Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Generally speaking, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has the right to obtain access to federal agency records except to the extent that those records are protected from disclosure under FOIA or by some other statute. However, formal FOIA requests are unnecessary if you are seeking publicly available information. If you are unable to find the document you are seeking on our website, please contact us for assistance prior to filing a formal FOIA request. You may contact David Pritzker, the FOIA Liaison for the Administrative Conference, by e-mail at dpritzker@acus.gov or by telephone at 202-480-2080. By seeking assistance prior to filing a formal request, the response time may be faster.

It is also important to understand that each federal agency responds to requests for its own records. Therefore, before sending a request to ACUS you should determine whether ACUS actually is likely to have the records that you are seeking. Each federal agency is required to provide reference material to assist those who wish to request records from it, so you should view the website of any particular agency that might have the records in question. By doing so you will learn what records are already available on that website and you will also be able to determine which agency is likely to maintain the records you are seeking. Contact information for other federal departments and agencies is available on the FOIA home page of the United States Department of Justice, at http://www.foia.gov/report-makerequest.html.

In 1996, after ACUS ceased operations, the agency’s rules on how to make formal FOIA requests were deleted from Title 1, Part 304 of the CFR.  On April 5, 2011, after a public comment period, the Administrative Conference published its final rule that implements the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.  Additional guidance will be provided in the ACUS FOIA Reference Guide, listed in FOIA Resources.

Selected ACUS Documents

• Administrative Conference Act
• ACUS Annual Audit Report (2010) ()
• ACUS Annual Audit Report (2011) ()
• ACUS Bibliography
• ACUS Bylaws
• ACUS Congressional Budget Justification (2012): Download PDF ()
• ACUS Congressional Budget Justification (2011): Download PDF ()
• ACUS Recommendations (1968-1995)
• ACUS Semi-Annual Report of Travel Payments-May 2011 ()
• Current Research Agenda
• Calendar of Events
• Public Participation in ACUS Activities (Committee Meeting Procedures)

FOIA Reports

• 2012 FOIA Officer Report ()
• ACUS Annual FOIA Report FY 2011 ()
• ACUS Annual FOIA Report 2011 XML Version
• ACUS Annual FOIA Report (2010) ()
• ACUS Annual FOIA Report 2010 XML Version
• ACUS Chief FOIA Officer Report (FY 2010) PDF Version ()

FOIA Resources

Freedom of Information Act
ACUS FOIA and Privacy Act Final Regulation ()
FOIA Reference Guide (November 2011) ()
Your Right to Federal Records

FOIA Contacts

For questions regarding the status of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and where to find publicly available information on our website, contact:
David Pritzker at 202-480-2080, or dpritzker@acus.gov.

For substantive questions regarding FOIA , contact:
Shawne McGibbon, the Designated FOIA Officer, at 202-480-2088, or smcgibbon@acus.gov.