced. S

uch s

chedule

s s

hall

confo

rm to

the g

uid

elin

es w

hic

h s

hall b

e p

rom

ulg

ate

d, p

ura

u-

ma to

notic

e a

nd re

ceip

t of p

ublic

com

ment, b

y th

e O

ffice o

f

Managem

ent a

nd B

udget a

nd w

hic

h s

hall p

rovid

e fo

r a w

it-

_ fo

rm sch

edule

of fe

es fo

r all a

gencie

s. Such

regula

tions—

(a) s

hall p

rovid

e fo

r the p

aym

ent o

f all c

osts

reasonably

and d

irectly

attrib

uta

ble

to

re

spondin

g to

the re

quest,

whic

h s

hall in

clu

de re

asonable

sta

ndard

charg

es fo

r the

costs o

f service

s by a

gency p

erso

nnel in

search

, duplica

tion,

and o

ther p

rocessin

g o

f the re

quest. T

he te

rm "p

rocessin

g"

do

es n

ot in

clu

de

se

rvic

es o

f ag

en

cy p

ers

on

ne

l in re

so

lvin

g

issues o

f law

and p

olic

y o

f genera

l applic

ability

whic

h m

ay

be ra

ised b

y a re

quest, b

ut d

ues in

clude se

rvices in

volve

d in

exam

inin

g re

cord

s fo

r possib

le w

ithhold

ing o

r dele

tions to

carry

out d

ete

rmin

atio

ns o

f law

or p

olic

y. s

uch re

gula

tions

may a

lso p

rovid

e fo

r sta

ndard

ized c

harg

es fo

r cate

gorie

s o

f

requests h

avin

g sim

ilar p

roce

ssing ca

sts, (b

) shall p

rovid

e th

at n

o fe

e is

to b

e c

harg

ed b

y a

ny

agency w

ith re

spect to

any re

quest o

r serie

s o

f rela

ted re

-

quests w

heneve

r the co

sts of ro

utin

e co

llectio

n a

nd p

roce

ss-

ing

of th

e fe

e a

re lik

ely

to

equal o

r exceed th

e a

mount o

f

the fe

e, a

nd

Ic) in

the c

ase o

f any re

quest o

r serie

s o

f rela

ted re

quests

for re

cord

s c

onta

inin

g c

om

merc

ially

valu

able

technolo

gic

al

info

rmatio

n w

hic

h w

as g

enera

ted o

r pro

cure

d b

y th

e G

ov-

ern

ment a

t substa

ntia

l cost to

the p

ublic

, is lik

ely

to b

e

used fo

r a c

om

merc

ial p

urp

ose, a

nd w

ill depriv

e th

e G

ov-

ern

ment o

f its c

om

merc

ial v

alu

e, m

ay p

rovid

e fo

r the c

harg

-

ing o

f a fa

ir valu

e fe

e o

r royaltie

s, o

r both

, in a

dditio

n to

or

in lie

u o

f any p

rocessin

g fe

es o

therw

ise c

harg

eable

, takin

g

into

account s

uch fa

cto

rs a

s th

e e

stim

ate

d c

om

merc

ial

valu

e o

f the te

chnolo

gic

al in

form

atio

n, its

costs

to th

e G

ov-

ern

me

nt, a

nd

an

y p

ub

lic in

tere

st in

en

co

ura

gin

g its

utiliz

a-

tion.

Noth

ing in

this

subpara

gra

ph s

hall s

upers

ede fe

es c

harg

eable

under a

sta

tute

specific

ally

pro

vid

ing J

iff settin

g th

e le

vel o

f fees

fur p

artic

ula

r types o

f record

s.

40

(i) by a

requeste

r, the c

ourt s

hall h

ave ju

risdic

tion o

ver

an

y s

ub

mitte

r of in

form

atio

n c

on

tain

ed

in th

e re

qu

este

d

record

s, a

nd a

ny s

uch s

ubm

itter m

ay in

terv

ene a

s o

f right

in th

e a

ctio

n: a

nd

(ii)

by a

subm

itter, th

e c

ourt s

hall h

ave ju

risdic

tion o

ver

any re

queste

r of re

cord

s c

onta

inin

g in

form

atio

n w

hic

h th

e

su

bm

itter s

ee

ks to

ha

ve

with

he

ld, a

nd

an

y s

uch

req

ue

ste

r m

ay in

terv

en

e a

s o

f righ

t in th

e a

ctio

n.

(DI T

he a

gency th

at is

the s

ubje

ct o

f the c

om

pla

int S

hall

pro

mp

tly, u

po

n s

erv

ice

tile c

om

pla

int-

(i) se

ekin

g th

e p

rod

uctio

n o

f reco

rds, n

otify

ea

ch

su

bm

it-te

r of in

form

atio

n c

onta

ined in

the re

queste

d re

cord

s th

at

the c

om

pla

int w

as file

d; a

nd

(ii) se

ekin

g th

e w

ithh

old

ing

of re

co

rds, n

otify

ea

ch

re-

queste

r of th

e re

cord

s th

at th

e c

om

pla

int w

as file

d.

(E) In

any c

ase to

enjo

in th

e w

ithhold

ing o

r the d

isclo

sure

of

record

s, o

r the A

llure

to c

om

ply

with

subsectio

n (a

) (1) o

r (2),

the c

ourt s

hall d

ete

rmin

e th

e m

atte

r de n

ovo. T

he c

ourt m

ay e

x-

am

ine

the

con

ten

ts of re

qu

este

d a

ge

ncy re

cord

s in ca

me

ra to

de

-te

rmin

e w

he

the

r such

reco

rds o

r an

y p

art th

ere

of s

ha

ll be

with

-held

under a

ny o

f the e

xem

ptio

ns s

et fo

rth in

subsectio

n (b

) of

this

sectio

n. T

he b

urd

en is

on th

e a

gency to

susta

in its

actio

n to

w

ithh

old

info

rma

tion

an

d th

e b

urd

en

is o

n a

ny s

ub

mitte

r se

ek-

ing

the

with

ho

ldin

g o

f info

rma

tion

. [W

I] (F

) Notw

ithsta

ndin

g a

ny o

ther p

rovis

ion o

f law

, the

defe

ndant s

hall s

erv

e a

n a

nsw

er o

r oth

erw

ise p

lead to

any

com

pla

int m

ade u

nder th

is s

ubsectio

n w

ithin

thirty

days a

fter

serv

ice u

pon th

e d

efe

ndant o

f the p

leadin

g in

whic

h s

uch c

om

-pla

int's

made, u

nle

ss th

e c

ourt o

therw

ise d

irects

for g

ood c

ause

sho

wn

. [(D

)] (G

) Except a

s to

cases th

e c

ourt c

onsid

ers

of g

reate

r im

porta

nce, p

roceedin

gs b

efo

re th

e d

istric

t court, a

s a

uth

oriz

ed

by th

is s

ub

se

ctio

n, a

nd

ap

pe

als

the

refro

m, ta

ke

pre

ce

de

nce

on

th

e d

ocke

t ove

r all cases a

nd s

hall b

e a

ssig

ned fo

r hearin

g a

nd

trial o

r for a

rgum

ent a

t the e

arlie

st p

ractic

able

data

and e

xpe-

dite

d in

eve

ry w

ay.

[(E)]

(H) T

he

co

urt m

ay a

sse

ss a

ga

inst th

e U

nite

d S

tate

s o

r an

y s

ub

mitte

r who is

a p

arty

to th

e litig

atio

n re

asonable

atto

r-ney fe

es a

nd o

ther litig

atio

n c

ure

s re

asonably

incurre

d in

any

ca

se

un

de

r this

se

ctio

n in

wh

ich

the

[co

mp

lain

an

t] req

ue

ster

has s

ubsta

ntia

lly p

revaile

d.

[(F)]

(/) Whenever th

e c

ourt o

rders

the p

roductio

n o

f any

agency re

cord

s im

pro

perly

with

he

ld fro

m th

e c

om

pla

inant a

nd

assesses a

gain

st th

e U

nite

d S

late

s re

asonable

atto

rney fe

es

and o

ther litig

atio

n c

osta

, and th

e c

ourt a

dditio

nally

issues a

w

ritten

find

ing

sh

at th

e c

ircu

msta

nce

s s

urro

un

din

g th

e w

ith-

hold

ing ra

ise q

uestio

ns w

heth

er a

gency p

ers

onnel a

ctin

g a

rbi-

trarily

or c

apric

iously

with

respect to

the w

ithhold

ing, th

e S

pe-

cia

l Co

un

se

l sh

all p

rom

ptly

initia

te a

pro

ce

ed

ing

to d

ete

rmin

e

wheth

er d

iscip

linary

actio

n is

warra

nte

d a

gain

st th

e o

fficer o

r em

plo

yee w

ho w

as p

rimarily

responsib

le fo

r the w

ithhold

ing.

Th

e S

pe

cia

l Co

un

se

l, afte

r inve

stig

atio

n a

nd

co

nsid

era

tion

of

the

evid

en

ce

su

bm

itted

, sh

all s

ub

mit h

is fin

din

gs a

nd

.reco

rn-

me

nd

atio

ns to

the

ad

min

istra

tive

au

tho

rity o

f the

ag

en

cy c

on

-

41

ce

rne

d a

nd

sh

all s

en

d c

op

ies o

f the

find

ing

s a

nd

reco

mm

en

da

-tio

ns to

the

offic

er o

r em

plo

ye

e o

r his

rep

rese

nta

tive

. Th

e a

d-

min

istra

tive

au

tho

rity s

ha

ll take

the

co

rrectiv

e a

ctio

n th

at th

e

Sp

ecia

l Co

un

sel re

com

me

nd

s. [(G

)] 41) In

the

eve

nt o

f no

nco

mp

lian

ce

with

the

ord

er o

f th

e c

ourt, th

e d

istric

t court m

ay p

unis

h fo

r conte

mpt th

e re

-sp

on

sible

em

plo

yee

, an

d in

the

case of a

unifo

rmed s

erv

ice, th

e

resp

on

sible

me

mb

er.

(5) E

ach a

gency h

avin

g m

ore

than o

ne m

em

ber s

hall m

ain

-ta

in a

nd

ma

ke

ava

ilab

le fo

r pu

blic

insp

ectio

n a

reco

rd o

f the

fin

al vo

tes o

f ea

ch m

em

be

r in e

very a

ge

ncy p

roce

ed

ing

. [(6

)(A) E

ach

ag

en

cy, u

po

n a

ny re

qu

est fo

r reco

rds m

ad

e

underp

ara

gra

ph (1

), (2), o

r (3) o

f this

subsection, s

hall-

[(i) dete

rmin

e w

ithin

ten d

ays (e

xceptin

g S

atu

rdays,

Sundays, a

nd le

gal p

ublic

holid

ays) a

fter th

e re

ceip

t of a

ny

su

ch

req

ue

st w

he

the

r to c

om

ply

with

su

ch

req

ue

st a

nd

sh

all im

me

dia

tely

no

tify th

e p

ers

on

ma

kin

g s

uch

req

ue

st

of s

uch

de

term

ina

tion

an

d th

e re

aso

ns th

ere

for, a

nd

of th

e

righ

t of s

uch

pe

rso

n to

ap

pe

al to

the

he

ad

of th

e a

ge

ncy

any a

dvers

e d

ete

rmin

atio

n; a

nd

[(ii) m

ake a

dete

rmin

atio

n w

ith re

spect to

any a

ppeal

with

in tw

enty

days (e

xceptin

g S

atu

rdays, S

undays, a

nd

legal p

ublic

holid

ays) a

fter th

e re

ceip

t of s

uch a

ppeal. If o

n

ap

pe

al th

e d

en

ial o

f the

req

ue

st fo

r reco

rds is

in w

ho

le o

r in

part u

pheld

, the a

gency s

hall n

otify

the p

ers

on m

akin

g

su

ch

req

ue

st o

f the

pro

vis

ion

s fo

r jud

icia

l revie

w o

f tha

t dete

rmin

atio

n u

nder p

ara

gra

ph (4

) of th

is s

ubsectio

n.

[(B) in

unusual c

ircum

sta

nces a

s s

pecifie

d in

this

subpara

-gra

ph, th

e tim

e lim

its p

rescrib

ed in

eith

er c

lause (0

or c

lause

(ii) of s

ub

pa

rag

rap

h (A

) ma

y b

e e

xte

nd

ed

by w

ritten

no

tice

to

the

pe

rso

n m

akin

g s

uch

req

ue

st s

ettin

g fo

rth th

e re

aso

ns fo

r such e

xte

nsio

n a

nd th

e d

ate

on w

hic

h a

dete

rmin

atio

n is

ex-

pecte

d to

be d

ispatc

hed. N

o s

uch n

otic

e s

hall s

pecify

a d

ate

th

at w

ould

result in

an e

xte

nsio

n' fo

r more

than te

n w

ork

ing

days. A

s u

sed in

this

subpara

gra

ph, "u

nusual c

ircum

sta

nces"

me

an

s, b

ut o

nly

to th

e e

xte

nt re

aso

na

bly

ne

ce

ssa

ry to

the

pro

perp

rocessin

g o

f the p

artic

ula

r request-

[(i) the

ne

ed

to s

ea

rch

for a

nd

co

llect th

e re

qu

este

d

reco

rds fro

m fie

ld fa

cilitie

s o

r oth

er e

sta

blis

hm

en

ts th

at

are

separa

te fro

m th

e o

ffice p

roce

ssing th

e re

quest;

I(ii) the

ne

ed

to s

ea

rch

for, c

olle

ct, a

nd

ap

pro

pria

tely

ex-

am

ine a

volu

min

ous a

mount o

f separa

te a

nd d

istin

ct

reco

rds w

hich

are

de

ma

nd

ed

in a

sing

le re

qu

est; o

r [(iii)

the

ne

ed

for c

on

su

ltatio

n, w

hic

h s

ha

ll be

co

nd

ucte

d

with

all p

ractic

able

speed, w

ith a

noth

er a

gency h

avin

g a

substa

ntia

l inte

rest in

the d

ete

rmin

atio

n o

f the re

quest o

r a

mo

ng

two

or m

ore

co

mp

on

en

ts o

f the

ag

en

cy h

avin

g s

ub

-a

tan

tial s

ub

ject-m

atte

r inte

rest th

ere

in.

E(C

) An

y p

ers

on

ma

kin

g a

req

ue

st to

an

y a

ge

ncy fo

r reco

rds

un

de

r pa

rag

rap

h (1

), (2), o

r (3) o

f this

su

bse

ctio

n s

ha

ll be

deem

ed to

have e

xhauste

d h

is a

dm

inis

trativ

e re

medie

s w

ith re

-sp

ect to

su

ch

req

ue

st if th

e a

ge

ncy fa

ils to

co

mp

ly w

ith th

e a

p-

plic

ab

le tim

e lim

it pro

vis

ion

s o

f this

pa

rag

rap

h. If th

e G

ove

rn-

me

nt c

an

sh

ow

exce

ptio

na

l circ

um

sta

nce

s e

xis

t an

d th

at th

e

42

agency is e

xercisin

g d

ue d

iligence

in re

spondin

g to

the re

quest,

the c

ourt m

ay re

tain

juris

dic

tion a

nd a

llow

the a

gency a

ddi.

tional tim

e to

com

ple

te its re

view

of th

e re

cord

s, Upon a

ny de-

term

ina

tion

by a

n a

gency to

com

ply w

ith a

request fo

r reco

rds,

the re

cord

s shall b

e m

ade p

rom

ptly a

vaila

ble

to su

ch p

erso

n

makin

g su

ch re

quest. A

ny n

otifica

tion o

f denia

l of a

ny re

quest

for re

cord

s under th

is subse

ction sh

all se

t forth

the

na

me

s an

d

titles o

r positio

ns o

f each

perso

n re

sponsib

le fo

r the d

enia

l of

such

request.]

(OA

) Except a

s o

therw

ise p

rovid

ed in

this

para

gra

ph, e

ach

agency, u

pon a

ny re

quest fo

r reco

rds m

ade u

nder p

ara

gra

ph (1

),

(2), o

r 01 o

f this

subsectio

n, s

hall-

(i) dete

rmin

e w

ithin

ten w

ork

ing d

ays a

fter th

e re

ceip

t of

any s

uch

req

ue

st w

he

ther to

co

mply

with

such re

quest a

nd

shall im

media

tely

notify

the re

queste

r of s

uch d

ete

rmin

a.

lion a

nd th

e re

asons th

ere

for, a

nd o

f the rig

ht o

f such

pers

on to

appeal to

the h

ead o

f the a

gency a

ny a

dvers

e d

e-

term

inatio

n,- a

nd

fii) make

a dete

rmin

atio

n w

ith re

spect to

any a

ppeal

with

in tw

enty

work

ing d

ays a

fter th

e re

ceip

t of s

uch

appeal. If o

n a

ppeal th

e d

enia

l of th

e re

quest fo

r record

s is

in w

hole

or in

part u

pheld

, the a

gency s

hall n

otify

the re

-

queste

r of th

e p

rovis

ions fo

r judic

ial re

vie

w o

f that d

ete

rmi-

natio

n u

nder p

ara

gra

ph (4

) of th

is s

ubsectio

n.

(B) In

unusual c

ircum

sta

nces a

s d

efin

ed in

this

subpara

-

gra

ph, th

e tim

e lim

its p

rescrib

ed in

eith

er c

lause (1

) or c

lause

(ii) of s

ubpara

gra

ph (A

) may b

e e

xte

nded b

y w

ritten n

otic

e to

the re

queste

r settin

g fo

rth th

e re

asons fo

r such e

xte

nsio

n a

nd

the d

ate

on w

hic

h a

dete

rmin

atio

n is

expecte

d to

be d

ispatc

hed.

No s

uch n

otic

e s

hall s

pecify

a date

that w

ould

result in

exte

n-

sio

ns o

f more

than a

n a

ggre

gate

of th

irty w

ork

ing d

ays. A

s u

sed

in th

is s

ubpara

gra

ph, "u

nusual c

ircum

sta

nces" m

eans, b

ut o

nly

to th

e e

xtent re

aso

nably n

ece

ssary to

the p

roper p

roce

ssing o

f the

partic

ula

r request-

(i) the n

eed to

search

for a

nd co

llect th

e re

queste

d re

cord

s

from

field

facilitie

s o

r oth

er e

sta

blis

hm

ents

that a

re s

epa-

rate

.'r-otn

the office

pro

cessin

g th

e re

quest;

(ii the n

eed to

searc

h fo

r, colle

ct, a

nd a

ppro

pria

tely

ex-

am

ine a

volu

min

ous a

mount o

f separa

te a

nd d

istin

ct

records which

are

dem

anded in

a sin

gle

request;

the n

eed fo

r consulta

tion, w

hic

h s

hall b

e c

onducte

d

with

all p

ractic

al s

peed, w

ith a

noth

er a

gency h

avin

g a

sub-

sta

ntia

l inte

rest in

the d

ete

rmin

atio

n o

f the re

quest o

r

am

ong tw

o o

r more

com

ponents

of th

e a

gency h

avin

g s

ub-

sta

ntia

l subje

ct-m

atte

r inte

rest th

ere

in;

(iv) a re

quest w

hich

the h

ead o

f the a

gency h

as sp

ecifica

l-

ly s

tilted in

writin

g c

annot b

e p

rocessed w

ithin

the tim

e

limits

sla

ted in

para

gra

ph (O

A) w

ithout s

ignific

antly

ob-

stru

ctin

g o

r impairin

g th

e tim

ely

perfo

rmance o

f a s

tatu

-

tory a

gency fu

nctio

n;

(v) the

need fo

r notific

atio

n o

f sub

mitte

rs o

f info

rmatio

n

and fo

r consid

era

tion

of a

ny o

bje

ctio

ns to

dis

clo

su

re m

ad

e

by su

ch su

bm

itters; o

r

43

(vi) an u

nusually

larg

e v

olu

me o

f requests

or a

ppeals

at

an

ag

en

cy, crea

ting a

sub

stan

tial b

acklo

g.

(C) A

ny re

qu

este

r sh

all b

e d

ee

me

d to

ha

ve

exh

au

ste

d h

is a

d-

min

istra

tion

rem

ed

ies w

ith re

sp

ect to

su

ch

req

ue

st if th

e a

ge

ncy

fails

to c

om

ply

with

the a

pplic

able

time lim

it pro

vis

ions o

f this

para

gra

ph. If th

e G

overn

ment c

an s

how

exceptio

nal c

ircum

-

sta

nces a

nd th

at th

e a

gency is

exerc

isin

g d

ue d

iligence in

re-

spondin

g to

the re

quest, th

e c

ourt m

ay re

tain

juris

dic

tion a

nd

allo

w th

e a

gency a

dditio

nal tim

e to

com

ple

te its

revie

w o

f the

record

s. A

n a

gency s

hall n

ot b

e c

onsid

ere

d to

have v

iola

ted th

e

oth

erw

ise a

pplic

able

time lim

its u

ntil a

court ru

les o

n th

e is

sue.

(D)

Upon a

ny d

ete

rmin

atio

n b

y a

n a

ge

ncy to

co

mp

ly w

ith a

request fo

r record

s, th

e re

cord

s s

hall b

e m

ade p

rom

ptly

availa

-

ble

to th

e re

queste

r, subje

ct to

the p

rovis

ions o

f para

gra

ph (7

).

An

y n

otific

atio

n o

f de

nia

l of a

ny re

qu

est fo

r reco

rds u

nd

er th

is

subsectio

n s

hall s

et fo

rth th

e n

am

es a

nd title

s o

r positio

ns o

f

each

perso

n re

sponsib

le fo

r the d

enad.o

f such

request.

(E)

Each a

gency s

hall p

rom

ulg

ate

regula

tions, p

urs

uant to

no

tice

an

d re

ce

ipt o

f pu

blic

co

mm

en

t, by w

hic

h a

requeste

r who

dem

onstra

tes a

com

pellin

g n

eed fo

r exp

edite

d a

ccess to

reco

rds

shall b

e g

iven e

xpedite

d a

ccess.

(7X

A) E

ach

ag

eh

c-y

sh

all p

rom

ulg

ate

reg

ula

tion

s, p

urs

ua

nt to

notic

e a

nd re

ceip

t of public co

mm

ent, sp

ecifyin

g p

roce

dure

s by

whic

h-

(i) a s

ubm

itter m

ay b

e re

quire

d to

desig

nate

, at th

e tim

e

it subm

its o

r pro

vid

es to

the a

gency o

r there

afte

r, any in

for-

matio

n c

onsis

ting o

f trade s

ecre

ts, o

r com

merc

ial, re

searc

h,

fina

ncia

l, or b

usin

ess in

form

atio

n w

hic

h is

exe

mp

t from

disclo

sure

under su

bse

ction (b

X4);

(ii) th

e a

gency s

hall n

otify

the s

ubm

itter th

at a

request

has b

een m

ade fo

r info

rmatio

n p

rovid

ed b

y th

e s

ubm

itter,

with

in te

n w

ork

ing d

ays a

fter th

e re

ceip

t of s

uch re

quest,

and s

hall d

escrib

e th

e n

ata

rh a

nd s

cope o

f the re

quest a

nd

advis

e th

e s

ubm

itter o

f his

right to

subm

it writte

n o

bje

c-

tions in

resp

onse

to th

e re

quest;

(iii) th

e s

ubm

itter m

ay, w

ithin

ten w

ork

ing d

ays o

f the

forw

ard

ing o

f such n

otific

atio

n, s

ubm

it to th

e a

gency w

rit-

ten

ob

jectio

n to

such

disclo

sure

, specifyin

g a

ll gro

unds u

pon

whic

h it is

conte

nded th

at th

e in

form

atio

n s

hould

not b

e

disclo

sed; a

nd

(iv) th

e a

gency s

hall n

otify

the s

ubm

itter o

f any fin

al d

e-

cis

ion

reg

ard

ing

the

rele

ase

of s

uch

info

rma

tion

.

(B) A

n a

gency is

not re

quire

d to

notify

a s

ubm

itter p

urs

uant

to s

ubpara

gra

ph (A

) if- (i) th

e in

form

atio

n re

queste

d is n

ot d

esig

nate

d b

y the su

b-

mille

r as e

xem

pt fro

m d

isclosu

re in

acco

rdance

with

agency

regula

tions p

rom

ulg

ate

d p

urs

uant to

subpara

gra

ph (A

Xi), if

such

desig

natio

n is re

quire

d b

y the a

gency;

(ii) th

e a

gency d

ete

rmin

es, p

rior to

giv

ing s

uch n

otic

e,

that th

e re

quest s

hould

be d

enie

d; •

(iii) th

e d

isclo

sure

is re

quire

d b

y la

w (o

ther th

an th

is s

ec•

lion) a

nd th

e a

gency n

otifie

d th

e s

ubm

itter o

f the d

isclo

sure

require

ment p

rior to

the s

ubm

issio

n o

f the in

form

atio

n;

44

(iv) th

e in

form

atio

n la

wfu

lly h

as b

een

pu

blis

hed

or o

ther-

wis

e m

ad

e a

vaila

ble

to th

e p

ub

lic; o

r (id

the a

gen

cy is

a c

rimin

al la

w e

nfo

rcem

en

t ag

en

cy th

at

ac

qu

ired

the

info

rma

tion

in th

e c

ou

rse

of a

law

ful in

ve

sti-

. g

allo

n o

f po

ssib

le v

iola

tion

s o

f crim

inal la

w.

(C.) W

henever an a

ge

nc

y n

otifie

s a

su

bm

itter o

f the

rec

eip

t of a

re

qu

es

t pu

rsu

an

t to s

ub

pa

rag

rap

h (A

), the

ag

en

cy

sh

all n

otify

th

e re

qu

es

ter th

at th

e re

qu

es

t is s

ub

jec

t to th

e p

rov

isio

ns

of th

is

pa

rag

rap

h a

nd

tha

t no

tice

of th

e re

qu

es

t is b

ein

g g

ive

n to

a s

ub

-m

itter. Wh

enever a

n ag

en

cy n

otifie

s a

su

bm

itter o

f final d

eci-

sio

n p

urs

uan

t to s

ub

para

gra

ph

(A), th

e a

gen

cy s

hall a

t the s

am

e

lime n

otify th

e requ

ester of su

ch fin

al decisio

n.

(D) W

hen

ever a

su

bm

itter h

as file

d o

bje

ctio

ns to

dis

clo

su

re o

f in

form

atio

n p

urs

ua

nt to

su

bp

ara

gra

ph

(AX

iii), the

ag

en

cy

sh

all

no

t dis

clo

se a

ny s

uch

info

rmatio

n fo

r ten

wo

rkin

g d

ays a

fter

no

tice o

f the fin

al d

ecis

ion

to re

lease th

e re

qu

este

d in

form

atio

n

has b

een fo

rward

ed to

the su

bm

itter. (E

) Th

e agen

cy's disp

ositio

n o

f the req

uest an

d th

e sub

mitter 's

ob

jectio

ns s

hall b

e s

ub

ject to

jud

icia

l revie

w p

urs

uan

t to p

ura

-g

rup

h (4

) of th

is s

ub

sectio

n. If a

req

ueste

r files a

co

mp

lain

t u

nd

er th

is s

ectio

n, th

e a

dm

inis

trativ

e re

med

ies o

f a s

ub

mitte

r of in

form

atio

n c

on

tain

ed

in th

e • re

qu

es

ted

rec

ord

s s

ha

ll be

d

eemed

to h

ave been

exhau

sted.

(F)

No

thin

g in

this

para

gra

ph

sh

all b

e c

on

stru

ed

to b

e in

d

ero

ga

tion

of a

ny

oth

er rig

hts

es

tab

lish

ed

by

law

pro

tec

ting

the

co

n id

en

tiality

of p

rivate

info

rmatio

n.

ti,

( 1 In

an

y in

sta

nc

e in

wh

ich

a p

ortio

n o

f the

rec

ord

s re

qu

es

t-ed

un

der th

is sub

section

con

sists of n

ewsp

aper clip

pin

gs, u

tast:4- e

ine

artic

les

, or a

ny

oth

er ite

m w

hic

h is

a p

ub

lic re

co

rd o

r oth

-erw

ise a

vaila

ble

in p

ub

lic re

co

rds, th

e a

gen

cy m

ay o

ffer th

e re

-q

ueste

r a c

ho

ice o

f (A) fu

rnis

hin

g th

e re

qu

este

r with

an

ind

ex

iden

tifyin

g s

uch

clip

pin

gs, a

rticle

s, o

r oth

er ite

ms b

y d

ate

an

d

sou

rce, pro

vided

that su

ch in

de

x is

alre

ad

y in

existence, o

r (B)

no

twith

sta

nd

ing

the

wa

ive

r req

uire

me

nts

co

nta

ine

d in

this

se

c-

tion

, furn

ish

ing

the

req

ue

ste

r with

co

pie

s o

f su

ch

clip

pin

gs

, arti-

cles, or o

the

r item

s a

t the

rea

so

na

ble

sta

nd

ard

ch

arg

e fu

r du

pli-

cation

establish

ed in

the ag

ency's fee sch

edu

le. (9

) No

thin

g in

this

sectio

n s

hall b

e d

eem

ed

ap

plic

ab

le in

an

yway

to th

e in

form

an

t reco

rds m

ain

tain

ed

by a

law

en

forc

e-

men

t ag

en

cy

un

der a

n in

form

an

t's n

am

e o

r pers

on

al id

en

tifier,

wh

enever access

to su

ch

reco

rds is

so

ug

ht b

y a th

ird p

arty

acco

rdin

g to

the in

form

an

t's n

am

e o

r pers

tow

l identifie

r. I[(b

) Th

is s

ectio

n d

oe

s n

ut a

pp

ly to

ma

tters

tha

t are

—]

110 Th

e com

pu

lsory d

isclosu

re requ

iremen

ts of th

is section

do

no

t ap

ply

to m

atte

rs th

at a

re-

(1X

A) s

pecific

ally

auth

oriz

ed u

nder c

riteria

esta

blis

hed b

y a

n

Exe

cu

tive

ord

er to

be

ke

pt secret in

the

inte

rest o

f na

tion

al d

e-

. Tense o

r fore

ign p

olic

y a

nd (B

) are

in fa

ct p

roperly

cla

ssifie

d

pu

rsu

an

t to s

uch

Exe

cu

tive

ord

er;

(2) re

late

d s

ole

ly to

the

inte

rna

l pe

rso

nn

el ru

les a

nd

pra

c-

• lima o

f an a

gency[;], in

clu

din

g s

uc

h m

ate

rials

as (A

) ma

n-

nu

als

an

d in

stru

ctio

ns

to in

ve

stig

ato

rs, in

sp

ec

tors

, au

dito

rs, o

r n

eg

otia

tors

, to th

e e

xte

nt th

at d

isclo

su

re o

f sn

ch

man

uals

an

d

ins

truc

tion

s c

ou

ld re

as

on

ab

ly b

e e

xp

ec

ted

to je

op

ard

ize in

ve

sti-

45

gatio

ns, in

sp

ectio

ns, a

ud

its, o

r neg

otia

tion

s, a

nd

(B) e

xam

ina-

tion

mate

rial u

sed

so

lely

to d

ete

rmin

e in

div

idu

al q

ualific

atio

ns

for e

mp

loy

me

nt, p

rom

otio

n, o

r lice

ns

ing

to th

e e

xte

nt th

at d

is-

closu

re cou

ld reaso

nab

ly be exp

ected to

com

pro

mise th

e ob

jectiv-ity o

r fairness o

f the exam

inatio

n p

rocess;

(3) s

pecific

ally

exem

pte

d fro

m d

isclo

sure

by s

tatu

te (o

ther

tha

n s

ectio

n 5

52

b o

f this

title), p

rovid

ed

tha

t su

ch

sta

tute

(A)

require

s th

at th

e m

atte

rs b

e w

ithheld

from

the p

ublic

in s

uch

a m

anner a

s to

leave n

o d

iscre

tion o

n th

e is

sue, o

r (B) e

sta

b-

lishes p

artic

ula

r crite

ria fo

r with

hold

ing o

r refe

rs to

partic

ula

r ty

pe

s o

f ma

tters

to b

e w

ithh

eld

; (4

) trade s

ecre

ts a

nd c

om

merc

ial o

r financia

l info

rmatio

n o

b-

tain

ed

from

a_

pe

rso

n a

nd

priv

ileg

ed

or c

on

fide

ntia

l; (6

) inte

r-ag

en

cy o

r intra

-ag

en

cy m

em

ora

nd

um

s o

r lette

re

wh

ich

wo

uld

no

t be

ava

ilab

le b

y la

w to

a p

arty

oth

er th

an

an

agency in

litigatio

n w

ith th

e a

gency;

L(G

) pe

rso

nn

el a

nd

me

dic

al file

s a

nd

sim

ilar file

s th

e d

isclo

-sure

of w

hic

h w

ould

constitu

te a

cle

arly

unw

arra

nte

d in

vasio

n

of p

ers

onal p

rivacy;]

(6) rec

ord

s o

r info

rma

tion

co

nc

ern

ing

ind

ivid

ua

ls, in

clu

din

g

com

pilatio

ns o

r lists of n

ames an

d ad

dresses th

at cou

ld b

e used

fo

r so

licita

tion

pu

rpo

se

s, th

e re

lea

se

of w

hic

h c

ou

ld re

as

on

ab

ly

be exp

ected to

con

stitute a

cle

arly

un

wa

rran

ted

inv

as

ion

of p

er-

son

al privacy;

[(7) in

vestig

ato

ry re

cord

s c

om

pile

d fo

r law

enfo

rcem

ent p

ur-

poses, b

ut o

nly

to th

e e

xte

nt th

at th

e p

roductio

n o

f such

record

s w

ould

(A) in

terfe

re w

ith e

nfo

rcem

ent p

roceedin

gs, (B

) depriv

e a

pers

on o

f a rig

ht to

a fa

ir trial o

r an im

partia

l adju

-dic

atio

n, (C

) constitu

te a

n u

nw

arra

nte

d in

vasio

n o

f pers

onal

priv

acy, (D

) dis

clo

se th

e id

entity

of a

confid

entia

l sourc

e a

rid,

in th

e c

ase

of a

reco

rd c

om

pile

d b

y a

crim

ina

l law

en

forc

em

en

t auth

ority

in th

e c

ours

e o

f a c

rimin

al in

vestig

atio

n, o

r by a

n

ag

en

cy c

on

du

ctin

g a

law

ful n

atio

na

l se

cu

rity in

tellig

en

ce

in-

vestig

atio

n, c

onfid

entia

l info

rmatio

n fu

rnis

hed o

nly

by th

e c

on-

fidentia

l source

, (E) d

isclose

inve

stigative

tech

niq

ues a

nd p

roce

-dure

s, o

r (F) e

ndanger th

e life

or p

hysic

al s

afe

ty o

f law

enfo

rce-

ment p

ers

onnelj

(7) reco

rds o

r info

rmatio

n c

om

pile

d fo

r law

en

forc

em

en

t pu

r-p

os

es

, bu

t on

ly to

the

ex

ten

t tha

t the

pro

du

ctio

n o

f su

ch

law

en

-fo

rcemen

t record

s or in

form

ation

(A) co

uld

reason

ably b

e expect-

ed to

interfere w

ith en

forcem

ent p

roceed

ing

s, (13) wo

uld

dep

rive a

pe

rso

n o

f a rig

ht to

a fa

ir trial o

r an

imp

artia

l ad

jud

icatio

n,

(C) c

ou

ld re

as

on

ab

ly b

e e

xp

ec

ted

to c

on

stitu

te a

n u

nw

arra

nte

d

invasio

n o

f perso

nal p

rivacy, (D) co

uld

reason

ably b

e expected

to

dis

clo

se th

e id

en

tity o

f a c

on

fiden

tial s

ou

rce, in

clu

din

g a

Sta

te,

local, o

r fore

ign

ag

en

cy o

r au

tho

rity o

r an

y p

rivate

institu

tion

w

hic

h fu

rnis

he

d in

form

atio

n o

n a

co

nfid

en

tial b

as

is, a

nd

, in

the c

ase o

f a re

co

rd o

r info

rmatio

n c

om

pile

d b

y c

rimin

al la

w

en

forc

em

en

t au

tho

rity in

the c

ou

rse o

f a c

rimin

al in

vestig

atio

n

or b

y a

n a

gen

cy c

on

du

ctin

g a

law

ful n

atio

nal s

ecu

rity in

telli-

gen

ce in

vestig

atio

n, in

form

atio

n fu

rnis

hed

by a

co

nfid

en

tial

sou

rce, (E) w

ou

ld d

isclose tech

niq

ues an

d p

roced

ures fo

r law en

-fo

rce

me

nt in

ve

stig

atio

ns

or p

ros

ec

utio

ns

, or w

ou

ld d

isc

los

e

gu

idelin

es fo

r law

en

forc

em

en

t investig

atio

ns o

r pro

secu

tion

s if

46

such

disclo

sure co

uld

reaso

nab

ly be exp

ected to

risk circum

ven-

tion o

f the la

w, o

r (F) co

uld

reaso

nably b

e expected

to en

danger

the life o

r physica

l safety o

f any n

atu

ral p

erson;

(8) c

onta

ined o

r rela

ted to

exam

ina

tion

, op

era

ting

, or c

on

di-

tion re

ports

pre

pare

d b

y, o

n b

ehalf o

f, or fo

r the use

of a

n

agency re

sponsib

le fo

r the re

gula

tion o

r superv

isio

n o

f finan-

cia

l institu

tions; o

r (9

) ge

olo

gic

al a

nd g

eo

ph

ysic

al in

form

atio

n a

nd

da

ta, in

clu

d-

ing m

aps, co

nce

rnin

g w

ells.

(101 tech

nica

l data

that m

ay n

ot b

e exported

law

fully o

utsid

e th

e United

Sla

tes with

out a

n a

ppro

val, a

uth

oriza

tion, o

r a li-

cense u

nder F

edera

l export la

ws, u

nless reg

ula

tion p

rom

ulg

ated

u

nd

er such

law

s au

tho

rize the exp

ort o

f such

da

ta w

itho

ut re-

striction to

an

y perso

n a

nd

any d

estinatio

n; o

r ( l) reco

rds o

r info

rma

tion

ma

inta

ined

or o

rigin

ated

by th

e Secret S

ervice in co

nnectio

n w

ith its p

rotective fu

nctio

ns to

the

extent th

at th

e pro

ductio

n o

f such

record

s or in

form

atio

n co

uld

rea

sonably b

e expected

to a

dversely a

ffect the S

ervice's ability to

perform

its protective functions. A

ny re

aso

na

ble

se

gre

ga

ble

po

rtion

of a

reco

rd s

ha

ll be

pro

vid

ed

to

any p

ers

on re

questin

g s

uch re

cord

afte

r dele

tion o

f the p

ortio

ns

whic

h a

re e

xem

pt u

nder th

is s

ubsectio

n. In

determ

inin

g w

hich

por-

tions are reasonably segregable in the case of records containing ma-

terial co

vered b

y para

gra

phs (1

) or (7

) of th

is subsectio

n, th

e agen

cy m

ay co

nsid

er wheth

er the d

isclosu

re of p

articu

lar in

form

atio

n

would

, in th

e context o

f oth

er info

rmatio

n a

vaila

ble to

the req

uest-

er, cause th

e harm

specified

in su

ch p

ara

gra

ph.

(c) Noth

ing in

this sectio

n sh

all b

e deem

ed a

pplica

ble to

docu

-m

ents co

mpiled

in a

ny la

wfu

l investig

atio

n o

f org

anized

crime, d

es-ig

na

ted b

y the A

ttorn

ey Gen

eral fo

r the p

urp

oses o

f this su

bsectio

n

and co

nducted

by a

crinsin

ul la

w en

forcem

ent a

uth

ority fo

r law

en-

forcem

ent p

urp

oses, if th

e requested

docu

men

t was first g

enera

ted o

r acq

uired

by su

ch la

w en

forcem

ent a

uth

ority w

ithin

five years o

f the

date o

f the req

uest, excep

t where th

e agen

cy determ

ines p

ursu

ant to

reg

ula

tions p

rom

ulg

ated

by th

e Atto

rney G

enera

l that th

ere is an

overrid

ing p

ublic in

terest in ea

rlier disclo

sure o

r in lo

nger exclu

sion

not to

exceed th

ree years. N

otw

ithsta

ndin

g a

ny o

ther p

rovisio

n o

f lo

w, n

o d

ocu

men

t describ

ed in

the p

recedin

g sen

tence m

ay b

e de-

stroyed

or o

therw

ise disp

osed

of u

ntil th

e docu

men

t is ava

ilable fo

r d

isclosu

re in a

ccord

an

ce with

sub

section

s (a) a

nd

(b) o

f this sectio

n

for a period of not less than ten years. [lc)] (d

) Th

is s

ectio

n d

oe

s n

ot a

uth

oriz

e w

ithh

old

ing

of in

form

a-

tion

or lim

it the

ava

ilab

ility o

f reco

rds to

the

pu

blic

, exce

pt a

s s

pe

-cific

ally

ela

ted

in th

is s

ectio

n. T

his

se

ctio

n is

no

t au

tho

rity to

with

-hold

info

rmatio

n fro

m C

ongre

ss.

[RD

] (e) O

n o

r befo

re [M

arc

h]

Decem

ber 1

of e

ach

ca

len

da

r ye

ar, e

ach

ag

en

cy s

ha

ll su

bm

it a re

po

rt co

ve

ring

the

pre

ce

din

g

[ca

len

da

r] fiscal ye

ar to

the

Sp

ea

ke

r of th

e H

ou

se

of R

ep

rese

nta

-tiv

es a

nd

Pre

sid

en

t of th

e S

en

ate

for re

ferra

l to th

e a

pp

rop

riate

'c

om

mitte

es o

f the

Co

ng

ress. T

he

rep

ort s

ha

ll inclu

de

—

I) the n

um

ber o

f dete

rmin

atio

ns m

ade b

y s

uch a

gency n

ot

to c

om

ply

with

requests

for re

cord

s m

ade to

such a

gency u

nder

subse

ction (a

) and th

e re

aso

ns fo

r each

such

dete

rmin

atio

ns;

47

(2) th

e n

um

ber o

f appeals

made b

y p

ers

ons u

nder s

ubsectio

n

(a)(6

), the

resu

lt of s

uch a

ppeals

, and th

e re

ason fo

r the a

ctio

n

upon e

ach a

ppeal th

at re

sults

in a

denia

l of in

form

atio

n;

(3) th

e n

am

es a

nd title

s o

r positio

ns o

f each p

ers

on re

sponsi-

ble

fur th

e d

en

ial o

f reco

rds re

qu

este

d u

nd

er th

is s

ectio

n, a

nd

th

e n

um

ber o

f insta

nces o

f partic

ipatio

n fo

r each;

(4) th

e re

su

lts o

f ea

ch

pro

ce

ed

ing

co

nd

ucte

d p

urs

ua

nt to

su

b-

se

ctio

n (a

)(4)[(F

)](/), inclu

din

g a

rep

ort o

f the

dis

cip

lina

ry

-actio

n ta

ken a

gain

st th

e o

fficer o

r em

plo

yee w

ho w

as p

rimarily

re

sp

on

sib

le fo

r imp

rop

erly

with

ho

ldin

g re

co

rds o

r an

exp

lan

a-

tion o

f why d

iscip

linary

actio

n w

as n

ot ta

ken;

(5) a

copy o

f every

rule

made b

y s

uch a

gency re

gard

ing th

is

sectio

n;

(6) a

co

py o

f the

fee s

chedule

and th

e to

tal a

mount o

f fees

co

llecte

d b

y th

e a

ge

ncy fo

r ma

kin

g re

co

rds a

va

ilab

le u

nd

er th

is

sectio

n; a

nd

(7

) su

ch

oth

er in

form

atio

n a

s in

dic

ate

s e

fforts

to a

dm

inis

ter

fully

this

sectio

n.

Th

e A

ttorn

ey G

en

era

l sh

all s

ub

mit a

n a

nn

ua

l rep

ort o

n o

r be

fore

[M

arc

h] D

ecember 1

of e

ach c

ale

ndar y

ear w

hic

h s

hall in

clu

de fo

r th

e p

rior [c

ale

nd

ar] risco

/ year a

listin

g o

f the n

um

ber o

f cases

aris

ing u

nder th

is s

ectio

n, th

e e

xem

ptio

n in

volv

ed in

each c

ase, th

e

dis

positio

n o

f such c

ase, a

nd th

e c

ost, fe

es, a

nd p

enaltie

s a

ssessed

under a

ubsectio

ns (a

)(4) [(E

), (F), a

nd (C

)] (II), (I), and (J

). Su

ch

rep

ort s

ha

ll als

o in

clu

de

a d

escrip

tion

of th

e e

fforts

un

de

rtake

n b

y

the

De

pa

rtme

nt o

f Ju

stic

e to

en

co

ura

ge

ag

en

cy c

om

plia

nce

with

th

is s

ectio

n.

[(e) Fo

r pu

rpo

se

s o

f this

se

ctio

n, th

e te

rm ''a

ge

ncy" a

s d

efin

ed

in

sectio

n 5

51(1

) of th

is title

inclu

des a

ny e

xecutiv

e d

epartm

ent, m

ili-ta

ry d

epartm

ent, G

overn

ment c

orp

ora

tion, G

oyern

ment c

ontro

lled

co

rpo

ratio

n, o

r oth

er e

sta

blis

hm

en

t in th

e e

xe

cu

tive

bra

nch

of th

e

Go

ve

rnm

en

t (inclu

din

g th

e E

xe

cu

tive

Offic

e o

f the

Pre

sid

en

t), or

any in

dependent re

gula

tory

agencyl,

(9 For purposes of this section—

(I) "a

gen

cy" mea

ns a

ny execu

tive dep

artm

ent, m

ilitary d

e-partm

ent, G

overn

men

t corp

ora

tion. G

overn

men

t contro

lled co

r-p

ora

tion

, or o

ther esta

blish

men

t in th

e executive b

ran

ch o

f the

Go

vernm

ent (in

clud

ing

the E

xecutive O

ffi ce of the President), or

any independent regulatory agency; (2) "su

bm

itter" mea

ns a

ny p

erson

wh

o h

as su

bm

itted to

an

agen

cy (oth

er than a

n in

telligen

ce agen

cy), or p

rovid

ed u

n

ag

ency a

ccess to. tra

de secrets, o

r com

mercia

l, research

, or fi-

nancia

l info

rmatio

n (o

ther th

an p

ersonal fin

ancia

l info

rma-

tion) in

which

the p

erson h

as a

com

mercia

l or proprietary inter-

est; (3) "requester" m

eans a

ny p

erson w

ho m

akes o

r causes to

be

made, o

r on w

hose b

ehalf is m

ade, a

pro

per req

uest fo

r disclo

-sure of records under subsection (o

); (4)

'United

Sta

tes perso

n" m

eans a

citizen o

f the U

nited

Sta

tes or a

n a

lien la

wfu

lly ad

mitted

for p

erma

nen

t residen

ce (a

s defin

ed in

section

10

1(a

)(20

) of th

e Imm

igra

tion

an

d N

atio

n-

ality , Act, 8

U.S

.0 1

10

I(a)(2

0), a

n u

nin

corp

ora

ted a

ssocia

tion

a

sub

stan

tial n

um

ber o

f mem

bers o

f wh

ich a

re citizens o

f the

United

Sta

tes or a

liens la

wfu

lly for p

ermanen

t residen

ce, or a

-• -....au

s..4

ore

arre

a,,,,-' •

• '

48

corp

ora

tion

wh

ich is in

corp

ora

ted in

the U

nited

Sta

tes, bu

t does

not in

clude a

corp

ora

tion

or a

n a

ssocia

tion

tha

t is a fo

reign

pow

er, as d

efined

in sectio

n 1

01(a

) of th

e Foreig

n In

telligen

ce S

urveillan

ce Art of 1978 (50 U

.S.C

. 1801(a)); (5) "

work

ing d

ays"

niea

ns every d

ay ex

cludin

g S

atu

rdays,

Su

nd

ays, a

nd

Fed

eral leg

al h

olid

ays; a

nd

(6) "

org

an

ized crim

e" m

ean

s tho

se structu

res an

d d

isciplin

ed

asso

ciatio

ns o

f ind

ividu

als o

r of g

rou

ps o

f ind

ividu

als w

ho

are

asso

ciated

for th

e pu

rpo

se of o

bta

inin

g m

on

etary o

r com

mercia

l g

ain

s or p

rofits, w

ho

lly or in

pa

rt by illeg

al m

ean

s, wh

ile gen

er-ally seek

ing

to p

rotect a

nd p

rom

ote th

eir activities th

rou

gh

a

pa

ttern o

f gra

ft or co

rrup

tion

, an

d w

ho

se asso

ciatio

ns g

enera

lly ex

hib

its the fo

llow

ing ch

ara

cteristics: (A

) their illeg

al a

ctivities are co

nsp

irato

rial,

(B) in

at lea

st part o

f their a

ctivities, they co

mm

it acts o

f vio

lence o

r oth

er acts w

hich

are lik

ely to in

timid

ate,

(C) th

ey con

du

ct their a

ctivities in a

meth

odica

l or sys-

tematic a

nd in

a secret fa

shio

n,

(D) th

ey insu

late th

eir leadersh

ip fro

m d

irect-invo

lvemen

t in

illega

l activities b

y their o

rga

niza

tion

al stru

cture,

(E) th

ey attem

pt to

gain

influ

ence in

govern

men

t, politics,

an

d co

mm

erce thro

ug

h co

rrup

tion

, gra

ft, an

d illeg

itima

te m

eans, an

d (F

) they en

gage in

paten

tly illegal en

terprises su

ch a

s de-

layin

g in

dru

gs, g

am

blin

g, lo

on

sha

rkin

g, la

bo

r rack

eteer-in

g, o

r the in

vestmen

t of illeg

ally o

bta

ined

fun

ds in

legiti-

mate bu

sinesses.

(g) W

ithin

two h

un

dred

an

d seven

ty days o

f the d

ate o

f the en

act-

men

t of th

is sub

section

, an

y ag

ency w

hich

relies or in

tend

s to rely

on

an

y statu

te wh

ich w

as en

acted

prior to th

e flute o

f enactm

ent o

f th

is sub

section

, or d

urin

g th

e thirty-d

ay p

eriod

after su

ch d

ate to

w

ithh

old

info

rma

tion

un

der su

bsectio

n (N

O o

f this sectio

n, sh

all

cau

se to b

e pu

blish

ed in

the F

edera

l Register a

list of a

ll such

skit-

ides a

nd a

descrip

tion

of th

e scope o

f the in

form

atio

n co

vered. T

he

Ju

stice Dep

artm

ent sh

all a

lso p

ublish

a fin

al co

mpila

tion

of a

ll su

ch listin

gs in

the F

edera

l Reg

ister up

on

the co

mp

letion

of th

e two-

hundre

d- an

d-seventy

-day p

eriod d

escribed

in th

e preced

ing sen

tence.

4,y N

o a

gen

cy ma

y rely, a ter tw

o h

un

dred

an

d seven

ty da

ys after th

e date o

f enactm

ent o

f t is subsectio

n, o

n a

ny su

ch sta

tute n

ot listed

in

den

ying a

requ

est. Noth

ing in

this su

bsectio

n sh

all a

ffect existin

g

righ

ts of a

ny p

arty o

ther th

an

an

agen

cy.

§ 5

60. T

echn

ical D

ata

Pro

cedu

res

Each

Fed

eral a

gen

cy main

tain

ing tech

nica

l data

exem

pt u

nder

) su

bsectio

n (b

X1

0) o

f section

55

2 o

f this title sh

all p

rom

ulg

ate reg

ula

-tio

ns esta

blish

ing reg

istratio

n (in

cludin

g certifica

tion

) pro

cedu

res an

d criteria

un

der w

hich

qu

alified

Un

ited S

tates in

divid

uals a

nd

bu

siness co

ncern

s ma

y ob

tain

cop

ies of su

ch G

overn

men

t-ow

ned

tech

nica

l data

for p

urp

oses o

f bid

din

g o

n G

overn

men

t con

tracts. N

o

data

un

der su

ch p

roced

ures m

ay b

e redissem

inated

or ex

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ex

cept u

s pro

vided

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w.

0