U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

Name, title, address, and telephone number of person to be contacted with questions about the report.

Nancy Chavannes-Battle Deputy Chief FOIA Officer Privacy and Records Office United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room IP830 Washington, DC 20260
Telephone (202) 268-2608

Electronic address for report on the World Wide Web

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/annual-foia-reports/welcome.htm

How to obtain a copy of this report in paper form.

A hard copy of this report may be obtained upon written request to:

Nancy Chavannes-Battle Deputy Chief FOIA Officer Privacy and Records Office United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 1P830 Washington, DC 20260

MAKING A FOIA REQUEST

A FOIA request for Postal Service records must be in writing, be a request for records, and bear the caption “Freedom of Information Act Request.”

There is no required form for submitting a request. A requester should simply write a letter, indicating FOIA somewhere on the letter, and describe the records wanted. It is also helpful to include the amount of processing fees for which the requester is willing to accept liability. If estimated processing fees exceed that amount, the requester will be notified in advance.

A request should describe, with as much detail as possible, the records being requested. The description should be detailed enough to permit an agency employee familiar with the subject matter to locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. A reasonable description is required by the FOIA and helps ensure prompt retrieval of the records of interest while minimizing processing costs to the requester.

Detailed information on submitting a FOIA request may be found in Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management. (http://about.usps.com/handbooks/as353/as353add_003.htm)

Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA requests.

Component A	Component B	Component C	Component D	
Non-investigative records (HQ controlled records):

Records Office United States Postal Service Room 1P830
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW Washington, DC 20260

Phone: (202) 268-2608	Non-investigative records (field- controlled records):
USPS FOIA RSC – Field
St. Louis General Law Service Center
1720 Market Street Rm 2400 St. Louis, MO 63155-
9948

Phone: (314) 345-5894	Investigative records:

Office of Counsel
U.S. Postal Inspection Service 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW Room 3301
Washington, DC 20260-
2101

Phone: (202) 268-7004	Inspector General records:

FOIA Office
USPS Office of the Inspector General 1735 North Lynn Street Arlington, VA 22209-
2020

Phone: (703) 248-2100	

Brief description of why some requests are not granted.

The Postal Service’s mission is to provide the nation with reliable, affordable, universal mail service. The basic functions of the Postal Service were established in 39 U.S.C. § 101(a): “. . . [T]o bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people.” The Postal Service is “an independent establishment of the executive branch” of the government, created by the Postal Reorganization Act, (PRA), 39 U.S.C. §§ 101, et seq., and directed to conduct its operations in accordance with sound business principles. It is the policy of the Postal Service to promote transparency and accountability by adopting a presumption in favor of disclosure in all decisions involving the FOIA and to make its official records available to the public to the maximum extent consistent with the public interest.

The Postal Service primarily invokes FOIA Exemptions 3, 4, 5, and 6 to withhold records from disclosure. FOIA Exemption 3 provides that agencies may withhold records that are exempted from disclosure by another statute.  Examples of such statutes include 39 U.S.C. §§ 410(c) and 412 of the Postal Reorganization Act. Specifically, 39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(2) permits the Postal Service to withhold “information of a commercial nature, including trade secrets, whether or not obtained from a person outside the Postal Service, which under good business practice would not be publicly disclosed.” Some of the types of information withheld under (c)(2) include: information about methods of handling valuable Registered Mail; money order records; technical information on postage meters and prototypes submitted for approval before leasing to mailers; market surveys; records indicating rural carrier lines of travel; records that would be of potential benefit to firms in economic competition with the Postal Service; information that could materially increase procurement costs; and information that might compromise testing or examination materials. The Postal Service’s substantial infrastructure and coordination with both private industry and other government agencies requires the generation of schedules, maps, routes, manuals, and plans that could be used to circumvent a variety of legal requirements, including anti-terrorism laws. The Postal Service routinely protects these records when necessary. Further, 39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(3) provides that the Postal Service may withhold “information prepared for use in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements under 39 U.S.C. Chapter 12, and minutes of or notes kept during the negotiating sessions.” Moreover, 39 U.S.C. § 412 prohibits the disclosure of mailing lists or other lists of names or addresses (past or present) of Postal Service customers or other persons to the public by any means or for any purpose. Additionally, 39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(1) permits the withholding of the name or address, past or present, of any Postal Service customer.

FOIA Exemption 4 applies to information that contains (1) trade secrets or (2) confidential, commercial information provided to the Postal Service by an outside party, such as a supplier or customer. Any information that relates to commerce, trade or profit may be considered commercial. Voluntarily supplied commercial information is further considered confidential if the provider of the

information would customarily choose not to disclose it to the public. Information supplied to the government under compulsion is considered confidential if disclosure of the information would put the supplier at a competitive disadvantage, harm the supplier, or diminish the reliability or quality of information provided to the government by future submitters. The Postal Service uses Exemption 4 to protect confidential exchanges with contractors and customers, such as contract details, specific payment information (although total contract award amounts are released), claims and correspondence, and postage statements reflecting customer-specific mail volume. The use of this exemption protects the confidentiality of entities that do business with the Postal Service.

FOIA Exemption 5 permits agencies to withhold “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.” The exemption permits agencies to withhold records that would be privileged in the context of civil discovery. These records are protected by one or more of the following privileges that have been recognized under the exemption: (1) the “deliberative process” privilege, (2) the attorney-client privilege, and (3) the attorney work-product privilege. For example, internal documents that contain opinions, suggestions, or recommendations of government employees, contain “deliberative” information within the meaning of FOIA Exemption 5. The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between an attorney and his or her client relating to a legal matter for which the client has sought professional advice. The attorney work-product privilege protects the adversarial trial process by insulating an attorney’s preparation from scrutiny.
The Postal Service primarily uses Exemption 5 to protect records related to internal decision-making when it believes that the release of the records could result in confusion or stifling of frank, open discussion within the Postal Service. For example, records that include employee opinions and recommendations that do not reflect a final policy decision may be redacted to remove such pre- decisional recommendations.

FOIA Exemption 6 applies to personal information, including medical and personnel files, the disclosure of which would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. With hundreds of thousands of employees and hundreds of millions of customers, the Postal Service’s daily operations require the use of a great deal of personal information. The Postal Service routinely protects personal information about its employees, customers and other individuals which would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Customer information protected under Exemption 6 includes records concerning change-of-address or Post Office Box holder information and complaints. Protectable employee information includes attendance, discipline, and medical records.

The Postal Inspection Service is the primary law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, and performs investigative and security functions essential to a stable and sound postal system. The mission of the Inspection Service is to protect the Postal Service, secure the nation’s mail system and ensure public trust in the mail. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) plays a key role in maintaining the integrity and accountability of America’s postal service, its revenue and assets, and its employees. The OIG achieves its mission of helping maintain confidence in the postal system and improving the Postal Service’s financial condition through independent audits and investigations. As such, the records maintained by the Postal Inspection Service and the USPS OIG often involve law enforcement matters. Because law enforcement records are of such interest to subjects of investigations, victims of crime and the public at large, these records are often requested under the FOIA. The Postal Inspection Service and USPS OIG invoke the FOIA’s two privacy exemptions primarily to prevent unwarranted injury to the privacy interests of those individuals identified in law enforcement records, such as suspects, witnesses, or investigators (FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C)). In addition, the USPS OIG is obligated under Sec. 7 of the Inspector General Act to protect the identity of employees who provide the agency information, further strengthening the protection afforded under FOIA Exemptions 7(C) and (D). The Postal Inspection Service and USPS OIG also protect information about their enforcement activities, the release of which 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 (FOIA Exemption 7(E)).

FOIA Regulations.

Electronic Link to FOIA Regulations:

http://about.usps.com/handbooks/as353/welcome.htm

Electronic Link to FOIA Fee Schedule:
http://about.usps.com/handbooks/as353/as353c4_023.htm

ACRONYMNS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS

Definitions.

Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.

Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.

Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for response.

Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a “component” is an entity within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.

Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn will then respond to the FOIArequester.

Exemption 3 statute – a federal statute that exempts or prohibits information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under FOIA subsection (b)(3).

FOIA Request – A FOIA request is generally a request for access to agency records concerning another person (i.e., a “third-party” request) an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first-party” requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act “systems of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this report.

Additionally, a FOIA request includes requests for records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include a request for records for which the agency has received as part of a request for consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported in Section XII of this report.)

Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could belocated.

Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
Multi-track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track are processed on a first-in, first-out basis. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.

Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the status and agency regulations.

Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.

Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

Perfected Request – a FOIA request for records which reasonably describes the records sought and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken a final action in all respects.

Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.

Time limits – the time period in the FOIA for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

Exemptions.

Exemption 1 – classified national defense and foreign relations information.

Exemption 2 – information that is related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.

Exemption 3 - information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.

Exemption 4 - trade secrets and other confidential business information.

Exemption 5 – inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges.

Exemption 6 – information involving matters of personal privacy.

Exemption 7 - records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that production of those records (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, (E) would disclose techniques, procedures, and guidelines used in law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, if the 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 any individual.

Exemption 8 - information relating to the supervision of financial institutions.

Exemption 9 - geological information on wells.

Agency Component Abbreviations

Component Abbreviation	Component Name	
OIG	Office of the Inspector General	
PIS	Postal Inspection Service	
PS	USPS HQ and Field Office	
PS & PIS	USPS General Counsel	

Exemption 3 Statutes

Statute	

Type of Information Withheld	

Case Citation	

Agency / Component	
Number of Times Relied upon
by Agency
/        Component	Total Number of  Times Relied upon
by Agency Overall	
39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(1)	Records relating to names and addresses of postal customers	N/A	PS	382	383	
			PS & PIS	1		
39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(2)
(Postal Reorganization Act)	Commercial information which would not be disclosed under good business practice	Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. USPS, 356 F.3d 588, 589,
597 (4th Cir. 2004); Am.
Postal Workers Union, AFL- CIO v. USPS, 742 F. Supp. 2d 76, 81-83 (D.D.C. 2010); Reid
v. USPS, No. 05-294, 2006 WL 1876682, at *5-9 (S.D. Ill.
July 5, 2006); Robinett v.
USPS, No. 02-1094, 2002 WL 1728582, at *5 (E.D. La. July
24, 2002).	OIG	21	

295	
			PIS	11		
			PS	

263		
39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(3)	Information prepared for use in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements under 39
U.S.C. Chapter 12 and minutes or notes kept during the negotiating sessions	N/A	PIS	1	

4	
			PS	

3		

39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(4)	
Information prepared for proceedings under 39
U.S.C. Chapter 36, relating to rates, classification, and service charges	

N/A	

PIS	

3	

3	
39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(5)	Reports and memoranda of consultants or independent contractors, except to the extent that they would be required to be disclosed if prepared within the Postal Service	N/A	PIS	

1	

1	

39 U.S.C. §
410(c)(6)	Investigatory files, whether or not considered closed, compiled for law enforcement purposes except to the extent available by law to a party other than the Postal Service	N/A	PS	

1	

1	
39 U.S.C. §
412	Records containing lists of postal customers	N/A	PS	29	29	
18 U.S.C. §
1461	Obscene materials/records concerning non-mailable matter	N/A	PIS	3	
5	
			PS	2		
18 U.S.C. §§
2510, et seq. (Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act)	Wiretap requests and the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication obtained through wiretaps	Payne v. DOJ, No. 96-30840, 1997 WL 450139, at *3 (5th
Cir. July 11, 1997); Lam Lek
Chong v. DEA, 929 F.2d 729,
733 (D.C. Cir. 1991).	PIS	

1	

1	
Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e),
enacted by Act of July 30,
1977, Pub. L.
No. 95-78, §2,
91 Stat. 319	Certain records that would reveal some secret aspect pertaining to grand jury proceedings	Sussman v. USMS, 494 F.3d 1106, 1113 (D.C. Cir. 2007);
Sorin v. DOJ, No. 18-99, 2018
WL 6431027 (2d Cir. Dec. 6,
2018) (per curium); Widi v. McNeil, No. 12-CV-00188, 2016 WL 4394724, at *23 (D.
Me. Aug 16, 2016); Durham v.
U.S. Att'y Gen., No. 06-843, 2008 WL 620744, at *2 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 3, 2008); Cozen O’Connor v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 570 F. Supp. 2d 749, 776 (E.D. Pa. 2008).	PIS	

11	

11	
18 U.S.C. §
3509(d)
(Federal Victims' Protection and Rights Act)	Certain records containing identifying information pertaining to children involved in criminal proceedings	Davis v. U.S. Postal Inspection Serv., 75 F. Supp. 3d 425, 430-31 (D.D.C. 2014).	PIS	

3	

3	
Pub. L. No. 95- 452, 92 Stat.
1101	Identities of employees that have submitted complaints and or provided information during the course of an OIG investigation	N/A	OIG	

12	

12	

V.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING FOIA REQUESTS

Agency / Component	Number of Requests Pending as of Start
of Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Received
in Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Processed
in Fiscal Year	
Number of Requests Pending as of End
of Fiscal Year	
OIG	17	678	685	10	
PIS	10	446	438	18	
PS	179	2447	2246	380	
PS & PIS	0	4	3	1	
AGENCY OVERALL	206	3575	3372	409	

V.B.(1). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- ALL PROCESSED REQUESTS

Agency / Component	

Number of Full Grants	Number of  Partial Grants / Partial Denials	
Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions	Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions		
				
No Records	All Records Referred to Another Component or Agency	
Request Withdrawn	
Fee- Related Reason	Records not  Reasonably Described	Improper FOIA
Request for Other Reason	
Not Agency Record	
Duplicate Request	Other
*Explain in Chart Below	

TOTAL	
OIG	21	142	43	71	296	27	3	0	2	79	1	0	685	
PIS	42	119	34	95	26	7	7	6	86	13	3	0	438	
PS	513	362	495	287	204	23	51	82	161	11	52	5	2246	
PS & PIS	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	
AGENCY OVERALL	577	623	573	454	526	57	61	88	249	103	55	5	3372	

V.B.(2). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- "OTHER" REASONS FOR "FULL DENIALS BASED ON REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS"

Agency / Component	

Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	

TOTAL	
PS	Unable to Locate or Contact Requester	5	5	
PIS	N/A	0	0	
PS & PIS	N/A	0	0	
OIG	N/A	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL			5	

V.B.(3). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency / Component	Ex. 1	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(B)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(D)	Ex. 7(E)	Ex. 7(F)	Ex. 8	Ex. 9	
OIG	0	0	30	1	28	140	46	2	138	0	22	3	0	0	
PIS	0	9	26	6	13	135	13	3	132	28	41	0	0	0	
PS	0	5	646	81	83	690	0	1	9	0	7	0	0	0	
PS & PIS	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	0	14	703	88	124	966	59	6	279	28	70	3	0	0	

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS
-- RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component	Number of Appeals Pending as of Start
of Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Received
in Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Processed
in Fiscal Year	
Number of Appeals Pending as of End of Fiscal Year	
OIG	3	16	18	1	
PIS	0	0	0	0	
PS	0	2	0	2	
PS & PIS	10	131	115	26	
AGENCY OVERALL	13	149	133	29	

DISPOSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS -- ALL PROCESSED APPEALS

Agency / Component	
Number Affirmed on Appeal	
Number Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	
Number Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	Number of    Appeals Closed for Other Reasons	

TOTAL	
OIG	13	4	0	1	18	
PIS	0	0	0	0	0	
PS	0	0	0	0	0	
PS & PIS	58	20	26	11	115	
AGENCY OVERALL	71	24	26	12	133	

VI.C.(1). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency / Component	Ex. 1	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(B)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(D)	Ex. 7(E)	Ex. 7(F)	Ex. 8	Ex. 9	
OIG	0	0	2	0	4	11	4	1	13	0	6	1	0	0	
PIS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PS & PIS	0	0	29	0	9	30	3	0	8	2	4	1	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0	31	0	13	41	7	1	21	2	10	2	0	0	

VI.C.(2). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS

Agency / Component	

No Records	
Records Referred at Initial Request Level	

Request Withdrawn	

Fee- Related Reason	

Records not  Reasonably Described	

Improper Request for Other Reasons	

Not Agency Record	

Duplicate Request or   Appeal	

Request in    Litigation	Appeal Based Solely on Denial of Request for  Expedited Processing	

Other
*Explain in chart below	
OIG	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PIS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PS & PIS	3	0	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	
AGENCY OVERALL	4	0	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	2	

VI.C.(3). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- "OTHER" REASONS

Agency / Component	

Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	

TOTAL	
PS & PIS	Untimely	2	2	
OIG	N/A	0	0	
PIS	N/A	0	0	
PS	N/A	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL			2	

VI.C.(4). RESPONSE TIME FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	
Highest Number of Days	
OIG	16.5	15.61	3	21	
PIS	N/A	N.A	N/A	N/A	
PS	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
PS & PIS	23.5	22.75	15	29	
GENCY OVERALL	17.5	16.9	3	29	

VI.C.(5). TEN OLDEST PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Appeal	
9th	
8th	
7th	
6th	
5th	
4th	
3rd	
2nd	Oldest Appeal	

PS & PIS	Date of Appeal	2020-
09-15	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-08	2020-
09-08	2020-
09-04	2020-
09-03	2020-
09-02	2020-
07-31	
	Number of Days Pending	

11	

14	

14	

14	

16	

16	

17	

18	

19	

42	

OIG	Date of Appeal	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	2020-
09-28	
	Number of Days Pending	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

2	

PS	Date of Appeal	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	2020-
09-11	2020-
09-30	
	Number of Days Pending	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

13	

18	

PIS	Date of Appeal	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
	Number of Days Pending	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

AGENCY OVERALL	Date of Appeal	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-10	2020-
09-08	2020-
09-08	2020-
09-04	2020-
09-03	2020-
09-03	2020-
09-02	2020-
07-31	
	Number of Days Pending	

14	

14	

14	

16	

16	

17	

18	

18	

19	

42	

FOIA REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR ALL PROCESSED PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / Component	SIMPLE	COMPLEX	EXPEDITED PROCESSING	
	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	
OIG	<1	2.89	<1	525	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
PIS	9	10.75	<1	73	30	32.7	21	66	3.5	3.5	2	5	
PS	8	11.52	<1	112	21.5	38.34	<1	426	6	9.56	2	20	
PS & PIS	3	8.67	<1	23	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
AGENCY OVERALL	
5	
9.33	
<1	
525	
24	
37.86	
<1	
426	
5	
8.45	
2	
20	

PROCESSED REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR PERFECTED REQUESTS IN WHICH INFORMATION WAS GRANTED

Agency / Component	SIMPLE	COMPLEX	EXPEDITED PROCESSING	
	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	
OIG	4	6.1	<1	55	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
PIS	13	14.59	<1	73	29	33	21	66	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
PS	17	17.06	<1	112	29	48.29	<1	426	6	8.86	2	20	
PS & PIS	23	23	23	23	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
AGENCY OVERALL	
14	
15.03	
<1	
112	
29	
47.14	
<1	
426	
6	
8.86	
2	
20	

PROCESSED SIMPLE REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / Component	<1-
20
Days	21-
40
Days	41-
60
Days	61-
80
Days	81-
100
Days	101-
120
Days	121-
140
Days	141-
160
Days	161-
180
Days	181-
200
Days	201-
300
Days	301-
400
Days	401+
Days	
TOTAL	
OIG	678	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	683	
PIS	314	15	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	334	
PS	1555	198	33	9	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1802	
PS & PIS	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	
AGENCY OVERALL	2549	217	38	10	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2822	

VII.C. PROCESSED COMPLEX REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / Component	<1-
20
Days	21-
40
Days	41-
60
Days	61-
80
Days	81-
100
Days	101-
120
Days	121-
140
Days	141-
160
Days	161-
180
Days	181-
200
Days	201-
300
Days	301-
400
Days	401+
Days	
TOTAL	
OIG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PIS	0	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	
PS	92	63	11	4	5	6	3	3	1	0	1	2	1	192	
PS & PIS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	92	72	11	5	5	6	3	3	1	0	1	2	1	202	

PROCESSED REQUESTS GRANTED EXPEDITED PROCESSING -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency / Component	<1-
20
Days	21-
40
Days	41-
60
Days	61-
80
Days	81-
100
Days	101-
120
Days	121-
140
Days	141-
160
Days	161-
180
Days	181-
200
Days	201-
300
Days	301-
400
Days	401+
Days	
TOTAL	
OIG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
PIS	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	
PS	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	
PS & PIS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	

PENDING REQUESTS -- ALL PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / Component	SIMPLE	COMPLEX	EXPEDITED PROCESSING	
	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	
OIG	9	16	74	0	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A	
PIS	11	6	20	7	23	71	0	N/A	N/A	
PS	243	12	30	32	40.5	142	14	15	15	
PS & PIS	1	31	31	0	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A	
AGENCY OVERALL	
264	
11	
31	
39	
40	
129	
14	
15	
15	

PENDING REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Request	
9th	
8th	
7th	
6th	
5th	
4th	
3rd	
2nd	Oldest Request	

OIG	Date of Receipt	
N/A	2020-
09-28	2020-
09-28	2020-
09-23	2020-
09-14	2020-
09-08	2020-
08-20	2020-
08-17	2019-
10-10	2019-
05-22	
	Number of Days Pending	

0	

2	

2	

5	

12	

16	

28	

30	

244	

342	

PIS	Date of Receipt	2020-
09-15	2020-
09-14	2020-
08-28	2020-
08-27	2020-
08-27	2020-
08-26	2020-
08-13	2020-
05-14	2020-
02-24	2019-
08-01	
	Number of Days Pending	

11	

12	

22	

23	

23	

24	

33	

96	

154	

293	

PS	Date of Receipt	2019-
11-16	2019-
08-29	2019-
08-14	2019-
07-24	2019-
01-30	2018-
06-20	2018-
06-14	2018-
04-23	2018-
04-17	2018-
04-10	
	Number of Days Pending	

219	

273	

284	

299	

421	

556	

562	

598	

604	

622	

PS & PIS	Date of Receipt	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A	2020-
08-17	
	Number of Days Pending	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

0	

31	

AGENCY OVERALL	Date of Receipt	2019-
08-14	2019-
08-01	2019-
07-24	2019-
05-22	2019-
01-30	2018-
06-20	2018-
06-14	2018-
04-23	2018-
04-17	2018-
04-10	
	Number of Days Pending	

284	

293	

299	

342	

421	

556	

562	

598	

604	

622	

REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Agency / Component	
Number Granted	
Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate	
Number Adjudicated Within Ten Calendar Days	
OIG	0	1	<1	<1	1	
PIS	2	18	<1	2.8	18	
PS	45	55	4	5.1	93	
PS & PIS	0	0	N/A	N/A	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	47	74	3	4.68	112	

REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

Agency / Component	Number Granted	
Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate	
OIG	0	0	N/A	N/A	
PIS	14	0	<1	4.5	
PS	50	0	2	6.92	
PS & PIS	0	0	N/A	N/A	
AGENCY OVERALL	
64	
0	
2	
6.39	

FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

Agency / Component	PERSONNEL	COSTS	
	
Number of "Full-Time FOIA
Employees"	Number of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA
Employees"	Total Number of "Full- Time FOIA
Staff"	

Processing Costs	
Litigation- Related Costs	

Total Costs	
OIG	3	0.00	3.00	412606.00	0.00	412606.00	
PIS	5	0.00	5.00	314372.00	0.00	314372.00	
PS	12	22.00	34.00	517938.98	0.00	517938.98	
PS & PIS	0	4.00	4.00	500170.63	103792.26	603962.89	
AGENCY OVERALL	
20	
26.00	
46.00	
1745087.61	
103792.26	
1848879.87	

FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Agency / Component	Total Amount of Fees Collected	Percentage of Total Costs	
OIG	0.00	0.0000	
PIS	0.00	0.0000	
PS	23282.09	4.5000	
PS & PIS	0.00	0.0000	
AGENCY OVERALL	23282.09	1.3300	

NUMBER OF TIMES SUBSECTION (C) USED

Agency / Component	Number of Times Subsection Used	
OIG	0	
PS	0	
PIS	0	
PS & PIS	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	0	

NUMBER OF SUBSECTION (A)(2) POSTINGS

Agency / Component	Number of Records Posted by the FOIA Office	Number of Records Posted by Program Offices	
OIG	132	0	
PIS	0	0	
PS	25	8998	
PS & PIS	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	157	8998	

BACKLOGS OF FOIA REQUESTS ANDADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of Fiscal Year	
Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year	
OIG	4	0	
PIS	5	0	
PS	80	0	
PS & PIS	1	1	
AGENCY OVERALL	
90	
1	

CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING CONSULTATIONS

Agency / Component	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Pending at the Agency as of Start
of the Fiscal Year	

Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Processed by the Agency During the Fiscal Year	

Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that were Pending at the Agency as of End  of the Fiscal Year	
OIG	0	1	1	0	
PIS	2	16	17	1	
PS	2	6	8	0	
PS & PIS	0	0	0	0	
AGENCY OVERALL	4	23	26	1	

CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS RECEIVED FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND PENDING AT THE AGENCY

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Consultation	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Consultation	

PIS	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2020-09-10	
	Number of Days	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
14	

PS	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
	Number of Days	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	

OIG	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
	Number of Days	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	

PS & PIS	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	
	Number of Days	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	

AGENCY OVERALL	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2020-09-10	
	Number of Days	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
0	
14	

XII.D.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- REQUESTS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED

Agency / Component	NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED	NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED	
	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	

Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	
OIG	573	678	561	685	
PIS	466	446	467	438	
PS	1933	2447	1932	2246	
PS & PIS	0	4	0	3	
AGENCY OVERALL	
2972	
3575	
2960	
3372	

XII.D.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	
OIG	3	4	
PIS	1	5	
PS	28	80	
PS & PIS	0	1	
AGENCY OVERALL	32	90	

XII.E.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- APPEALS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED

Agency / Component	NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED	NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED	
	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	

Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	
OIG	11	16	9	18	
PIS	0	0	0	0	
PS	0	2	0	0	
PS & PIS	106	131	110	115	
AGENCY OVERALL	117	149	119	133	

XII.E.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED APPEALS

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	
OIG	0	0	
PIS	0	0	
PS	0	0	
PS & PIS	1	1	
AGENCY OVERALL	1	1