A report by the chief Freedom of Information Act officer at the Defense Department says some agencies under DoD encounter a substantial number of FOIA requests or disparate requests from one or two individuals, the Federation of American Scientists reported Monday.
Steven Aftergood wrote in a FAS blog that one particular individual has submitted more than 400 initial FOIA requests and 54 appeals to the office of the secretary of defense/Joint Staff in the last two years.
“This process adversely affects initial request processing which usually leads to more litigation and disgruntled requesters who do not understand why the requester service centers and public liaisons cannot provide more satisfactory solutions,†according to the report obtained by FAS.
Aftergood suggested that Congress should ask the Government Accountability Office to develop cost estimates of the demand for FOIA requests from individuals.
“Then Congress could decide either to appropriate that amount of money, or to adjust the requirements of the law to match the available resources,†he added.
