Why It Matters

The National Guard Bureau collects and tracks Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) data from all three National Guard components: the bureau itself, the Army National Guard, and the Air National Guard. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published June 11, 2026, found significant gaps in that data that National Guard Bureau (NGB) officials could not explain. For example, the Army National Guard's own records showed different numbers of FOIA requests received, processed, and pending compared to what the NGB reported for fiscal years 2016 through 2024.

The problems run deep: there is no consistent way across the National Guard to check whether FOIA data is accurate. Managers are occasionally logging requests incorrectly, and there's no system to catch these mistakes before the data gets sent up the chain. As a result, NGB keeps sending bad data to the Department of Defense (DOD), which means Congress and the public get incomplete information about how the agency handles transparency requests.

Staffing is another major issue. NGB hasn't figured out how many people it actually needs to answer FOIA requests on time. Federal law requires agencies to respond within 20 days. NGB regularly misses that deadline because it doesn't have enough staff to handle the workload.

The Big Picture

House Report 118-529 ordered GAO to take a hard look at how the National Guard handles FOIA requests. GAO asked two main questions: Is the National Guard accurately tracking and reporting its FOIA data? And is the National Guard able to process FOIA requests without major delays?

To find answers, GAO reviewed policies and data from NGB and DOD, looked at nine years of FOIA records, surveyed FOIA staff across the Army and Air National Guard, and talked to officials at all levels.

Political Stakes

GAO made six recommendations, all aimed at the Secretary of Defense. The agency should create a single process to verify FOIA data across all three National Guard components (working with the Army and Air Force), figure out how many staff the NGB headquarters actually needs, set up a shared system so field offices can communicate with headquarters, establish clear training standards for FOIA managers, create a written manual for the FOIA program, and make sure everyone knows their role. DOD agreed with all six recommendations and said it would take action.

What's Next

Right now, all six recommendations have an "Open" status, so the ball is in DOD's court. The Secretary of Defense needs to set deadlines for each recommendation, decide who's responsible for what, and put money behind fixing the data system, hiring more staff, and building the communication tools that GAO said are missing. If DOD doesn't act, the National Guard will keep reporting bad data and missing the 20-day deadline. Congress and the public will be left in the dark about how the agency handles transparency requests.

The Bottom Line

The National Guard's FOIA program has two major problems: it can't verify its own data, and it doesn't have enough people to meet legal deadlines. Congress asked for this review because transparency matters. DOD now has a clear roadmap (six specific steps that DOD itself agreed to). The next move is up to them.

***

Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article