Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires the disclosure of information upon request.
Contents
Description
The act requires executive agencies to disclose information upon request. Nominally this must be done within 20 days but this is rarely an effective deadline.
There are a number of exemptions which may lead to only partial disclosure or complete nondisclosure.
History
The original act was signed by Johnson in 1966 and effective one year thereafter. A slight modification of the law was passed (and the original was repealed) in that interim year.
Following the Watergate scandal, Congress expanded disclosure requirements in the Privacy Act. Ford vetoed the bill in late 1974 but Congress overrode him. Ford nonetheless succeeded in imposing exemptions on FOIA in the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976.
In 1982, Reagan imposed further limits on FOIA through an executive order. These remained in place until 1995, when Clinton vacated the order.
The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 requires many categories of information to be made available online.
Bush again imposed limits on FOIA in 2001, which were lifted by Obama in 2009.