Can you give 5 minutes for FOIA Online?

For Sunshine Week 2013, SGI member groups are surveying federal agencies to help promote FOIA Online, a system to make, process, and view FOIA requests – and we need your help!

The “FOIA Online” site, which OGIS, EPA, and the Department of Commerce launched last fall as a web-based aggregation of FOIA requests and responses, is designed for agencies, requesters, and the general public. So far, six agencies are participating. Ultimately, though, we want each of the hundred federal agencies to provide FOIA requests and responses to the collection, to fulfill its potential.

Thus, we are asking you to pick an agency below, ask them a few questions and report the answers to us. It should take you 5 minutes.

We are gathering the answers. Our hope is to boost awareness and participation.

It may help to describe FOIA Online briefly before asking the following questions, e.g., “FOIA Online is a system to let the public and agencies view and process FOIA requests online.”

1. Is [the agency] familiar with FOIA Online?
2. If so: Is [the agency] committed to being on FOIA Online within the next year?
3. What factors contributed to [the agency's] decision?

We will keep track in the tables below. To volunteer to contact an agency, email us at FOIAsurvey@sunshineingovernment.org. You may wish to contact the FOIA Public Liaison or the Chief FOIA Officer; FOIA.gov has posted a list of agencies’ FOIA personnel contact information (see the link below the buttons on that page for the full agency list).

Thank you for your interest and support. Stay tuned for further updates.

RESPONDED (Agencies from which we have responses)
Department or Agency	Familiar with FOIA Online?	Committed to joining FOIA Online?	What factors contributed to agency’s decision?
Environmental Protection Agency	Yes	Joined
Department of Commerce (all but PTO)	Yes	Joined (PTO scheduled to join)
Department of Treasury (some offices)	Yes	Joined (in part)
National Archives and Records Administration	Yes	Joined
Federal Labor Relations Authority	Yes	Joined
Merit Systems Protection Board	Yes	Joined
Dept. of Health & Human Services	Yes	No	Have some FOIA features on agency website already
Dept. of Transportation	Yes	No	Studying FOIAonline; one office has specialized FOIA-processing needs
Dept. of Veterans Affairs	Yes	No	Ongoing contractual obligation for at least one year
Agency for International Development	No	No	Just learned of program
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency	No	(no response yet)	Just learned of program
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Yes	No	Cost
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	Yes	No	Existing contract for electronic/online FOIA services
Federal Trade Commission	Yes	No	Transition would be costly; happy with existing system
General Services Administration	Yes	Can’t say yet	Further research required
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	Yes	Can’t say	Declined to discuss ongoing budget/policy process
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	Yes	No	Still researching FOIAonline
Office of Management and Budget	Yes	No	Cost
Office of the Director of National Intelligence	Yes	No	Not going to switch soon
Small Business Administration	Yes	No	Just set up new system
Tennessee Valley Authority	Yes	Can’t say yet	Learned about it only recently
United States Postal Service	No	No	Have some FOIA features on agency website already

PENDING RESPONSE (Agencies someone has already offered to contact)
Departments	Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, HUD, Interior, Justice, Labor, State
Agencies	CIA, CPSC, FCC, FRB, NLRB, NSF, NTSB, OPM, PBGC, SEC, SSA

TO BE CALLED (Agencies we need someone to contact)

ACUS – Administrative Conference of the United States ABMC – American Battle Monuments Commission Amtrak – Amtrak AFRH – Armed Forces Retirement Home BBG – Broadcasting Board of GovernorsCSHIB – Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board CCR – Commission on Civil Rights CPPBSD – Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind or Severely Disabled CFTC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFPB – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CIGIE – Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency CNCS – Corporation for National and Community Service DNFSB – Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board CEQ – Council on Environmental Quality ONDCP – Office of National Drug Control Policy OSTP – Office of Science and Technology Policy USTR – Office of the United States Trade Representative EIB – Export-Import Bank FCA – Farm Credit Administration FCSIC – Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation FEC – Federal Election Commission FERC – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FFIEC – Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council FHFA – Federal Housing Finance Agency FMC – Federal Maritime Commission FMCS – Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service FMSHRC – Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission FOMC – Federal Open Market Committee FRTIB – Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board IMLS – Institute of Museum and Library Services IAF – Inter-American Foundation LSC – Legal Services Corporation MCC – Millennium Challenge Corporation NCPC – National Capital Planning Commission NCUA – National Credit Union Administration NEA – National Endowment for the Arts NEH – National Endowment for the Humanities NIGC – National Indian Gaming Commission NMB – National Mediation Board OSHRC – Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission OGE – Office of Government Ethics ONHIR – Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation OSC – Office of Special Counsel OPIC – Overseas Private Investment Corporation Peace Corps – Peace Corps PRC – Postal Regulatory Commission RRB – Railroad Retirement Board RATB – Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board SSS – Selective Service System SIGAR – Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction SIGIR – Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction STB – Surface Transportation Board USADF – United States African Development Foundation USCO – United United States Copyright Office USIBWC – United States International Boundary Waters Commission USITC – United States International Trade Commission USTDA – United States Trade and Development Agency

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