1 Union Calendar No. 127 109TH CONGRESS "!REPORT 1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 109–226 A CITIZEN’S GUIDE ON USING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AND THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 TO REQUEST GOVERNMENT RECORDS SECOND REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/ index.html http://www.house.gov/reform SEPTEMBER 20, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 21–892 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut HENRY A. WAXMAN, California DAN BURTON, Indiana TOM LANTOS, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee DIANE E. WATSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland DARRELL E. ISSA, California LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland JON C. PORTER, Nevada BRIAN HIGGINS, New York KENNY MARCHANT, Texas ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia Columbia PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina ——— CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina (Independent) JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio MELISSA WOJCIAK, Staff Director DAVID MARIN, Deputy Staff Director/Communications Director KEITH AUSBROOK, Chief Counsel ROB BORDEN, Parliamentarian/Counsel TERESA AUSTIN, Chief Clerk PHIL BARNETT, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, FINANCE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania, Chairman VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York TOM DAVIS, Virginia MAJOR R. OWENS, New York GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee EX OFFICIO HENRY A. WAXMAN, CALIFORNIA MIKE HETTINGER, Staff Director DAN DALY, Counsel TABETHA MUELLER, Professional Staff Member NATHANIEL BERRY, Clerk ADAM BORDES, Minority Professional Staff Member (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, DC, September 20, 2005. Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: By direction of the Committee on Govern- ment Reform, I submit herewith the committee’s second report to the 109th Congress. The committee’s report is based on a study conducted by its Subcommittee on Government Management, Fi- nance, and Accountability. TOM DAVIS, Chairman. (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 C O N T E N T S Page I. Preface ............................................................................................................ 1 II. Introduction .................................................................................................... 2 III. Recommendations .......................................................................................... 4 IV. How to use this guide .................................................................................... 5 V. Which act to use ............................................................................................. 6 VI. The Freedom of Information Act .................................................................. 6 A. The scope of the Freedom of Information Act ................................... 6 B. What records can be requested under the FOIA? ............................. 7 C. Making a FOIA request ...................................................................... 9 D. Fees and fee waivers ........................................................................... 11 E. Requirements for agency responses ................................................... 13 F. Reasons access may be denied under the FOIA ................................ 15 1. Exemption 1.—Classified documents ....................................... 15 2. Exemption 2.—Internal personnel rules and practices .......... 16 3. Exemption 3.—Information exempt under other laws ........... 16 4. Exemption 4.—Confidential business information ................. 16 5. Exemption 5.—Internal Government communications .......... 17 6. Exemption 6.—Personal privacy .............................................. 18 7. Exemption 7.—Law enforcement ............................................. 18 8. Exemption 8.—Financial institutions ...................................... 19 9. Exemption 9.—Geological information .................................... 19 G. FOIA exclusions ................................................................................... 19 H. Administrative appeal procedures ..................................................... 20 I. Filing a judicial appeal ......................................................................... 21 VII. The Privacy Act of 1974 ................................................................................ 22 A. The scope of the Privacy Act of 1974 ................................................. 22 B. The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act ....................... 23 C. Locating records ................................................................................... 24 D. Making a Privacy Act request for access ........................................... 26 E. Fees ....................................................................................................... 27 F. Requirements for agency responses ................................................... 27 G. Reasons access may be denied under the Privacy Act ..................... 27 1. General exemptions ................................................................... 28 2. Specific exemptions ................................................................... 29 3. Medical records .......................................................................... 30 4. Litigation records ....................................................................... 30 H. Administrative appeal procedures for denial of access .................... 31 I. Amending records under the Privacy Act ........................................... 31 J. Appeals and requirements for agency responses ............................... 32 K. Filing for judicial appeal ..................................................................... 33 APPENDIXES Appendix 1.—Sample request and appeal letters ................................................. 35 A. Freedom of Information Act request letter ................................................ 35 B. Freedom of Information Act appeal letter ................................................. 37 C. Privacy Act request for access letter .......................................................... 39 D. Privacy Act denial of access appeal ............................................................ 40 E. Privacy Act request to amend records ....................................................... 41 F. Privacy Act appeal of refusal to amend records ........................................ 42 (V) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 8486 Sfmt 8486 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VI Appendix 2.—Bibliography of congressional publications on the Freedom of Information Act .................................................................................................... 43 Appendix 3.—Bibliography of congressional publications on the Privacy Act of 1974 ................................................................................................................... 48 Appendix 4.—Select bibliography on non-congressional materials on using the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act of 1974 ................................ 51 Appendix 5.—Text of the Freedom of Information Act ......................................... 52 Appendix 6.—Text of the Privacy Act of 1974 ....................................................... 63 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 8486 Sfmt 8486 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 8486 Sfmt 8486 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 Union Calendar No. 127 109TH CONGRESS REPORT "! 1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 109–226 A CITIZEN’S GUIDE ON USING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA- TION ACT AND THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 TO REQUEST GOVERNMENT RECORDS SEPTEMBER 20, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, from the Committee on Government Reform, submitted the following SECOND REPORT On September 15, 2005, the Committee on Government Reform approved and adopted a report entitled ‘‘A Citizen’s Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 To Re- quest Government