Rep. Sherman proposes committee to explore endless FOIA delays

To the delight of reporters everywhere, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) last week introduced legislation that would establish a committee to investigate the endless delays routinely faced by people seeking information from the government under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Sherman's bill, H.R. 1564, would set up the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays, which would have 12 commissioners. Four would be picked by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and four more would be chosen by the House Committee on Government Reform.

The remaining four would be chosen by the U.S. Attorney General, the Office of Management and Budget, the Archivist of the U.S. and the Comptroller General of the U.S.

The commission would be charged broadly with studying how to reduce FOIA delays, which many times can stretch for months or even years, at the end of which only heavily redacted documents are provided. The bill also asks the commission to examine the system of fees that can be charged by the government as a hindrance to providing information.

In addition, it would explore "whether any disparities in processing, processing times and completeness of responses to FOIA requestors have occurred based upon political considerations, ideological viewpoints, the identity of the requestors, affiliation with the media, or affiliation with advocacy groups."