FOIA.gov and planned FOIA management web portal aren't duplicative

Justice Department officials say they have no intention of converting the department-run FOIA.gov website into a tool capable of managing Freedom of Information Act requests, according to the Government Accountability Office.

In a report (.pdf) released June 26 that's based on briefing slides the watchdog agency presented to House staffers on April 30, auditors say the multiagency FOIA request web portal development project headed by the Environmental Protection Agency and FOIA.gov will compliment but not duplicate each other.

FOIA.gov, which came online in March 2011, collects agency FOIA processing data and allows users to generate reports using that data. It cost about $300,000 to develop, Justice officials told auditors.

A data quality test by auditors found the website's fiscal 2010 data is generally consistent with agencies' published FOIA annual reports. But the analytical tools on the website did not always complete reports, auditors add.

For example, a query for the "ten oldest requests" extant in all agencies during fiscal 2010 displayed results with 15 agencies missing. Melanie Anne Putay, director of the DOJ office of information policy, said in her official response to the audit that coders rolled out a solution that should resolve all issues of an agency not appearing in a report.

For more:
- download the report, GAO 12-754 (.pdf)

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