1    

Department of the Treasury

2015 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report
2 

2015 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report

to the Attorney General of the United States

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Basic Information Regarding this Report............................................................................ 3

II. Making a FOIA Request....................................................................................................... 4

III. Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions............................................................................. 6

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes........................................................................................................ 10

V. FOIA Requests................................................................................................................... 13

VI. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests................................ 17

VII. FOIA Requests:  Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests............................ 24

VIII. Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver................................... 31

IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs................................................................................................. 33

X. Fees Collected for Processing Requests ........................................................................... 34

XI. FOIA Regulations............................................................................................................... 34

XII. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons ...................................................................... 35

   
3 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING THIS REPORT

1. Questions regarding this report may be directed to:

Ryan Law, Director for FOIA and Transparency

Privacy, Transparency, and Records

Department of the Treasury

(202) 622‐0930 Phone

(202) 622‐3895 Fax

TreasFOIA@treasury.gov

Address:

FOIA and Transparency

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC  20220

2. This report is publicly available and can be downloaded from the Treasury website at

www.treasury.gov/foia.

3. Paper copies of this report may be obtained by contacting the Office of Privacy,

Transparency, and Records at the address above.

   
4 

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST

1. The current names, addresses, and contact information for Treasury’s FOIA Officers can

be found on our website at www.treasury.gov/foia.

Departmental Offices (DO)

Mr. Ryan Law

FOIA and Transparency

Department of the Treasury

Washington, DC  20220

(202) 622‐0930 Phone

(202) 622‐3895 Fax

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and

Trade Bureau (TTB)

Mr. Quinton Mason

1310 G Street, N.W., Box 12

Washington, DC  20005

(202) 882‐9904 Phone

(202) 453‐2331 Fax

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

(BEP)

Disclosure Officer

Office of the Chief Counsel

FOIA and Transparency

14th & C Streets, S.W., Room 419A

Washington, DC  20228

(202) 874‐2500 Phone

(202) 874‐2951 Fax

Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal

Service)

Ms. Cynthia Sydnor/Ms. Denise

Nelson

Disclosure Office

401 14th Street, S.W., Room 508C

Washington, DC  20227

(202) 874‐5602 Phone

(202) 874‐2391 Fax

Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency (OCC)

Mr. Frank Vance

Disclosure Services

400 7th Street, S.W.

Suite 3E‐218, Mail Stop 6W‐11

Washington, DC  20219

(202) 649‐6758 Phone

Financial Crimes Enforcement

Network (FinCen)

Mr. Gilbert Paist

ATTN: FOIA Request

P.O. Box 39

Vienna, VA  22183

(703) 905‐3537 Phone

(703) 905‐5126 Fax

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Disclosure Manager

HQ FOIA & Program Operations

ATTN: IRS FOIA Request

HQ FOIA, Stop 211

PO Box 621506

Atlanta, GA  30362‐3006

(801) 620‐7638 Phone

United States Mint (Mint)

Ms. Kathleen Saunders‐Mitchell

ATTN: FOIA Request

801 9th Street, N.W., 8th Floor

Washington, DC  20220

(202) 756‐6153 Phone

(202) 354‐4600 Fax

   
5 

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)

Ms. Amy Jones

ATTN: FOIA Request

TIGTA Chief Counsel

1401 H Street, N.W., Suite 469

Washington, DC  20005

(202) 622‐4068 Phone

(202) 622‐3339 Fax

2. Brief description of why requests are not granted

The Treasury Department may not grant full access to records because of several

reasons.   Some records are specifically exempt from disclosure pursuant to statute, such as

records that contain Bank Secrecy Act information or certain tax return information.  This

information falls within the scope of Exemption 3.  Other records and information that are

obtained from private businesses and submitted in confidence or that contain proprietary

information fall within the scope of Exemption 4.   Internal agency communications

representing the pre‐decisional process; attorney work product; or attorney‐client records

fall within the scope of Exemption 5.   Private information obtained from individuals fall

within the scope of Exemptions 6 and/or 7(C).  Treasury also cites Exemption 7(E) to protect

information that would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could be expected to risk circumvention of

the law.  Finally, Treasury protects information and records contained in or related to the

examination or the supervision of financial institutions under the authority of Exemption 8.

   
6 

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS

1. Agency–specific acronyms used in this Report:

Component Abbreviation Component Name

BEP Bureau of Engraving and Printing

DO1 Departmental Offices

FinCEN Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Fiscal Service2 Bureau of the Fiscal Service

IRS Internal Revenue Service

MINT United States Mint

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

TTB Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

2. Basic terms used in this Report

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher

administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request

level.

b. 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.

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an

agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a

response.

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a

“component” is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau,

                                                            

1 DO includes the Offices of Domestic Finance, Economic Policy, Financial Research, General Counsel, International Affairs,

Legislative Affairs, Management, Public Affairs, Tax Policy, Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and the Treasurer of the

United States.  DO statistics in this report also include requests made to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an entity

chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury. 2 In 2013, the Bureau of the Public Debt and the Financial Management Service were consolidated to create the Bureau of

the Fiscal Service.  In FY2013, BPD and FMS were reported separately.  
7 

Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now

requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency

overall and for each principal component of the agency.

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first

forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an

interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its

review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in

turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and

which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to

records concerning another person (i.e., a “third‐party” request), or concerning an

organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made

by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first‐party” requests) when

those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non‐U.S. citizens. Moreover,

because all first‐party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access

provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any

first‐party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy

Act “systems of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency

looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the

agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report.

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and

direct response to the requester. It does not however, include records for which the

agency has received a consultation from another agency (Consultations are reported

separately in Section XII of this Report).

h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA

request.

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA

request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the

FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be

located.

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the

median number is 7.

k. 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 granted expedited processing are
8 

placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out

basis.

i. Expedited processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited

basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as

set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.

ii. Simple request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi‐track processing

places in its fastest (non‐expedited) track based on the low volume and/or

simplicity of the records requested.

iii. Complex request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi‐track processing

places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the

records requested.

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to

disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under

the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative

appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and

is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and

procedures to be followed.

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative

appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests

or administrative appeals.

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request

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

   
9 

3. Descriptions of the nine FOIA Exemptions:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information

b. Exemption 2: information that is related solely to the internal rules and practices of an

agency

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information

e. Exemption 5: inter‐agency or intra‐agency communications that are protected by legal

privileges

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the

extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to

interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair

trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose

the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for

law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law

enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to

endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the regulation or supervision of financial

institutions

i.     Exemption 9: geological information on wells
10 

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

Statute Type of Information

Withheld

Case Citation Agency /

Component

Numbe

Time

Relied u

by Agen

Compo

26 U.S.C. § 6103 Certain tax return information and

certain tax convention information

Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S.9,15 (1987); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. IRS,395 F. App'x. 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010)(unpublished disposition).

Fiscal Service 28

DO 18

TTB 14

OCC 1

TIGTA 36

IRS 2,57
11 

31 U.S.C. § 5319 Reports pertaining to monetary

instruments transactions filed undersubchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31and records of those reports

Hulstein v. DEA, No. 10‐4112, 2011U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25788, at *7‐8 (N.D.Iowa Mar. 11, 2011); Berger v. IRS, 487F. Supp. 2d 482, 496‐97 (D.N.J. 2007),aff'd on other grounds, 288 F. App'x829 (3d Cir. 2008); Sciba v. Bd. ofGovernors of the Fed. Reserve Sys., No.04‐1011, 2005 WL 3201206, at *6(D.D.C. Nov. 4, 2005).

DO 1

FinCEN 385

OCC 1

TIGTA 1

IRS 96

41 U.S.C. § 253b(m)(1) (currentlyat 41 U.S.C. § 4702)

Contractor proposals that are in thepossession or control of an executiveagency and that have not been setforth or incorporated by reference intocontracts.

Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10‐885, 2012 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 35233, at *13‐15 (S.D. OhioMar. 15, 2012); Hornbostel v. U.S.Dep't of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summaryaffirmance granted, No. 03‐5257, 2004WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004).

BEP 1

FinCEN 1

Mint 1

IRS 1

21 U.S.C. § 1904(e)(3) Information related to foreign

narcotics traffickers

DO 10
12 

10 U.S.C. § 424 Organization or any function of, and

certain information pertaining to,employees of the Defense IntelligenceAgency, the National ReconnaissanceOffice, and the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency.

Physicians for Human Rights v. DOD,No. RDB‐08‐273, 2011 WL 1495942, at*7 (D.D.C. Apr. 19, 2011); Miller v. DOJ,562 F. Supp. 2d 82, 112 (D.D.C. 2008);Wickwire Gavin, P.C. v. Def.Intelligence Agency, 330 F. Supp. 2d592, 602 (E.D. Va. 2004).

DO 2

50 U.S.C. app. § 2170(c) Information or documentary material

filed with the Committee on ForeignInvestment in the United States

DO 3

26 U.S.C. § 6105 Certain tax return information and

certain tax convention information

Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S.9, 15 (1987); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. IRS,395 F. App'x. 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010)(unpublished disposition) (26 U.S.C. §§6103, 6105); Tax Analysts v. IRS, 217 F.Supp. 2d 23, 27‐29 (D.D.C. 2002).

IRS 51
13 

18 U.S.C. § 701 Establishes penalties for:

manufacturing, selling, or possessing"any badge, identification card, orother insignia, of the design prescribedby the head of any department oragency of the United States for use byany officer or employee thereof, or anycolorable imitation thereof"; andphotographing, printing, making, orexecuting "any engraving, photograph,print, or impression in the likeness ofany such badge, identification card, orother insignia, or any colorableimitation thereof"

Jones v. IRS, No. 06‐CV‐322, 2008 WL1901208, at *3‐4 (W.D. Mich. Apr. 25,2008).

IRS 11

Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e), enacted byAct of July 30, 1977, Pub. L. No.95‐78, 91 Stat. 319

Certain records pertaining to grandjury proceedings

Sussman v. USMS, 494 F.3d 1106, 1113(D.C. Cir. 2007); Fund for ConstitutionalGov't v. Nat'l Archives & Records Serv.,656 F.2d 856, 867‐68 (D.C. Cir. 1981);Durham v. U.S. Atty. Gen., No. 06‐843,2008 WL 620744, at *2 (E.D. Tex. Mar.3, 2008); Cozen O'Connor v. U.S. Dep'tof Treasury, 570 F. Supp. 2d 749, 776(E.D. Pa. 2008).

IRS 13

TIGTA 2
14 

V.A. FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING FOIA REQUESTS

Agency / Component

Number of

Requests

Pending as of Start

of Fiscal Year3

Number of

Requests Received

in Fiscal Year

Number of

Requests Processed

in Fiscal Year

Number of

Requests

Pending as of End

of Fiscal Year

BEP 9 82 83 8

DO 298 771 627 442

FinCEN 11 392 390 13

Fiscal Service 13 327 327 13

IRS 1,118 10,197 10,416 899

MINT 1 95 96 0

OCC 78 1,638 1,634 82

TIGTA 18 312 308 22

TTB 1 108 106 3

AGENCY OVERALL 1,547 13,922 13,987 1,482

                                                            

3 The number of requests pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for DO, FinCEN, Fiscal

Service, IRS, Mint, and TIGTA:  DO increased by eight, FinCEN increased by three, Fiscal Service increased by five, IRS

increased by 14, Mint increased by one, and TIGTA decreased by three.
15 

V.B.(1). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ ALL PROCESSED REQUESTS

Agency /

Component

Number of

Full Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants /

Partial

Denials

Number of

Full Denials

Based on

Exemptions

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

No

Records

All Records

Referred to

Another

Component

or Agency

Request

Withdrawn

Fee‐

Related

Reason

Records

not

Reasonably

Described

Improper

FOIA

Request

for Other

Reason

Not

Agency

Record

Duplicate

Request

BEP 25 22 1 10 0 2 2 0 19 0 2 

DO 94 129 21 115 111 16 11 61 19 40 10 

FinCEN 16 68 235 42 1 6 0 4 7 4 7 

Fiscal Service 45 88 2 54 5 58 1 1 11 54 8 

IRS 3,337 2,708 117 983 11 171 135 540 1,975 29 395 

MINT 34 6 3 29 1 1 5 4 8 1 3 

OCC 1,281 74 24 52 1 44 7 13 40 64 34 

TIGTA 37 96 21 27 34 8 0 0 53 25 7 

TTB 23 28 17 17 2 7 2 6 1 1 2 

AGENCY

OVERALL 4,892 3,219 441 1,329 166 313 163 629 2,133 218 468 
16 

V.B.(2). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ "OTHER" REASONS FOR "FULL DENIALS BASED ON

REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS"

Agency /

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1)

Number of Times

"Other" Reason

Was Relied Upon

TOTAL

BEP N/A 0 0

DO N/A 0 0

FinCEN N/A 0 0

Fiscal Service N/A 0 0

IRS Closed in Litigation 15 15

MINT Closed in Litigation 1 1

OCC N/A 0 0

TIGTA N/A 0 0

TTB N/A 0 0

AGENCY OVERALL 16

 

 

 

 
17 

V.B.(3). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency /

Component

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(

BEP 0 0 1 12 11 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 19 4 41 112 121 234 18 1 85 1 8 1 

FinCEN 0 1 386 7 15 27 3 0 40 9 59 0 

Fiscal Service 0 1 31 22 4 82 0 0 0 0 6 0 

IRS 0 5 2,591 23 601 465 532 0 965 22 1,269 7 

MINT 0 1 1 7 4 13 0 0 0 0 2 1 

OCC 0 5 1 51 27 57 2 0 15 0 1 0 

TIGTA 0 2 37 2 15 98 8 0 89 5 8 1 

TTB 0 1 15 9 6 15 0 0 1 1 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 19 20 3,104 245 804 1,011 563 1 1,195 38 1,353 10 
18 

VI.A. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ RECEIVED,

PROCESSED, AND PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component

Number of Appeals

Pending as of Start

of Fiscal Year4

Number of

Appeals Received

in Fiscal Year

Number of

Appeals Processed

in Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals

Pending as of End

of Fiscal Year

BEP 0 4 4 0

DO 78 26 9 95

FinCEN 1 16 16 1

Fiscal Service 2 18 17 3

IRS 9 236 240 5

MINT 0 2 2 0

OCC 9 10 18 1

TIGTA 3 20 21 2

TTB 4 0 0 4

AGENCY OVERALL 106 332 327 111

                                                            

4 The number of appeals pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for DO, FinCEN, TIGTA,

and TTB:  DO increased by 13, FinCEN decreased by three, TIGTA decreased by one, and TTB increased by four.
19 

VI.B. DISPOSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS ‐‐ ALL PROCESSED APPEALS

Agency / Component Number Affirmed on Appeal

Number Partially Affirmed

& Partially

Reversed/Remanded on

Appeal

Number Completely

Reversed/Remanded on

Appeal

Number of Appeals Closed

for Other Reasons

T

BEP 2 1 1 0 

DO 4 1 2 2 

FinCEN 14 1 0 1 

Fiscal Service 16 1 0 0 

IRS 226 0 4 10 

MINT 2 0 0 0 

OCC 3 2 2 11 

TIGTA 16 4 1 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 283 10 10 24 
20 

VI.C.(1). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL ‐‐ NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED

Agency /

Component

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) 

BEP 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 

Fiscal Service 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 6 82 1 35 25 30 0 33 1 47 0 

MINT 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 8 0 2 10 1 0 10 0 1 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 6 104 19 42 35 31 0 43 1 49 0 
21 

VI.C.(2). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL ‐‐ REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS

Agency /

Component

No Records

Records

Referred at

Initial

Request

Level

Request

Withdrawn

Fee‐Related

Reason

Records not

Reasonably

Described

Improper

Request for

Other

Reasons

Not Agency

Record

Duplicate

Request or

Appeal

Request in

Litigation

Appea

Based

Solely o

Denial 

Request 

Expedit

Process

BEP 6 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 

FinCEN 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 12 0 0 18 0 0 0 1 2 0 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 

TIGTA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 22 0 2 23 0 0 0 9 2 1 
22 

VI.C.(3). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL ‐‐ "OTHER" REASONS

Agency /

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2)

Number of Times

"Other" Reason

Was Relied Upon

TOTAL

BEP N/A 0 0

DO Moot 1 1

FinCEN N/A 0 0

Fiscal Service N/A 0 0

IRS N/A 0 0

MINT N/A 0 0

OCC

No Component Response to Adjudicate 2

3

Moot 1

TIGTA N/A 0 0

TTB N/A 0 0

AGENCY OVERALL 4

 

 

 

 
23 

VI.C.(4). RESPONSE TIME FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days

BEP 18.00 18.00 16.00 20.00

DO 20.00 435.00 21.00 1,826.00

FinCEN 38.00 43.00 14.00 87.00

Fiscal Service 15.00 19.00 4.00 53.00

IRS 12.00 12.43 4.00 46.00

MINT 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00

OCC 31.00 27.67 10.00 60.00

TIGTA 10.00 11.00 2.00 25.00

TTB 18.50 18.50 18.00 19.00

AGENCY OVERALL 12.00 62.54 0.00 1,826.00

 

 

 

 
24 

VI.C.(5). TEN OLDEST PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency /

Component

10th Oldest

Appeal

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO

Date of Appeal 2010‐04‐06 2010‐03‐16 2010‐03‐16 2010‐02‐23 2010‐02‐02 2009‐11‐17 2009‐11‐09 2009‐11

Number of Days Pending 1379 1394 1394 1409 1423 1474 1479 1481 

FinCEN

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2015‐09

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 

IRS

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2015‐09‐28 2015‐09‐22 2015‐09

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 6 

MINT

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2013‐10‐31 2012‐05

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 481 840 

AGENCY OVERALL

Date of Appeal 2010‐03‐16 2010‐02‐23 2010‐02‐02 2009‐11‐17 2009‐11‐09 2009‐11‐05 2009‐04‐29 2008‐10

Number of Days Pending 1394 1409 1423 1474 1479 1481 1613 1737 
25 

VII.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR ALL PROCESSED PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency /

Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESS

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowest

Number of

Days

Highest

Number of

Days

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowest

Number of

Days

Highest

Number of

Days

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowes

Number 

Days

BEP 20 44 4 175 24 59 4 196 N/A N/A N/A 

DO 5 23 1 547 87 199 1 3018 344 344 344 

FinCEN 1 3 1 257 13 37 1 769 N/A N/A N/A 

Fiscal Service 14 14 1 57 28 36 2 211 N/A N/A N/A 

IRS N/A N/A N/A N/A 17 28 1 904 457 379 25 

MINT 6 8 1 20 8 12 1 29 N/A N/A N/A 

OCC 7 10 <1 110 19 25 <1 156 23 24 2 

TIGTA 2 6 <1 19 19 23 <1 161 208 208 6 

TTB 2 4 1 20 16 17 1 31 N/A N/A N/A 

AGENCY OVERALL 6 12 <1 547 17 33 <1 3018 37 170 2 
26 

VII.B. PROCESSED REQUESTS ‐‐ RESPONSE TIME FOR PERFECTED REQUESTS IN WHICH INFORMATION WAS GRANTED

Agency /

Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESS

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowest

Number of

Days

Highest

Number of

Days

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowest

Number of

Days

Highest

Number of

Days

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Lowes

Number 

Days

BEP 20 50 4 175 24 66 4 196 N/A N/A N/A 

DO 20 46 1 547 144 235 2 3018 344 344 344 

FinCEN 2 4 1 20 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Fiscal Service 12 13 1 57 28 39 7 211 N/A N/A N/A 

IRS N/A N/A N/A N/A 19 32 1 904 491 388 25 

MINT 6 8 1 19 8 11 4 29 N/A N/A N/A 

OCC 7 10.99 <1 110 24.5 38.4 1 156 22 23.85 4 

TIGTA 19 19 19 19 20 31.24 1 161 207.5 207.5 6 

TTB 2 4 1 31 25 19 2 31 N/A N/A N/A 

AGENCY OVERALL 7 12 <1 547 19 36 <1 3018 33.5 175.5 4 
27 

VII.C. PROCESSED SIMPLE REQUESTS ‐‐ RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency /

Component

<1‐20

Days

21‐40

Days

41‐60

Days

61‐80

Days

81‐100

Days

101‐120

Days

121‐140

Days

141‐160

Days

161‐180

Days

181‐200

Days

201‐300

Days

301‐400

Days

BEP 23 7 3 1 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 

DO 212 30 15 10 3 4 4 1 3 0 0 1 

FinCEN 303 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 

Fiscal Service 218 39 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

MINT 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 1,315 112 24 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 2,196 190 49 15 5 5 5 1 8 0 1 1 
28 

VII.C. PROCESSED COMPLEX REQUESTS ‐‐ RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency /

Component

<1‐20

Days

21‐40

Days

41‐60

Days

61‐80

Days

81‐100

Days

101‐120

Days

121‐140

Days

141‐160

Days

161‐180

Days

181‐200

Days

201‐300

Days

301‐400

Days

BEP 14 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 

DO 48 34 22 21 16 10 5 14 3 9 29 14 

FinCEN 54 14 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service 14 29 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 

IRS 5,173 1,415 606 242 138 70 68 28 19 15 35 33 

MINT 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 61 27 9 5 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 166 48 12 8 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 

TTB 32 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 5,574 1,597 654 280 161 82 77 44 23 27 65 47 
29 

VII.C. PROCESSED REQUESTS GRANTED EXPEDITED PROCESSING ‐‐ RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS

Agency /

Component

<1‐20

Days

21‐40

Days

41‐60

Days

61‐80

Days

81‐100

Days

101‐120

Days

121‐140

Days

141‐160

Days

161‐180

Days

181‐200

Days

201‐300

Days

301‐400

Days

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 

MINT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC 7 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 8 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 
30 

VII.D. PENDING REQUESTS ‐‐ ALL PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency / Component

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Av

Num

D

BEP 0 N/A N/A 8 53 75 0 N/A 

DO 56 56 118 385 215 305 1 386 

FinCEN 0 N/A N/A 13 28 42 0 N/A 

Fiscal Service 11 10 9 2 334 364 0 N/A 

IRS 0 0 0 896 19 54 3 81 

MINT 0 N/A N/A 0 N/A N/A 0 N/A 

OCC 76 9 12 6 94 124 0 0 

TIGTA 0 0 0 15 19 31 0 0 

TTB 0 N/A N/A 3 3 4 0 N/A 

AGENCY OVERALL 143 9 13.9 1318 20 54.6 4 82 
31 

VII.E. PENDING REQUESTS ‐‐ TEN OLDEST PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS

Agency /

Component

10th Oldest

Request

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP

Date of Receipt N/A N/A 2015‐09‐09 2015‐09‐09 2015‐08‐20 2015‐08‐20 2015‐06‐03 2015‐05

Number of Days Pending 0 0 15 15 28 28 83 99 

DO

Date of Receipt 2011‐08‐10 2011‐07‐27 2011‐06‐30 2011‐05‐31 2011‐05‐09 2011‐02‐09 2010‐07‐27 2008‐09

Number of Days Pending 1040 1050 1068 1090 1105 1167 1301 1765 

FinCEN

Date of Receipt 2015‐09‐18 2015‐09‐04 2015‐08‐28 2015‐08‐21 2015‐08‐17 2015‐07‐26 2015‐07‐06 2015‐07

Number of Days Pending 9 18 23 28 32 49 62 63 

Fiscal Service

Date of Receipt 2015‐09‐17 2015‐09‐16 2015‐09‐16 2015‐09‐16 2015‐09‐11 2015‐08‐31 2015‐08‐31 2015‐08

Number of Days Pending 10 11 11 11 14 22 22 27 

IRS

Date of Receipt 2013‐06‐24 2013‐06‐12 2013‐06‐06 2013‐05‐28 2013‐05‐21 2013‐05‐15 2013‐05‐14 2013‐02

Number of Days Pending 570 578 582 589 593 597 598 668 

MINT

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC

Date of Receipt 2015‐08‐31 2015‐08‐27 2015‐08‐19 2015‐08‐13 2015‐07‐30 2015‐06‐01 2015‐03‐13 2015‐02

Number of Days Pending 21 23 29 33 43 85 140 159 

TIGTA

Date of Receipt 2015‐09‐17 2015‐09‐02 2015‐09‐02 2015‐08‐21 2015‐08‐17 2015‐07‐10 2015‐07‐06 2015‐06

Number of Days Pending 9 19 19 27 31 57 61 67 

TTB

Date of Receipt N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2015‐09

Number of Days Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 

AGENCY OVERALL

Date of Receipt 2011‐07‐27 2011‐06‐30 2011‐06‐07 2011‐05‐31 2011‐05‐09 2011‐02‐09 2010‐07‐27 2008‐09

Number of Days Pending 1050 1068 1085 1090 1105 1167 1301 1765 
32 

VIII.A. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Agency /

Component

Number Granted Number Denied

Median Number of

Days to Adjudicate

Average Number of

Days to Adjudicate

Number

Adjudicated Within

Ten Calendar Days

BEP 0 2 4 3 3

DO 1 76 1 3 70

FinCEN 0 4 1 3 4

Fiscal Service 0 14 1 1 14

IRS 15 13 8 9 21

MINT 0 8 1 4 7

OCC 14 4 1 5.56 16

TIGTA 2 8 4 4.6 9

TTB 0 10 1 2 10

AGENCY OVERALL 32 139 1 4 154

 

 

 

 
33 

VIII.B. REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

Agency /

Component

Number Granted Number Denied

Median Number of

Days to Adjudicate

Average Number of

Days to Adjudicate

BEP 2 1 1 1

DO 67 147 1 2

FinCEN 0 6 1 1

Fiscal Service 4 51 1 3

IRS 98 7 6 11

MINT 1 23 8 8

OCC 4 4 1 7.12

TIGTA 2 2 0.5 0.75

TTB 0 16 1 1

AGENCY OVERALL 178 257 1 2.6

 

 

 

 
34 

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

Agency /

Component

PERSONNEL COSTS

Number of "Full‐

Time FOIA

Employees"

Number of

"Equivalent Full‐

Time FOIA

Employees"

Total Number of

"Full‐Time FOIA

Staff"

Processing Costs Litigation‐Related Costs Total Costs

BEP 0 3.34 3.34 $278,817.00 $0.00 $278,817.00

DO 27 6.76 33.76 $4,413,459.30 $174,337.00 $4,587,796.30

FinCEN 1 0.5 1.5 $317,708.00 $0.00 $317,708.00

Fiscal Service 1 12 13 $1,108,000.00 $0.00 $1,108,000.00

IRS 8.17 67.2 75.37 $9,582,869.99 $386,550.09 $9,969,420.08

MINT 1 0.5 1.5 $172,072.00 $0.00 $172,072.00

OCC 8 4 12 $1,585,660.00 $0.00 $1,585,660.00

TIGTA 0 4.68 4.68 $580,626.00 $3,042.00 $583,668.00

TTB 1 0.48 1.48 $170,223.12 $0.00 $170,223.12

AGENCY OVERALL 47.17 99.46 146.63 $18,209,435.41 $563,929.09 $18,773,364.50
35 

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Agency / Component

Total Amount of Fees

Collected Percentage of Total Costs

BEP $752.40 0.27%

DO $27,085.90 0.61%

FinCEN $0.00 0.00%

Fiscal Service $17,409.52 1.57%

IRS $76,949.20 0.80%

MINT $0.00 0.00%

OCC $166,810.00 10.52%

TIGTA $55.60 0.01%

TTB $12,365.25 7.26%

AGENCY OVERALL $301,427.87 1.66%

  

  

XI.  FOIA REGULATIONS

The U.S. Department of the Treasury FOIA Implementing Regulations are codified at 31 CFR Part 1, Subpart A, and can

also be found at http://www.treasury.gov/FOIA/Documents/foiaregs.pdf.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) FOIA Implementing Regulations are codified at 12 CFR Part 1301.

 
36 

XII.A. BACKLOGS OF FOIA REQUESTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged

Requests as of End of

Fiscal Year

Number of Backlogged

Appeals as of End of Fiscal

Year

BEP 4 0

DO 396 91

FinCEN 8 1

Fiscal Service 3 2

IRS 348 0

MINT 0 0

OCC 8 1

TIGTA 0 2

TTB 0 4

AGENCY OVERALL 767 101

 

 

 

 
37 

XII.B. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING

CONSULTATIONS

Agency / Component

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that were

Pending at the Agency as

of Start

of the Fiscal Year5

Number of

Consultations Received

from Other Agencies

During the Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that were

Processed by the Agency

During the Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that were

Pending at the Agency as

of End

of the Fiscal Year

BEP 0 0 0 0

DO 4 24 19 9

FinCEN 1 30 31 0

Fiscal Service 0 3 3 0

IRS 59 147 182 24

MINT 0 0 0 0

OCC 0 0 0 0

TIGTA 1 2 2 1

TTB 0 1 0 1

AGENCY OVERALL 65 207 237 35

                                                            

5 The number of consultations pending at the start of the fiscal year was updated from last year’s report for DO, Fiscal

Service, and IRS:  DO decreased by one, Fiscal Service decreased by 10, and IRS decreased by 14.
38 

XII.C. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS ‐‐ TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS RECEIVED FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND 

AGENCY

Agency /

Component

10th Oldest

Consultation

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

BEP

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

DO

Date N/A 2015‐08‐07 2015‐06‐09 2015‐05‐22 2015‐04‐01 2015‐03‐24 2015‐02‐10 2014‐08‐0

Number of Days 0 38 80 91 128 134 163 292 

FinCEN

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fiscal Service

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

IRS

Date 2015‐08‐31 2015‐08‐28 2015‐08‐28 2015‐08‐25 2015‐08‐25 2015‐08‐24 2015‐08‐21 2015‐08‐

Number of Days 21 22 22 25 25 26 27 31 

MINT

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

OCC

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TIGTA

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

TTB

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL

Date 2015‐08‐07 2015‐06‐09 2015‐06‐09 2015‐05‐22 2015‐04‐01 2015‐03‐24 2015‐02‐10 2014‐08‐0

Number of Days 38 79 80 91 128 134 163 292 
39 

XII.D.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT ‐‐ REQUESTS 

PROCESSED

Agency / Component

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Last

Year's Annual Report

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Last

Year's Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

BEP 88 82 83 83

DO 732 771 946 627

FinCEN 284 392 277 390

Fiscal Service 292 327 306 327

IRS 10,454 10,197 10,109 10,416

MINT 119 95 131 96

OCC 1,806 1,638 1,801 1,634

TIGTA 282 312 287 308

TTB 50 108 50 106

AGENCY OVERALL 14,107 13,922 13,990 13,987
40 

XII.D.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL

REPORT ‐‐ BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged

Requests as of End of the

Fiscal Year from Previous

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged

Requests as of End of the

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

BEP 6 4

DO 267 396

FinCEN 1 8

Fiscal Service 2 3

IRS 317 348

MINT 0 0

OCC 5 8

TIGTA 2 0

TTB 1 0

AGENCY OVERALL 601 767
41 

XII.E.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPO

RECEIVED AND PROCESSED

Agency / Component

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Last

Year's Annual Report

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Last

Year's Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

BEP 8 4 8 4

DO 16 26 16 9

FinCEN 11 16 8 16

Fiscal Service 14 18 13 17

IRS 184 236 188 240

MINT 6 2 6 2

OCC 28 10 22 18

TIGTA 27 20 26 21

TTB 0 0 0 0

AGENCY OVERALL 294 332 287 327
42 

XII.E.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT

ANNUAL REPORT ‐‐ BACKLOGGED APPEALS

Agency / Component

Number of Backlogged

Appeals as of End of the

Fiscal Year from Previous

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged

Appeals as of End of the

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

BEP 0 0

DO 63 91

FinCEN 3 1

Fiscal Service 0 2

IRS 4 0

MINT 0 0

OCC 2 1

TIGTA 0 2

TTB 0 4

AGENCY OVERALL 72 101