S. 337 · 114th Congress · enacted
FOIA Improvement Act of 2016
Became Public Law No: 114-185.
Latest official action 2016-06-30 · Enacted
The bill, briefly
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on March 15, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.) FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to: require federal agencies to make their disclosable records and documents available for public inspection in an electronic format; require agencies to make available for inspection in an electronic format records that have been requested three or more times (frequently requested records); prohibit an agency from charging a fee for providing records if the agency misses a deadline for complying with an FOIA request unless unusual circumstances apply and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request; prohibit an agency from withholding information requested under FOIA unless the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by a FOIA exemption or disclosure is prohibited by law (presumption of openness); limit the FOIA exemption for agency communications to allow the disclosure of agency records created 25 years or more before the date of a FOIA request; require the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between agencies and FOIA requesters; expand the authority and duties of the Chief FOIA Officer of each agency to require officers to serve as the pr…
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-30
Who reported lobbying on this bill?
Amount spent specifically on this bill: not disclosed
The reports below name this bill and disclose an organization’s overall lobbying expenses or a firm’s client income for the period. They can cover many bills and issues. These amounts are not payments to the bill or its politicians.
No matching lobbying report is imported yet. This is not evidence that no lobbying occurred.
2,409 latest lobbying reports imported. Some source imports are still in progress.
Politicians behind the bill
Sponsors and cosponsors from the official source, limited to members currently in office. Campaign amounts are cycle-wide and are not payments for this bill.
Sponsor
John Cornyn
Senate · TX · Republican
$1,943,978PAC receipts · 2025–2026
Cosponsor
Chuck Grassley
Senate · IA · Republican
$57,500PAC receipts · 2025–2026
Cosponsor
Christopher A. Coons
Senate · DE · Democratic
$1,411,794PAC receipts · 2025–2026
Cosponsor
Deb Fischer
Senate · NE · Republican
$357,755PAC receipts · 2025–2026
5 of 5 source cosponsor records retrieved; only current officials and unwithdrawn sponsorships appear.
PAC donors to the listed sponsors
These are all-cycle contributions to the listed sponsors’ and cosponsors’ campaigns. FEC does not attribute them to this bill. A donation plus sponsorship does not establish why a politician acted.
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC (BANKPAC)$25,000
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. ASSOC. POLITICAL FUND$25,000
AMERICA'S CREDIT UNIONS PAC$21,000
DELOITTE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$20,000
EMPLOYEES OF NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION PAC$20,000
GENERAL ATOMICS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$20,000
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$20,000
NATIONAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COUNCIL AND REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATION CENTER POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NMHC PAC)$20,000
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE I$20,000
WALMART INC. PAC FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT$20,000
TEXTRON INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$19,500
TEXAS FARM BUREAU AGFUND$19,238
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $19,238
Official PAC recordFASPAC FAREWAY STORES INC PAC$19,000
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (GENERAL DYNAMICS EMPLOYEE PAC)$19,000
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AAPAC)$18,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $8,500
Christopher A. Coons · Cosponsor · $7,500
Deb Fischer · Cosponsor · $2,000
Official PAC recordAFLAC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AFLAC PAC)$17,500
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $10,000
Christopher A. Coons · Cosponsor · $5,000
Deb Fischer · Cosponsor · $2,500
Official PAC recordAMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$17,500
ERNST & YOUNG POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$17,500
PACIFIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$17,500
UBS AMERICAS INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (UBS PAC)$17,500
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$16,988
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$16,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $10,000
Christopher A. Coons · Cosponsor · $5,000
Deb Fischer · Cosponsor · $1,000
Official PAC recordTHE BOEING COMPANY PAC$15,500
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $7,500
Christopher A. Coons · Cosponsor · $5,500
Deb Fischer · Cosponsor · $2,500
Official PAC recordABBOTT LABORATORIES EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
BUILD POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS (BUILDPAC)$15,000
COMCAST CORPORATION & NBCUNIVERSAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE - FEDERAL$15,000
CONOCOPHILLIPS SPIRIT PAC$15,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $15,000
Official PAC recordCSX CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND$15,000
DENALI LEADERSHIP PAC$15,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $15,000
Official PAC recordENTERGY CORPORATION EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (ENPAC)$15,000
MERCK & CO., INC., EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (MERCK PAC)$15,000
MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (MORPAC)$15,000
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
PFIZER INC. PAC$15,000
THE HAWKEYE PAC$15,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $15,000
Official PAC recordTOMORROW IS MEANINGFUL PAC$15,000
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $15,000
Official PAC recordWINE AND SPIRITS WHOLESALERS OF AMERICA, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$15,000
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES (ACEC/PAC)$14,500
John Cornyn · Sponsor · $10,000
Christopher A. Coons · Cosponsor · $2,000
Deb Fischer · Cosponsor · $2,500
Official PAC recordAKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP CIVIC ACTION COMMITTEE (AKA AKIN GUMP PAC)$14,000
The largest 40 donor totals appear here. Open each politician for their complete, paginated PAC donor list.
What happened after enactment?
Dated agency-reported implementation and uptake measures are shown with their scope. They do not by themselves establish causal success. If no evidence is listed, the outcome is not established.
Measured outcome: not established
Enactment alone does not show whether a law improved its intended outcome. We need a dated evaluation, observed result or verified implementation record before claiming success or failure.