With Congress’s approval last Tuesday of the omnibus spending bill, the Office of Government Information Services, which will house the new ombudsman for the Freedom of Information Act, received $1 million in start-up funds.
OGIS, which will be housed in the National Archives and Records Administration, was created by the 2007 amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. OGIS is not functioning at this date, but is expected to be up and running shortly.
After the Obama administration took office, National Archives officials announced they were searching for a director to head the new OGIS. The director will be responsible for establishing the rest of the office, which is supposed help resolve disputes between requesters and agencies without court action.
How exactly OGIS will fit into the current FOIA structure is not clear. It looks like its role will depend on its interaction with the Justice Department’s Office of Information and Privacy, which has long offered FOIA training and provided general guidance on the act for government agencies.
This may all sound high-minded and of no interest. However, the FOIA and its implementation have a dramatic effect on our access to potential genealogical documents – so it’s worth watching.
For more information, see the notice posted in the March 12, 2009 edition of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website.