Declassified Documents  Tags: congress government_agencies government_information united_states declassified_documents foia  

The following titles and web sites provide good background to FOIA and Privacy Act issues and laws, including the 9 exclusions. They also provide information for those who want to file a FOIA request with an agency. Most federal agencies have web sites with information about how that agency implements FOIA as well. A search of the relevant agency website should product the necessary information.

• Text of the Freedom of Information Act: Department of Justice

• Your right to federal records: questions and answers on the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. Washington, DC: U.S. General Services Administration : U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2000. GIC GS 1.2:F31/2/2004

• How to use the Federal FOI Act, from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

• Other Federal Agency FOIA Websites:  Department of Justice

• Principal FOIA Contacts at Federal Agencies:  Department of Justice

As part of the FOIA, federal agencies must make certain categories of records available for public viewing.  Some agencies have created online 'reading rooms' that consist of '(1) "final opinions [and] . . . orders" rendered in the adjudication of administrative cases; (2) specific agency policy statements; (3) certain administrative staff manuals; and, (4) as of March 31, 1997, records disclosed in response to a FOIA request that "the agency determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records.'  The Department of Justice provides a website for accessing agency FOIA pages, as well as agency reports regarding FOIA Improvement plans.

(via Department of Justice informational site.)

A listing of Department of Justice hosted reading rooms can be found on this page.

Other Websites of Interest

FOIA Electronic Reading Room, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
URL: http://www.foia.ucia.gov/
The CIA has established this site to provide the public with an overview of access to CIA information, including electronic access to previously released documents.

OpenNet, Dept. of Energy
URL: http://www.osti.gov/opennet/
OpenNet includes references to all documents declassified and made publicly available after October 1, 1994. New references are added periodically as they occur. These collections include citations to several types of documents. Some have been declassified in total, and are termed "declassified." Others have had classified or other restricted information removed to produce a "sanitized" copy. The term "redacted" is sometimes used to refer to these documents.
OpenNet is intended to make information that is no longer classified more readily available to the public. This action will support the processes envisioned by the Openness Initiative of Public Awareness, Public Education, Public Input, and Public Access.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room, National Archives and Records Administration.
URL: http://www.archives.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room.html
This site contains information routinely available to the public as well as documents frequently requested under the Freedom of Information Act. It will continue to grow as they add records in which the public expresses an interest.

Declassification Initiatives, National Security Agency
URL: http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/declass/index.shtml
Under the provisions of Executive Order 12958, NSA reviews for declassification all permanently classified documents 25 years or older. As these documents are declassified, they are turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).