House Bills - 110th Congress

H.R. 1309—The Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007

On March 5, 2007, Representative Lacy Clay (D-MO) introduced H.R. 1309, the Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007. Provisions of interest to NIH would shorten the time limits on which to act on requests, require agencies to establish a system to assign an individualized tracking number for each request for information, establish a telephone line or Internet service regarding the status of a request, institute additional reporting requirements regarding FOIA requests and processing times, and broaden “media status” to those who have “internet publications.” H.R. 1309 was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Related measures include H.R. 1326, S. 849, S. 2427, and S. 2488, which became P.L. 110-175 on December 31, 2007.

FLOOR ACTION

March 14, 2007 - The House agreed by a vote of 308 to 117 to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1309.

COMMITTEE/SUBCOMMITTEE ACTION

March 8, 2007 - The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved H.R. 1309 by voice vote.