Blogs

Newly issued 2023 Summary and Assessment highlights a range of efforts by agencies in key areas of FOIA administration and includes OIP guidance for further improvement. OIP also issues new Guidelines for 2024. 

The Office of Information Policy continues to offer virtual FOIA trainings in Fiscal Year 2024.

Today marks the 29th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) — landmark legislation aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Born from years of grass-roots advocacy, and from the voices and leadership of survivors, VAWA’s 1994 enactment was a testament to the power of collective action in shaping public policy and in setting a vision for our nation to advance a society that does not tolerate abuse.  Significant progress has been made over the past nearly three decades and we are committed to continuing to strengthen and expand initiatives...

The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) held its annual awards ceremony to highlight outstanding work in the realm of civil and criminal environmental enforcement, agency rulemaking defense, natural resource protection, Indian law and other areas.

OIP guidance provides insight on the benefits of documenting standard operating procedures for FOIA administration

A new report confirms what national security leaders have long warned: If Congress fails to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the United States stands at the brink of a self-inflicted national security calamity.  The study -- by an independent group of intelligence experts called the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) -- did not mince words: “history may judge the lapse of Section 702 authorities as one of the worst intelligence failures of our time.”

More than 30 judges, prosecutors, and police officers from Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina gathered in Montevideo from August 14 to 18 to participate in a conference on cybercrime organized by the U.S. Department of Justice's International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Last week marks the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9981, which was issued by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948, and which directed the desegregation of the United States Armed Forces. The impact of Executive Order 9981 cannot be overstated; it was among the first federal actions of the modern civil rights era to counter discrimination against Black Americans and other racial minorities. It’s impact, over time, has fundamentally transformed the racial makeup and composition of our armed services, and it has greatly benefitted our nation as a whole.

Earlier this month in Krakow, Poland, representatives from the Justice Department and EPA conducted a week-long training for Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators to gather evidence of environmental harm that will allow Ukraine to prosecute potential war crimes and related law violations committed during the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine.

Justice belongs to everyone, including those with disabilities. Legal systems must be designed with the needs and perspectives of people with disabilities in mind, or the promise of equal justice under law rings hollow. On this 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Office for Access to Justice reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that justice systems continue to work for people with disabilities, no matter the legal problem they face.