tailieunhanh - Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments

According to financial aid officials at 2-year and less-than-2-year schools we visited, prior to the Direct Loan Program, some FFELP lenders refused to lend to students at their schools because some of their graduates did not repay their loans on time. In contrast, financial aid officials at public and private 4-year schools we visited said that they did not have any problems finding lenders to serve their students, and FFELP lenders actively marketed their products to them and their students | United States General Accounting Office GAO Report to Congressional Requesters August 2002 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments . GAO. Aocountablllty Integrity . Reliability GAO-02-493 United States General Accounting Office August 2002 A G A O. Accountability Integrity Reliability Highlights Why GAO Did This Study The 1966 Freedom of Information Act FOIA established the public s right of access to government information on the basis of openness and accountability. The 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act e-FOIA Amendments extended these principles to include electronic access to information. Under the act the Department of Justice provides implementing guidance to agencies. In addition agencies report annually to Justice on their FOIA operations. GAO was asked to determine among other things 1 agencies progress in improving their timeliness in responding to requests for information and 2 the actions Justice has taken on previous GAO recommendations GAO-01-378 Mar. 16 2001 to improve data quality in annual reports and on-line availability of government information. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments Highlights of GAO-02-493 a report to the Chairman Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the Chairman Subcommittee on Government Efficiency Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations House Committee on Government Reform. What GAO Found Changes in agency reporting conventions made to improve accuracy and consistency make it difficult to identify clear trends in timeliness for fiscal years 1999 through 2001. However while the number of requests received appears to be leveling off backlogs of pending requests governmentwide are substantial and growing indicating that agencies are falling behind in processing requests. In response to our previous recommendation on data quality including consistency and accuracy of .