FOIA News: State Department releases annual report

On March 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of State published its annual FOIA report for fiscal year 2021. Here are the highlights:

• 10,683 requests received, an 18.4 percent increase from FY 2020 (9019 requests)

• 9,505 requests processed, a 35 percent increase from FY 2020 (7041 requests)

• 14,941 backlogged requests, an 8.3 percent increase from FY 2020 (13,798 requests)

• Fees collected for processing requests: $0 (the same as in FY 2020)

• Total costs: $28,004,908.50, a 45.4 percent decrease from FY 2020 ($51, 278, 590.97)

FOIA News: DHS releases 2021 annual report

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which fields more FOIA requests than any other agency, published its fiscal year 2021 annual FOIA report on March 1, 2021. Of note, DHS received 442,650 requests and processed 467,347 requests, increases of 11.3 percent (397,671) and 19 percent (392,623), respectively, from FY 2020. Further, DHS cut its backlog of requests by 30.9 percent, from 36,350 requests in FY 2020 to 25,102 requests in FY 2021.

FOIA News: More departments post their annual reports

Federal agencies are required to post their annual reports by March 1, 2022. As of the time of this post, only five cabinet departments have published their reports: Transportation, Labor, Agriculture, HUD, and HHS—the latter two of which are posted on this site for the first time below.

• U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (reducing request backlog from 1128 to 808 requests)

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (reducing request backlog from 9995 to 8817 requests)

FOIA News: OIP updates Exemption 7 of the FOIA Guide

On January 27, 2022, the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy posted an updated version of the introduction to Exemption 7 of its Guide to the Freedom of Information Act.

FOIA News: USDA releases annual FOIA report

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its request backlog by 18 percent in fiscal year 2021 (from 2546 requests in FY 2020 to 2081 requests in FY 2021), according to its recently published annual FOIA report. The Department received 20,956 requests in FY 2021, an eight percent decrease from FY 2020 (22.810 requests); the Department processed 21,815 requests in FY 2021, a five percent decrease from FY 2020 (23,103 requests).

FOIA News: Dep't of Labor release 2021 annual report

The U.S Department of Labor has released its annual FOIA report for fiscal year 2021, which indicates that it received a total of 13,560 initial requests and processed 14,022 requests. DOL trimmed its backlog from 1714 requests in FY 2020 to 1216 request in FY 2021, a 29 percent decrease.

FOIA News: Senators Introduce Bill to Remove FOIA Exemption in Broadband Grants

Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Broadband Buildout Accountability Act to Increase Transparency in Public Investment in Broadband Deployment

Feb. 24, 2022

Today, Senator Rick Scott introduced the Broadband Buildout Accountability Act with Ranking Member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, to increase transparency for a $42 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package (BIF) broadband buildout grant awarded to the National Technology Information Administration (NTIA), which is currently exempted from transparency requirements under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Senator Scott’s Broadband Buildout Accountability Act would remove the FOIA exemption and require proof of how the $42 billion is spent to ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, Shelley Moore Capito, Ted Cruz, Deb Fischer, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Cynthia Lummis, Jerry Moran, Dan Sullivan, John Thune, Roger Wicker, and Todd Young have also cosponsored the bill.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Congressional leaders call on DOJ to issue FOIA memo

Lawmakers Press Garland on Access to Documents for Public, Congress

Teresa Mettela, Wall St. J., Feb. 23, 2022

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to press federal agencies to emphasize transparency and openness when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, after government reports showed an increase in denials in recent years.

The House oversight and Senate judiciary committees sent a letter to Mr. Garland asking him to issue a memorandum encouraging agencies to implement FOIA in a manner that will increase access to government documents for the public and Congress.

“A clear message from you that transparency is a priority would encourage agencies to fully comply with the law,” the lawmakers said.

Read more here.

A copy of the congressional letter is here.

FOIA News: DOT is first cabinet department to release annual report

The U.S. Department of Transportation released its FY 2021 annual FOIA report on Thursday, February 17, 2022, twelve days ahead of DOJ’s deadline. No other cabinet department has released its annual report as of the time of this post.

FOIA News: More 2021 annual reports released

Last week we reported that several agencies had posted their 2021 annual FOIA reports in advance of DOJ’s March 1st deadline. Here are a few more reports that we have found online since then.

• Environmental Protection Agency

• U.S. Agency for International Development

• U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Administrative Conference of the United States

• National Indian Gaming Commission

• Surface Transportation Board

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence

• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights