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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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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (OPM)
3 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; BUT RESPONSE INACCURATE
Recordkeeping Issues - At the time OPM responded that it had no pending FOIA requests, the Archive's request for records regarding implementation of White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card's March 19, 2002 memorandum regarding safeguarding weapons of mass destruction was pending at the agency.
Ten Oldest - OPM responded approximately to the FOIA request via e-mail within three days and indicated that it primarily receives FOIA requests, and that it had no pending FOIA requests.
Workload Statistics - OPM's reported statistics from 1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency has received an increasing number of FOIA requests (up 401.50% from 1801 in 1998 to 9032 in 2002). The number processed each year also has increased (up 389.09% from 1796 processed in 1998 to 8784 processed in 2002). OPM's processing rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests processed to the number received - rose for a few years and then decreased from 99.72% in 1998 to 97.25% in 2002.
Backlog Statistics - OPM's backlog of pending FOIA requests has increased (from 10 FOIA requests pending at the end of 1998 to 520 FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002). OPM's backlog as a percentage of FOIA requests processed each year has increased from 0.56% in 1998 to 5.92% 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 0.83% in 1998 to 5.76% in 2002.
Processing Time - OPM's median days to process has ranged from 7-18 days over the 1998-2002 period, and the median days that backlogged requests have been pending has ranged from 6-23 days over the 1998-2002 period. Expedited requests have a median processing time range of 1-15 days over the 1998-2002 time period, with none reported for 2000.

 

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

OPM Response Letter

 

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