Duration of Office: 2024-2026
The Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee, established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 2014, has commenced its 2024-2026 term with a renewed charter and three subcommittees.
The Committee, chaired by Alina M. Semo, Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration, consists of 10 members from within the Federal government and 10 non-governmental members who have considerable FOIA expertise. Notable members include Ryan Mulvey from Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Whitney Frazier-Jenkins from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, who co-chair the Statutory Reform Subcommittee.
Each subcommittee has a government co-chair and a non-government co-chair, working together to research issues, consult stakeholders, and develop recommendations to present to the full committee. The three subcommittees for the 2024-2026 term are focused on Implementation, Statutory Reform, and Volume and Frequency.
The Implementation Subcommittee, chaired by Jason R. Baron from the University of Maryland and Marianne Manheim from the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, will focus on ensuring effective implementation of the FOIA across Federal agencies.
The Statutory Reform Subcommittee, co-chaired by Mulvey and Frazier-Jenkins, will make recommendations on legislative amendments or regulatory guidance to improve the FOIA framework.
The Volume and Frequency Subcommittee, chaired by Nicholas Wittenberg representing the interests of requesters in the "commercial" FOIA fee category and Nieva Brock from the Department of Defense Defense Intelligence Agency, will address issues related to the volume and frequency of FOIA requests.
Meeting dates for the 2024-2026 term include September 9, 2024, September 13, 2024, December 5, 2024, March 6, 2025, June 12, 2025, September 11, 2025, December 4, 2025, March 5, 2026, April 2, 2026, May 7, 2026, and June 11, 2026. Meeting information will be made available in advance on the Committee's webpage, through the FOIA Ombudsmans blog, the National Archives Calendar, and the Federal Register.
Other members of the Committee include David Cuillier, Director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, Frank LoMonte, Senior Legal Counsel for CNN, Margaret Kwoka, who teaches at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Deborah O. Moore, Chief FOIA Officer at the Department of Education, and Shelley Kimball, Associate Program Director and Senior Lecturer of Communication at Johns Hopkins University, among others.
For more detailed information about the roles and responsibilities of each subcommittee, consult the official sources on the Committee's website or Federal Register notices. The subcommittees' typical areas of focus include Outreach and Communications, Technology and Modernization, Performance and Accountability, and Legislative and Regulatory Reform.
The Statutory Reform Subcommittee, co-chaired by Ryan Mulvey and Whitney Frazier-Jenkins, will be engaged in politics and policy-and-legislation, as they are responsible for making recommendations on legislative amendments or regulatory guidance to improve the FOIA framework. The General News about the committee's proceedings, meeting dates, and subcommittee foci can be found on the Committee's webpage, the FOIA Ombudsmans blog, the National Archives Calendar, and the Federal Register.
