Freedom of Information Act
NASA continues to improve the Agency’s FOIA program to improve the efficiency with which it provides the public access to Agency documents.
Enacted in 1966, The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. §552) provides an effective statutory right of access to Federal government documents. Since that time, Congress has regularly updated the original statute through legislative amendments. In 2007, Congress passed the OPEN Government Act, addressing several procedural issues that concern FOIA administration. NASA’s FOIA program is in the forefront of providing the public access to Agency documents. Each of NASA’s 13 Centers maintains a FOIA Web site with contact information, information on how to submit a FOIA request, and a host of other information that may be of interest to the public.
The NASA FOIA program is placed in the Communications/Public Affairs Offices. NASA’s decentralized FOIA program consists of a Principal Agency FOIA Officer who provides operational oversight of the program on behalf of the Chief FOIA Officer and one main FOIA office located at each of the 13 FOIA Centers, including Headquarters and the OIG. Each FOIA office receives and processes FOIA requests. In 2011, all FOIA staff began using a single FOIA tracking system for cradle to grave processing of requests; ultimately eliminating redundancy and duplication of effort. Although the FOIA offices are decentralized, the FOIA staff work together and when appropriate, one office will take the lead in responding to a requester who has submitted identical requests to more than one office. This business process has streamlined the program, providing a collaborative and consistent approach when responding to requests. This process has also enabled NASA FOIA staff to efficiently reduce the FOIA processing time without compromising the integrity of the program. As an example, in 2009, NASA received 1,226 FOIA requests, processed 601, and received 22 appeals. In 2010, NASA received 1058 requests, processed 1306 and received 33 appeals. In 2011, NASA received 1027 requests, processed 1131 request and received 21 appeals. Significantly, the Agency FOIA backlog has constantly decreased over the last three years. In 2009, the FOIA backlog was 431; in 2010 the FOIA backlog was 117; in 2011 the Agency FOIA backlog was 34.
When a NASA FOIA Office receives three requests for the same document(s), the responsive documents are typically placed in the FOIA Library at the Center where the request was processed. In addition, all NASA Centers proactively update and post documents of public interest to their websites on a regular basis, alleviating the need for requesters to submit FOIA requests for the information. NASA continues to receive accolades for the proactive efforts in providing information and communication with the public.
The FOIA has and continues to be a key administrative avenue for the public to obtain Agency documents. NASA’s pro-active disclosure and media-centric approach has allowed the public greater access to information while reducing the need to submit FOIA requests. At the same time, NASA has met and exceeded the goal to reduce the Agency FOIA backlog. NASA FOIA staff strives to achieve a top-rated citizen-centric program.
Activity goal:
NASA’s FOIA office will continue to maintain a top-rated citizen-centric program and will continue to reduce the Agency backlog. (1 year)
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