Q. I know Congress is exempt from FOIA, but is there any work-around to request information about a congressperson's casework with constituents out in the community? For example, if a congressperson's website says they have attended 1,000 events in their district, is there any way to FOIA a list of those events with locations and dates? Or if the congressperson says his/her staff has successfully done casework for 5,000 people (i.e. helping them connect with federal agencies, etc.), can you request a list summarizing the general nature of those cases? Or, is none of this FOIA-able because of the congressional exemption?
A. The lists you speak of would likely be maintained—if at all—only by the congressperson’s office, which as you recognized is not subject to FOIA requests. You could try to piece together constituent referrals by sending FOIA requests to federal, state, and local agencies, but that would be a time-consuming project. I try to budget 12 months or more for federal FOIA requests and am no longer submitting requests for the 2022 cycle. In my opinion, a better approach would be to arrange for a reporter ask the congressperson’s office to voluntarily provide the desired lists.