DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000

CONTENTS

I. Basic Information Regarding Report

II. How to Make a FOIA Request

III. Definition of Terms

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests 

VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests

VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests

VIII. Comparisons with Previous Year(s)

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing

X. Fees

XI. FOIA Regulations

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT.

This is the Fiscal Year 2000 FOIA Report for the Department of the Treasury. For purposes of

administering the FOIA, the Department is divided into thirteen bureaus. Each bureau is responsible for

those records under its control, and each bureau will post its report on its own web site. Disclosure

Services prepared the report in collaboration with the bureau FOIA Officers.
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Questions about the report may be directed to:

Alana Johnson, Departmental Disclosure Officer

Disclosure Services

Ph: 202/622-0930; Fax: 202/622-3895

Address:

FOIA Request

Disclosure Services

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC 20220 

 Treasury Department FOIA Home Page: www.treas.gov/foia

Paper copies of this report may be obtained by contacting Disclosure Services

or by downloading from the Treasury FOIA home page at “FY 2000 FOIA

Report to the Attorney General.”

II. How To Make A FOIA Request for Treasury Department records.

The Department of the Treasury’s FOIA Public Guide is available at www.treas.gov/foia/ by

clicking on FOIA Public Guide, or by contacting Disclosure Services, as described above. 
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II.A. Names, addresses, and numbers of Treasury bureau FOIA officers.

Departmental Offices (DO)

Alana Johnson

Disclosure Services

Ph: 202/622-0930

Fax: 202/622-3895

Address:

FOIA Request

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC 20220

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms (ATF)

Dorothy Chambers

Ph: 202/927-8480

Fax: 202/927-8866

Address:

FOIA OFFICE

650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20226

Comptroller of the Currency (CC)

Frank Vance

Ph: 202/874-4700

Fax: 202/874-5274

Address:

Disclosure (FOIA) Office

Washington, DC 20219

United States Customs Service (CS)

Lee Kramer

Ph: 202/927-1251

Fax: 202/927-1873

Address:

Disclosure Branch, OR&R

Third Floor - Ronald Reagan Bldg.

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20229

Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP)

Patricia Warden

Ph: 202/874-2582

Fax: 202/874-3529

Address:

FOIA OFFICE

Room 646 PD

14th & C Streets, SW

Washington, DC 20228

Federal Law Enforcement

 Training Center (FLETC)

William Dooley

Ph: 912/261-4524

Fax: 912/267-3113

Address:

FOIA OFFICE

Department of the Treasury

Building 94

Glynco, GA 31524
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Financial Management Service (FMS)

Marty Weber

Ph: 202/874-6837

Fax: 202/874-7016

Address:

Disclosure Branch

401 14th Street, SW

Washington, DC 20227

United States Secret Service (USSS)

Gary Edwards

Ph: 202/406-6370

Fax: 202/406-5154

Address:

FOIA OFFICE

950 H Street, NW – Suite 3000

Washington, DC 20001

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Thomas Marusin

Ph: 202/622-6250

Fax: 202/622-5165

Address:

FOIA Request

P.O. Box 795 - Ben Franklin Station

Washington, DC 20044

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)

Maryann Reinhart

Ph: 202/906-5896

Fax: 202/906-7755

Address:

FOIA Branch

1700 G Street, NW

Washington, DC 20552

United States Mint

Kathleen Saunders-Mitchell

Ph: 202/354-7292

Fax: 202/756-6100

Address:

FOIA Request

801 9th Street, NW – 8th Floor

Washington, DC 20220

Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD)

Louise Bennett

Ph: 202/691-3516

Fax: 202/219-4163

Address:

FOIA Request

999 E Street, NW

Washington, DC 20239

Treasury Inspector General for

Tax Administration (TIGTA)

Melissa Stuart

Ph: 202/927-7034

Fax: 202/927-7059

Address:

FOIA Request

Treasury Dept./TIGTA

1125 15TH Street, NW

Washington, DC 20005
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II.B. Brief description of Treasury Department’s response-time ranges.

The combined response time range for overall Treasury processing in FY 2000 was from 1 to 22 days

for simple requests, and from 5 to 1,000 days for complex requests. The following table sets out

individual bureau ranges:

BUREAU RESPONSE TIME RANGE

DO (overall) 1 to 1,000 days

ATF 1 to 140 days

BEP 1 to 22 days

BPD 1 day to 7 months

CC 2 days to 6 months

CS 5 to 60 days

FLETC 1 to 151 days

FMS 1 to 70 days

IRS 1 to over 1,000 days but an

average of 40 days

MINT 1 to 60 days

OTS 1 day to 4 months

TIGTA 2 days to 11 months

USSS No range reported

 

 

II.C. Brief description of why some requests are not granted.

The most common reasons reported by the bureaus regarding why requests for records could not be

granted were: (1) procedural requirements were not followed; (2) the records reflected the internal

practices involved in investigations or inspections; (3) the records contained confidential taxpayer

information and other statutorily protected information; (4) the records contained contractor confidential

and proprietary commercial information; and (5) the records could not be located or did not exist. Others:

 protecting personal privacy, deliberative process privilege, bank examination-related material, and thrift

examination information.
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III. Definition of Terms.

A. Agency-specific:

 N/A

B. Basic Terms Used in This Report

1. FOIA/PA request -- Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is generally a

request for access to records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular topic of interest. A

Privacy Act request is a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA

requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless of which law is cited by the requester, are included

in this report.)

2. Initial Request -- a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act.

3. Appeal -- a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a full denial

or partial denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Act, or any other FOIA determination

such as a matter pertaining to fees.

4. Processed Request or Appeal -- a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action on the

request or the appeal in all respects.

5. Multi-track processing -- a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed

in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.

 Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first-out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for

records may request expedited processing (see below).

6. Expedited processing -- an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester

has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants prioritization of his or her request

over other requests that were made earlier.

7. Simple request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest

(nonexpedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity of records requested.
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8. Complex request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track

based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested.

9. Grant -- an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

10. Partial grant -- an agency decision to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting

information determined to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions: or a decision to disclose

some records in their entireties, but to withhold others in whole or in part.

 

11. Denial -- an agency decision not to release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request

because all the information in the requested records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one or

more of the FOIA's exemptions, or for some procedural reason (such as because no record is located in

response to a FOIA request).

12. Time limits -- the time period in the Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA

request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a "perfected" FOIA request).

13. "Perfected" request -- a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which

has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and

for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.

14. Exemption 3 statute -- a separate federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type of information

and authorizing its withholding under FOIA subsection b)(3).

15. Median number -- the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number

is 7.

16. Average number -- the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the

quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
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IV. Exemption 3 statutes relied on by the Department during current fiscal year.

 

 STATUTE TYPE OF INFORMATION 

 

 UPHELD BY COURTS

5 U.S.C. 7114 Labor organization representation

records

NTEU v. OPM, No. 76-695, slip op at

4 (D.D.C. July 9, 1979)

18 U.S.C. 701 Official identification records Not decided by the courts.

18 U.S.C. 2510-2550 Wiretap information Delviscovo v. FBI,

903 F.Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1995),

summary affirmance granted, No. 95-

5388 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 24, 1997)

26 U.S.C. 6103, 6103(a); 

6103(b)(2); 6103(e)(7)

Federal taxpayer information and

National Firearms Act Registry

information. 

All courts have upheld the

confidentiality of §6103; see

Church of Scientology v. IRS,

484 U.S. 9 (1987)

26 U.S.C. 6104(a)(1)(c) Information concerning Trusts Not decided by courts

26 U.S.C. 7213 Unauthorized disclosure of

taxpayer information

Chamberlain v. Alexander, 419

F.Supp. 235 (S.D. Ala. 1976)

31 U.S.C. 5319 Currency transaction reports under

the Bank Secrecy Act Small v. IRS, 820 F.Supp. 163 (D.N.J.

1992)

41 U.S.C. 253(b), 423 Contractor proposals Not litigated; Public Law 104-201

50 U.S.C. 403(g)(6) CIA employee names Could not determine

Rule 6(e) F.R. Crim.P. Grand Jury information Washington Post Co. v.

U.S. Department of Justice,

863 F.2d 96 (D.C. Cir. 1988)

Tax Treaty Clauses Tax information provided by

foreign governments

Treaties are ratified by the U.S. Senate,

not decided by

the courts.
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V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests.

 A. Number of initial requests.

 1. Pending 10/01/99: 5,083 

 2. Received FY 2000: 46,854 

 3. Processed FY 2000: 45,111* 

 4. Pending 9/30/00: 6,826 

 *Due to data entry differences throughout the Customs Service, this figure differs slightly

 (by 287) from the sum of the figures reported in Sec. B (1-4), below. 

 B. Disposition of initial requests.

 1. Total grants: 22,031 

 2. Partial grants: 6,439 

 3. Denials: 1,139 

 a. number of times each FOIA exemption used:

(b)(1) 17 (b)(7)(B) 12 

(b)(2) 1,393 (b)(7)(C) 2,329

(b)(3) 4,048 (b)(7)(D) 414

(b)(4) 664 (b)(7)(E) 3,542

(b)(5) 851 (b)(7)(F) 108

(b)(6) 860 (b)(8) 43

(b)(7)(A) 650 (b)(9) 0

 4. Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 15,789 

a. no records 5,196 

b. referrals 2,436 

c. withdrawn 637 

d. fee-related 348 

e. records not reasonably described 179 
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 f. not a proper FOIA request 5,476 

 g. failure to verify identity 14 

 h. duplicate 126 

 i. imperfect 45 

 j. closed administratively 1,159 

 k. not an agency record 119 

 l. no forwarding address 2 

 m. destroyed 1 

VI. Appeals of initial denials.

 A. Number of Appeals.

 1. Received FY 2000: 1,496 

 2. Processed FY 2000: 1,598 

 B. Disposition of appeals.

 1. Number completely upheld: 452 (full denial)

 2. Number partially reversed: 237 (partial denial)

 3. Number completely reversed: 93 (full release)

 a. number of times each exemption used:

(b)(1) 0 (b)(7)(B) 8

(b)(2) 105 (b)(7)(C) 184

(b)(3) 150 (b)(7)(D) 31

(b)(4) 97 (b)(7)(E) 87

(b)(5) 57 (b)(7)(F) 25

(b)(6) 80 (b)(8) 4

(b)(7)(A) 43 (b)(9) 0
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 4. Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 817 

 a. no records 2 

 b. withdrawn 317 

 c. fee-related 10 

 d. records not reasonably described 1 

 e. not a proper request/appeal 458 

 f. duplicate 1 

 g. filed suit prior to appeal response 23 

h. records previously furnished 1 

 i. closed administratively 4 

 VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests.

 A. Median time for processing requests.

1. Simple Requests. 

a. number of requests processed: b. median number of days to process:

 CC: 5,296 2

 CS: 703 14

 DO: 745 (Tax Policy) 11

 

 2. Complex Requests (for any and all tracks used).

 a. number of requests processed (all bureaus): 28,658 

 b. median numbers of days to process, by bureau:

DO 432

Regional Complaint Centers: 21

ATF 14

BEP 6

BPD 13

CC 78

CS 38

FLETC 33

FMS 13

IRS 20

MINT 15

OTS 2

TIGTA 17

USSS 86
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3. Requests accorded expedited processing. 

 a. number of requests processed: 4 

 b. median number of days to process: 8 

B. Status of pending requests.

 FMS and CC had only 2 and 3 requests, respectively, pending; half of Treasury’s thirteen

 bureaus had 15 or fewer pending requests on Sept. 30, 2000.

 1. Number of requests pending at end of FY 2000 (all bureaus): 6,826 

 2. Median number of days that requests were pending, by bureau:

DO 916

 Regional Complaint Centers 3

ATF 7

BEP 6

BPD 29

CC 243

CS 37

FLETC 21 

FMS 13 

IRS 32 

MINT 97

OTS 5

TIGTA Could not provide

USSS 240

VIII. Comparisons with Previous Years.

ATF reports a 10% increase in FOIA/PA requests since FY 1999. They note a “significant’

increase in the number of releases in electronic format and the number of media requests.

FLETC reports an 83% increase from FY 1999 in the number of requests received; a 78%

increase in the number of requests processed; and an increase of 8 days for the median number of

days requests were pending.
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IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing.

 A. Staffing levels.

 1. Full time FOIA personnel: 83.25 

2. Personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties

 (in total work-years): 116.84 FTE

3. Total personnel (in work years): 200.9 FTE

 B. Total costs (staff and resources combined).

1. FOIA processing (including appeals): $ 12,795,289.48 

 2. Litigation-related activities: $ 930,434.15 

 3. Total Costs: $ 13,725,723.63 

X. Fees.

A. Total fees collected FY 2000: $ 549,494.83 

B. Percentage of total costs: 4% 

XI. Treasury Department FOIA Implementing Regulations.

 A final rule revising the Department’s FOIA regulations, 31 CFR Part 1, Subpart A, was

 published at 65 FR 40503 on June 30, 2000. Attached is a paper copy of the final rule. It

 can also be accessed at: www.treas.gov/foia/foiaregs.pdf.