Government Information: Annual 2012

1. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION:
ANNUAL 2012
Jessica McGilvray
jmcgilvray@alawash.org

2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA)
 The Faster FOIA Act of 2011 (S. 1466) sponsored
by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Cornyn (R-
TX), John Tester (D-MT), and Sheldon Whitehouse
(D-RI) passed the Senate by unanimous consent
on August 1, 2011. Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-27)
introduced the companion bill, H.R. 1564, in the
House on April 14, 2011. The bill was referred to
the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform’s Subcommittee on
Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental
Relations and Procurement Reform.

3. FOIA CONTINUED
 Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would
establish a commission that would be required to make
recommendations to Congress and the President for
reducing impediments to the processing of FOIA
requests. While backlogs have presented a
longstanding problem in agency implementation of the
FOIA, the conditions and practices that create those
backlogs are somewhat enigmatic. By conducting a
thorough study of the root causes of FOIA processing
delays and developing concrete recommendations, the
commission will help agencies successfully implement
President Obama's directive to reduce the significant
backlogs of outstanding FOIA requests.

4. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS: ACTION
DURING THE 112TH CONGRESS
 Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of
2011 (S. 241) – Introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-
MO) on January 31, 2011. This bill would provide
whistleblower protections for government contractors
who provide information involving federal funds. The bill
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Contracting
Oversight.
 Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011 (S.
586) – Sen. Charles Grassley (R- IA) introduced S. 586
on March 15, 2011. This bill would apply whistleblower
rights to congressional employees. The bill was referred
to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.

5. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS: ACTION
DURING THE 112TH CONGRESS CONTINUED
 The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011
(S. 743) – Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) introduced the bill
on April 6, 2011 and on October 19, 2011 the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
ordered the bill to be reported favorably with an
amendment. On May 8, 2012 the bill passed the Senate
by unanimous consent. The companion bill in the
House, H.R. 3289 was introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-CA) on November 1, 2011. The bill was referred to
the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and
Intelligence. These bills would expand the scope of
whistleblower protections in the federal government,
including providing whistleblower rights to employees of
the Transportation Security Administration.

6. OPEN GOVERNMENT
 May 23, 2012 - President Obama released his
Building a 21st Century Digital Government memo;
introducing a new strategy created by the Federal
Chief Information Officer, Steven VanRoekel. The
memo, “Digital Government: Building a 21st Century
Platform to Better Serve the American People”
builds on prior initiatives, including one on
improving government websites that was born from
Executive Order 13571 – Streamlining Service
Delivery and Improving Customer Service.

7. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (GPO)
APPROPRIATIONS
 On June 8th, the House passed H.R. 5882, the
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act
Legislative Branch
FY12 Final FY13 Pres. FY13
House
Government Printing 126,200 126,200 122,496
Office
Congressional Printing 90,700 83,632 83,632
and Binding
Superintendent of 35,000 34,728 34,728
Documents
GPO Revolving Fund 500 7,840 4,096

8. GPO APPROPRIATIONS CONTINUED
 On June 11th, the GPO posted a press release in
response to the House vote.
 The amount appropriated by the House is 3% less than
the GPO had requested.
 At this time the Senate has not scheduled a vote.
Now is the time to contact your senator in support
of full funding for the Government Printing Office.