Federal Records:
Removal of Agency Documents by Senior Officials Upon Leaving Office
GGD-89-91: Published: Jul 25, 1989. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 1989.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed 13 cabinet-level departments to assess the extent to which they governed senior officials' removal of federal records upon leaving office.
GAO found that: (1) various federal and criminal laws applied to officials' removal of materials, depending on their qualification as records under each law's or the individual agency's definition; (2) those laws generally did not apply to the removal of nonrecord materials, including extra copies of records or personal papers; (3) 12 of the 13 agencies surveyed issued removal regulations, with 8 requiring review of documents before removal; (4) none of the agencies had a procedure for documenting the relinquishment of government ownership of removed materials; (5) each of the 13 agencies made officials aware of record removal regulations and the penalties for violating those regulations; (6) of the 24 top officials in 12 agencies, 5 planned to remove only nonrecord materials, 12 did not intend to remove any materials, and 7 had not expressed their plans; (7) none of the 12 agencies allowed officials to remove records; and (8) 11 agencies permitted officials to remove some copies of unclassified records, while 4 would allow officials to remove copies of some withheld records if the officials requested them under the Freedom of Information Act.
Feb 11, 2021
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Freedom of Information Act:
Update on Federal Agencies' Use of Exemption StatutesGAO-21-148: Published: Jan 12, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Oct 8, 2020
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Open Data:
Agencies Need Guidance to Establish Comprehensive Data Inventories; Information on Their Progress is LimitedGAO-21-29: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 8, 2020.
Jul 16, 2020
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Coast Guard:
Actions Needed to Ensure Investments in Key Data System Meet Mission and User NeedsGAO-20-562: Published: Jul 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2020.
Mar 30, 2020
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Information Management:
Selected Agencies Need to Fully Address Federal Electronic Recordkeeping RequirementsGAO-20-59: Published: Feb 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 30, 2020.
Mar 16, 2020
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Freedom of Information Act:
Federal Agencies' Recent Implementation EffortsGAO-20-406R: Published: Mar 11, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 16, 2020.
Dec 16, 2019
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Assessing Data Reliability (Supersedes GAO-09-680G)GAO-20-283G: Published: Dec 16, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2019.
Oct 17, 2019
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Freedom of Information Act:
DHS Needs to Reduce Backlogged Requests and Eliminate Duplicate ProcessingGAO-20-209T: Published: Oct 17, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 17, 2019.
Aug 10, 2018
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Paperwork Reduction Act:
Agencies Could Better Leverage Review Processes and Public Outreach to Improve Burden EstimatesGAO-18-381: Published: Jul 11, 2018. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2018.
Jun 25, 2018
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Freedom of Information Act:
Agencies Are Implementing Requirements but Additional Actions Are NeededGAO-18-365: Published: Jun 25, 2018. Publicly Released: Jun 25, 2018.
Mar 13, 2018
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Freedom of Information Act:
Agencies Are Implementing Requirements but Need to Take Additional ActionsGAO-18-452T: Published: Mar 13, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 13, 2018.
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