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Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

The Ten Oldest Pending FOIA Requests

The National Security Archive
Freedom of Information Act Audit

 
Press Release
Executive Summary
The Ten Oldest FOIA Requests in the Federal Government
Chart - Agency Response Times
Table - Oldest Outstanding FOIA Requests
Methodology
Findings Regarding The Ten Oldest FOIA Requests and FOIA Backlogs
Summary Discussion of Individual Agencies
Update on Phase One: The Ashcroft Memorandum
FOIA Audit Phase One: The Ashcroft Memo

 

 

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DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY (TRE)
135 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; OUTSTANDING REQUESTS UP TO 9 YEARS OLD
Recordkeeping Issues - When the Archive sought to assess the status of the FOIA request 19 business days after it had been transmitted, TRE informed the Archive that it does not start the clock on its processing time for FOIA requests until it acknowledges the request. The request was then acknowledged on March 26, 2003, 34 business days after it had been submitted. TRE advised that it could not distinguish whether a request was pending coordination with another agency or if it was limited to action within TRE. On April 22, 2003, the Archive limited the request to those pending completion at TRE without the need for coordination to other agencies.
Ten Oldest - TRE responded approximately 135 business days after the request was made; it reported ten FOIA requests ranging from December 9, 1994 to May 24, 1995. The requests concerned records related to wine label rulemaking that imposed limitations to prevent the impression that the wine is a distilled spirits product, records of communications in 1993 between Roger Altman and Harold Ickes, records from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding the handling of attorney Monroe Leigh's FOIA requests concerning the Texaco/Haiti matter, records relating to official government trips to the People's Republic of China by Secretary Michael Blumenthal and Secretary Donald Regan, records in connection with the meeting of the Joint U.S.-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs held in Tokyo on July 15-17, 1973, records from the Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding work by former OFAC employee Frankie Foer concerning the Texaco/Haiti matter, records in connection with the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe to Washington, D.C. on January 27-28, 1984, records generated or received in connection with the White House Security Review led by Ronald Noble, application to and licenses from OFAC for subsidiary trade and/or sales of medicine, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to Cuba from 1990-1992, and records regarding the system used to give credit ratings and related materials for Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Workload Statistics - TRE's reported statistics from 1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency has received a varying number of FOIA requests with a decrease in 2002 (down 18.60% from 57,589 in 1998 to 46,879 in 2002). The number processed each year also has varied and ultimately decreased (down 14.90% from 56,184 processed in 1998 to 47,812 processed in 2002). TRE's processing rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests processed to the number received - increased from 97.56% in 1998 to 101.99% in 2002.
Backlog Statistics - TRE's backlog of pending FOIA requests has varied over the years, but ultimately increased since 1998 (from 7014 FOIA requests pending at the end of 1998 to 7681 FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002). TRE's backlog as a percentage of FOIA requests processed each year has increased from 12.48% in 1998 to 16.07% in 2002. Its backlog rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests pending at the end of the year to the number received during that year -- has increased from 11.53% in 1998 to 16.38% in 2002.
Processing Time - Under its multi track system, TRE reports its median days to process simple requests has ranged from 1-22 days over the 1998-2002 period. TRE reports its median days to process complex requests has ranged from 5-1000 days over the 1998-2002 period. The median days that backlogged requests have been pending ranges from 1-545 days for 2002. Expedited requests have a median processing time range of 3-20 days over the 1998-2001 time period, with a range of 1-78 reported for 2002.

 

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

Treasury Response Letter

Treasury December 9, 1994 Letter

Treasury December 23, 1994 Letter

Treasury March 8, 1995 (1) Letter

Treasury March 8, 1995 (2) Letter

Treasury March 30, 1995 Letter

Treasury April 5, 1995 Letter

Treasury April 12, 1995 Letter

Treasury April 17, 1995 Letter

Treasury May 2, 1995 Letter

Treasury May 25, 1995 Letter

 

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