Chief Freedom of Information Act Officers Council Meeting Minutes – November 17, 2021

The Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council Meeting convened virtually at 10:15 AM on November 17, 2021.  A livestream video of the meeting was made available, and in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(k)(6)(B), the meeting was open to the public “permit[ting] interested persons to appear and present oral and written statements to the Council.”

All meeting materials are available on the Office of Information Policy (OIP) and Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) websites at: https://www.justice.gov/oip/chief-foia-officers-council and https://www.archives.gov/ogis/about-ogis/chief-foia-officers-council.

Speakers:

• David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
• Vanita Gupta, Associate Attorney General (AAG), Department of Justice (DOJ) Chief FOIA Officer (CFO)
• Bobby Talebian, Director, OIP, DOJ, Council Co-Chair
• Alina M. Semo, Director, OGIS, NARA, Council Co-Chair
• Michael Bell, FOIA Officer, Department of Transportation, Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation (COCACI) Co-Chair
• Abioye Mosheim, Chief FOIA Officer, Consumer Product Safety Commission, COCACI Co-Chair
• Madeline Van Nostrand, FOIA Officer, Department of Transportation/Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Government Information Service (GIS) Professionalism Subcommittee Co-Chair
• Nicole Rementer, Attorney-Advisor, Environmental Protection Agency, Government Information Service (GIS) Professionalism Subcommittee Co-Chair
• Chantay Stanley, Paralegal Specialist, Department of Defense/U.S. Army Inspector General, Pandemic/Virtual Offices Subcommittee Chair
• Brandon Gaylord, FOIA Director, Department of Health and Human Services, FOIA Resources Subcommittee Chair
• Michael Sarich, FOIA Director, Department of Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration, Council Technology Committee Co-Chair
• Eric F. Stein, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Global Information Services, Bureau of Administration, Department of State, Council Technology Committee Co-Chair
• Matthew Pollack, Chief, Disclosure Law and Judicial Actions Branch, Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Video Redactions Working Group Representative
• Gorka Garcia-Malene, FOIA Director, Department of Health and Human Services/National Institutes of Health, FOIAXpress Working Group Representative

Introduction

• The meeting opened at 10:15 AM. Ms. Semo welcomed everyone to the virtual Council meeting and briefly outlined the agenda for the meeting. 
• Mr. Ferriero provided brief opening remarks. He recalled the implementation of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, now five years old. He explained that agency Chief FOIA Officers have faced unique and enormous challenges as the result of the global pandemic, particularly with requests seeking access to paper records. He acknowledged the effect on FOIA that the closure of Federal Records Centers have had, but noted that FRC staff have responded to emergency requests for records throughout the pandemic. He concluded by wishing the CFOC a happy fifth anniversary. He invited all to attend a virtual book discussion conversation between author and law professor Margaret Kwoka, a former FOIA Advisory committee member, and current FOIA Advisory Committee member Tom Susman, regarding Professor Kwoka's new book, Saving the Freedom of Information Act, with additional activity details available at the events calendar at Archives.gov.  
• Ms. Gupta, Associate Attorney General of the U.S., provided brief opening remarks.  She welcomed all Chief FOIA Officers and members of the public. She explained the importance of government accountability and transparency in the FOIA process. She reminded federal employees that FOIA is everyone's responsibility, and she thanked all FOIA employees everywhere for their efforts and work. She concluded her remarks by mentioning that she takes pride in serving as the Justice Department's CFO. She encouraged all CFOs to continually review their respective agency's FOIA administration and thanked all CFOs for their work.

Updates from the Office of Information Policy (OIP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

• Mr. Talebian summarized government-wide FOIA reporting updates, including agency Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report and 2022 Chief FOIA Officer Report deadlines. He mentioned recent updates made to the Department of Justice Handbook for Agency Annual Freedom of Information Act Reports, including new (a)(2) proactive disclosure reporting guidance meant to make counting easier and assist agencies consistently capture and share accurate (a)(2) proactive disclosure counts with the public.
• Mr. Talebian outlined the 2022 Chief FOIA Officer Report guidelines, including new questions and modifications to previously asked questions. Questions this year focus on new initiatives and engagements, including the importance of records management, requester outreach, ensuring non-FOIA professionals receive training, and confirming that CFOs are aware of their FOIA obligations. Agencies are also asked to provide additional details regarding their backlog reduction plans and how they developed their plans. 
• Mr. Talebian shared updates to FOIA.gov, including a new tool that helps agencies post their quarterly FOIA data directly into FOIA.gov. In turn, requesters, agencies, and the public can now access this information on FOIA.gov just like they can access annual FOIA report data. Other ongoing initiatives include a path analysis engagement with GSA's 18F team, which is working to increase overall FOIA.gov functionality, as well as OIP's participation in a GSA 10X engagement working to determine the feasibility of a centralized agency FOIA Library search capability.
• Mr. Talebian shared that the vast majority of agencies have achieved API interoperability with FOIA.gov. He thanked agencies for their work and efforts to meet the requirements of the interoperability guidance issued in 2019.

• Mr. Talebian provided an overview of additional OIP resources, including Exemption 5 guidance published by OIP in September 2021 in light of United States Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Inc., the ongoing development of three new FOIA e-Learning modules anticipated to be released in early to mid-2022, the finalizing of additional Self-Assessment Toolkit modules for agency self-assessment, and continuing rolling updates made to the Department of Justice Guide to the FOIA, which was most recently fully updated in 2019.

Updates from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

• Ms. Semo described the role of OGIS in FOIA administration and the range of efforts conducted to improve the FOIA process, including conducting dispute resolution, engaging in outreach, reviewing agency compliance, co-chairing the Council and leading the federal FOIA Advisory Committee. She shared OGIS case statistics, including a 4% increase in cases logged in and a small increase in overall number of cases closed. She explained that 85% of OGIS assistance cases involving delayed requests last year involved cases where the requester sought an estimated date of completion (EDC) but did not receive one. To avoid a pattern or practice of failing to provide an EDC to requesters who ask, OGIS recommends that agencies prioritize giving EDCs when requested.
• Now in its fourth term, Ms. Semo explained that the FOIA Advisory Committee has crafted more than 30 recommendations and has identified more than 35 best practices for efficient agency FOIA administration over the past three terms. Ms. Semo shared that OGIS added a dashboard to its website to track the status of each individual recommendation.
• Ms. Semo highlighted two OGIS issue assessments published this past year. The first identified common categories of first-party records requested frequently under the FOIA. The second addressed the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on FOIA processing.
• Ms. Semo concluded by inviting others to join the Saving the Freedom of Information book talk and advised attendees that the next FOIA Advisory Committee meeting would take place on December 9, 2021, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Update from Michael Bell and Abioye Mosheim, Co-Chairs of the Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation (COCACI); Madeline Van Nostrand and Nicole Rementer, Co-Chairs of the Government Information Service (GIS) Professionalism Subcommittee; Chantay Stanley, Chair of the Pandemic/Virtual Offices Subcommittee; and Brandon Gaylord, Chair of the FOIA Resources Subcommittee

• Mr. Bell provided an overview of the history of the COCACI, which joined the Chief FOIA Officers Council Technology Committee as its second Council committee, formed in March 2021. 
• Subcommittee chairs and co-chairs took turns describing the purposes and long-term objectives of the Government Information Service Professionalism Subcommittee, the Pandemic/Virtual FOIA Offices Subcommittee, and the FOIA Resources Subcommittee. 
• Ms. Mosheim thanked subcommittee members for their efforts. She also invited new members to consider joining COCACI. 

Update from Chief FOIA Officers Council Technology Committee Co-Chairs, Michael Sarich, and Eric F. Stein; Matthew Pollack, Video Redactions Working Group Representative; Gorka Garcia-Malene, FOIAXpress Working Group Representative

Working Group chairs and Mr. Sarich and Mr. Stein took turns providing updates on each of the seven working groups, including:

• 508 Compliance and Collaborative Tools
• FOIA Searches;
• FOIAXpress;
• FOIAonline;
• FOIA and Classified Information;
• Artificial Intelligence; and
• Video Redactions

• Mr. Stein stated that the committee's charters are now posted on the OIP and OGIS websites.
• Mr. Pollack informed the group of findings published by the Video Redactions working group regarding how agencies should approach requests for video records.
• Mr. Garcia-Malene informed the group of findings published by the FOIAXpress working group.
• Mr. Stein informed the group that the Technology Committee recently published a paper on FOIA searches and encouraged requesters and practitioners to read about FOIA search capabilities and constraints.
•  Mr. Stein shared that the Technology Committee has plans for a two-day FOIA Technology Showcase in February 2022, which hopes to inform participants about current FOIA processing, search, and redaction technologies and tools.
• Mr. Sarich and Mr. Stein invited new members to consider joining the Technology Committee.

Public Comments

• Ms. Semo and Mr. Talebian opened the floor to public discussion, and the speakers responded to the various questions and comments received via WebEx chat, telephone, and YouTube livestream.

Conclusion

• Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo thanked everyone for attending. 
• Ms. Semo closed the meeting at 12:17 PM.

Registered Attendees (This list consists of individuals who registered to attend the meeting)

• Mary Abraham
• Danielle Adams
• David Ajua
• Natasha Alcantara
• Candace Ambrose
• Marie Andrews
• Camille Aponte-Rossini
• Carmen Arana
• Ray Azarm
• Annette Baden
• Rosemary Bajorek
• Shelley Baker
• William Barnes
• Lisa Barton
• Brigette Beaton
• Michael Bell
• Stuart  Bender
• Annalise Beube
• Sharmila Bhatia
• William Bice
• Mark Biedlingmaier
• Michael Binder
• Adrianne Blake
• Natalie Bonanno
• Brian Bonis
• Jon Brazill
• David Briggman
• Wanda Briggs
• Talika Brown
• Mario Bryant
• Virginia Burke
• Sanya Cade
• Cindy Cafaro
• Kimberly Carnegie
• Noelle Chadwick
• Giny Cheong
• Spencer Christian
• Joo Chung
• Rebecca Conner
• Kevin Cooke
• Lisa Cox
• Sarah Cudahy
• Sarah Cunanan
• Mahala Dar
• Melissa Darr
• Kayla Dawkins
• Erin Dawson
• Daniel Dembkowski
• Mark Dorgan
• Julie Drake
• Judith Dupre
• Crystal Evans
• Frank Fan
• Rachel Fellows
• Beth Fidler
• Jessi Findley
• Desiree Flippins
• Sara Frey
• Toni Fuentes
• David Ganz
• Brandon Gaylord
• Michelle Gerardi
• Kelsey Golden
• Nikki Gramian
• Alexis Graves
• John Gross
• Helen Guyton
• Amanda Haas
• Linda Hale
• Robert Hammond
• Patricia Hargrave
• Stacye Harness
• Kohl Harrington
• Jerry Harrold
• Jessie Hartman
• Jory Heckman
• Harold Henderson
• Heather Higgs
• Thomas Hohethaner
• Aleesa Hounshell
• Alex Howard
• Sharon Hudson
• Peter Hyun
• Jonathan Isett
• A Jackson
• Lennell Jackson
• Tracy Jackson
• Alexander Jacob
• Gretchen Jacobs
• James  Jacobs
• Timothy Johnston
• Anthony Jones
• Ann Jonescolby
• Lillie Kamanu
• Karin Kelly
• Ana Kocur
• Ingrid Kolb
• VS Lane
• Christopher Laver
• Ryan Law
• Christine Gordon Lawson
• Karen Le Directrice
• La Wanza Lett-Brewington
• Paul Levitan
• Sandra Lewandowski
• Travis Lewis
• Glenn Lewis
• Jennifer Li
• Matthew Luecke
• Maria Lurie
• Melissa Lynch
• Matt Maines
• Carmen Mallon
• Nadine Mancini
• Natalia Mandrus
• Phil Markert
• Cristina Marrero
• Don Martin
• Lance Mathews
• Jen Matis
• Bob Matz
• Shawne McGibbon
• Denetra McPherson
• Regina Metz
• Prof Mony
• Enrique Moreno
• Christopher Morley
• Alexander Morris
• Lauren Morris
• Melba Moye
• Martha Murphy
• Fon Muttamara
• John Neal
• Amy Nicholas
• Jessica Novick
• Christopher Oehrle
• Ramona Oliver
• Sean O'Neill
• Tim Osumi
• Gabrielle Palmer
• Peggy Parand
• Michael Perrin
• Robbie Perry
• Rosanna Piccirilli
• John Powers
• Brianna Premdas
• Melanie Pusateri
• Ginger Quintero-McCall
• Susan Raposa
• Kevin Rayburn
• Bernadette Read
• Atticus Reaser
• Monique Ricker
• Tina Roberts
• Kellie Robinson
• Carol Rowan
• Lawrence Ruzow
• Candice Saffer
• Dwight Sanders
• Bridget Sanders
• Kristina Sandfoss
• Wendy Schumacher
• Margaret Scofield
• Greg Sharma-Holt
• Augustus Simms
• Richard L. Sorrentino
• Bill Spencer
• Regina Stabile
• Gary Stern
• Margo Stevens
• Mike Stewart
• Timothy Stockdale
• Meghan Stuessy
• Eric Styles
• John Sung
• Elizabeth Sweetland
• Amanda Tempel
• Lisa Terry
• Heather Thompson
• George Thuronyi
• Keith Turner
• Srinath Tutukuri
• Madeline Van Nostrand
• Jane Virga
• Amanda Vogler-Heaton
• Susan Weetman
• Robert Wehausen
• Nancy Weiss
• Sarah Wessel
• Emma West Rasmus
• William White
• Bishop William
• Tevin Williams
• Desiree Williams
• Holly Woodson
• Sandra Wright