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Chief Freedom of Information Act Officers Council Co-Chairs Meeting with the Public - February 2, 2022

Speakers

  • Bobby Talebian, Director, OIP, DOJ, Council Co-Chair
  • Alina M. Semo, Director, OGIS, NARA, Council Co-Chair
  • Various members of the public

Introduction

  • The meeting opened at 2:00 PM. Ms. Semo welcomed everyone to the virtual Chief FOIA Officers Council Co-Chairs meeting and noted that the meeting was not a full Chief FOIA Officers Council Meeting.
  • Mr. Talebian provided brief opening remarks. He noted that the purpose of the meeting was to hear from requesters to help inform the Chief FOIA Officers Council’s work. Mr. Talebian reminded listeners that material from all Chief FOIA Officer Council meetings can be found on OGIS’ and OIP’s Chief FOIA Officer Council websites. He informed the audience that the next Chief FOIA Officers Council meeting would be held on April 21, 2022.  
  • Ms. Semo highlighted the work of the council’s Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation (COCACI), whose mission is to research and propose cross-agency grant programs and funding sources, create federal career paths for FOIA professionals, and promote models to align agency resources with agency transparency. She noted COCACI formed three sub-committees – Virtual FOIA Offices, Government Information Specialist (GIS) Job Series, and Technology Standardization.   
  • Mr. Talebian highlighted the work of the Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee and its working groups covering 508 Compliance and Collaborative Tools, Artificial Intelligence, FOIA and Classified Information, FOIA Searches, FOIA Online, FOIA Express, and Video Review and Redaction. Mr. Talebian highlighted the Technology Committee’s work on best practices and recommendations provided to the Chief FOIA Officers Council, best practices on video redaction, and best practices and challenges for FOIA searches, and the upcoming NexGen FOIA Technology Showcase. 
  • Mr. Talebian provided house-keeping rules prior to the start of the meeting. Participants were welcome to provide comments orally or in writing via the chat function. Moderator would read comments provided via chat. Mr. Talebian requested that audience members who wished to provide oral comments notify OIP and OGIS in the chat box. He also requested that oral commentors limit commentary to no more than five minutes. He noted that the chat function is not an appropriate place to submit extensive public comments. 
  • Ms. Semo noted that public comments were posted on OGIS’ website and linked to on OIP’s website.  

Public Comments

  • Mr. Robert Hammond expressed that in his view the meeting was not advertised sufficiently and that it was not a full meeting of the Chief FOIA Officers Council.  
  • Mr. Talebian responded that the meeting was advertised via OIP’s blog, which is the primary way people follow the Council’s work, in addition to being published in the Federal Register. 
  • Mr. Hammond inquired about OGIS and OIP funding; the disestablishment of FOIAOnline; issues with annual reports, quarterly reports and raw statistical data; the alteration and destruction of records; misclassification of requests; delayed processing; transferring requests from components to higher headquarters; handling of first party requests; and the conduct of public meetings. Mr. Hammond asked the Council to look at his written public comments. 
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  • Ms. Semo thanked Mr. Hammond for his comments and noted that his comments were posted to OGIS’ website. 
  • Mr. Edward Hasbrouck expressed concern as to the lack of administrative processes to assist requesters who were unable to sue; implementation of the e-FOIA amendments of 1996 with respect to the form and format of production and the difficulty requesters have in contacting some agency FOIA offices and agency FOIA Liaisons. Mr. Hasbrouck noted that it was not possible to contact the TSA.
  • Mr. Talebian thanked Mr. Hasbrouck for his comments. Mr. Talebian noted OIP’s guidance on the importance of agency communication. Mr. Talebian also noted that it was troubling if some agencies were not being responsive to status inquiries. He asked Mr. Hasbrouck to send OIP an email when he ran into issues with agency communication. Mr. Talebian noted that it would help OIP provide targeted guidance.
  • Mr. Alex Howard expressed concern about a lack of public engagement about the meeting. Mr. Howard asked for another meeting during Sunshine Week. Mr. Howard also inquired about status of the release to one, release to all policy and the status of interoperability. Further, Mr. Howard asked the committee to promote the resources of data.gov; to remind FOIA officers of proactive disclosure posting requirements; to post contact information for all data sets; for agencies to respond to requests in 20 days; to invest in better FOIA software and for DOJ to recognize that it has the authority to sanction officials who violate FOIA or who aren’t responsive.  
  • Mr. Talebian thanked Mr. Howard for his comments. Mr. Talebian reiterated that the meeting was advertised on OIP’s blog. Mr. Talebian also responded that the status of release to one, release has not changed, as Mr. Talebian has noted his various meetings with various civil society groups. Mr. Talebian noted that most agencies are interoperable with FOIA.gov; OIP is waiting for the next phase of the 10x engagement; that DOJ does not have independent authority to sanction individual employees, and that in addition to general guidance, OIP provides training and targeted guidance to agencies.
  • Katheryn expressed concern about Child Protective Services and the number of children in foster care. Katheryn asked how to make a FOIA request to learn about the nature of federal funding going to California counties; especially as it related to children in foster care, group homes and, the number of families denied bio-family association.
  • Ms. Semo thanked Kathryn for her questions and recommended that she reach out to OGIS to help her formulate and direct her request to the proper agency. Ms. Semo provided OGIS’s email address.  
  • Mr. Hasbrouck asked in the chat if there was a mailing list for members of the public interested in notices of future meetings that were not in the Federal Register. 
  • Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo recommended following the OIP and OGIS blogs. 
  • Mr. Howard asked in the chat what did the absence of journalists in the meeting suggest about DOJ’s promotion of the meeting?
  • Mr. Talebian responded that the meeting was advertised on OIP’s blog and in the Federal Register. Mr. Talebian noted that the intent was to get the word out about the meeting. Mr. Talebian noted the various types of public engagements and stated that there would be lessons learned after the meeting. 
  • Mr. Hammond inquired about incorrect FOIA reporting in annual and quarterly reports. Mr. Hammond asked OGIS and OIP what they would do next time he sent them an example of an open FOIA request that was not being reported. 
  • Mr. Talebian noted OIP’s extensive efforts to assist agencies with accurate reporting. 
  • Mr. Hammond asked Mr. Talebian what he would do next time he sent an example of an inaccurate report. 
  • Mr. Talebian stated OIP would continue to investigate the compliance inquires Mr. Hammond sent. 
  • Mr. Hammond stated his appreciation. Mr. Hammond stated that he believed OIP was underfunded. Mr. Hammond restated his question asking what OIP would do when he sent 50 and 100 examples of inaccurate FOIA reporting. 
  • Mr. Howard inquired in the comments about the status of release to one release to all and whether OIP had briefed Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. 
  • Mr. Talebian stated that the Associate Attorney General was being kept informed about the issue. Mr. Talebian noted OIP’s support of proactive disclosures however, he also recognized challenges. 
  • Ms. Emily Winter asked in the chat about the greatest challenges faced by FOIA offices and what the Council is doing about them. 
  • Mr. Talebian cited the volume and complexity of requests as challenges. Mr. Talebian highlighted the role of the Council’s Technology Committee and COCACI in addressing the challenges. He also recognized the importance of developing FOIA professionals. 
  • Ms. Semo noted her and Mr. Talebian’ s role in the Chief Data Officers (CDO) Council.
  • Mr. Lewis asked in the chat about analysis regarding changes in federal agencies since the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and about changes by federal agencies in response to the Open Data Act. 
  • Mr. Talebian noted that Annual FOIA Reports data is available for analysis and highlighted the work with CDO Council. 
  • Mr. Howard asked in the chat about political interference in FOIA requests.
  • Mr. Talebian was not aware of any political interference. 
  • Ms. Semo noted OGIS heard stories of political interference from requesters but had not seen anything from agencies that leads her to believe it was happening.
  • Mr. Hasbrouck inquired about inaccurate reporting of oldest requests, specifically when requests are renumbered, assigned a new request date and/or referred to a new agency. 
  • Mr. Talebian addressed the comments and noted typically most requests are not referred to another agency in their entirety. 
  • Mr. Howard asked in the chat whether the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs could provide secure access to stakeholders via FOIA or whether Congress would need to create a separate process. 
  • Mr. Talebian highlighted current efforts to find a solution but recognized the complexity of the challenge that these agencies face. 
  • Mr. Howard commented in the chat about DOJ’s open data page and that it was not updated.  Mr. Howard inquired about the modernization of FOIA. 
  • Mr. Talebian stated he was proud of work done on providing access to public. 
  • Mark noted in the chat a lack of transparency and enforcement.  
  • Mr. Lewis asked in the chat about how often training was provided to staff on guidance. 
  • Mr. Talebian noted training is provided regularly. 
  • Ms. Semo noted OGIS did not provide guidance and training, but that OGIS provided recommendations and best practices. 

Conclusion

  • Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo thanked everyone for attending. 
  • Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo closed the meeting at 3:00 PM.

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

  • Amanda Ackerson
  • Danielle Adams
  • Lori Alexiou
  • Anne Allen
  • Candace Ambrose
  • Katherine Aversano
  • James Bailey
  • Shelley Baker
  • Victoria Baranetsky
  • William Barnes
  • Marqui Barnes
  • Gwendolyn Beasley
  • Barbara Beckett
  • Michael Bell
  • Amy Bennett
  • Megan Bennett
  • Mitchell Berge
  • William Bice
  • Mark Bittner
  • Michele Boback
  • Marshall Bradshaw
  • Melissa Brown
  • Shirley Brown
  • Jacqueline Bryant
  • Paul Burke
  • Kerri Bush
  • Rebecca Calcagno
  • Arthur Caliguiran
  • Tom Cantrell
  • Lynnell Cellmer
  • Noelle Chadwick
  • Giny Cheong
  • Joshua Chiconi
  • Kathleen Christian
  • Kate Claffie
  • Drew Clark
  • Marjorie Cole
  • Alisa Colgrove
  • Tamara Crawford
  • Vernon Curry
  • Eugenio DaSilva
  • Travis Dawson
  • Alison Decker
  • Jeni Dees
  • Allyson Deitrick
  • Anna Diakun
  • Justin Doubleday
  • Kathleen Drohan
  • Rhonda Durham
  • Janice Dysinger
  • Stacy Easter
  • Kendall Elifrits
  • Mark Esquibel
  • Crystal Evans
  • Tracy Fanning
  • Rachel Fellows
  • Beth Fidler
  • Diana Fisher
  • Carla Fleming
  • Michael Floissac
  • Stephanie Fox
  • Whitney Frazier
  • Toni Fuentes
  • Brandon Gaylord
  • Kelsey Golden
  • Nikki Gramian
  • Virginia Hall
  • Hannah Hamilton
  • Robert Hammond
  • Eileen Harke
  • Stacye Harness
  • Lauren Harper
  • Kohl Harrington
  • Jessie Hartman
  • Edward Hasbrouck
  • John Hawkinson
  • Megan Heim
  • Diamonece Hickson
  • Marthea Hodge
  • Elizabeth Hohenstein
  • Alexander Howard
  • Jacqueline Hudson
  • Lauron Huntley
  • Dana Jackson
  • Karen Jackson
  • Sue Jackson
  • Dawn Jarmon
  • Jowanna Jenkins
  • Helana Johnson
  • Shevon Johnson
  • Summer Johnson
  • Natasha Jones
  • Amanda Kastl
  • Christiana Keeler
  • Karin Kelly
  • V.S. Lane
  • Shahanga Lee
  • Christa Lemelin
  • Scott Levine
  • Paul Levitan
  • Glenn Lewis
  • Jeremy Lewis
  • Jennifer Li
  • Kristan Lockett
  • Frank LoMonte
  • Satrina Lord
  • Persi M.
  • Deirdre MacNeil
  • Carmen Mallon
  • Carol Maloney
  • Phil Markert
  • Brian May
  • Jon McFarlane
  • Carrie McGuire
  • Don McIlwain
  • Patrick McLoughlin
  • Regina Metz
  • Denora Miller
  • Jeanne Miller
  • Kristine Minami
  • Elaine Mittleman
  • Don Mounts
  • Melba Moye
  • Eleanor Mullens
  • BillieJo Mustard
  • D. Fon Muttamara
  • Florence Mwela
  • Viola Nave-StClair
  • Tim Osumi
  • Claudia Ovalles
  • Candice Palen
  • Catrina Pavlik-Keenan
  • Arianne Perkins
  • Nancy Platt
  • Elaine Potter
  • Kimberly Potter 
  • Steven Pryor
  • Henry Rand
  • Kyna Rawls
  • Bernadette Read
  • Nicole Rementer
  • Robin Riat
  • Geraldine Riddle
  • Eduardo Rittzzolli 
  • Tina Roberts
  • Heather Robertson
  • Gina Robinson-Shaw
  • Melanie Ruiz
  • Latanga Rush
  • Christine Ryder
  • Kathi Samuels
  • Teresita Sanabria
  • Bridget Sanders
  • Dwight Sanders
  • Michael Sarich
  • Carolyn Schaupp
  • Alina Semo
  • Claire Shanley
  • Ranju Shrestha
  • John Shumway
  • Jared Siegel
  • John Simms
  • Octavia Smalls
  • Tracy Smalls
  • Blanche Smith
  • Brian Smith
  • Regina Stabile
  • Karen Stamper
  • Dione Stearns
  • Yu-jen Stites
  • Eric Styles
  • Anne Taydus
  • Amanda Tempel
  • Kathrine Thomas
  • Brian Tierney
  • Benjamin Tingo
  • Kimberly Veach
  • Caroline Vitale
  • Hope Wagner
  • Allison Wallace
  • Gina Waters
  • Susan Weetman
  • Alesia Williams
  • Brittany Williams
  • Wanda Williams
  • Emily Winter
  • Nicholas Wittenberg
  • Tiffanie Woodland
  • Yadi Y.
  • Ann Marie Yager
  • Elvis Zornic 
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