Reverse Freedom of Information Litigation Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
Reverse Freedom of Information Litigation Act - Amends the Freedom of Information Act to require each Federal agency to promulgate regulations by which: (1) the agency shall notify a person who has submitted information to the agency (submitter) of any request, with specified exceptions, for the disclosure of such information; and (2) the submitter may present written arguments regarding such request. Directs each agency to notify the submitter of: (1) its decision regarding such request; and (2) the submitter's right to appeal a decision to disclose such information to the head of the agency. Prohibits an agency, upon deciding to honor such a request, from disclosing the requested information for ten days after notifying any submitter who objected to such disclosure of such decision. Grants the United States district courts jurisdiction, on complaint of a submitter, to enjoin an agency from disclosing information. Requires any agency which is the subject of a complaint to notify: (1) an individual requesting information of any complaint seeking the withholding of such information; and (2) a submitter about any complaint seeking the disclosure of information. Specifies the jurisdiction of the courts with respect to the parties to actions based on such complaints. Permits the defendant in such an action to intervene or to be joined in such action. Directs such a court, in an action in which the complainant seeks the withholding of records, to review the record of the agency proceeding and to uphold the record unless it is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 9, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 9, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
L. PREYER (D-NC) introduced it on November 9, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 9, 1979, 17107 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17107 days ago, on November 9, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers