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2022 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORT
High-Volume Agencies Receiving More Than 50 Requests in FY19

Content of 2022 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

Section 1: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness

The guiding principle underlying DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness. 

Please answer the following questions in order to describe the steps your agency has taken to 

ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the 

FOIA. You may also include any additional information that illustrates how your agency is 

working to apply the presumption of openness. 

A. FOIA Leadership

1. The FOIA requires each agency to designate a Chief FOIA Officer who is a senior official at

the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(j)(1) (2018). Is your agency’s

Chief FOIA Officer at this level?

Yes 

2. Please provide the name and title of your agency’s Chief FOIA Officer.

Gregory R. Baker, Deputy General Counsel – Administration

B. FOIA Training

3. The FOIA directs agency Chief FOIA Officers to ensure that FOIA training is offered to

agency personnel. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(j)(2)(F). Please describe the efforts your agency has

undertaken to ensure proper FOIA training is made available and used by agency personnel.

FOIA staff are regularly reminded and encouraged to take any FOIA training offered throughout 

the year. A FOIA course is always available on the agency’s online training platform. 

Additionally, FOIA staff save training material from FOIA trainings they have attended to a 

shared drive so that all FOIA staff can access and view . Moreover, staff members who attend 

FOIA trainings brief the entire FOIA team on any new information learned at the training. 

Furthermore, the FOIA Liaison, who reports to the Chief FOIA Officer, has set automatic 

reminders for when DOJ-OIP FOIA trainings become available and timely forwards that 

information to all FOIA staff and encourages them to register and attend. 
4. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities 

attend substantive FOIA training during the reporting period such as that provided by the 

Department of Justice?

Yes.

5. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the 

topics covered.

• 12/1/2021- Chief FOIA officer training

• 9/30/2021 – Freedom of Information Act – Skillport

• 5/11/2021 – Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act

• 1/21/2021 – Exemption 4 and 5 

• 4/13/2021 – Continuing FOIA Education

• 9/30/2021 – Freedom of Information Act - Skillport

• 7/15/2021 – Virtual Continuing FOIA Education 

• 7/21/2021 – Procedural Requirements and Fees Workshop

• 10/5/2021 – Annual FOIA Report Refresher and Quarterly Report Training 

• 10/19/2021 – Chief FOIA Officer Report training

6. Please provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA 

responsibilities who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period. 

100% 

7. OIP has directed agencies to “take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend 

substantive FOIA training at least once throughout the year.” If your response to the previous 

question is that less than 80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your 

agency’s plan to ensure that all FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training 

during the next reporting year. 

NA

8. Did the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend training in federal 

records management during this reporting period?

No

C. Outreach

9. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue, outside of the standard 

request process, with the requester community or open government groups regarding your 
administration of the FOIA? Please describe any such outreach or dialogue, and, if applicable, 

any specific examples of how this dialogue has led to improvements in your agency’s FOIA 

administration.

The FEC did not engage in any outreach or dialogue in FY 2021. 

D. Other Initiatives

10. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their 

obligations under the FOIA. In particular, please describe:

• how often and in what formats your agency provides FOIA training or briefings to nonFOIA staff; and

• if senior leaders at your agency received a briefing on your agency’s FOIA resources, 

obligations and expectations during the FOIA process? 

The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) conducted multiple trainings for non-FOIA 

professionals new to the agency reminding them of their privacy expectations and 

responsibilities under FOIA and was available to OGC and non-OGC staff to answer questions 

related to FOIA responsibilities and requirements by phone calls, emails and virtual meetings. 

All new employees receive FOIA training via email, conducted by the FOIA Attorney, during 

onboarding. 

11. Optional -- If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the 

presumption of openness is being applied, please describe them here.

When processing requests, OGC staff and Agency leadership are reminded that there should be 

a presumption of openness when releasing documents. 

Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency Has an Effective System in Place for 

Responding to Requests

DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines emphasize that “[a]pplication of the proper disclosure standard is only 

one part of ensuring transparency. Open government requires not just a presumption of 

disclosure, but also an effective system for responding to FOIA requests.” It is essential that 

agencies effectively manage their FOIA program.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that 

the management of your FOIA program is effective and efficient. You should also include any 

additional information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.
1. For Fiscal Year 2021, what was the average number of days your agency reported for 

adjudicating requests for expedited processing? Please see Section VIII.A of your agency's 

Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report. 

Not applicable.

2. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was 

above ten calendar days, according to Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2021 Annual 

FOIA Report, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for 

expedited processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less. 

Not applicable. 

3. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 required all agencies to update their FOIA regulations 

within 180 days. In 2016, OIP issued Guidance for Agency FOIA Regulations and the 

accompanying Template for Agency FOIA Regulations to assist agencies in updating their 

regulations in accordance with the statute. Has your agency updated its FOIA regulations in 

accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016? If not, what is your agency's plan to 

update your regulations?

Draft updates have been made to the Commission’s FOIA regulations in accordance with the 

FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. However, the adoption of updated FOIA regulations has been 

hindered by the lack of Commission quorum. The Agency recently gained quorum and the FOIA 

team intends to seek adoption of updated FOIA regulations. 

4. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) generally document your agency’s internal processes 

for administering the FOIA beyond your FOIA regulations and FOIA Reference Guide. As 

noted in OIP’s guidance, having SOPs can improve the consistency and quality of an agency’s 

FOIA process. SOPs can also serve as a significant resource for incoming FOIA professionals 

and a way to preserve much of the agency’s institutional knowledge on administering the FOIA 

from how to handle requests from start-to-finish, to identifying and making proactive 

disclosures, to maintaining a FOIA website. Does your agency have up-to-date internal SOPs for 

your FOIA administration?

 

The Agency’s FOIA Service Center has written FOIA processing procedures as well as 

standardized acknowledgement and response letter templates that are saved on a shared drive 

that any FOIA team member can access. 

5. If not, please provide a timeline for when your agency plans to develop or update its SOPs. 
Not applicable.

6. Has your agency established alternative means of access to first-party requested records 

outside of the FOIA process?

The FEC does not receive common categories of first-party requests. Nevertheless, the 

Commission is a disclosure agency. We, therefore, routinely place numerous categories of 

records on the public record. Because these records are made publicly available pursuant to 

other statutory provisions, the FEC generally will not process these requests under FOIA. The 

below documents are included within the categories of records routinely made publicly 

available.

7. If yes, please provide examples. If no, please explain if such opportunities exist at your agency 

and whether there are any challenges in establishing alternative means of access.

• Campaign finance reports are placed on the public record within 48 hours of receipt at

the FEC.

• Redacted files for closed enforcement matters are made available to the public within 30 

days after the parties involved have been notified that the entire matter has been closed.

• Advisory opinions from 1975 to the present, including documents related to advisory 

opinions — such as requests, drafts and public comments — from 1990 to the present.

8. Did your agency conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA administration during the reporting 

period? If so, please describe the self-assessment methods used, such as analyzing Annual 

Report or raw data, using active workflows and track management, reviewing and updating 

processing procedures, etc. In addition, please specifically highlight any data analysis methods 

or technologies used to assess your agency's FOIA program.

During the reporting period, the agency did not conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA program 

using the FOIA Self-Assessment Toolkit; however, as an agency we conduct weekly reviews of 

open caseloads and were able to reduce the backlog by more than 60% during FY 2021.

9. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the 

services provided by the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison. Please provide an estimate of the 

number of times requesters sought assistance from your agency’s FOIA Public Liaison during 

FY 2021 (please provide a total number or an estimate of the number). 

One.
10. Has your agency reviewed its FOIA-related staffing capabilities to identify resources needed 

to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands? 

The Agency has reviewed its FOIA related needs and plans to hire two additional Admin Law 

team members in FY22. Currently our backlog is manageable and we have one fulltime FOIA 

attorney. 

11. Optional -- Please describe:

• Best practices used to ensure that your FOIA system operates efficiently and effectively

• Any challenges your agency faces in this area.

During FY 2019, the Agency implemented an advanced new eDiscovery and FOIA tool 

agency wide called Xera. This tool made it easier for FOIA and Non- FOIA professionals 

to search Agency data and review records to ensure that the Agency is providing every 

available record to requesters and to streamline our FOIA process. During FY 2021 the 

Agency also reviewed all open caseloads and worked to ensure that older cases were 

processed in a timely fashion. Due to our efforts, we successfully reduced our backlog as 

an Agency by 87%. 

Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

The Department of Justice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post 

information online without waiting for individual requests to be received.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the 

amount of material that is available on your agency websites. In addition to the questions below, 

you should also describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve 

proactive disclosures of information. 

1. Please describe what steps your agency takes to identify, track, and post (a)(2) proactive 

disclosures. 

In FY 2021, the FEC continued to proactively post updated information on its website regarding 

the Agency’s enforcement and compliance processes — reporting thresholds, manuals, and other 

procedural guidance — to make the FEC’s processes more transparent to the public. This 

information is available at the following link: 

https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/enforcement/procedural-materials/. 

2. Provide examples of any material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past 

reporting year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D). Please include links to these materials as well.
The Agency has launched an updated Open Government Page, which highlights efforts to 

provide new information to the public on how federal campaigns are financed and how the FEC 

operates. This page can be found at the following link: https://www.fec.gov/about/open/. 

Included on this page are links to new categories of information that are being released in 

accordance with the FEC’s Policy Statement on Disclosure of Certain Documents in 

Enforcement, Administrative Fines, Alternative Dispute Resolution Cases and Administrative 

Matters. The FEC generally does not receive many FOIA requests for the same documents. 

However, the Agency’s FOIA Requester Service Center monitors its FOIA request log, and if 

frequently requested records are identified, they will be posted to the Commission’s website.

3. Does your agency disseminate common types of material outside of FOIA, including in online 

databases where the public may access them? If yes, please provide examples and, if applicable, 

statutory authority. 

In FY 2021, the FEC continued to proactively post updated information on its website regarding 

the Agency’s enforcement and compliance processes — reporting thresholds, manuals, and other 

procedural guidance — to make the FEC’s processes more transparent to the public. This 

information is available at the following link: 

https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/enforcement/procedural-materials/. 

The Agency has launched an updated Open Government Page, which highlights efforts to 

provide new information to the public on how federal campaigns are financed and how the FEC 

operates. This page can be found at the following link: https://www.fec.gov/about/open/. 

Included on this page are links to new categories of information that are being released in 

accordance with the FEC’s Policy Statement on Disclosure of Certain Documents in 

Enforcement, Administrative Fines, Alternative Dispute Resolution Cases and Administrative 

Matters. The FEC generally does not receive many FOIA requests for the same documents. 

However, the Agency’s FOIA Requester Service Center monitors its FOIA request log, and if 

frequently requested records are identified, they will be posted to the Commission’s website.

4. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information 

more useful to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your 

agency’s website?

Yes.

5. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements. In particular, please describe steps 

your agency is taking to post information in open, machine-readable, and machine-actionable 

formats, to the extent feasible. If not posting in open formats, please explain why and note any 

challenges.
The FEC launched its new website in 2017, which allows members of the public to more easily 

locate and access documents proactively disclosed by the Agency. Specifically, the new website 

offers improved navigation, content and readability; is mobile-device friendly; and allows users 

to access a significantly wider universe of campaign finance data than previously available 

through the FEC’s website. The Agency continues to add new content to the website on a regular 

basis. 

6. Does your proactive disclosure process or system involve any collaboration with agency staff 

outside the FOIA office? If so, describe this interaction.

Yes. The Agency has worked hard in 2021 to update our website and to ensure that accurate 

FOIA contact information, request guidelines, and Agency FOIA data is available to the public. 

We frequently include links to public records as a courtesy in FOIA responses and upload public 

records to the website quickly and frequently in an effort to promote transparency and openness. 

As an agency we do not charge fees to any requester in an effort to ensure that the public has 

free and easy access to the Agency’s data and records. 

Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology

A key component of FOIA administration is using technology to make information more 

accessible. In addition to using the internet to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also 

be exploring ways to utilize technology in responding to requests. 

Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is utilizing technology to 

improve its FOIA administration and the public's access to information. You should also include 

any additional information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.

1. Has your agency reviewed its FOIA-related technological capabilities to identify resources 

needed to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands? 

The Agency recently obtained the web-based, iCONNECT-XERA document review platform 

which allows FOIA staff to search emails agency-wide without having to go through individual 

Commission employees. The software also allows more efficient review, de-duplication, 

categorization, and coding of records. 

2. Please briefly describe any new types of technology your agency began using during the 

reporting period to support your FOIA program. 

The Agency recently obtained the web-based, iCONNECT-XERA document review platform 

which allows FOIA staff to search emails agency-wide without having to go through individual 

Commission employees. The software also allows more efficient review, de-duplication, 

categorization, and coding of records. 
3. OIP issued guidance in 2017 encouraging agencies to regularly review their FOIA websites to 

ensure that they contain essential resources, and are informative and user-friendly. Has your 

agency reviewed its FOIA website(s) during the reporting period to ensure it addresses the 

elements noted in the guidance?

Yes.

4. Did all four of your agency's quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2021 appear on your agency's 

website and on FOIA.gov? 

Yes. The FEC successfully posted all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2021

5. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports, with information appearing on 

FOIA.gov, please explain why and provide your agency’s plan for ensuring that such reporting is 

successful in Fiscal Year 2022. 

Not applicable 

6. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used 

to compile their Annual FOIA Reports. Please provide the link to this posting for your agency’s 

Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency’s Fiscal Year 2021 

Annual FOIA Report. 

• https://www.fec.gov/documents/2893/FOIA _annual_report_fiscal_year_2020.csv

• https://www.fec.gov/documents/2893/FOIA _annual_report_fiscal_year_2021.csv

7. Optional -- Please describe:

• Best practices used in greater utilizing technology

• Any challenges your agency faces in this area 

During FY 2019, the Agency implemented an advanced new eDiscovery and FOIA tool agency 

wide called Xera. This tool made it easier for FOIA and Non- FOIA professionals to search 

Agency data and review records to ensure that the Agency is providing every available record to 

requesters and to streamline our FOIA process. 

Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests and Reducing 

Backlogs

The Department of Justice has emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in responding 

to requests. This section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report addresses both time limits and 

backlog reduction. Backlog reduction is measured both in terms of numbers of backlogged 
requests or appeals and by looking at whether agencies closed their ten oldest requests, appeals, 

and consultations.

For the figures required in this Section, please use the numbers contained in the specified 

sections of your agency’s FY 2020 and 2021 Annual FOIA Reports.

A. Simple Track

Section VII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "FOIA Requests – Response Time 

for All Processed Requests," includes figures that show your agency's average response times for 

processed requests. For agencies utilizing a multi-track system to process requests, there is a 

category for "simple" requests, which are those requests that are placed in the agency’s fastest 

(non-expedited) track, based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests? 

Yes.

2. If your agency uses a separate track for simple requests, according to Annual FOIA Report 

section VII.A, was the agency overall average number of days to process simple requests twenty 

working days or fewer in Fiscal Year 2021?

Yes. In Fiscal Year 2020, the overall average number of days for the FEC to process simple 

requests was 36.4 days. In Fiscal Year 2021, the overall average number of days for the FEC to 

process simple requests was 10.09 days.

3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2021 that 

were placed in your simple track. Please use the following calculation based on the data from 

your Annual FOIA Report: (processed simple requests from Section VII.C.1) divided by 

(requests processed from Section V.A.) x 100. 

39.09%

4. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to 

process all non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?

Not applicable.

B. Backlogs

When answering these questions, please refer to you Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report, 

Sections XII.D-E, which compare the numbers of requests and appeals received, processed, and 

backlogged between Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021.
BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

5. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2021, according to Annual 

FOIA Report Section XII.D.2, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported 

at the end of Fiscal Year 2020?

Yes. 

6. If not, according to Annual FOIA Report Section XII.D.1, did your agency process more 

requests during Fiscal Year 2021 than it did during Fiscal Year 2020?

Not applicable.

7. If your agency’s request backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2021, please explain why and 

describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When 

doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

• An increase in the number of incoming requests.

• A loss of staff.

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide 

examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog 

increase.

• Impact of COVID-19 and workplace and safety precautions

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

Not applicable.

8. If you had a request backlog please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog 

out of the total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2021. Please use the 

following calculation based on data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged requests from 

Section XII.A) divided by (requests received from Section V.A) x 100. This number can be 

greater than 100%. If your agency has no request backlog, please answer with “N/A.”

4%

BACKLOGGED APPEALS

9. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2021, according to Section 

XII.E.2 of the Annual FOIA Report, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog 

reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2020? 
Yes, the FEC’s backlog did decrease. At the close of Fiscal Year 2020, the FEC had two 

backlogged FOIA appeals, now we have one.

10. If not, according to section XII.E.1 of the Annual FOIA Report, did your agency process 

more appeals during Fiscal Year 2021 than it did during Fiscal Year 2020?

Not applicable 

11. If your agency’s appeal backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2021, please explain why and 

describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When 

doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

• An increase in the number of incoming appeals.

• A loss of staff.

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide 

examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog 

increase.

• Impact of COVID-19 and workplace and safety precautions.

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

Not applicable 

12. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the 

backlog out of the total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2021. Please 

use the following calculation based on data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged 

appeals from Section XII.A) divided by (appeals received from Section VI.A) x 100. This 

number can be greater than 100%. If your agency did not receive any appeals in Fiscal Year 

2021 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A."

50%

C. Backlog Reduction Plans

13. In the 2021 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 

1000 requests in Fiscal Year 2020 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in 

the year ahead. Did your agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year? If so, describe 

your agency’s efforts in implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve 

backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 2021?

Not applicable 
14. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2021, please explain 

your agency’s plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2022. In particular, please also 

detail how your agency developed and plans to execute your backlog reduction plans.

Not applicable 

D. Status of Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations

Section VII.E, entitled "Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Requests," Section VI.C.(5), 

entitled "Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals," and Section XII.C., entitled 

"Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies 

and Pending at Your Agency," show the ten oldest pending requests, appeals, and 

consultations. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both 

Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2021 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer 

Report.

OLDEST REQUESTS

15. In Fiscal Year 2021, did your agency close the ten oldest pending perfected requests that 

were reported in Section VII.E. of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report?

No.

16. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end 

of the fiscal year, as listed in Section VII.E of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report. If 

you had less than ten total oldest requests to close, please indicate that.

Six requests were closed by the end of the fiscal year. We had 9 oldest requests only.

17. Beyond work on the ten oldest requests, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce 

the overall age of your pending requests.

Our Agency focused on our oldest requests as first priority and ensured that we dedicated our 

FOIA attorney solely to this project for a period of time. 

TEN OLDEST APPEALS
18. In Fiscal Year 2021, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending 

in Section VI.C.5 of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report?

No.

19. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of 

the fiscal year, as listed in Section VI.C.(5) of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report. If 

you had less than ten total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that.

One.

20. Beyond work on the ten oldest appeals, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce 

the overall age of your pending appeals.

During Fiscal Year 2018, the Agency hired a full time FOIA attorney which helped us to reduce 

our backlog by 44.44% in Fiscal Year 2021, and reduce our backlogged appeals to a single 

appeal. We had only 8 pending FOIA requests by the end of FY 21.

TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS

21. In Fiscal Year 2021, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported 

Qpending in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report?

Not applicable. The FEC did not have any consultations pending at the end of Fiscal Year 2020.

22. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the 

end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA 

Report. If you had less than ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that.

Not applicable.

E. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans

23. Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest requests, appeals, 

and consultations from Fiscal Year 2020.

Staffing shortages during the pandemic have presented challenges in managing FOIA workload, 

however, the FEC was still able to close out more requests than we received. The agency 

intends to hire additional staff in 2022, including attorneys with FOIA responsibilities.
24. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests because you were waiting to 

hear back from other agencies on consultations you sent, please provide the date the request was 

initially received by your agency, the date when your agency sent the consultation, and the date 

when you last contacted the agency where the consultation was pending. 

Not applicable. 

25. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please 

provide a plan describing how your agency intends to close those “ten oldest” requests, appeals, 

and consultations during Fiscal Year 2022. 

Staffing shortages during the pandemic have presented challenges in managing FOIA workload, 

however, the FEC was still able to close out more requests than we received. The agency 

intends to hire additional staff in 2022, including attorneys with FOIA responsibilities.

F. Success Stories

Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2021 to increase transparency 

and improve FOIA administration, please briefly describe here at least one success story that you 

would like to highlight as emblematic of your agency’s efforts. The success story can come 

from any one of the five key areas, but should not be something that you have reported in a prior 

year. As noted above, these agency success stories will be highlighted during Sunshine Week by 

OIP. To facilitate this process, all agencies should use bullets to describe their success story and 

limit their text to a half page. The success story is designed to be a quick summary of key 

achievements. A complete description of all your efforts will be contained in the body of your 

Chief FOIA Officer Report.

• The individual members of the FOIA team have done a remarkable job keeping up with 

their FOIA caseloads given the unique challenges presented by the pandemic. 

• FOIAs continue to be processed quickly and efficiently, with an emphasis on reducing the 

backlog.