Information, Please

by Douglas McCollam
February 1, 2008

Who’s lobbying the FDA to withhold approval of your new product? How did a rival land that federal contract? Government agencies may soon answer such questions more quickly under the Freedom of Information Act. Businesses, which account for roughly 60% of FOIA requests, complain that their inquiries are routinely stalled by foot-dragging bureaucrats. But a little-noticed amendment to the FOIA law, adopted late last year, tightens response deadlines and makes it easier for applicants to recover attorneys’ fees if an agency unsuccessfully challenges their requests in court. “It adds up to faster disclosures,” says Jerry Stouck, a Washington lawyer who works on FOIA issues.