Chief FOIA Officer    Report

Department of the Treasury

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Chief FOIA Officer Report
 

Table of Contents
 

Introduction 1
 

Part I: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness.................................................................. 5
 

Part II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency has an Effective System for Responding to Requests 11
 

Part III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosure......................................................................... 15
 

Part IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology............................................................................. 19
 

Part V: Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests ............ 21
 

Section 1: Backlog Status............................................................................................................... 21
 

Section 2: Backlog Reduction......................................................................................................... 22
 

Section 3: Improving Timeliness of Responses................................................................................ 24
 

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Introduction

On his first day in office the President issued two pivotal memoranda1

that affect how the government makes information available to the

public it serves. The first memorandum on Transparency and Open

Government discussed the three cornerstones of open government:

transparency, participation, and collaboration. The memorandum

emphasized that transparency promotes accountability of government

operations, public engagement enhances the Government's

effectiveness and quality of its decisions, and collaboration actively

engages Americans in the work of their Government. The second

memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) directed

agencies to administer the FOIA with a clear presumption in favor of

disclosure, to resolve doubts in favor of openness, and to not withhold

information based on "speculative or abstract fears." The President also directed the Attorney General

to issue new guidelines governing FOIA to reaffirm a commitment to transparency and accountability,

and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to update guidance to agencies to increase and

improve information dissemination to the public, including the use of new technologies. The Attorney

General’s guidance, issued on March 19, 20102

, stated that FOIA is everyone's responsibility, with each

agency fully accountable for its administration of FOIA, and that FOIA should be administered with the

presumption of openness. When in doubt, openness prevails, and agencies must work proactively and

promptly to respond to FOIA requests. On December 8, 2009, OMB released its Open Government

Directive3 which reiterated that openness is the Federal Government's default position for FOIA issues,

and established deadlines for agency actions to achieve transparency, participation, and collaboration,

including publishing government information on‐line, improving the quality of government information,

creating and institutionalizing a culture of open government, and creating an enabling policy framework

for open government.

The Department of the Treasury is committed to open and transparent government, to ensure the

American public has access to as much information as possible while ensuring the protection of personal

privacy, as well as confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. We are pursuing opportunities to

engage our most frequent requesters to determine categories of information most appropriate for

proactive disclosure. We are ensuring that FOIA activities are fully integrated in the Department's Open

1.	 1 President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, 1/21/09,

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transparency_and_Open_Government

2.	 President’s Memorandum on Freedom of Information Act, 1/21/09,

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Freedom_of_Information_Act/

3.	 http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10‐06.pdf

4.	 2 Attorney General’s guidelines for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 3/19/09,
 

http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/foia‐memo‐march2009.pdf.
 

5.	 3 OMB Memorandum M‐10‐06, “Open Government Directive”,

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10‐06.pdf

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY: LEGEND OF ABBREVIATIONS
 

The Departmental Offices (DO)
 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
 

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)
 

Financial Management Service (FMS)
 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
 

United States Mint (MINT)
 

Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD)
 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
 

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
 

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
 

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Fiscal Full Partial Full

Year Grants Grants Denials

FY 08 74% 23% 3%

FY 09 71% 25% 4%

     

   

   

   

       

       

   

   

   

Table 3 Breakout by Bureau

Bureau

FY 2008 FY 2009

Number

of Full

Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants/Partial

Denials

Number

of Full

Denials

Number

of Full

Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants/Partial

Denials

Number of

Full Denials

DO 165 97 20 111 162 21

TTB 30 29 18 21 35 12

OCC 2824 217 32 2295 87 65

Part I: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness

Treasury has taken steps to ensure the direction outlined by the President and the Attorney General has

been communicated and discussed across the various bureaus, which supports openness in all FOIA

activities. Discussions at the monthly FOIA Council meetings which include representatives from each

Treasury bureau have focused on openness, and the guiding documents will be incorporated into a

forthcoming edition of the Department's FOIA Handbook. The Director of OIP, DOJ, Melanie Pustay

provided a presentation on guidance on Attorney General Holder’s memorandum in April 2009 during

the Treasury Records and Information Management Month. We are also developing a training module

on Transparency and Open Government that discusses how every employee can contribute. The

module will be available in early spring 2010 to every employee across the Department of the Treasury

on our learning management system.

Overall, Treasury did not significantly increase the percentage of partial and full disclosures (see Table 2)

While 72% of incoming requests are for IRS, the IRS routinely provides full or partial release of

information on over 98% of those requests. Also impacting this statistic is the increase in requests for

Departmental Offices pertaining to the new activities in support of the economic recovery efforts. A

large number of these responses involve business submitter information which must be withheld,

increasing the number of partial grants for DO while concurrently decreasing the number of full grants

for DO. Treasury has made some gains in partial releases in some of the bureaus with a smaller

percentage of the overall Treasury requests (see Table 3). Although difficult to measure the extent to

which the President and Attorney General’s memoranda have had an impact, Treasury has received a

slight increase in the amount of requests.

Table 2

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Table 3 Breakout by Bureau

Bureau

FY 2008 FY 2009

Number

of Full

Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants/Partial

Denials

Number

of Full

Denials

Number

of Full

Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants/Partial

Denials

Number of

Full Denials

BEP 39 16 4 25 16 4

FMS 66 45 42 45 63 52

IRS 5331 2254 122 4914 2191 133

MINT 39 16 5 33 8 2

BPD 67 8 0 38 10 0

OTS 462 186 35 460 180 54

TIGTA 18 117 11 15 76 7

FinCEN 12 49 74 11 25 101

TOTAL 9053 3034 363 7968 2853 451

   

                       

   

                     

                         

       

               

                             

                   

          

                         

       

                 

               

   

               

           

Following are the specific actions taken and/or planned by the individual Treasury components.

DO:

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Distributed and discussed the memoranda at monthly Treasury‐wide FOIA Council meetings;

•	 Melanie Pustay, Director, OIP, DOJ provided a presentation and guidance on the Attorney

General Memorandum of March 2009;

•	 Educated FOIA contacts about the foreseeable harm standard;

•	 Invited the Director of DOJ's Office of Information Policy (OIP) to provide a presentation on

Attorney General Holder's memorandum during our Records Information Management Month

(RIMM) activities in April 2010;

•	 Distributed Secretary Geithner’s Press Release on the publication of contracts to all FOIA

contacts;

•	 Proactively disclosed Secretary's calendar;

•	 Proactively disclosed contracts from the Office of Financial Stability;

•	 Proactively released FOIA request logs for Departmental Offices.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Incorporate President Obama’s memorandum and Attorney General Holder’s memorandum

into the FOIA Handbook (March 2010);

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•	 Amend FOIA regulations to include provisions of the OPEN Government Act (July 2010);

•	 Incorporate systemic process reviews of the business submitter process before the request

arrives (July 2010);

•	 Disseminate revised edition of Handbook and replace web version (March 2010);

•	 Invited Miriam Nisbet of the OGIS and Melanie Pustay of OIP, DOJ, to present at Records

Management and Information Month (RIMM). RIMM activities provide educational

opportunities for employees and include speaker events, training, and discussion on FOIA, Open

Government, transparency, and the Federal Records Act. (April 2010);

•	 Complete and deploy an electronic FOIA training module for all Treasury employees which

incorporates provisions of President Obama’s Memorandum and Attorney General Holder’s

Memorandum . This training will be available on Treasury’s learning management system and

will be added to employee development plans. (March 2010).

TTB

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Reviewed and discussed the Administration’s policies regarding the presumption of openness

across the bureau;

•	 Updated bureau FOIA/Disclosure website to include contact information and phone numbers to

allow requesters to check the status of their requests.

ACTIONS PLANNED

• Continue to respond to requests under FOIA in a manner that is consistent with the policies.

OCC

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Acquired a new online tracking/processing tool, FOIAXpress, to bring OCC closer to a paperless

environment and make it easier to provide access to bureau information collections 24/7,

including electronic receipt, tracking, and processing of FOIA requests;

•	 Posted all documents related to Congressional contacts with the bureau pertaining to the

TARP/CCP program;

•	 Posted online other helpful collections including lists of national banks, foreign branches and

agencies, credit card banks and trust banks. These lists are updated on a monthly basis.

•	 Published online the list of OCC Purchase Card Holders;

•	 Regularly published online general statistics regarding consumer complaints against national

banks. Published helpful links for consumers through HELP WITH MY BANK;

•	 Published online Filings made pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (quarterly).

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Proactively identify and post records of public interest online.

BEP

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Posted Annual Reports on the FOIA webpage under www.moneyfactory.gov;

•	 Outlined FOIA process on webpage;

•	 Posted current telephone numbers of FOIA staff;

•	 Posted a discussion of the FOIA process on The Office of the Chief Counsel webpage.

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ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

FMS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Installed a new FOIA telephone line for FOIA requesters which is posted on the FMS website and

included on FOIA correspondence;

•	 Trained all FMS FOIA employees on the presumption of openness to make discretionary
 

disclosures;
 

•	 Shared the President’s FOIA Memorandum and Attorney General’s FOIA Guidelines with FMS

FOIA employees.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

IRS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Provided the Administration’s Transparency and FOIA memos to all IRS staff;

•	 Added language to search memorandum that reinforces the presumption of openness and cites

the Attorney General;

•	 Published the Administration's Transparency and FOIA memos to all IRS staff on January 30,

2009;

•	 Updated and published additional guidance, in the form of "Hot Topic" articles, to all staff on

July 29, 2009. These included "What Every IRS Employee Needs to Know About FOIA", "IRS

Routine Use vs. FOIA", and other memos advising staff of the need to respond timely to FOIA

requests and to provide documents outside the FOIA process when appropriate;

•	 Produced "Disclosure On Demand" videos available to all staff on the IRWeb, some of which

dealt specifically with FOIA openness topics.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

MINT

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Briefed United States Mint senior staff on the President’s Transparency and Open Government

Memorandum and the Administration’s FOIA policies;

•	 Issued memorandum on the requirements mandated by the Open Government Act of 2007;

•	 Provided one‐on‐one training for each Associate Director on FOIA requirements;

•	 Increased percentage of full grants in FY09 (see Table 3.)

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

BPD

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Required the bureau FOIA Officer and FOIA Attorney to evaluate all decisions of openness for

applying discretionary disclosure as appropriate.

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ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time

OTS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Released correspondence between the agency and congressional officials regarding bank

regulation;

•	 Held staff meetings to discuss the presumption of openness, as well as individual follow‐up

meetings between supervisory staff and individual employees regarding presumption of

openness.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Periodically hold staff meetings to discuss the presumption of openness, as well as individual

follow‐up meetings between supervisory staff and individual employees regarding presumption

of openness (September 2010).

TIGTA

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Collaborated with Counsel to strengthen the application of the harm analysis to information

found in certain types of records requested under the FOIA. Provided refresher guidance on

applying the foreseeable harm standard to the Disclosure staff;

•	 Collaborated with TIGTA’s Office of Audit to develop and implement a Disclosure Checklist that

is required for every final audit report submitted to Disclosure for review prior to its posting on

the Web. The Disclosure Checklist requires a detailed explanation for each proposed redaction

based on the harm that could reasonably result if the material was released. Minimal

redactions are made only if the explanation of harm meets the reasonableness test and legal

standard for withholding pursuant to a FOIA exemption;

•	 Reviewed and decontrolled all LOU/SBU designated audit reports issued after October 2008. In

October 2008, TIGTA initiated a proactive approach to reviewing and decontrolling LOU/SBU

designated audit reports, in advance of receiving a FOIA request, and posted the reports to the

Web. This approach has been permanently adopted and contributes to TIGTA’s efforts to make

its records and activities more transparent. TIGTA has received positive feedback from the

requester community;

•	 Met with managers from two functions within TIGTA to explain the disclosure review process

and the importance of providing timely, detailed information justifying any proposed

withholding of information (i.e., explanation of the foreseeable harm that could result from

release of the information). Summarized Attorney General Holder’s FOIA memorandum and

guidelines calling on agencies to reaffirm the Government’s “commitment to accountability and

transparency.”

ACTIONS PLANNED

• Continue to develop and implement proactive initiatives to facilitate greater transparency:

o	 Develop and implement a generic Disclosure Checklist that is applicable to a larger segment

of TIGTA records to facilitate disclosure reviews and work towards greater transparency (to

be completed by May 28, 2010);

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o	 Meet with more managers from TIGTA functions (one scheduled for April 2010 and another

for September 2010) and participate in functions’ CPE’s (one scheduled for April 2010) to

explain general disclosure principles and the importance of providing timely, detailed

information to justify any proposed withholding of information, and to emphasize the

presumption of openness and TIGTA’s “commitment to accountability and transparency”

(two meetings are scheduled for April and May 2010; participation in one CPE is scheduled

for April 2010);

o	 Continue to review and decontrol all LOU/SBU designated audit reports within 10 business

days of issuance and post the reports on the Web (proactive steps to increase transparency

and bypass the FOIA request process; permanent procedure that takes place whenever an

LOU/SBU report is issued).

FinCEN

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Reviewed all FOIA/PA responses for accuracy and completeness.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Review responsive law enforcement records in their entirety for partial disclosures when

possible;

•	 When possible, provide additional information to requestor such as “Of the 100 pages withheld,

half were duplicates of the other half.”

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Part II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency has an Effective System for Responding to Requests

The Department is making strides to improve our capability for processing FOIA requests through both

process evaluation and re‐engineering, and by implementing key technology solutions as appropriate.

For example, the Department is completing a Lean Six Sigma review of the entire FOIA process starting

with Departmental Offices. Implementing some of the process changes identified while the review is

on‐going, enabled DO to increase the number of processed requests by 44% during FY09, including an

almost fourfold increase in the number of requests for expedited treatment, despite a 22% increase in

the number of incoming FOIA requests in FY09. The IRS, which receives almost three quarters of the

Department's FOIA requests every year, is in the process of implementing a robust new tracking and

assignment system throughout its offices across the country. OCC implemented a new system that

enables on‐line submission of FOIA requests and provides submitters the ability to track the progress of

their requests.

The following are specific actions taken and/or planned by the individual Treasury components.

DO

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Increased assistance of contractor FOIA personnel for searches and redactions;

•	 Implemented “quick wins” identified through the Lean Six Sigma review process, which has

decreased repetitive efforts between Disclosure Services and the Program Offices;

•	 Distributed FOIA search tracking forms to ensure that employees who are tasked with searching

for responsive records keep detailed information about their searches.

•	 Increased training of DO staff regarding how to conduct a FOIA search. Training also focused on

encouraging staff to reach out to FOIA requesters to ensure that DO’s work meets their needs.

ACTIONS IN PROGRESS

•	 Increased contractor technical support to meet demands of email searches for FOIA and

litigation (March 2010);

•	 Undergoing a Lean Six Sigma review to evaluate FOIA process in Departmental Offices utilizing

metrics to find where efficiencies may be gained by evaluating the processes (March 2010);

•	 Exploring the use of Sharepoint to communicate document redactions between review offices

(April 2010);

•	 Exploring cloud solutions for a more robust web browser and search engine for online
 

documents exchange (April 2010);
 

•	 Exploring tools for the sequential conversion of email and attachments so that more efficiency

could be gained through a distiller rather than printing out attachments and converting them

(March 2010);

•	 Exploring an online electronic submission process to populate the tracking database (March

2010);

•	 Exploring cloud solutions for electronic tracking of FOIA data and reporting (April 2010).

TTB

ACTIONS IN PROGRESS

•	 Utilizing a centralized FOIA process and assigning the responsibilities to our Regulations and

Rulings Division (in effect);

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•	 Utilizing a select few employees for FOIA duties who are very knowledgeable about the FOIA,

TTB records, IRC Section 6103 disclosure issues, and focused on customer service as well as

timely responses (in effect).

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

OCC

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Acquired FOIAXpress for more efficient and effective processing of requests.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Allowing FOIA requesters to sign on to the FOIAXpress system and track the progress of their

requests from their computer anytime (in progress).

BEP

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Managed requests for records with a custom designed tracking system, which monitors and

alerts user(s) of status items within each established case. The tracking system allows us to see

the status of each outstanding case with a full history of all actions taken and all applicable due

dates. Component responders receive tasking documents that explain responsibilities, due

dates, certification topics, and other options, such as recommendations for release or non‐

release of materials, sensitivity levels, etc.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

FMS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Allowed requesters to submit requests electronically (there is a FOIA link on FMS’ website that

enables a requester to submit their FOIA request).

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

IRS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Upgraded an electronic inventory tracking system to track requests from receipt to response

and for subsequent monitoring and reporting;

•	 Extensively used management monitoring reports, or E‐DIMS, to assess performance and

identify and address problems;

•	 Conducted a study of the usability of the bureau’s FOIA website. The goal of the study is to

make the website more user‐friendly;

•	 Provided formal instruction to Disclosure field staff on using:

o	 Standard Workflow Tools (SWFT), which improved efficiency in locating electronic tax

records;

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o	 Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) to improve efficiency in locating electronic tax

records in requests for tax information.

•	 Developed expedited procedures for securing responsive records from the Federal Records

Center (FRC). IRS delivered online training on these new FRC record access procedures to

Disclosure field staff;

•	 Published internal communications newsletter articles on “Focus on FOIA,” “Quality Corner” and

“Tips n’Tricks.” IRS developed 39 articles since February 2009 for Disclosure staff on various

request‐related subjects. Newsletter articles target emerging issues and trends developed from

internal quality reviewing and from questions received from field staff;

•	 Developed guidance which we placed on our website that provides directions for how to

properly prepare a FOIA request ensuring that FOIA requesters know how to submit a perfected

request.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Implementing an automated FOIA processing system, the Automated Freedom of Information

Act (AFOIA), which is scheduled for implementation in FY 10. The AFOIA will:

o	 Centralize the receipt and control of all requests;

o	 Process requests more efficiently including the precedent setting scanning of all FOIA

requests at one central location and on‐line redaction;

o	 Assign a request to any Disclosure employee in the country without regard to geographical

boundaries;

o	 Centralize the imaging of responsive records;

o	 Maintain databases of responsive records, requests, and all correspondence to and from the

requester;

o	 Initiating the process to hire former IRS FOIA caseworkers as reemployed annuitants to

assist in reducing backlogs, which we expect to complete by June 1.

MINT

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Met with OCIO team to discuss upgrades to the current FOIA tracking system which have

resulted in an upgraded FOIA tracking system to better capture appropriate data for reporting

requirements.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Researching FOIA tracking systems to determine which ones best meet our FOIA processing,

tracking and reporting needs (in progress).

BPD

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Acquired an effective system for responding to requests, allowing BPD to respond within 5.2

days (average number of days to respond to a request for FY09). This is an internal procedure

that was created between offices to allow efficient/effective practices in processing requests as

quickly as possible. (i.e. email, appointing subject matter experts, Excel).

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Maintaining an open and effective relationship between IT and the FOIA Officer with an
 

understanding of the timeframe requirements surrounding a FOIA request.
 

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OTS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Worked with an IT Specialist on all matters dealing with the FOIA database, specifically

processing, tracking, and reporting needs. FOIA staff also utilized agency contacts in other OTS

Washington and regional offices who coordinated, within their own offices, the locating of

requested records and forwarding them to FOIA staff.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

TIGTA

• Worked closely with the TIGTA Office of Information Technology (OIT) team to procure a FOIA

processing software product, including records management and redaction, that would:

o	 Increase the efficiency of FOIA processing at TIGTA;

o	 Promote the effectiveness of TIGTA’s Disclosure program;

o	 Ensure the security of TIGTA’s electronic records;

o	 Improve compliance with statutory requirements;

o	 Ensure FOIA requests and Disclosure matters are tracked appropriately and accurately

through regular testing of the database;

o	 Utilize the manufacturer’s research and development team for maintenance and IT support,

including the electronic deployment of system updates that guarantee TIGTA’s needs are

met and procedural changes resulting from statutory amendments/new laws/Executive

Orders are programmed into the system and implemented timely.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Working closely with FOIA requesters via telephone and email to provide timely status updates

and to resolve processing issues and/or disputes early in the review process (ongoing);

•	 Soliciting responsive records directly from field offices by sending search requests to field office

managers and supervisors to ensure:

o	 FOIA requests receive the appropriate attention of management (ongoing); and

o	 Responsive records are copied and provided to the Disclosure Branch within five business

days (ongoing).

FinCEN

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Wrote and published on Intranet website Guidelines for FOIA Searches for FinCEN employees to

use as a reference;

•	 Wrote and published FinCEN Directive on FOIA/PA Program;

•	 Assigned Disclosure Coordinators in each division who are knowledgeable about locations of

records and FOIA requirements.

ACTIONS IN PROGRESS

•	 Providing annual refresher training to employees on good records management;

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Part III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosure

The activities of the Department in support of the economic recovery effort have provided multiple

opportunities for the proactive disclosure of information of high interest to the public, for example, on

the www.financialstability.gov website. Since the issuance of OMB (M‐10‐06) guidance in December

2009, Treasury's Office of Financial Stability has posted the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

Transaction report to the website in both PDF and XLSX formats to support the requirement for data

open formats. TIGTA has obviated the need for the public to request sensitive but unclassified audit

reports by proactively decontrolling and publishing these reports on their website in a timely manner.

The BEP proactively posts monthly and annual production figures including notes series, serial numbers,

and quantities for each currency denomination.

The following are specific actions taken and/or planned by the individual Treasury components.

DO

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Increased the amount of information available online based on the information created from

the Troubled Asset Relief Program. An additional Web tool referred to as Financial Stability.gov

was created to provide information derived from the programs Congress passed in the

Emergency Economic Stimulus Act;

•	 Emphasized reviewing business submitter process as part of a work flow rather than awaiting a

FOIA request;

•	 Published FOIA logs to frequent requesters, quarterly.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Publish the Secretary’s calendar more frequently (March 2010);

•	 Create a cloud solution for an online information exchange with a robust search engine and

storage capability (April 2010).

TTB

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Provide annual FOIA reports statistics on its FOIA homepage for numbers received, processed,

and pending by fiscal year.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

OCC

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Created an Electronic Reading Room which makes a host of materials available through the

website. Identify those requests that cover subjects of considerable public interest and make

the documents available on the Web site simultaneously with the release to the requester;

•	 Constructed full databases to help interested individuals gain access to helpful information

about formal enforcement actions taken against national banks, bankers, and institution‐

affiliated parties since 1989. Further, are now including notices of charges in this database.

These are the initial filings when an individual wants to take their case before an Administrative

Law Judge;

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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•	 Created a popular database to show Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Performance
 

Evaluations of national banks back to 1990;
 

•	 Posted the Weekly Bulletin, which lists all corporate applications received by the OCC

nationwide and is updated weekly. This site offers a limited search function and is currently

being redesigned.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 None at this time.

BEP

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 None at this time.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Posting past and present production information, information on U.S. currency, Anti‐

counterfeiting information; FAQ’s and links to the Department of Treasury and other relevant

and/or related sites;

•	 Working to disseminate information quickly and comprehensively. An example of this was the

publication of the “Study to Address Options for Enabling the Blind and Visually Impaired

Community to Denominate U.S. Currency” as soon as it was finalized.

FMS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 None at this time.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Meeting with each Assistant Commissioner area to discuss new material to be posted on the

FMS website.

IRS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Published the current volume of IRS Document 6209, "IRS Processing Codes and Information,"

formerly titled "ADP and IDRS Information" on March 1, 2010. Document 6209 is a detailed

compilation comprising 613 pages of processing codes used in IRS tax accounting systems and

their descriptions. It has been frequently requested under the FOIA and IRS has committed to

publish non‐sensitive portions of the current version of this document each year soon after it is

available to staff. Approximately 30 pages include redactions under (b)(7)(E) and high (b)(2).

Most pages include non‐assertion of the (b)(2) exemption.

•	 Have provided extensive information on a regular basis on all tax related matters, including

statistical information on tax returns, forms, and instructions on irs.gov. The site has interactive

opportunities for taxpayers to identify applicable tax treatment on various issues and well as

downloads of forms and instructions;

•	 Provided links from data.gov to 32 IRS data sets in an open format (.csv). Previously, some of

these data sets had been offered on irs.gov for a set fee. These data sets include IRS Exempt

Organization studies reporting information submitted on Forms 990 and 990‐EZ returns filed by

IRC section 501(c)(3)‐(9) organizations for Tax Years 1992 through 2006, private foundation

studies reporting information submitted on Forms 990‐PF by IRC Section 501(c)(3) private

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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foundations and Section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts for Tax Years 1992 through

2006 and county to county migration data for the United States based on year‐to‐year address

changes reported on individual income tax returns filed with the IRS accounting for both in‐

flows and out‐flows;

•	 Published Service‐wide Electronic Research Program (SERP) interim procedural updates on

irs.gov as of Feb. 1, 2010. Interim procedural updates are updates to official IRS procedures

contained in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) but not immediately updated to the IRM.

Posting these updates will help ensure the public has access to all current IRS procedures that

affect them. Updates are posted to www.irs.gov almost concurrently (within several days) with

publication to internal staff.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Have received and continue to receive public suggestions from www.data.gov. IRS has

identified eight potential new data sets and is taking active steps to publish the data through

data.gov by September 2010.

•	 Plan to add records currently housed on the IRS Records Management Office intranet site to the

public irs.gov web site within 30 days (April 15).

MINT

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Posted link from our FOIA reading room to our Public Affairs web page of press releases, annual

reports, strategic plans, and other frequently requested documents.

•	 Increased the amount of information available online via links to other United States Mint

offices.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Updating United States Mint FOIA Handbook.

•	 Preparing Bureau‐wide FOIA training.

BPD

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 None at this time

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Evaluating the process of posting more records to the Frequently Requested FOIA webpage.

Discussions are taking place to be more proactive with disclosures of information that have

never been considered for disclosure through the Frequently Requested website. (i.e. Matured

Unredeemed Debt ‐ Securities Records for non‐individuals).

OTS

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Made proactive disclosures on the OTS website that are of public interest. Examples of these

public disclosures are: enforcement orders, Director’s Orders, public versions of Thrift Financial

Reports (TFRs), comment letters regarding OTS rulemakings, legal opinions, various OTS

handbooks, reports to Congress, and guidance and policy statements.

ACTIONS PLANNED

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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•	 None at this time

TIGTA

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 TIGTA took proactive steps to post information online without waiting for individual requests to

be received. Examples:

o	 Reviewed and decontrolled all LOU/SBU designated audit reports issued after October 2008.

In October 2008, TIGTA initiated a proactive approach to reviewing and decontrolling

LOU/SBU designated audit reports, in advance of receiving a FOIA request, and posted the

reports to the Web. This approach has been permanently adopted and contributes to

TIGTA’s efforts to make its records and activities more transparent. TIGTA has received

positive feedback from the requester community.

o	 Met with managers from three TIGTA functions (February 2010 and March 2010) to discuss

general disclosure principles and emphasize the presumption of openness and TIGTA’s

“commitment to accountability and transparency.”

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Discontinue need for FOIA requests for LOU/SBU audit reports issued after October 2008

because of proactive steps taken to review and decontrol these reports and post them to the

Web after issuance (ongoing);

•	 Continuing efforts to make releasable information available to the public before receiving a FOIA

request for the information (ongoing);

•	 Contacting the functional areas through scheduled meetings and CPE’s to determine if

additional records should/could be published on the Web to advance transparency and

openness in TIGTA’s operations/records. TIGTA Disclosure also plans to start posting its FOIA

request log, in redacted form, to the Web in FY 2010. TIGTA Disclosure plans to start posting

contact information for its small purchase card holders to the Web by the end of FY 2010,

eliminating FOIA requests for this information.

FinCEN

ACTIONS TAKEN

•	 Nothing planned at this time.

ACTIONS PLANNED

•	 Nothing planned at this time.

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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Part IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology

Treasury's decentralized FOIA model, the variation in the number of requests and types of information

being requested from bureau to bureau, coupled with the disparate budgetary resources available, have

resulted in a variety of technology solutions in use at the different bureaus. The most effective strategy

for Treasury has been to utilize existing tools and resources as much as possible to achieve progress with

utilizing technology to improve FOIA processing. DO is pursuing a potential cloud solution for managing

FOIA that can be piloted in Headquarters and then offered across Treasury as needed and to improve

Treasury‐wide reporting capability. Several bureaus have already begun implementing robust

technology solutions to improve their FOIA processes.

Following are specific actions taken and/or planned by the individual Treasury components.

Electronic Receipt of Requests

Presently only OCC and TIGTA accept FOIA requests electronically. OCC's system was implemented in

FY09. For the remaining bureaus ‐ DO, TTB, BPD, BEP, MINT, OTS, IRS, FinCEN ‐ requests can only be

received by mail, fax, or as a scanned document with signature via email, though several of the bureaus

are working towards enabling electronic submission. DO is finalizing its on‐line form and anticipates

starting this capability in later FY10. In the case of IRS, acceptance of an electronic signature is the

current impediment because a majority of IRS requests are for tax records and come with a requirement

to provide proof of identity and a person’s right to access records. This requires submission of signed

documentary evidence of the requester’s identity and right to access records. The IRS is preparing for

the implementation of the Enterprise Authentication Initiative that will authenticate first party

requesters and will allow for the submission of requests for confidential information electronically.

Currently, the IRS does accept requests that are faxed and will accept requests submitted by e‐mail that

do not have a signature authentication requirement. At this point, however, there is no mechanism to

accept electronic requests through the IRS website. TTB’s current system is unable to handle electronic

receipt of requests, but TTB is in the process of developing a records management database to handle

requests electronically.

Electronic Tracking of Requests

All of the bureaus currently utilize some method of electronically tracking FOIA requests. Since the

numbers, complexity, and types of information requested vary, often significantly, from bureau to

bureau, different solutions have been implemented in various bureaus. Several bureaus utilize

FOIAXpress (e.g. TIGTA, OCC), while others have developed tracking solutions internally (e.g. DO, IRS),

and bureaus with smaller numbers of requests utilize solutions based on Excel or Access (e.g. BPD, FMS,

OTS). FinCEN has developed a data map for Electronically Stored Information (ESI) to assist in

maintaining and locating electronic records and contacting employees responsible for their databases.

Electronic Processing

Several bureaus have made strides in utilizing and improving electronic processing technologies. DO

utilizes the SharePoint platform in several offices for sharing information about requests in progress, as

well as facilitating the sharing of records files for analyzing and applying redactions. Adobe Acrobat 8.0

is used for electronic redaction. When the responsive records collected are in paper format, the records

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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are scanned and converted to PDF format so they can be shared on the portal and the redactions

applied electronically. This has become the standard across much of Treasury.

OTS prepares acknowledgment letters and responses that are sent to requesters electronically as often

as possible. It sends voluminous responsive materials to requesters on CD. Also, all FOIA request data is

maintained in a database which facilitates tracking requests. OTS recently began using Adobe Acrobat 9

Pro as its electronic redacting tool.

The main impediments for utilizing technology for processing requests are costs for implementing new

technology and interoperability among current disparate bureau solutions that have already incurred

significant costs.

Electronic Preparation of Annual Report

While all bureaus report having capabilities to prepare input for the Annual Report electronically, the

Department's combined Annual Report prepared in the Treasury Disclosure Services office is prepared

using the Department's database system. This requires manually compiling each bureau's input into one

final report. As noted in the opening paragraph of Section IV, the Department is researching an

appropriate solution to facilitate the reporting process Treasury‐wide and eliminate the need for the

manual compilation of statistics.

Current impediments to fully utilizing technology to prepare the Annual Report include the need for

multiple upgrades to keep the database up‐to‐date with the latest statutory and regulatory changes, the

costs associated with those upgrades, and identifying a solution that will work across Treasury that

leverages current investments and minimizes future investments.

• FOIAXpress: OCC, TIGTA;

• Internal Solutions: DO (MS Access SQL), IRS (AFOIA);

• Excel or MS Access (BEP, BPD, FMS, OTS);

• ESI‐FinCEN.

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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Table 4

Oldest Pending

Case

FY 2008 FY 2009

DO 3/1/1994 9/9/1999

TTB 9/11/2008 9/10/2009

OCC 9/18/2008 9/10/2009

BEP n/a n/a

FMS 9/18/2008 9/28/2009

IRS 11/9/2004 7/13/2006

MINT 9/23/2008 9/22/2009

BPD n/a n/a

OTS 1/3/2006 2/25/2008

TIGTA 8/21/2008 8/18/2009

FinCEN 9/11/2008 9/24/2009

Backlogged

Requests

FY 2008 FY 2009

DO 355 382

IRS 331 182

OTS 32 21

Agency Overall 718 585

Backlogged

Appeals

FY 2008 FY 2009

DO 13 13

TTB 6 5

IRS 28 60

TIGTA 3 0

Agency Overall 50 78

Part V: Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests

Section 1: Backlog Status

The Department has made progress in closing out our oldest backlog cases in FY09, moving up from

FY08 oldest cases dates ranging from 1994 to 2008, to 1999 – 2009 in FY09 (see Table 4.)

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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607

355 382

        

Number of Requests

FOIA Backlog Trend ‐ Departmental Offices

781

800
 

700
 

600

500

400

300

200

100

‐

FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09

Fiscal Year

Part V: Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests

Section 2: Backlog Reduction

Overall Treasury has made tremendous progress since FY06 to reduce the number of backlogged

requests. The Department realized a 55% reduction in the backlog between FY07 to the end of FY09,

despite a concurrent 60% increase in the number of FOIA requests received in the same time period, the

majority of the increase impacting Departmental Offices.

DO

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 382, Appeals = 13

Table 5

DO made significant strides in

reducing its FOIA request backlog.

Since FY06, DO cut the backlog by

over 50% (see Table 5.) Some of

the gains realized at the end of

FY08 were negated due to the influx

of requests in FY09, most notably

for records pertaining to the

Troubled Asset Relief Program

(TARP) and the Office of Financial

Stability (OFS). Overall, DO

received 22% more requests than in

FY08, and we completed 44% more

than in FY08.5

DO is conducting a Lean Six Sigma review of the FOIA process to streamline the FOIA process by

eliminating redundancies, identifying process gaps, and identifying technology solutions. The review will

also help to determine the most effective course of action to meet Treasury’s FOIA and transparency

goals by employing creative and efficient solutions to achieve success within resource realities.

TTB

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 5

TTB did not have a backlog of initial determination requests; however, there is a backlog on the appeals

side with the oldest appeal date of February 21, 2007. For initial determinations, TTB uses a multi‐track

process. TTB has identified the bottleneck in the appeals process and it is currently considering steps to

improve its administrative appeals process.

OCC

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

BEP

5 Requests Received in DO totaled 902 in FY08 and 1,099 in FY09. Requests completed in DO totaled 620 in FY08 and 890 in

FY09.

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

FMS

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

IRS

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 182, Appeals = 60

IRS has effected a 45% overall reduction in the backlog inventory from FY08 to FY09 and a very

significant reduction in the backlog of the cases over 300 days from 79 to 12. While the backlog of

appeals increased somewhat from FY08 to FY09, the most recent monthly reports show a decrease in

backlog appeals from 60 to 37. IRS is implementing a new A‐FOIA tracking and processing system in

FY10 to assist with process efficiencies through greater accountability and improved reporting.

MINT

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

BPD

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

OTS

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 21, Appeals = 0

Overall, the OTS backlog has steadily decreased, realizing a decrease in excess of 50% from FY07 to FY08

and another 34% from FY08 to FY09. OTS did not have any backlogged administrative appeals at the

end of the fiscal year. The overall age of backlogged requests has also steadily decreased, from 893 days

to 369 days for the 10 oldest pending requests in FY07, to a range of 431 days down to 83 days for the

10 oldest pending requests in FY09.

OTS continues to work towards improving timeliness in responding to requests and administrative

appeals. In FY08 OTS completed 70.8% of requests within the 20‐day time frame allowed for by the

FOIA. In FY09 they completed 78.9% of requests within 20 business days. To date for FY10 OTS has

improved their percentage of on‐time completion to 82.5% of requests within 20 days. This increase in

timely responses resulted from utilizing a contractor and summer interns to assist with processing

requests. Also, FOIA staff periodically worked beyond normal business hours on past due requests.

TIGTA

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

TIGTA’s actions to improve timeliness in responding to requests and administrative appeals.

•	 Executives, managers and staff have demonstrated their commitment to the FOIA/Disclosure

program at TIGTA by providing responsive records to the Disclosure staff for analysis in five

business days or less.

•	 The Chief Counsel ensures appropriate staff resources and equipment/software are available to

the staff who respond to FOIA requests and administrative appeals. During periods of high

volume, the Disclosure staff receive case review assistance from the legal staff, contributing to

TIGTA’s success in meeting its statutory deadlines.

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

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Table 5

                           

                            

       

                       

                             

             

                       

                      

                             

                      

               

                        

                           

          

Part V: Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests

Section 3: Improving Timeliness of Responses

       

         

           

          

         

           

           

           

               

          

         

       

             

             

     

           

         

         

         

        

                 

          

           

           

             

           

         

     

   

   

  

   

•	 TIGTA employees at all levels of the organization are accountable for providing timely assistance

to the Disclosure Staff. This level of accountability contributes to TIGTA’s overall success in

meeting statutory deadlines.

•	 Frequent communication with requesters, as needed, early in the processing of their requests

regarding issues such as fee waivers, extensions of time, and scope has also contributed to

TIGTA’s ability to issue timely responses.

•	 TIGTA’s experienced and highly qualified Disclosure staff and legal staff contribute greatly to

TIGTA’s efforts to improve timeliness in responding to requests and administrative appeals. In

2006, the Disclosure staff received the IG Award for eliminating the FOIA backlog and the

successful implementation of the FOIAXpress FOIA processing database. This is the highest

award bestowed on a TIGTA employee or group.

FinCEN

Backlog at the end of FY09: Requests = 0, Appeals = 0

Table 6

Table 7

* IRS appeal

figures not

available for

FY06.

*

Improvements to timeliness in

responding to pending FOIA requests

and reductions in backlogs are an

ongoing agency effort. As illustrated,

Treasury has made tremendous strides

in reducing the agency's overall FOIA

backlog over the past several years,

effectively reducing the backlog by 71%

from FY06 to the beginning of FY10 (see

Table 6.) This reduction was achieved

through a combination of process

improvements, elevating the FOIA

program to report to a Deputy Assistant

Secretary level with the Office of the

Assistant Secretary for Management,

and increasing the frequency and level

of backlog reporting to increase

accountability of the various program

offices responsible for completing FOIA

processing. Treasury also moved

forward by 5 years the age of the oldest

backlog request. The number of appeals

received increased in some key bureaus

(see Table 7), e.g. OCC and DO, from

30% to 300%, primarily in response to

the increasing volume of economic and

financial stability data being requested

Department of the Treasury

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through the FOIA process in FY09, resulting in an increase in the appeal backlog at the end of FY09 (see

Table 5.) Our objective is to reduce the need for FOIA requests for this type of data through increased

proactive disclosure activities as discussed in Part III.

A key example of Treasury's efforts to address backlogs and improve timeliness of response is the

ongoing review of the FOIA process in the Departmental Offices. The objectives of the review are to

position DO to promptly respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in accordance with

statutory requirements, increase proactive disclosure of information, eliminate the FOIA requests

backlog, and ensure sensitive or complex FOIA requests are processed properly. The intended outcomes

are more efficient, accurate, and timely disclosures of Treasury information to the American public.

Another example of Treasury’s efforts to improve the timeliness is IRS' development and

implementation of their A‐FOIA system, an electronic inventory tracking system to track requests from

receipt to response, including process monitoring and reporting capability.

Department of the Treasury

Chief FOIA Officer Report, March 2010

25