The public availability of records held by the executive branch was limited by narrow interpretation of the "housekeeping" statute of 1789 (now codified at 5 U.S.C. Among these legislative responses were the enactments of four statutes. Two provide access to federal records:
the Freedom of Information Act (1966) and the Privacy Act (1974). Two provide access to federal meetings:
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972); and the Government in the Sunshine Act (1976). This report offers an overview of each of these statutes, including the boundaries of their authority. This report then provides citations to additional resources on each of the laws. Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552)

In 1966, Congress enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the first law requiring public access to executive branch records. Pursuant to the statute, FOIA does not apply to the legislative or judicial branches of the federal government or to state, local, or tribal governments. Disputes over the accessibility of requested records may be settled, according to the provisions of the act, in federal court or may be mediated in the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). FOIA was amended in 1996 to provide for public access to information in an electronic form or format. App.) A 1972 statute, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), requires that the meetings of all federal advisory committees serving executive branch entities be open to public observation and that all committee records be accessible to the public. Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. When agencies resist these requests, Congress has formal and informal methods of encouraging or requiring agencies to comply. In view of the American separation of powers model of government, such conflicts among the three branches are neither unexpected nor necessarily destructive—and probably will continue to occur. Annual reports from all of the departments and agencies are posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice. Other transparency watchdog organizations also track litigation related to federal access laws. Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization that represents a variety of citizen interests, maintains a website that provides FOIA resources and information. Selected CRS Reports

CRS Report R41933, The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues , by [author name scrubbed] 
CRS Legal Sidebar WSLG93, The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Drone Strikes Program , by [author name scrubbed] 
CRS Report R43924, Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by-Side Analysis , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]
CRS Report R44253, Federal Advisory Committees: An Introduction and Overview , by [author name scrubbed]
CRS Report R44232, Creating a Federal Advisory Committee in the Executive Branch , by [author name scrubbed] 
CRS Report R44248, The Federal Advisory Committee Act: Analysis of Operations and Costs , by [author name scrubbed] 
CRS Report RL30240, Congressional Oversight Manual , by [author name scrubbed] et al. U.S. Congress.
No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to executive branch records or meetings. Congress, however, has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes,
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. §552), and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. §552a),
and two meetings access statutes,
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA; 5 U.S.C. App.), and the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. §552b).
These four laws provide the foundation for access to executive branch information in the American federal government. The records-access statutes provide the public with a variety of methods to examine how executive branch departments and agencies execute their missions. The meeting-access statutes provide the public the opportunity to participate in and inform the policy process. These four laws are also among the most used and most litigated federal access laws.
While the four statutes provide the public with access to executive branch federal records and meetings, they do not apply to the legislative or judicial branches of the U.S. government. The American separation of powers model of government provides a collection of formal and informal methods that the branches can use to provide information to one another. Moreover, the separation of powers anticipates conflicts over the accessibility of information. These conflicts are neither unexpected nor necessarily destructive. Although there is considerable interbranch cooperation in the sharing of information and records, such conflicts over access may continue on occasion.
This report offers an introduction to the four access laws and provides citations to additional resources related to these statutes. This report includes statistics on the use of FOIA and FACA and on litigation related to FOIA. The 114th Congress may have an interest in overseeing the implementation of these laws or may consider amending the laws. In addition, this report provides some examples of the methods Congress, the President, and the courts have employed to provide or require the provision of information to one another. This report is a primer on information access in the U.S. federal government and provides a list of resources related to transparency, secrecy, access, and nondisclosure.