FDA Looks to Make FOIA Process Easier
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday proposed a new rulemaking that would ease the process by which the public can use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request certain non-public information.In addition to easing the process by which materials can be requested, the proposed rule will require FDA to establish procedures for identifying records of general interest or use to the public that are appropriate for public disclosure, and for posting such records in a publicly accessible electronic format.
Records requested three or more times under FOIA also would be made public, according to the proposed rule. FDA already proactively posts frequently requested documents here and here.
“These changes will promote transparency by reducing the amount of information that will be withheld when the Agency has discretion to determine what will be withheld under the FOIA exemptions, and will make release of information more efficient through the use of information technology,” the proposal says.
The proposed rule incorporates changes made to FOIA by the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.
Federal Register