Freedom of Information Act: Preliminary Analysis of Processing	 
Trends Shows Importance of Improvement Plans (26-JUL-06,	 
GAO-06-1022T).							 
                                                                 
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes that federal	 
agencies must provide the public with access to government	 
information, thus enabling them to learn about government	 
operations and decisions. To help ensure appropriate		 
implementation, the act requires that agencies report annually to
the Attorney General, providing specific information about their 
FOIA operations. In addition, a recent Executive Order directs	 
agencies to develop plans to improve their FOIA operations,	 
including, among other things, goals to reduce backlogs in FOIA  
requests. GAO has reported previously on the contents of these	 
annual reports for 25 major agencies. For this hearing, GAO was  
asked to testify both on the annual reports for fiscal year 2005 
and on the recently developed improvement plans for these 25	 
agencies. GAO based its testimony on its ongoing work on these	 
topics. Upon completion of its ongoing review, GAO expects to	 
make recommendations to improve agency implementation of the	 
Executive Order, including efforts to reduce and eliminate	 
backlog.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-1022T					        
    ACCNO:   A57484						        
  TITLE:     Freedom of Information Act: Preliminary Analysis of      
Processing Trends Shows Importance of Improvement Plans 	 
     DATE:   07/26/2006 
  SUBJECT:   Executive orders					 
	     Freedom of information				 
	     Government information				 
	     Government information dissemination		 
	     Information access 				 
	     Information disclosure				 
	     Reporting requirements				 
	     Accountability					 
	     Federal agencies					 
	     Statistical data					 

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GAO-06-1022T

     

     * Results in Brief
     * Background
          * The FOIA Process at Federal Agencies
          * The Privacy Act Also Provides Individuals with Access Rights
          * Roles of OMB and Justice in FOIA Implementation
          * 1996 Amendments Established Annual FOIA Reports
     * Increases in Requests Are Slowing, but Pending Cases Are Inc
          * Most Requests Are Granted in Full
          * Processing Times Vary
          * Agency Pending Cases Continue to Increase
     * About Half of FOIA Improvement Plans Do Not Include Goals an
     * Contact and Acknowledgements
     * Attachment 1: Freedom of Information Act Exemptions
     * Attachment 2. Median Processing Times Reported
          * Agency for International Development
          * Central Intelligence Agency
          * Department of Homeland Security
          * Department of Commerce
          * Department of Defense
          * Department of Energy
          * Department of the Interior
          * Department of Justice
          * Department of Labor
          * Department of Transportation
          * Department of Education
          * Environmental Protection Agency
          * General Services Administration
          * Department of Health and Human Services
          * Department of Housing and Urban Development
          * National Aeronautics and Space Administration
          * Nuclear Regulatory Commission
          * National Science Foundation
          * Office of Personnel Management
          * Small Business Administration
          * Social Security Administration
          * Department of State
          * Department of the Treasury
          * Department of Agriculture
          * Department of Veterans Affairs

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the Subcommittee's hearing
on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).1 Generally
speaking, FOIA establishes that federal agencies must provide the public
with access to government information, thus enabling them to learn about
government operations and decisions. Specific requests by the public for
information through the act have led to disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse,
and wrongdoing in the government, as well as the identification of unsafe
consumer products, harmful drugs, and serious health hazards.

To help ensure appropriate implementation, the act requires that agencies
provide annual reports on their FOIA operations to the Attorney General,
including specific information such as how many requests were received and
processed in the previous fiscal year and how many requests were pending
at the end of the year. In addition, the President issued an Executive
Order2 in December 2005 that is aimed at improving agencies' disclosure of
information consistent with FOIA. Among other things, this order requires
each agency to review its FOIA operations and develop improvement plans;
by June 14, 2006, each agency was to submit a report to the Attorney
General and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that
summarizes the results of the agency's review and includes a copy of its
improvement plan. These plans are to include specific outcome-oriented
goals and timetables, by which the agency head is to evaluate the agency's
success in implementing the plan. The Executive Order specifically
requires that these plans address ways to eliminate or reduce any backlog
of FOIA requests.

As requested, in my remarks today, I will discuss two topics, basing my
discussion on ongoing work that we are performing for the Subcommittee:
(1) statistics on the processing of FOIA requests as reflected in
agencies' 2005 annual reports, highlighting any trends in these reports
since 2002, and (2) to what extent agencies addressed the Executive
Order's requirement to provide measurable, outcome-oriented goals to
reduce or eliminate backlog, along with timetables that include milestones
for these goals.

1 See 5 U.S.C. S: 552.

2 Executive Order 13392, Improving Agency Disclosure of Information
(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 14, 2005).

To describe statistics on the processing of FOIA requests, we analyzed
annual report data for fiscal years 2002 through 2005 from 25 major
agencies3 (herein we refer to this scope as governmentwide). To describe
how agency improvement plans addressed the order's requirements regarding
goals and timetables to address backlog, we analyzed the 22 agencies'
plans that were published as of June 30, 2006, to determine whether they
contained descriptions of activities to reduce backlog, along with goals
and timetables that could be used to evaluate progress.4 We also reviewed
the Executive Order itself, implementing guidance issued by OMB and the
Department of Justice, other FOIA guidance issued by Justice, and our past
work in this area. Three agencies, the Departments of State and Homeland
Security and the Agency for International Development, had not published
their plans by June 30, and thus we could not analyze them for this
hearing. These three agencies have since provided their plans. We
discussed the content of this statement with officials of the Department
of Justice, including the Director of the Office of Information and
Privacy.

We conducted our review in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards, except that we did not verify the accuracy and
reliability of the data in agencies' annual reports in time to be included
in this testimony. As a result, our findings on the status of FOIA
implementation as reflected in agencies' annual reports are preliminary
and may change when we complete our assessment of data reliability. We
performed our work from April to July 2006.

3 The agencies included are listed in table 2; these agencies are the 24
agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act, plus the Central
Intelligence Agency.

4 Two GAO analysts independently analyzed each agency's plan to determine
if it contained objective goals and timetables for reducing the backlog.
When the analysts disagreed, they discussed the reasons for their
differences and arrived at a consensus.

                                Results in Brief

The public continues to request and receive increasing amounts of
information from the federal government through FOIA; however, excepting
one case-the Social Security Administration (SSA)-the rate of increase has
flattened in recent years.5 Based on data reported by 24 major agencies in
their annual FOIA reports, the number of requests received in fiscal year
2005 increased by 27 percent from 2002, but by only about 2.5 percent from
2004. As more requests come in, agencies also report that they have been
processing more of them-25 percent more from 2002 to 2005 (but only about
2.0 percent more than from 2004). For 87 percent of requests processed in
fiscal year 2005, agencies reported that responsive records were provided
in full to requesters.  However, the number of pending requests carried
over from year to year has been steadily increasing, rising 43 percent
since 2002.6 Further, the rate of increase is growing: the increase from
fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2005 is 24 percent, compared to 11 percent
from 2003 to 2004. Finally, the median times to process requests varied
greatly across the government, ranging from less than 10 days for some
agency components to more than 100 days at others (sometimes much more
than 100).

Most of the agency improvement plans discussed reducing backlog, but not
all consistently followed the Executive Order or implementing guidance
provided by the Justice Department. Of the 25 agencies, 3 had not posted
their plans in time to be included in this testimony, and 1 reported no
backlog. Of the remaining 21 agencies, 12 followed the Executive Order's
instruction to establish measurable, outcome-oriented goals for reducing
or eliminating their backlogs, as well as timetables with milestones for
achieving these goals. Nine agencies did not do this, although they
accounted for a substantial portion-about 29 percent-of the requests
reported to be pending at the end of fiscal year 2005. (Most agencies did
provide goals and timetables for other kinds of objectives, however, such
as performing staffing analyses and reviewing progress.) In addition,
agencies generally did not specify the dates or numbers they were using as
the baselines for their existing backlogs, which will be important for
measuring improvement. GAO's ongoing work suggests that factors
contributing to these deficiencies include difficulties in coordinating
responses among components in large, decentralized agencies and
limitations in the systems that track FOIA processing. In addition,
neither the Executive Order nor Justice guidance established a baseline
date for measuring the backlog or directed agencies to establish such a
date. Without clearly defined baselines, specific objectives, and
timetables for reducing backlog, it could be challenging for agency heads,
Justice, and the Congress to measure progress in improving FOIA processes,
as intended by the Executive Order.

5 We exclude SSA's statistics from our discussion of requests received,
requests processed, and their disposition, because a change in the
agency's counting methodology resulted in a report of over 17 million
requests for fiscal year 2005, for a jump of about 16 million from the
year before. Including these statistics in the governmentwide data would
obscure year-to-year comparisons. This issue is discussed further on page
15 of this statement.

6 These statistics include numbers reported by SSA, because they are not
affected by the approximately 17 million requests mentioned in footnote 5,
for which SSA does not keep statistics on processing times or pending
requests.

When we complete our ongoing review and analysis of FOIA statistics and
agency improvement plans, we anticipate making recommendations to improve
agency implementation of the Executive Order, including efforts to reduce
and eliminate backlog.

                                   Background

FOIA establishes a legal right of access to government records and
information, on the basis of the principles of openness and accountability
in government. Before the act (originally enacted in 1966),7 an individual
seeking access to federal records had faced the burden of establishing a
right to examine them. FOIA established a "right to know" standard for
access, instead of a "need to know," and shifted the burden of proof from
the individual to the government agency seeking to deny access.

7 The act has been amended several times.

FOIA provides the public with access to government information either
through "affirmative agency disclosure"-publishing information in the
Federal Register or the Internet, or making it available in reading
rooms-or in response to public requests for disclosure. Public requests
for disclosure of records are the best known type of FOIA disclosure. Any
member of the public may request access to information held by federal
agencies, without showing a need or reason for seeking the information.

Not all information held by the government is subject to FOIA. The act
prescribes nine specific categories of information that are exempt from
disclosure: for example, trade secrets and certain privileged commercial
or financial information, certain personnel and medical files, and certain
law enforcement records or information (attachment 1 provides the complete
list). In denying access to material, agencies may cite these exemptions.
The act requires agencies to notify requesters of the reasons for any
adverse determination (that is, a determination not to provide records)
and grants requesters the right to appeal agency decisions to deny access.

In addition, agencies are required to meet certain time frames for making
key determinations: whether to comply with requests (20 business days from
receipt of the request), responses to appeals of adverse determinations
(20 business days from filing of the appeal), and whether to provide
expedited processing of requests (10 business days from receipt of the
request). Congress did not establish a statutory deadline for making
releasable records available, but instead required agencies to make them
available promptly.

The FOIA Process at Federal Agencies

Although the specific details of processes for handling FOIA requests vary
among agencies, the major steps in handling a request are similar across
the government. Agencies receive requests, usually in writing (although
they may accept requests by telephone or electronically), which can come
from any organization or member of the public. Once received, the request
goes through several phases, which include initial processing, searching
for and retrieving responsive records, preparing responsive records for
release, approving the release of the records, and releasing the records
to the requester. Figure 1 is an overview of the process, from the receipt
of a request to the release of records.

Figure 1: Overview of Generic FOIA Process

During the initial processing phase, a request is logged into the agency's
FOIA system, and a case file is started. The request is then reviewed to
determine its scope, estimate fees, and provide an initial response to the
requester (in general, this simply acknowledges receipt of the request).
After this point, the FOIA staff begins its search to retrieve responsive
records. This step may include searching for records from multiple
locations and program offices. After potentially responsive records are
located, the documents are reviewed to ensure that they are within the
scope of the request.

During the next two phases, the agency ensures that appropriate
information is to be released under the provisions of the act. First, the
agency reviews the responsive records to make any redactions based on the
statutory exemptions. Once the exemption review is complete, the final set
of responsive records is turned over to the FOIA office, which calculates
appropriate fees, if applicable. Before release, the redacted responsive
records are then given a final review, possibly by the agency's general
counsel, and then a response letter is generated, summarizing the agency's
actions regarding the request. Finally, the responsive records are
released to the requester.

Some requests are relatively simple to process, such as requests for
specific pieces of information that the requester sends directly to the
appropriate office. Other requests may require more extensive processing,
depending on their complexity, the volume of information involved, the
need for the agency FOIA office to work with offices that have relevant
subject-matter expertise to find and obtain information, the need for a
FOIA officer to review and redact information in the responsive material,
the need to communicate with the requester about the scope of the request,
and the need to communicate with the requester about the fees that will be
charged for fulfilling the request (or whether fees will be waived).8

Specific details of agency processes for handling requests vary, depending
on the agency's organizational structure and the complexity of the
requests received. While some agencies centralize processing in one main
office, other agencies have separate FOIA offices for each agency
component and field office. Agencies also vary in how they allow requests
to be made. Depending on the agency, requesters can submit requests by
telephone, fax, letter, or e-mail or through the Web. In addition,
agencies may process requests in two ways, known as "multitrack" and
"single track." Multitrack processing involves dividing requests into two
groups: (1) simple requests requiring relatively minimal review, which are
placed in one processing track, and (2) more voluminous and complex
requests, which are placed in another track. In contrast, single-track
processing does not distinguish between simple and complex requests. With
single-track processing, agencies process all requests on a
first-in/first-out basis. Agencies can also process FOIA requests on an
expedited basis when a requester has shown a compelling need or urgency
for the information.

As agencies process FOIA requests, they generally place them in one of
four possible disposition categories: grants, partial grants, denials, and
"not disclosed for other reasons." These categories are defined as
follows:

8 Fees may be waived when requests are determined to be in the public
interest.

           0M Grants: Agency decisions to disclose all requested records in
           full.
           0M Partial grants: Agency decisions to withhold some records in
           whole or in part, because such information was determined to fall
           within one or more exemptions.
           0M Denials: Agency decisions not to release any part of the
           requested records because all information in the records is
           determined to be exempt under one or more statutory exemptions.
           0M Not disclosed for other reasons: Agency decisions not to
           release requested information for any of a variety of reasons
           other than statutory exemptions from disclosing records. The
           categories and definitions of these "other" reasons for
           nondisclosure are shown in table 1.

Table 1: "Other" Reasons for Nondisclosure

Category                  Definition                                       
No records                The agency searched and found no record          
                             responsive to the request.                       
Referrals                 The agency referred records responsive to the    
                             request to another agency.                       
Request withdrawn         The requester withdrew the request.              
Fee-related reasons       The requester refused to commit to pay fees (or  
                             other reasons related to fees).                  
Records not reasonably    The requester did not describe the records       
described                 sought with sufficient specificity to allow them 
                             to be located with a reasonable amount of        
                             effort.                                          
Not a proper FOIA request The request was not a FOIA request for one of    
                             several procedural reasons.                      
Not an agency record      The requested record was not within the agency's 
                             control.                                         
Duplicate request         The request was submitted more than once by the  
                             same requester.                                  

Source: Department of Justice.

When a FOIA request is denied in full or in part, or the requested records
are not disclosed for other reasons, the requester is entitled to be told
the reason for the denial, to appeal the denial, and to challenge it in
court.

The Privacy Act Also Provides Individuals with Access Rights

In addition to FOIA, the Privacy Act of 19749 includes provisions granting
individuals the right to gain access to and correct information about
themselves held by federal agencies. Thus the Privacy Act serves as a
second major legal basis, in addition to FOIA, for the public to use in
obtaining government information. The Privacy Act also places limitations
on agencies' collection, disclosure, and use of personal information.

Although the two laws differ in scope, procedures in both FOIA and the
Privacy Act permit individuals to seek access to records about
themselves-known as "first-party" access. Depending on the individual
circumstances, one law may allow broader access or more extensive
procedural rights than the other, or access may be denied under one act
and allowed under the other. Consequently, the Department of Justice's
Office of Information and Privacy issued guidance that it is "good policy
for agencies to treat all first-party access requests as FOIA requests (as
well as possibly Privacy Act requests), regardless of whether the FOIA is
cited in a requester's letter." This guidance was intended to help ensure
that requesters receive the fullest possible response to their inquiries,
regardless of which law they cite.

In addition, Justice guidance for the annual FOIA report directs agencies
to include Privacy Act requests (that is, first-party requests) in the
statistics reported. According to the guidance, "A Privacy Act request is
a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated
as FOIA requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless of which
law is cited by the requester, are included in this report.)"

Although FOIA and the Privacy Act can both apply to first-party requests,
such requests are not in many cases processed in the same way as described
earlier for FOIA requests. For example, most SSA first-party requests are
processed by staff other than FOIA staff, specifically, staff in SSA's
field and district offices and teleservice centers.10

9 See 5 U.S.C. S: 552a.

Roles of OMB and Justice in FOIA Implementation

OMB and the Department of Justice both have roles in the implementation of
FOIA. The act requires OMB to issue guidelines to "provide for a uniform
schedule of fees for all agencies."11 OMB issued this guidance in April
1987.12

The Department of Justice oversees agencies' compliance with FOIA and is
the primary source of policy guidance for agencies. Specifically,
Justice's requirements under the act are to

           0M make agencies' annual FOIA reports available through a single
           electronic access point and notify Congress as to their
           availability;
           0M in consultation with OMB, develop guidelines for the required
           annual agency reports, so that all reports use common terminology
           and follow a similar format; and
           0M submit an annual report on FOIA statistics and the efforts
           undertaken by Justice to encourage agency compliance.

           Within the Department of Justice, the Office of Information and
           Privacy has lead responsibility for providing guidance and support
           to federal agencies on FOIA issues. This office first issued
           guidelines for agency preparation and submission of annual reports
           in the spring of 1997. It also periodically issues additional
           guidance on annual reports as well as on compliance, provides
           training, and maintains a counselors service to provide expert,
           one-on-one assistance to agency FOIA staff. Further, the Office of
           Information and Privacy also makes a variety of FOIA and Privacy
           Act resources available to agencies and the public via the Justice
           Web site and on-line bulletins.

10 According to SSA, its field organization is decentralized to provide
services at the local level, and includes 10 regional offices, 6
processing centers, and approximately 1500 field offices.

11 This provision was added by the Freedom of Information Reform Act of
1986 (Pub. L. 99-570).

12 See OMB, Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee Schedule and
Guidelines, 52 FR 10011 (Mar. 27, 1987), effective April 27, 1987. Also in
1987, the Department of Justice issued guidelines on waiving fees when
requests are determined to be in the public interest. Under the
guidelines, requests for waivers or reduction of fees are to be considered
on a case-by-case basis, taking into account both the public interest and
the requester's commercial interests.

1996 Amendments Established Annual FOIA Reports

In 1996, the Congress amended FOIA to provide for public access to
information in an electronic format (among other purposes). These
amendments, referred to as e-FOIA, also required that agencies submit a
report to the Attorney General on or before February 1 of each year that
covers the preceding fiscal year and includes information about agencies'
FOIA operations.13 The following are examples of information that is to be
included in these reports:

           0M number of requests received, processed, and pending;
           0M median number of days taken by the agency to process different
           types of requests;
           0M determinations made by the agency not to disclose information
           and the reasons for not disclosing the information;
           0M disposition of administrative appeals by requesters;
           0M information on the costs associated with handling of FOIA
           requests; and
           0M full-time-equivalent staffing information.

           In addition to providing their annual reports to the Attorney
           General, agencies are to make them available to the public in
           electronic form. The Attorney General is required to make all
           agency reports available on line at a single electronic access
           point and report to Congress no later than April 1 of each year
           that these reports are available in electronic form.

           In 2001, we prepared the first in a series of reports on the
           implementation of the 1996 amendments to FOIA, starting from
           fiscal year 1999.14 In this and subsequent reviews, we examined
           the contents of these annual reports for 25 major agencies (shown
           in table 2).15 They include the 24 major agencies covered by the
           Chief Financial Officers Act, as well as the Central Intelligence
           Agency and, until 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
           (FEMA). In 2003, the creation of the Department of Homeland
           Security (DHS), which incorporated FEMA, led to a shift in some
           FOIA requests from agencies affected by the creation of the new
           department, but the same major component entities are reflected in
           all the years reviewed.

           Table 2: Agencies Reviewed

           Source: GAO.

           a FEMA information was reported separately in fiscal year 2002. In
           fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005, FEMA was part of DHS.

13 5 U.S.C.S: 552(e).

14 GAO, Information Management: Progress in Implementing the 1996
Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments, GAO-01-378 (Washington,
D.C.: Mar. 16, 2001).

15 GAO, Information Management: Update on Implementation of the 1996
Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments, GAO-02-493 (Washington,
D.C.: Aug. 30, 2002); Information Management: Update on Freedom of
Information Act Implementation Status, GAO-04-257 (Washington, D.C.: Feb.
18, 2004); and Information Management: Implementation of the Freedom of
Information Act, GAO-05-648T (Washington, D.C.: May 11, 2005).

Agency                                        Abbreviation 
Agency for International Development          AID          
Central Intelligence Agency                   CIA          
Department of Agriculture                     USDA         
Department of Commerce                        DOC          
Department of Defense                         DOD          
Department of Education                       ED           
Department of Energy                          DOE          
Department of Health and Human Services       HHS          
Department of Homeland Security a             DHS          
Federal Emergency Management Agency a         FEMA         
Department of Housing and Urban Development   HUD          
Department of Interior                        DOI          
Department of Justice                         DOJ          
Department of Labor                           DOL          
Department of State                           State        
Department of the Treasury                    Treas        
Department of Transportation                  DOT          
Department of Veterans Affairs                VA           
Environmental Protection Agency               EPA          
General Services Administration               GSA          
National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA         
National Science Foundation                   NSF          
Nuclear Regulatory Commission                 NRC          
Office of Personnel Management                OPM          
Small Business Administration                 SBA          
Social Security Administration                SSA          

      Increases in Requests Are Slowing, but Pending Cases Are Increasing

The annual FOIA reports for fiscal year 2005 show that many of the trends
of previous years are continuing: Requests received and processed continue
to rise; however, excepting one case-SSA-the rate of increase has
flattened in recent years. We present SSA's statistics separately because
the agency reported an additional 16 million requests in 2005, dwarfing
those for all other agencies combined, which together total about 2.6
million. SSA attributed this rise to an improvement in its method of
counting requests. Justice officials have raised questions about the
inclusion of these numbers in FOIA statistics.

Figure 2 shows total requests reported governmentwide for fiscal years
2002 through 2005, with SSA's share shown separately. This figure shows
the magnitude of SSA's contribution to the whole FOIA picture, as well as
the scale of the jump from 2004 to 2005.

Figure 2: Total FOIA Requests with SSA Shown Separately, Fiscal Years
2002-2005

Figure 3 presents these statistics on a scale that allows a clearer view
of the rate of increase in FOIA requests received and processed in the
rest of the government. As this figure shows, when SSA's numbers are
excluded, the rate of increase is modest and has been flattening: from
fiscal year 2002 to 2005, requests received increased by about 27 percent,
and requests processed increased by about 25 percent. From fiscal year
2004 to 2005, requests received increased about 2.5 percent, and requests
processed increased about 2.0 percent.

Figure 3: Total FOIA Requests and FOIA Requests Processed, Fiscal Years
2002-2005

According to SSA, the increases that the agency reported in fiscal year
2005 can be attributed to an improvement in its method of counting a
category of requests it calls "simple requests handled by non-FOIA staff."
In the past 4 years, SSA's FOIA reports have consistently shown
significant growth in this category, which has accounted for the major
portion of all SSA requests reported (see table 3). In each of these
years, SSA has attributed the increases in this category largely to better
reporting, as well as actual increases in requests.

Table 3: Comparison of SSA's Simple Requests Handled by Non-FOIA Staff to
Totals, Fiscal Years 2002 to 2005

                                              Simple requests   Percentage of 
Fiscal Total requests Total requests   handled by non-FOIA total processed 
year         received      processed                 staff 
2005       17,257,886     17,262,315            17,223,713            99.8 
2004        1,453,619      1,450,493             1,270,512            87.6 
2003          705,280        704,941               678,849            96.3 
2002          268,488        292,884               245,877            84.0 

Sources: SSA FOIA reports (self-reported data), GAO analysis.

SSA describes requests in this category as typically being requests by
individuals for access to their own records, or else requests in which
individuals consent for SSA to supply information about themselves to
third parties (such as insurance and mortgage companies) so that they can
receive housing assistance, mortgages, disability insurance, and so on.16
According to SSA's FOIA report, these requests are handled by personnel in
about 1,500 locations in SSA, including field and district offices and
teleservice centers. Such requests are almost always granted,17 according
to SSA, and most receive immediate responses. SSA has stated that it does
not keep processing statistics (such as median days to process) on these
requests, which it reports separately from other FOIA requests (for which
processing statistics are kept).

According to SSA, in fiscal year 2005, the agency began to use automated
systems to capture the numbers of requests processed by non-FOIA staff,
generating statistics automatically as requests were processed; the
result, according to SSA, is a much more accurate count. However, Justice
officials have suggested that SSA consider treating the bulk of these
requests as non-FOIA requests and thus not include them in future reports.

16 According to SSA officials, most of these simple requests are for
essentially the same types of information, such as copies of earnings
records and verifications of monthly benefit amounts or Social Security
numbers. The agency considers these requests to be covered by the Privacy
Act and by FOIA; requests covered by both acts are to be reported in
agencies' annual FOIA reports.

17 Denials can occur in the case of discrepancies in the requests, such as
incorrect Social Security numbers, for example.

Besides SSA, agencies reporting large numbers of requests received were
the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services,
Homeland Security, Justice, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as shown
in table 4. The rest of the agencies combined account for only about 3
percent of the total requests received (if SSA is excluded). Table 4
presents, in descending order of request totals, the numbers of requests
received and percentages of the total (calculated with and without SSA's
statistics).

Table 4: Requests Received, Fiscal Year 2005

                                      Percentage of total Percentage of total 
Agency               Total               including SSA       excluding SSA 
SSA             17,257,886                       86.78                   - 
VA               1,914,395                        9.63               72.81 
HHS                222,372                        1.12                8.46 
DHS                163,016                        0.82                6.20 
DOD                 81,304                        0.41                3.09 
Treas               53,330                        0.27                2.03 
DOJ                 52,010                        0.26                1.98 
USDA                51,516                        0.26                1.96 
DOL                 23,505                        0.12                0.89 
EPA                 12,201                        0.06                0.46 
OPM                 12,085                        0.06                0.46 
DOT                  9,597                        0.05                0.37 
DOI                  6,749                        0.03                0.26 
State                4,602                        0.02                0.18 
HUD                  4,227                        0.02                0.16 
SBA                  3,739                        0.02                0.14 
DOE                  3,729                        0.02                0.14 
CIA                  2,935                        0.01                0.11 
ED                   2,416                        0.01                0.09 
DOC                  1,804                        0.01                0.07 
GSA                  1,416                        0.01                0.05 
NASA                 1,229                        0.01                0.05 
NRC                    371                        0.00                0.01 
AID                    369                        0.00                0.01 
NSF                    273                        0.00                0.01 
Total excluding  2,629,190                           -                   - 
SSA                                                    
Total including 19,887,076                           -                   - 
SSA                                                    

Source: FOIA annual reports for 2005 (self-reported data).

Note: Abbreviations are as in table 2.

Most Requests Are Granted in Full

Most FOIA requests in 2005 were granted in full, with relatively few being
partially granted, denied, or not disclosed for other reasons (statistics
are shown in table 5). This generalization holds with or without SSA's
inclusion. However, including SSA's numbers in the proportion of grants
overwhelms the other categories-raising this number from 87 percent of the
total to 98 percent. This is to be expected, since SSA reports that it
grants the great majority of its simple requests handled by non-FOIA
staff, which make up the bulk of SSA's statistics.

Table 5: Disposition of Processed Requests for Fiscal Year 2005

                            Statistics excluding SSA Statistics including SSA
Disposition                   Number   Percentage       Number  Percentage 
Full grants                2,252,867         87.2   19,513,259        98.3 
Partial grants               104,356          4.0      104,631         0.5 
Denial                        20,949          0.8       21,403         0.1 
Not disclosed for other      206,699          8.0      207,893         1.1 
reasons                                                        
Total                      2,584,871                19,847,186 

Source: FOIA annual reports for 2005 (self-reported data).

Four of the eight agencies that handled the largest numbers of requests
(HHS, SSA, USDA, and VA; see table 4) also granted the largest percentages
of requests in full, as shown in figure 4. This figure shows, by agency,
the disposition of requests processed: that is, whether granted in full,
partially granted, denied, or not disclosed for the "other" reasons shown
in table 1.

Figure 4: Disposition of Processed Requests, by Agency (Fiscal Year 2005)

Note: Abbreviations are shown in table 2.

As the figure shows, the numbers of fully granted requests varied widely
among agencies in fiscal year 2005. Seven agencies made full grants of
requested records in over 80 percent of the cases they processed (besides
the four already mentioned, these include DOE, OPM, and SBA).  In
contrast, 13 of 25 made full grants of requested records in less than 40
percent of their cases, including 3 agencies (CIA, NSF, and State) that
made full grants in less than 20 percent of cases processed.

This variance among agencies in the disposition of requests has been
evident in prior years as well.18 In many cases, the variance can be
accounted for by the types of requests that different agencies process.
For example, as discussed earlier, SSA grants a very high proportion of
requests because they are requests for personal information about
individuals that are routinely made available to or for the individuals
concerned. Similarly, VA routinely makes medical records available to
individual veterans.

Processing Times Vary

For 2005, the reported time required to process requests (by track) varied
considerably among agencies. Table 6 presents data on median processing
times for fiscal year 2005. For agencies that reported processing times by
component rather than for the agency as a whole, the table indicates the
range of median times reported by the agency's components.

18 See GAO, Information Management: Progress in Implementing the 1996
Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments, GAO-01-378 (Washington,
D.C.: Mar. 16, 2001), and Information Management: Update on Freedom of
Information Act Implementation Status, GAO-04-257 (Washington, D.C.: Feb.
18, 2004).

Table 6: Median Days to Process Requests for Fiscal Year 2005, by Track

          Type of request processing track
Agency  Simple Complex Single Expedited 
AID          -       -     55        34 
CIA          7      68      -         - 
DHS      16-61   3-242      -      2-45 
DOC         12      40      -         8 
DOD         16      85      -         - 
DOE      5-106  10-170      -      1-12 
DOI       2-43   28-89      -      1-15 
DOJ      0-139  12-863      -     2-185 
DOL       6-30   14-60      -      2-18 
DOT       1-30  20-134      -      5-30 
ED          35      66      -        24 
EPA      13-32   4-166      -     8-109 
GSA          -      14      -         - 
HHS      10-26  60-370  5-173    14-158 
HUD      21-65  35-160      -      9-70 
NASA        19      49      -        15 
NRC         12      75      -        20 
NSF          -       -     14         - 
OPM          -       -     14         1 
SBA          -       -      7         - 
SSA         15      39     10        17 
State       14     142      -       136 
Treas     2-86   3-251      -         1 
USDA      2-90 10-1277      -      1-40 
VA           -    1-60      -      1-10 

Source: FOIA annual reports for fiscal years 2005 (self-reported data).

Note: For agencies that reported processing times by component, the table
indicates the range of reported component median times. A dash indicates
that the agency did not report any median time for a given track in a
given year.

As the table shows, eight agencies had components that reported processing
simple requests in less than 10 days (these components are part of the
CIA, Energy, the Interior, Justice, Labor, Transportation, the Treasury,
and USDA); for each of these agencies, the lower value of the reported
ranges is less than 10. On the other hand, median time to process simple
requests is relatively long at some organizations (for example, components
of HHS, Justice, and USDA, as shown by median ranges whose upper end
values are greater than 100 days).

For complex requests, the picture is similarly mixed. Components of four
agencies (EPA, DHS, the Treasury, and VA) reported processing complex
requests quickly-with a median of less than 10 days. In contrast, other
components of several agencies (DHS, Energy, EPA, HHS, HUD, Justice,
State, Transportation, the Treasury, and USDA) reported relatively long
median times to process complex requests, with median days greater than
100.

Six agencies (AID, HHS, NSF, OPM, SBA, and SSA) reported using
single-track processing. The median processing times for single-track
processing varied from 5 days (at an HHS component) to 173 days (at
another HHS component).

The changes from fiscal year 2004 to 2005 also vary. For agencies that
reported agencywide figures, table 7 shows how many showed increased or
decreased median processing times. Table 8 shows these numbers for the
components that were reported separately.

Table 7: Changes in Median Processing Times Reported by Agencies for
Different Processing Tracks

                                          Agencies  Agencies 
                                              with      with 
               Number of   Agencies with decreased unchanged 
                agencies       increased    median    median 
Processing using this    median times     times     times 
track           track          Number         %    Number    % Number    % 
Simple              7               3      42.9         3 42.9      1 14.3 
Complex             8               5      62.5         2 25.0      1 12.5 
Single              5               3      60.0         2 40.0      0  0.0 
Expedited           5               2      40.0         3 60.0      0  0.0 

Sources: Annual FOIA reports, GAO analysis.

Table 8: Changes in Median Processing Times Reported by Components for
Different Processing Tracks

                                       Components Components 
                            Components       with       with 
               Number of          with  decreased  unchanged 
              components     increased     median     median 
Processing using this  median times      times      times 
track           track        Number          %     Number    % Number    % 
Simple            122            57       46.7         46 37.7     19 15.6 
Complex           105            52       49.5         44 41.9      9  8.6 
Single              9             3       33.3          2 22.2      4 44.4 
Expedited          43            25       58.1         13 30.2      5 11.6 

Sources: Annual FOIA reports, GAO analysis.

Note: A total of 204 components are listed in the FOIA reports. Not all
the components processed requests or used all the tracks.

These tables show that no one pattern emerges across tracks and types of
reporting, and the numbers of agencies and components involved vary from
track to track. The picture that emerges is of great variation according
to circumstances.

To allow more insight into the variations in median processing times, we
provide in attachment 2 tables of median processing times as reported by
agencies and components in the annual FOIA reports in fiscal years 2004
and 2005. This attachment also includes information on the number of
requests reported by the agencies and components, which provides context
for assessing the median times reported.

Agency Pending Cases Continue to Increase

In addition to processing greater numbers of requests, many agencies (11
of 25) also reported that their numbers of pending cases-requests carried
over from one year to the next-have increased since 2002. In 2002, pending
requests governmentwide were reported to number about 140,000, whereas in
2005, about 200,000-43 percent more-were reported. In addition, the rate
of increase grew in fiscal year 2005, rising 24 percent from fiscal year
2004, compared to 11 percent from 2003 to 2004. Figure 5 shows these
results, illustrating the accelerating rate at which pending cases have
been increasing.

These statistics include pending cases reported by SSA, because as the
figure shows, these pending cases do not change the governmentwide picture
significantly. As previously discussed, SSA's pending cases do not include
simple requests handled by non-FOIA staff, for which SSA does not keep
these statistics.

Figure 5: Total FOIA Requests Pending at End of Year, 2002-2005

Trends for individual agencies show mixed progress in reducing the number
of pending requests reported from 2002 to 2005-some agencies have
decreased numbers of pending cases, while others' numbers have increased.
Figure 6 shows processing rates at the 25 agencies (that is, the number of
requests that an agency processes relative to the number it receives).
Eight of the 25 agencies (AID, DHS, the Interior, Education, HHS, HUD,
NSF, and OPM) reported processing fewer requests than they received each
year for fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005; 8 additional agencies
processed less than they received in two of these three years.

In contrast, two agencies (CIA and DOE) had processing rates above 100
percent in all three years, meaning that each made continued progress in
reducing their numbers of pending cases. Fifteen additional agencies were
able to make at least a small reduction in their numbers of pending
requests in 1 or more years between fiscal years 2003 and 2005.

Figure 6: Agency Processing Rate for 25 Agencies

Notes: Abbreviations are as in table 2.

The agency processing rate is defined as the number of requests processed
in a given year compared with the requests received, expressed as a
percentage.

In 2002, FEMA data were used, and for 2003, 2004, and 2005, DHS data were
used.

  About Half of FOIA Improvement Plans Do Not Include Goals and Timetables for
                              Reducing the Backlog

The Executive Order, with its requirement for agencies to develop FOIA
improvement plans, serves to focus agency managers' attention on the
important role that FOIA plays in keeping citizens well informed about the
operations of their government. By requiring measurable goals and
timetables, the Executive Order provides for a results-oriented framework
by which agency heads can hold officials accountable for improvements in
FOIA processing. Further, the Department of Justice's guidance on
implementing the order provides several tangible suggestions for improving
FOIA operations.

The Executive Order states that each agency shall develop an improvement
plan by June 14, 2006, that includes measurable, outcome-oriented goals to
reduce or eliminate backlog,19 along with timetables that include
milestones for these goals. According to this guidance, the goals and
milestones in agency plans should focus on outcomes that are measurable
and demonstrate whether or not intended results are being achieved.20
Justice's implementation guidance directs agencies to include "means of
measurement of success (e.g., quantitative assessment of backlog reduction
expressed in numbers of pending requests, percentages, or working days)"
and provides agencies considerable leeway in choosing measures of
timeliness.21

19 The Executive Order refers to "requests for records [that] have not
been responded to within the statutory time limit (backlog)." The statute
sets a time limit of 20 business days for agencies to determine whether to
comply with a FOIA request. The law does not set a specific deadline for
providing releasable records (although it does require agencies to make
them available promptly), but in practice, agencies generally respond to
requesters in one step-by providing or denying records-rather than in two
steps-notifying requesters of their determination of whether to comply and
if so providing records. In keeping with this practice, agencies have
interpreted the Executive Order as referring to responses that provide or
deny records, rather than responses providing a determination.

Justice officials told us in 2001 that, as a practical matter, they
consider the FOIA requirement to report data on median processing days to
be the basis for measuring compliance with the 20-day requirement. GAO,
Information Management: Progress in Implementing the 1996 Electronic
Freedom of Information Act Amendments, GAO-01-378 (Washington, D.C.: Mar.
16, 2001).

20 The Executive Order states that plans shall include "specific
activities that the agency will implement to eliminate or reduce the
agency's FOIA backlog," as well as "concrete milestones, with specific
timetables and outcomes to be achieved;" these milestones will be such
that they can be used to "measure and evaluate the agency's success in the
implementation of the plan."

Most of the 22 agency plans available as of June 30 discussed reducing
backlog, but not all consistently followed the Executive Order directions
by establishing goals and timetables for reducing or eliminating their
backlog. In all, 12 of the 21 agencies that reported a backlog included
such goals and timetables, but the remaining 9 did not do so. (The Small
Business Administration did not report a backlog.) These 9 agencies
accounted for about 29 percent of the almost 200,000 requests pending at
the end of fiscal year 2005 that were reported in the annual FOIA reports.

Table 9 summarizes the results of our analysis.

21 According to Justice's guidance, "Agencies should consider a number of
measures of timeliness, including number of pending requests, median
processing times, average processing times (in addition, if that is
feasible), number of requests processed in a year, duration of oldest
pending requests, etc." "In determining such appropriate measurements,
agencies should be able to carefully determine which ones best fit their
individual circumstances, which can vary greatly from one agency to
another."

Table 9: Inclusion in Agency FOIA Improvement Plans of Both Outcomes and
Associated Milestones for Reducing Backlog

                                    Milestones                                
Agency    Outcome-oriented goals related to goals Comment
AID       -                      -                Plan not provided in     
                                                     time for analysis        
CIA       Yes                    Yes              -                        
DHS       -                      -                Plan not provided in     
                                                     time for analysis        
DOC       No                     No               Process goals and        
                                                     timetable only           
DOD       No                     No               Process goals and        
                                                     timetable only           
DOE       Yes                    Yes              -                        
DOI       Yes                    Yes              -                        
DOJ       Yes                    Yes              -                        
DOL       No                     No               Process goals and        
                                                     timetable only           
DOT       Yes                    Yes              -                        
ED        Yes                    Yes              -                        
EPA       Yes                    Yes              -                        
GSA       No                     No               Backlog reduction not    
                                                     part of improvement plan 
HHS       Yes                    Yes              -                        
HUD       Yes                    Yes              -                        
NASA      No                     No               Backlog reduction not    
                                                     part of improvement plan 
NRC       Yes                    Yes              -                        
NSF       No                     No               Process goals and        
                                                     timetable only           
OPM       Yes                    Yes              -                        
SBA       -                      -                No backlog               
SSA       Yes                    No               Timetable did not        
                                                     include milestones for   
                                                     outcome, only for        
                                                     processes                
State     -                      -                Plan not provided in     
                                                     time for analysis        
Treas     Yes                    Yes              -                        
USDA      No a                   No a             -                        
VA        No                     No               Process goals and        
                                                     timetable only           
Total yes 13                     12               

Source: GAO analysis of agency FOIA improvement plans.

a USDA provided objectives and timetables by component. Only the Office of
Inspector General included outcomes and timetables.

As table 9 shows, 13 agencies included goals, but 1 of these (SSA) did not
include a timetable associated with its goal.

The goals chosen by the 13 agencies varied. For example, OPM's plan set a
goal of reducing and eliminating the agency's backlog by December 31,
2006. EPA's goal was to reduce its response backlog to less than 10
percent of the number of new FOIA requests received each year. Several
agencies set goals to reduce backlog to various percentages of their
current backlog (for example, the CIA, Energy, the Interior, Justice, and
the Treasury). HUD set an absolute goal of fewer than 400 pending
requests.

Although the remaining 8 agency plans discussed efforts to improve FOIA
processing, they did not contain goals for backlog reduction. In two cases
(GSA and NASA), agencies did not include such goals because they did not
include backlog reduction among the areas of improvement on which they
planned to focus. These agencies did not consider their backlogs
significant; nonetheless, the Executive Order specifically instructed
agencies to include goals and timetables to address backlog.

In other cases, agencies did address backlog reduction but did not define
goals. Many of these agencies did define process goals, such as
establishing means to monitor and report on backlog, reviewing current
processes, and identifying and reviewing tracking systems, but these were
not accompanied by goals for backlog reduction:

           0M For example, the Department of Commerce's plan stated that, to
           the extent possible, its components would use current backlog
           numbers as a ceiling (these generally range from 9 to 13 percent
           of the workload) and work aggressively to reduce these numbers,
           focusing particularly on the 10 oldest requests in each
           component's backlog. However, although the plan provided milestone
           dates for FOIA officers to review progress in this area and assess
           any need to pursue alternatives (such as contract support) for
           achieving goals, the plan did not provide measurable targets for
           assessing success, such as percentage of reduction.
           0M Similarly, the Department of Defense set various process goals
           (identifying those FOIA Offices with backlogs greater than 50
           cases, determining the staffing levels required to significantly
           reduce the backlog, and seeking the necessary funding to provide
           this additional staffing). However, it provided no measurable
           targets for reducing backlog.

           In the timetables that agencies provided in their plans, 12
           agencies provided milestones for goals that they had identified.
           As mentioned earlier, one agency (SSA) did not include a milestone
           for its goal of eliminating backlog. SSA provided instead a
           timetable that addressed process goals: reorganizing its Office of
           Public Disclosure and developing a new information system. Like
           SSA, several agencies provided timetables for various activities
           that they included in their plans to reduce backlog, but these did
           not include milestones for outcome-oriented goals (for example,
           Defense provided milestones for the process goals described
           above).

           In addition to setting goals and milestones for those goals, in
           order to demonstrate that goals are achieved, plans should also
           include baselines against which results can be measured. In the
           case of backlog, these numbers can differ from day to day, so
           specifying a baseline is crucial. Baselines can be defined on the
           basis of a date from which an agency intends to measure, the
           number it is using as its baseline, or both. Publicly available
           baselines are important to promote accountability as well as the
           transparency of government processes.

           However, most of the agency improvement plans do not clearly
           define baselines for their existing backlogs. An exception was
           OPM: in describing its goal to eliminate backlog by December 31,
           2006, it specified its present backlog as 107 requests. Similarly,
           the Department of Education referred to measuring its success in
           terms of having fewer open cases at the end of each year, based on
           a backlog that it specified as 480 as of June 2, 2006. In other
           cases, agencies did not specify whether they planned to measure
           from the date of their plans, from the end of fiscal year 2005, or
           from some other baseline. Some agencies did, however, describe
           plans to perform analyses that would measure their backlogs so
           that they could then establish the necessary baselines.

           Our ongoing work suggests that factors contributing to these
           deficiencies included difficulties in coordinating responses among
           components in large decentralized agencies and limitations in the
           way that agency systems track FOIA processing. In addition,
           neither the Executive Order nor Justice guidance established a
           baseline date for measuring the backlog or directed agencies to
           establish such a baseline. Uncertainty regarding defined baselines
           could hinder the measurement of progress in reducing backlog.
           Without clearly defined baselines, specific objectives, and
           timetables for reducing backlog, the risk is that agency heads,
           Justice, the Congress, and the public could be hampered in
           determining whether and how well agencies have achieved the
           Executive Order's aims of improving FOIA processing and agency
           disclosure of information.

           When we complete our ongoing review and analysis, we expect to
           make recommendations aimed at improving agency implementation of
           the Executive Order, including efforts to reduce and eliminate
           backlog.

           In summary, FOIA continues to be a valuable tool for citizens to
           obtain information about the operation and decisions of the
           federal government. Since 2002, agencies have received increasing
           numbers of requests and have also continued to increase the number
           of requests that they process. In addition, agencies continue to
           grant most requests in full. However, the rate of increase in
           pending requests is accelerating.

           Given these continuing trends, the President's Executive Order
           creates, among other things, a renewed, results-oriented emphasis
           on improving request processing and reducing the backlog of
           pending requests. However, our ongoing work suggests that agencies
           are not yet fully complying with the order's requirements for
           measurable, outcome-oriented goals and associated timetables. In
           addition, agencies have not all established clear baselines for
           their existing backlogs. Without a baseline measurement and
           tangible steps for addressing the accumulation of pending cases,
           the heads of these agencies may be limited in their ability to
           measure and evaluate success in implementing their plans as the
           President's order requires. Accordingly, in moving forward, it
           will be important for Justice and the agencies to continue to
           refine these plans so that the goal of reducing backlogs can be
           fully realized and the federal government can remain responsive to
           citizen needs. When we complete our ongoing work, we expect to
           provide recommendations to help move this process forward.

           Mr. Chairman, this completes my prepared statement. I would be
           happy to respond to any questions you or other Members of the
           Subcommittee may have at this time.

                          Contact and Acknowledgements

If you should have questions about this testimony, please contact me at
(202) 512-6240 or via e-mail at [email protected] . Other major contributors
included Barbara Collier, Vernetta Marquis, Alan Stapleton, Shawn Ward,
and Elizabeth Zhao.

              Attachment 1: Freedom of Information Act Exemptions

The act prescribes nine specific categories of information that is exempt
from disclosure:

Exemption number Matters that are exempt from FOIA                         
(1)              (A) Specifically authorized under criteria established by 
                    an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of   
                    national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact    
                    properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order.     
(2)              Related solely to the internal personnel rules and        
                    practices of an agency.                                   
(3)              Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other   
                    than section 552b of this title), provided that such      
                    statute (A) requires that matters be withheld from the    
                    public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the  
                    issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for         
                    withholding or refers to particular types of matters to   
                    be withheld.                                              
(4)              Trade secrets and commercial or financial information     
                    obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.    
(5)              Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which 
                    would not be available by law to a party other than an    
                    agency in litigation with the agency.                     
(6)              Personnel and medical files and similar files the         
                    disclosure of which would constitute a clearly            
                    unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.                 
(7)              Records or information compiled for law enforcement       
                    purposes, but only to the extent that the production of   
                    such law enforcement records or information               
(A)              could reasonably be expected to interfere with            
                    enforcement proceedings;                                  
(B)              would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or      
                    impartial adjudication;                                   
(C)              could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted 
                    invasion of personal privacy;                             
(D)              could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of  
                    a confidential source, including a State, local, or       
                    foreign agency or authority or any private institution    
                    which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, 
                    in the case of a record or information compiled by a      
                    criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a     
                    criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a       
                    lawful national security intelligence investigation,      
                    information furnished by confidential source;             
(E)              would disclose techniques and procedures for law          
                    enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would      
                    disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or 
                    prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be       
                    expected to risk circumvention of the law; or             
(F)              could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or      
                    physical safety of an individual.                         
(8)              Contained in or related to examination, operating, or     
                    condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the   
                    use of an agency responsible for the regulation of        
                    supervision of financial institutions.                    
(9)              Geological and geophysical information and data,          
                    including maps, concerning wells.                         

Source: 5 U.S.C. S: 552(b)(1) through (b)(9).

                 Attachment 2. Median Processing Times Reported

The attached tables present median processing times as reported by
agencies in their annual FOIA reports in fiscal years 2004 and 2005. To
provide context, we include numbers of requests processed for each agency
or component. We also indicate (in columns headed "+-") whether the median
days to process rose (+), fell (-), or remained unchanged (=). (We also
use "~" to indicate other types of changes, such as the establishment of a
new component.)

Agencies report median processing times according to processing tracks:
that is, some agencies divide requests into simple and complex categories
and process these in separate tracks, whereas others use a single track.
Accordingly, the tables show these tracks where applicable. In addition,
agencies are required to subject some requests to expedited processing,
and these are reported as a separate track.

Tables for the agencies are presented in the following order, which
corresponds to the order generally used in the figures and tables provided
in the statement:

AID   Agency for International Development          
CIA   Central Intelligence Agency                   
DHS   Department of Homeland Security               
DOC   Department of Commerce                        
DOD   Department of Defense                         
DOE   Department of Energy                          
DOI   Department of the Interior                    
DOJ   Department of Justice                         
DOL   Department of Labor                           
DOT   Department of Transportation                  
ED    Department of Education                       
EPA   Environmental Protection Agency               
GSA   General Services Administration               
HHS   Department of Health and Human Services       
HUD   Department of Housing and Urban Development   
NASA  National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
NRC   Nuclear Regulatory Commission                 
NSF   National Science Foundation                   
OPM   Office of Personnel Management                
SBA   Small Business Administration                 
SSA   Social Security Administration                
State Department of State                           
Treas Department of the Treasury                    
USDA  Department of Agriculture                     
VA    Department of Veterans Affairs                

Agency for International Development

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Single               Expedited
             No.         Days       No.         Days 
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
AID     209  196   54   55 +     3    1   13   34 +  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Central Intelligence Agency

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                 Complex                Expedited
             No.        Days         No.         Days        No.        Days
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
CIA     501  577    7    7 =  2,834 2,533   63   68 +     1    0   10  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Homeland Security

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                         Simple                     Complex                 Expedited
                    No.           Days          No.          Days        No.        Days
Component         2004   2005 2004 2005 +-   2004   2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Office of the                                                                                
Secretary/                                                                                
Privacy Office     279    604   19   16 -      98    134   66  102 +    48    1    9   11 +
Office of the                                                                             
Inspector                                                                                 
General            n/a      0  n/a  n/a        21     14   44   91 +     0    3  n/a    5 
Office of the                                                                                
General                                                                                   
Counsel            (a)      0  (a)  n/a ~     (a)      1  (a)  222 ~   (a)    0  (a)  n/a ~
Information                                                                               
Analysis &                                                                                
Infrastructure                                                                            
Protection         n/a      0  n/a  n/a       n/a     51  n/a   30 ~   n/a    0  n/a  n/a 
Emergency                                                                                    
Preparedness &                                                                            
Response           101    186   14   61 +     128    345   48  178 +    28   14    9   45 +
Science &                                                                                    
Technology         (a)      1  (a)   30 ~     (a)      1  (a)  210 ~   (a)    0  (a)  n/a ~
U.S. Coast                                                                                   
Guard            6,735  6,035   13   16 +     638    608   21   21 =    30   11   11    2 -
U.S. Secret                                                                               
Service              0      0  n/a  n/a       912    701  111  149 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
U.S.                                                                                         
Citizenship &                                                                             
Immigration                                                                               
Services       105,567 85,307   16   45 +  27,850 19,532   31   55 +   580   95    8   15 +
US-VISIT           (a)     14  (a)   17 ~     (a)      1  (a)   60 ~   (a)    0  (a)  n/a ~  
Border &                                                                                  
Transportation                                                                            
Security                                                                                  
CBP              2,317  3,174   20   17 -   1,986  3,815   30   12 -     4  890    3   17 +  
TSA                828     11    8   16 +   1,307  1,199   29   13 -     2    2   45   28 -  
ICE              1,124    661   84   35 -     n/a    881  n/a  242 ~   n/a    0  n/a  n/a 
FLETC              n/a      0  n/a  n/a ~   1,451  1,834    5    3 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

aComponent did not exist.

Department of Commerce

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                   Simple                 Complex               Expedited
              No.         Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
 Agency    2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
 Commerce 1,564 1,321   13   12 -   465  511   41   40 -     6    2    5    8  + 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Defense

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                    Complex                 Expedited
             No.          Days          No.          Days        No.        Days
Agency    2004   2005 2004 2005 +-   2004   2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Defense 63,443 66,979   17   16 -  12,972 11,385   59   85 +   841  411    1    0 -  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Energy

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                       Simple                 Complex               Expedited
                  No.         Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
Component       2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
National                                                                          
Nuclear                                                                           
Security                                                                          
Administration                                                                    
Service Center                                                                    
Albuquerque      118   76   30   15 -    99  108   58  170 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Bonneville                                                                        
Power                                                                             
Administration    54   54   12   20 +     0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Carlsbad Field                                                                    
Office             0  654  n/a   20      10   14   35   57 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Chicago                                                                           
Operations                                                                        
Office             0   36  n/a   21      38    0   21  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Golden Field                                                                      
Office            21   11   14   33 +     2    1 20.5   66 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Idaho                                                                             
Operations                                                                        
Office            45   46   11   13 +    34   34   41   36 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
National                                                                          
Energy                                                                            
Technology                                                                        
Operations         9    7   20   10 -     9   26   25   30 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                            
Naval Reactors   (a)    7  (a)   10 ~   (a)    0  (a)  n/a     (a)    0  (a)  n/a ~
Oak Ridge                                                                            
Operations                                                                        
Office         1,012  970  158   31 -   139   42  257  112 -    30   14    7   12 +
Ohio                                                                                 
Environmental                                                                     
Management                                                                        
Consolidated                                                                      
Business                                                                          
Center            89  156  152   28 -     0    0  n/a  n/a      10    0    5  n/a ~
Office of                                                                         
Repository                                                                        
Development       42   71   15   19 +    29   13   60   73 +     0    0  n/a    0 
Richland                                                                          
Operations                                                                        
Office             0  190  n/a   31     115    0   18  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Rocky Flats                                                                       
Environmental                                                                     
Management                                                                        
Consolidated                                                                      
Business                                                                          
Center             0  794  n/a  106      16    0  916  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Savannah River                                                                    
Operations                                                                        
Office            65   40   61   73 +     0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                         
Scientific and                                                                    
Technical                                                                         
Information        1    3    1   10 +     0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Southeastern                                                                      
Power                                                                             
Administration     3    0   10  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Southwestern                                                                      
Power                                                                             
Administration     5    4   10    5 -     0    2  n/a   10       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Strategic                                                                         
Petroleum                                                                         
Reserve           13   13   10   21 +     0    2  n/a   82       0    4  n/a    1 
Western Area                                                                      
Power                                                                             
Administration    35   40   10   10 =     2    4   20   15 -     0    1  n/a    5 
Department of                                                                     
Energy                                                                            
Headquarters     395  384   81   41 -     0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

aComponent did not exist.

Department of the Interior

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                     Simple                   Complex               Expedited
                No.         Days         No.        Days         No.        Days
Component    2004  2005  2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004  2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Department                                                                           
of the                                                                            
Interior    4,126 6,206 3-834 2-43 ~    30  189 0-99 28-89 ~    63   25 2-64 1-15 ~
Office of                                                                            
the                                                                               
Secretary     (a)   (a)   n/a  n/a     (a)  (a)   99    89 -   (a)  (a)   64    2 -
Office of                                                                            
Inspector                                                                         
General       (a)   (a)   834    7 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)    2    1 -
Office of                                                                         
the                                                                               
Solicitor     (a)   (a)    15   18 +   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                         
Surface                                                                           
mining        (a)   (a)    21   13 -   (a)  (a)    0    55 +   (a)  (a)  n/a  n/a 
Minerals                                                                          
Management                                                                        
Service       (a)   (a)    22  n/a     (a)  (a)  n/a    28     (a)  (a)   14  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                            
Land                                                                              
Management    (a)   (a)   n/a   23     (a)  (a)   56    57 +   (a)  (a)    5    6 +
Fish and                                                                             
Wildlife                                                                          
Service       (a)   (a)    35   29 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)   10   15 +
National                                                                          
Park                                                                              
Service       (a)   (a)    20   19 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)   10  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                            
Reclamation   (a)   (a)    20   18 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)    8    1 -
U.S.                                                                              
Geological                                                                        
Survey        (a)   (a)    18   14 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)  n/a  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                         
Indian                                                                            
Affairs       (a)   (a)   158   43 -   (a)  (a)  n/a   n/a     (a)  (a)  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

aStatistics not broken down by component.

Note: The Department of Interior reported the number of requests processed
as a department, not by individual components.

Department of Justice

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                            Simple                    Complex                Expedited
                       No.          Days         No.         Days         No.        Days
Component           2004   2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004  2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Office of the                                                                                 
Attorney General     401    213   17   27 +     23    35  480   362 -     2    3  135   96 -
Office of the                                                                              
Deputy Attorney                                                                            
General              246    108   17   29 +     15    10  291   363 +     0    2  n/a   62 
Office of the                                                                                 
Associate                                                                                  
Attorney General      52     40   44   89 +      4     0  344   n/a       1    2   47  112 +
Antitrust                                                                                  
Division             145    131   18   19 +     13    14  412   484 +     1    0   18  n/a 
Bureau of Prisons 15,047 13,243   15   16 +    680   475   28    29 +    13   25    1    3 +  
Bureau of                                                                                  
Alcohol, Tobacco,                                                                          
Firearms, and                                                                              
Explosives         2,437  1,719    7    8 +      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Civil Division       859    466    9   10 +      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    1  n/a    7 
Civil Rights                                                                               
Division             473    565    8    8 =     60   100  283   359 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Community                                                                                  
Relations Service      8      2   10   10 =      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Criminal Division      0      0  n/a  n/a    1,414 1,291   16    35 +     2    1   31   97 +  
Drug Enforcement                                                                           
Administration         0      0  n/a  n/a    1,933 1,569   12    16 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Environment and                                                                            
Natural Resources                                                                          
Division               0      0  n/a  n/a      177   145   40    53 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Executive Office                                                                              
for Immigration                                                                            
Review             7,811  9,367   29   43 +    681   476   89   149 +    65   27   26   44 +
Executive Office                                                                              
for United States                                                                          
Attorneys          4,848  3,751   46   58 +      0     0  n/a   n/a      73   84  195  169 -
Executive Office                                                                           
for United States                                                                          
Trustees               0      0  n/a  n/a       61    65    6    19 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Federal Bureau of                                                                             
Investigation     10,253 10,828    6    6 =    (b)   (b)  n/a   n/a      35   14   41   42 +
Foreign Claims                                                                             
Settlement                                                                                 
Commission            17      9    5    5 =      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Justice                                                                                    
Management                                                                                 
Division           3,128  2,130    8  (c)       31    35   35   (c)       0    0  n/a  n/a 
National Drug                                                                              
Intelligence                                                                               
Center                80     58   22   21 -      3     3   30    73 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                  
Community                                                                                  
Oriented Policing                                                                          
Services             101     61   14    8 -      0     0  n/a   n/a       2    0    6  n/a 
Office of Dispute                                                                          
Resolution             8      4    5    5 =      0     0  n/a        0    0  n/a  n/a      
Office of the                                                                              
Federal Detention                                                                          
Trustee               27     11    7    8 +      2     0  105   n/a       0    1  n/a    7 
Office of                                                                                  
Information and                                                                            
Privacy              434    443   12   13 +      1     1  397    52 -     0    1  n/a  185 
Office of the                                                                              
Inspector General    241    208   10 11.5 +      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                  
Intelligence                                                                               
Policy and Review     28     33    8    6 -      6    17   27    31 +     0    2  n/a   16 
Office of                                                                                  
Intergovernmental                                                                          
and Public                                                                                 
Liaison               15      6   41   46 +      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    1  n/a   38 
Office of Justice                                                                          
Programs             493    206    1    2 +     59   108   25    25 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Legal                                                                            
Counsel               55     68   10   10 =      9    16   30    30 =     0    1  n/a   40 
Office of Legal                                                                            
Policy                47     76   37   58 +      2     3  188   863 +     0    2  n/a   28 
Office of                                                                                  
Legislative                                                                                
Affairs               58     63   84   86 +      6     9  386   330 -     0    2  n/a   67 
Office of the                                                                              
Pardon Attorney       40     43   29   21 -      3     0  100   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                  
Professional                                                                               
Responsibility       129     86   19   15 -      7     9  389   334 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Public                                                                           
Affairs               20     22  137  139 +      3     3  226   730 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                                 
Solicitor General     73     64   60   60 =      0     0  n/a   n/a       2   22    8   10 +
Office on                                                                                     
Violence Against                                                                           
Women                (a)     14  (a)   50 ~    (a)     0  (a)   n/a ~   (a)    0  (a)  n/a ~
Professional                                                                               
Responsibility                                                                             
Advisory Office       13     14    3  3.5 +      0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Tax Division         226    237    0    0 =     27    26   15    28 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
U.S. Marshals                                                                              
Service            1,531    999   21   26 +     16    17  130 195.5 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
U.S. National                                                                                 
Central                                                                                    
Bureau--INTERPOL     271    184    5    6 +     10    18   24    21 -     2    3    3    2 -
U.S. Parole                                                                                
Commission             0      0  n/a  n/a    1,351 1,011   20    12 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

               Simple Complex Expedited Component 2004      2005   2004 2005  +-   2004 2005    2004    2005  +-  +-  
                               Simple                              Complex                        Expedited
                    No.                 Days                 No.             Days           No.            Days
No. The                                                                                                               
Departmental     Days                             Days Component   2004 2005 2004                                 
Offices           332 No. 307    Days 2     No. 2  =         790    172  251  +   20050 +- 0 2004n/a 2005n/a 2004 782
+- Alcohol and                                                                                                    
Tobacco Tax                                                                                                       
and Trade                                                                                                         
Bureau         2004 0 2005168   2004n/a    200586  +-        201     17   78   93   +      0       1     n/a    1 
Office of the                                                                                                     
Comptroller of                                                                                                    
the Currency      322   4,635        10         2  -       8,030    179   50   73   +      0       0     n/a  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                                                         
Engraving and                                                                                                     
Printing           69      76         4         3  -          44     12   60   31   -      1       0       5  n/a 
Financial                                                                                                         
Management                                                                                                        
Service             0       0       n/a       n/a            529    351    7   10   +      0       0     n/a  n/a 
Internal                                                                                                          
Revenue                                                                                                           
Service             0       0       n/a       n/a         51,985 42,533   21   21   =      0       0     n/a  n/a 
United States                                                                                                     
Mint                0       0       n/a       n/a             67    316   15   15   =      0       0     n/a  n/a 
Bureau of the                                                                                                     
Public Debt         0       0       n/a       n/a             91     90    4    3   -      0       0     n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                                         
Thrift                                                                                                            
Supervision         0       0       n/a       n/a          1,827  4,003   15   12   -      2       0     n/a  n/a 
Treasury                                                                                                          
Inspector                                                                                                         
General for                                                                                                       
Tax                                                                                                               
Administration      0     208       n/a         4            256    161  172   30   -      0       0      10  n/a 
Financial                                                                                                         
Crimes                                                                                                            
Enforcement                                                                                                       
Network             0      18       n/a         6   32       122     99   95    -     0    0     n/a     n/a      

2005

a Component did not exist.

b In addition to the expedited track, the FBI maintains three tracks for
requests: small (0 to 500 pages), medium (501 to 2,500 pages), and large
(more than 2,500 pages). The former is reported in the "simple requests"
category; the latter two are reported as "complex requests." Therefore
FBI's complex requests were excluded from analysis

c Justice Management Division used average days opposed to median days, so
it was excluded

Department of Labor

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                           Simple                  Complex                Expedited
                      No.         Days         No.         Days        No.        Days
Component          2004  2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Occupational                                                                               
Safety and Health                                                                       
Administration    8,410 7,855    7   13 +  2,695 3,431   18   45 +    34   82    4   18 +
Employment                                                                                 
Standards                                                                               
Administration    6,670 6,948   17   13 -  1,057   904   23   37 +    89   73    5    9 +
Mine Safety and                                                                         
Health                                                                                  
Administration    1,150     0   17  n/a        0 1,058  n/a   20       0    3  n/a    7 
Employment and                                                                             
Training                                                                                
Administration      480   270   15   20 +     35    94   20   30 +     1    5    2   10 +
Employee Benefits                                                                       
Security                                                                                
Administration      367 1,456   11    7 -     65   257   40   34 -     0    2  n/a   10 
Office of the                                                                              
Assistant                                                                               
Secretary for                                                                           
Administration                                                                          
and Management      152   151   13   13 =     62    35   20   26 +     1    1    2    4 +
Administrative                                                                          
Law Judges          215   206    2   10 +      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    6  n/a    3 
Veterans'                                                                                  
Employment and                                                                          
Training Service     71    87   27   10 -     15    19   29   39 +     2    1    8    8 =
Office of the                                                                           
Inspector General    71    47   30   28 -      8    28   60   50 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Bureau of Labor                                                                         
Statistics           56    54   13   17 +      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                               
Adjudicatory                                                                            
Services             25    52    7    6 -      4     0   18  n/a       2    0    2  n/a 
Womens Bureau        27    19   15   10 -      0     2  n/a   25       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                               
Disability                                                                              
Employment Policy    12    23   20   30 +      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                           
Assistant                                                                               
Secretary for                                                                           
Policy                3    16   25   20 -      2     1   25   60 +     1    0   25  n/a 
Office of                                                                               
Congressional and                                                                       
Intergovernmental                                                                       
Affairs               0     0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                               
International                                                                           
Labor Affairs         4    24   16    7 -      9     2   30   14 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                           
Chief Financial                                                                         
Officer              12     8   10    7 -      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Public                                                                        
Affairs               7     8    7    7 =      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Small                                                                         
Business Programs    22    22   30   10 -      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                           
Solicitor            62    30   12   14 +      7     3   54   30 -     0    1  n/a    2 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Transportation

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                        Simple                  Complex                Expedited
                   No.         Days         No.         Days        No.        Days
Component       2004  2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Office of the                                                                        
Secretary of                                                                         
Transportation   320   150    1    1 =    394    87   82   77 -     0   10  n/a   30 
Office of                                                                            
Inspector                                                                            
General           60    50    6    8 +     46    34   51   64 +     3    0   57  n/a 
Federal                                                                                 
Aviation                                                                             
Administration 5,162 4,401    4    3 -  2,231 2,179   31   28 -    45   46    8    9 +
Federal                                                                              
Highway                                                                              
Administration   331   294    9   16 +     30    31   30  134 +     0   17  n/a   13 
Federal                                                                              
Railroad                                                                             
Administration     0     0  n/a  n/a      524   451   95   90 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
National                                                                             
Highway                                                                              
Traffic Safety                                                                       
Administration     0     0  n/a  n/a      367   263   23   20 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Federal                                                                              
Transit                                                                              
Administration   192   199   68   29 -      0     0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Saint Lawrence                                                                       
Seaway                                                                               
Development                                                                          
Corporation       36     0   18  n/a        0    33  n/a   20       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Maritime                                                                             
Administration     0   124  n/a   30      155     0   30  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Research and                                                                            
Special                                                                              
Programs                                                                             
Administration    85    43   19   15 -     89    75  135   40 -    11    1    5    5 =
Federal Motor                                                                        
Carrier Safety                                                                       
Administration     0     0  n/a  n/a      778   823   58   31 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Bureau of                                                                            
Transportation                                                                       
Statistics        46    67    5   11 +      0     6  n/a   20       0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Education

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                   Simple                  Complex               Expedited
              No.         Days        No.        Days         No.        Days
Agency     2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005  2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Education 1,566 1,874 0-30   35 ~   442  329 2-134   66 ~    74   16 3-21   24 ~  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Environmental Protection Agency

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                      Simple                 Complex               Expedited
                 No.         Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
Component     2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Headquarters 2,188 1,717   19   19 =     1   42  170   58 -     6    2   16   20 +  
Region 1 New                                                                     
England                                                                          
Region         317   249   19   18 -     0    2   29   46 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Region 2 New                                                                        
Jersey, New                                                                      
York, Puerto                                                                     
Rico, U.S.                                                                       
Virgin                                                                           
Islands and                                                                      
7 Tribal                                                                         
Nations      2,949 1,912   27   30 +     7    2   49   40 -     1    1    9    8 -
Region 3                                                                         
Mid-Atlantic 1,748 1,699   15   13 -     0    9  n/a    4       1    0    7  n/a 
Region 4                                                                         
Southeast                                                                        
Region       1,034   852   21   19 -     5   71   75   41 -     1    0    6  n/a 
Region 5                                                                         
Mid-West                                                                         
Region       2,011 1,920   18   18 =     2    3   70   30 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Region 6                                                                         
South                                                                            
Central                                                                          
Region         860   624   18   32 +     1    0  353  n/a       0    2  n/a  109 
Region 7                                                                         
America's                                                                        
Heartland                                                                        
Region         651   767   23   27 +     0    2  n/a  166       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Region 8                                                                         
Mountains                                                                        
and Plains                                                                       
Region         387   332   13   15 +     0    0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Region 9                                                                         
Pacific                                                                          
Southwest                                                                        
Region         725   588   16   18 +     0   39  n/a   38       1    0    6  n/a 
Region 10                                                                        
Pacific                                                                          
Northwest                                                                        
Region         454   273   20   20 =     1    0   19  n/a       1    0   27  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

General Services Administration

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                 Complex                Expedited
             No.        Days         No.         Days        No.        Days
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
GSA       0    0  n/a  n/a    1,182 1,561   14   14 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Health and Human Services

Two tables are provided for this department, because its components report
both multitrack (simple and complex) processing and single-track
processing.

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                                    Simple                   Complex
                               No.          Days         No.         Days
Component                2004   2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 
Office of the                                                           
Secretary                   0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Administration for                                                         
Children and Families     (a)      0  (a)  n/a ~    (a)     0  (a)  n/a ~
Administration on                                                       
Aging                       0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Centers for Medicare &                                                     
Medicaid Services      31,051 33,583    9   10 +    652   722   77   86 +
Office of the                                                              
Assistant Secretary                                                     
for Public Health          72    179   10   10 =    446   611   60   60 =
Agency for Healthcare                                                   
Research and Quality        0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Centers for Disease                                                     
Control and Prevention      0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Food and Drug                                                              
Administration         13,626 15,539   25   26 +  1,993 1,987  325  370 +
Health Resources and                                                    
Services                                                                
Administration              0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Indian Health Services      0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
National Institutes of                                                  
Health                      0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 
Substance Abuse and                                                     
Mental Health Services                                                  
Administration              0      0  n/a  n/a        0     0  n/a  n/a 

                                     Single                  Expedited
                                No.           Days     No.       Days      
Component               2004    2005   2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Office of the                                                              
Secretary                1,147     934   55   69 +     1    1    2   60 +
Administration for                                                         
Children and Families      (a)     137  (a)   40 ~   (a)    4  (a)   41 ~
Administration on                                                       
Aging                       13      22    5    5 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Centers for Medicare &                                                     
Medicaid Services            0       0  n/a  n/a      11   42   66  158 +
OASPH                        0       0  n/a  n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Agency for Healthcare                                                   
Research and Quality        76      94   25   34 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Centers for Disease                                                        
Control and Prevention     977   1,134   36   36 =     2    2   52   52 =
Food and Drug                                                           
Administration           2,921   1,007  113   86 -     0    2  n/a  100 
Health Resources and                                                    
Services                                                                
Administration             416     380   20   20 =     0    6  n/a   14 
Indian Health Services 158,277 151,428   32   32 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 
National Institutes of                                                  
Health                  10,583  13,382  182  173 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Substance Abuse and                                                     
Mental Health Services                                                  
Administration             132     206   38   45 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

aComponent did not exist.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                      Simple                 Complex               Expedited
                 No.         Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
Component     2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Headquarters 1,676   984   95   65 -   248  271  161  160 -    70   74   42   22 -  
Field        1,510 1,150   21   21 =    10   15   30   35 +    95  160   23   70 +  
Office of                                                                           
Inspector                                                                        
General        354   254   55   45 -     0    0  n/a  n/a      15   15    9    9 =

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                 Complex               Expedited
             No.         Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
Agency  2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
NASA   1,069  938   18   19 +   454  410   33   49 +    44    3   26   15 -  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                Complex               Expedited
             No.        Days        No.        Days        No.        Days
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
NRC     357  303   11   12 +    27   28   47   75 +     5   14   60   20 -  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

National Science Foundation

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Single               Expedited
             No.         Days       No.    Days      
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
NSF     309  266   20   14 -     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Office of Personnel Management

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                   Single                 Expedited
              No.           Days       No.    Days      
Agency  2004   2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
OPM    9,310 10,898    9   14 +     0    2  n/a    1 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Small Business Administration

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                   Single                Expedited
              No.          Days       No.    Days      
Agency  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
SBA    1,927 3,737    5    7 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Social Security Administration

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                  Simple                 Complex
             No.        Days        No.         Days
Agency 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 
SSA     397  364   19   15 -   882 1,014   37   39 +  

                   Single                Expedited
              No.         Days        No.    Days 
Agency 2004  2005  2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
SSA    1,321 1,555   14   10 -     0   31  n/a   17 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Note: The tables exclude SSA's category of "simple requests handled by
non-FOIA staff" and "simple request for Social Security number
applications and other Office of Earnings Operations records." The
category SSA labels "fast track" was reported under "single track."

Department of State

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                 Simple                  Complex                Expedited
            No.         Days         No.         Days        No.        Days
 Agency  2004  2005 2004 2005 +-  2004  2005 2004 2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
 State  1,236 1,647    6   14 +  3,710 2,216  209  142 -    17    7  184  136 -  

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of the Treasury

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Agriculture

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                         Simple                    Complex                 Expedited
                    No.          Days         No.          Days         No.        Days
Component        2004   2005 2004 2005 +-   2004  2005 2004  2005 +- 2004 2005 2004 2005 +- 
Agricultural                                                                             
Marketing                                                                                
Service           139    120   19   22 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Animal and                                                                                  
Plant Health                                                                             
Inspection                                                                               
Service           435    922   77   90 +      59   193  800 1,277 +    37   20   53   40 -
Departmental                                                                             
Administration     47     53   35   29 -       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    1  n/a    7 
Farm Service                                                                             
Agency             32     44   16   14 -       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Food,                                                                                    
Nutrition and                                                                            
Consumer                                                                                 
Service           190    137    6   15 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Farm Service                                                                                
Agency         30,430 41,743   14    2 -  22,377 1,155   54    10 -   476  247   13    1 -
Forest Service  1,846  1,426   15   18 +   1,807 2,196   21    18 -     5   42    8   14 +  
Food Safety                                                                              
and Inspection                                                                           
Service             0    544  n/a   26       535     0   73   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Grain                                                                                    
Inspection,                                                                              
Packers and                                                                              
Stockyards                                                                               
Administration     52    113   10    8 -       0     0  n/a   n/a       0  n/a  n/a      
Grain                                                                                    
Inspection,                                                                              
Packers and                                                                              
Stockyards         23     44    5    8 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
National                                                                                    
Appeals                                                                                  
Division          322    358   15   18 +       6    12   17    16 -     2    4    5    9 +
Office of                                                                                
Budget and                                                                               
Program                                                                                  
Analysis            4      7    1    2 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                
Communications    339    303   18   24 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                            
Chief                                                                                    
Financial                                                                                
Officer             0      0  n/a  n/a        36    19   15    16 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                            
Chief                                                                                    
Information                                                                              
Officer             2     10    1   10 +       0     0  n/a   n/a       0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                
Civil Rights        0      0  n/a  n/a        82    43   15    28 +     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                                
General                                                                                  
Counsel             0      0  n/a  n/a        12    12   34    34 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                                               
Inspector                                                                                
General           133    178    5    4 -      47    58  112   102 -     5    7    1    3 +
Research,                                                                                
Education and                                                                            
Economics           0     87  n/a   15       164   115   15    15 =     0    4  n/a   15 
Risk                                                                                     
Management                                                                               
Agency             73     57   20   20 =       7    25   60    40 -     1    0    5  n/a 
Rural                                                                                    
Development         0      0  n/a  n/a     1,484 1,623   12    12 =     0    0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The department reports all processing in one track, but it refers to this
track as complex, rather than single track.

No. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; +- =
change from 2004 to 2005

                                 Complex                      Expedited
                             No.             Days          No.          Days
Component              2004      2005 2004 2005 +-   2004   2005 2004 2005 +- 
Acquisition &                                                              
Material                                                                   
Management              376       289    4  2.5 -       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Administration            0     1,463  n/a    4         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Board of Contract                                                          
Appeals                   0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Board of Veterans                                                          
Appeals               1,006     1,049   49   19 -       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Congressional &                                                               
Legislative                                                                
Affairs                   0       (a)  n/a  (a) ~       0    (a)  n/a  (a) ~
Diversity                                                                  
Management &                                                               
Equal Employment                                                           
Opportunity               0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
General Counsel          67        65   35   15 -       0      2  n/a   10 
Human Resources                                                            
Management               45         1 31.5    4 -       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Inspector General       347       287   10   16 +       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Information                                                                
Technology                                                                 
Support Service           0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                  
Management                0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
National Cemetery                                                          
Administration            0        19  n/a   15        16      0   18  n/a 
Office of the                                                              
Assistant                                                                  
Secretary for                                                              
Human Resources &                                                          
Administration            0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                              
Assistant                                                                  
Secretary for                                                              
Public &                                                                   
Intergovernmental                                                          
Affairs                   0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of the                                                              
Deputy Assistant                                                           
Secretary for                                                              
Budget                    0         8  n/a    1        16      0    1  n/a 
Office of the                                                              
Deputy Assistant                                                           
Secretary for                                                              
Intergovernmental                                                          
Affairs                   0        10  n/a    1         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Finance        58        63   15 11.5 -       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                  
Information &                                                              
Technology               53        72 11.5   51 +       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of                                                                  
Resolution                                                                 
Management               16        12    5   10 +       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Office of Small &                                                          
Disadvantaged                                                              
Business                                                                   
Utilization               0         1  n/a    1         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Policy and                                                                 
Planning                  0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Public Affairs            0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Security & Law                                                                
Enforcement               0       (a)  n/a  (a) ~       0    (a)  n/a  (a) ~
Office of the                                                              
Secretary                16         6   45   60 +       0      0  n/a  n/a 
Veterans Benefits                                                             
Administration       93,296    83,332   15 15.5 +     384     88    5  4.5 -
Veterans Canteen                                                           
Service                   0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 
Veterans Health                                                               
Administration    1,699,079 1,814,837    4    1 -  20,730 13,409    1    1 =
White House                                                                
Liaison                   0         0  n/a  n/a         0      0  n/a  n/a 

+ increase

- decrease

= no change

~ other change (change in reporting, new component, etc.)

Sources: Annual FOIA report, GAO analysis.

a Component did not exist.

(310775)

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt? GAO-06-1022T .

To view the full product, including the scope

and methodology, click on the link above.

For more information, contact Linda Koontz at (202) 512-6240 or
[email protected].

Highlights of GAO-06-1022T , a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Government Management, Finance, and Accountability, Committee on
Government Reform, House of Representatives

July 26, 2006

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Preliminary Analysis of Processing Trends Shows Importance of Improvement
Plans

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes that federal agencies
must provide the public with access to government information, thus
enabling them to learn about government operations and decisions. To help
ensure appropriate implementation, the act requires that agencies report
annually to the Attorney General, providing specific information about
their FOIA operations. In addition, a recent Executive Order directs
agencies to develop plans to improve their FOIA operations, including,
among other things, goals to reduce backlogs in FOIA requests.

GAO has reported previously on the contents of these annual reports for 25
major agencies. For this hearing, GAO was asked to testify both on the
annual reports for fiscal year 2005 and on the recently developed
improvement plans for these 25 agencies. GAO based its testimony on its
ongoing work on these topics. Upon completion of its ongoing review, GAO
expects to make recommendations to improve agency implementation of the
Executive Order, including efforts to reduce and eliminate backlog.

According to data reported by agencies in their annual reports, the public
continues to request and receive increasing amounts of information from
the federal government through FOIA; however, excepting one case-the
Social Security Administration (SSA)-the rate of increase has flattened in
recent years. (SSA reported an additional 16 million requests in 2005,
dwarfing those for all other agencies combined, which together total about
2.6 million; SSA attributed this rise to an improvement in its method of
counting requests. However, Justice officials have suggested that SSA
consider treating the bulk of these requests as non-FOIA requests and thus
not include them in future reports.) When SSA's numbers are excluded, data
reported by the other 24 major agencies show that the number of requests
received increased by 27 percent from fiscal year 2002 to 2005, but by
only about 2.5 percent from fiscal year 2004. As more requests come in,
agencies also report that they have been processing more of them-25
percent more from 2002 to 2005 (but only about 2.0 percent more than from
2004). Despite processing more requests, agencies have not kept up with
the increase in requests being made: the number of pending requests
carried over from year to year has been steadily increasing, rising to
about 200,000 in fiscal year 2005-43 percent more than in 2002. The rate
of increase in requests pending is also growing: the increase from fiscal
year 2004 to 2005 is 24 percent, compared to 11 percent from 2003 to 2004.

Most of the agency improvement plans discussed reducing backlog, but not
all consistently followed the Executive Order or implementing guidance
provided by the Justice Department. Of the 25 agencies, 3 had not posted
their plans in time to be included in this testimony, and 1 reported no
backlog. Of the remaining 21 agencies, 12 followed the Executive Order's
instruction to establish measurable, outcome-oriented objectives for
reducing or eliminating their backlogs, as well as timetables with
milestones for meeting these objectives. Nine agencies did not do this,
although they accounted for a substantial fraction-about 29 percent-of the
requests reported to be pending at the end of fiscal year 2005. (Most
agencies did provide goals and timetables for other kinds of objectives,
however, such as performing staffing analyses and reviewing progress.) In
addition, agencies generally did not specify the dates or numbers they
were using as the baselines for their existing backlogs, which will be
important for measuring improvement. GAO's ongoing work suggests that
factors contributing to these deficiencies include difficulties in
coordinating responses among components in large, decentralized agencies
and limitations in the systems that track FOIA processing. In addition,
neither the Executive Order nor Justice guidance established a baseline
date for measuring the backlog or directed agencies to establish such a
date. Without clearly defined baselines, specific objectives, and
timetables for reducing backlog, it could be challenging for agency heads,
Justice, and the Congress to gauge progress in improving FOIA processes as
intended by the Executive Order.

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

Testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance, and
Accountability, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT Wednesday, July 26, 2006

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Preliminary Analysis of Processing Trends Shows Importance of Improvement
Plans

Statement of Linda D. Koontz Director, Information Management Issues

GAO-06-1022T

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