U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

ANNUAL REPORT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 

 Disclosure Services 

February 1, 2007 
2

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

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) 
3

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT 

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 

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. Additional Information/Explanation 

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing 

X. Fees 

XI. FOIA Regulations 

XII. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT. 

This is the Fiscal Year 2006 FOIA Report for the Department of the Treasury. For purposes of 

administering the FOIA, the Department is divided into 10 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. 
4

Questions about the report may be directed to: 

Hugh Gilmore, 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 website at: 

http://www.treas.gov/foia/reports/index.html, “FY 2006 FOIA Report to the Attorney 

General.”

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

The Department of the Treasury’s Guide to Accessing Treasury Records is available at 

www.treas.gov/foia/, or by contacting Disclosure Services, as described above. 
5

 

II.A. Names, addresses, and numbers of Treasury bureau FOIA officers. 

Departmental Offices (DO) 

Hugh Gilmore 

Disclosure Services 

Ph: 202/622-0930 

Fax: 202/622-3895 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

Department of the Treasury 

Washington, DC 20220 

 

Comptroller of the Currency (CC)

Frank Vance 

Ph: 202/874-4700 

Fax: 202/874-5274 

Address: 

Disclosure (FOIA) Office 

Washington, DC 20219 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

 Bureau (TTB)

Helen Belt 

Ph: 202/927-2400 

Fax: 202/927-8525 

Address: 

FOIA OFFICE 

650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 

Suite 5000 

Washington, DC 20226 

 

Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP)

James Braun 

Ph: 202/874-3733 

Fax: 202/874-2951 

Address: 

FOIA OFFICE 

Room 419-A 

14th & C Streets, SW 

Washington, DC 20228 

Financial Management Service (FMS)

Tom Longnecker 

Ph: 202/874-6837 

Fax: 202/874-7184 

Address: 

Disclosure Branch 

401 14th Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20227

 

Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD)

Denise Hofmann 

Ph: 304/480-8402

Fax: 304/480-8445 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

200 3rd Street, Rm. A5-A 

Parkersburg, West Virginia 26106 
6

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Albert D. Adams 

Ph: 202/927-7425 

Fax: 410/962-2374 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

HQ Disclosure Office 

1111 Constitution Ave., NW, Rm. 1571 

Washington, DC 20224 

Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)

Marilyn K. Burton 

Ph: 202/906-6467 

Fax: 202/906-6353 

Address: 

FOIA Branch 

1700 G Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20552

United States Mint (Mint)

Kathleen Saunders-Mitchell 

Ph: 202/354-7292 

Fax: 202/756-6100 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

801 9th Street, NW – 8th Floor 

Washington, DC 20220

Treasury Inspector General for 

Tax Administration (TIGTA) 

Amy P. Jones 

Ph: 202/927-7044 

Fax: 202/622-3339 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

TIGTA Chief Counsel 

1125 15TH Street, NW, Suite 700 

Washington, DC 20005

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

(FinCEN) 

Gregory Smith 

Ph: 703/905-5034 

Fax: 703/905-3684 

Address: 

FOIA Request 

PO Box 39 

Vienna, VA 22183 

 

 

II.B. Brief description of Treasury Department’s response-time ranges. 

For a breakdown of each bureau’s response times, see Section VII of this report, “Compliance with 

Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests.” 

 
7

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) protecting personal privacy; (2) deliberative process privilege; (3) the records 

reflected the internal practices involved in investigations or inspections; (4) the records contained 

confidential taxpayer information and other statutorily protected information; and (5) the records 

contained contractor confidential and proprietary commercial information. Others: records did not 

exist; procedural requirements were not followed. 

III. Definition of Terms. 

A. Agency-specific: 

 

BEP Bureau of Engraving and Printing 

BPD Bureau of the Public Debt 

DO Departmental Offices 

FinCEN Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

FMS Financial Management Service 

IRS Internal Revenue Service 

MINT United States Mint 

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 

OTS Office of Thrift Supervision 

TIGTA Treasury Inspector General (Tax Administration) 

TTB Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

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. 
8

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 

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

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). 
9

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. 

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 Delineates the rights and duties of a labor organization 

which is the exclusive representative of the employees in 

the unit it represents. 

Dublin v. Dept. of the Treasury,

555 F. Supp. 408, 412 (N.D. Ga. 

1981), aff’d, 697 F.2d 1093 

(unpublished table decision); 

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

op at 49 (D.D.C. July 9, 1979) 

41 U.S.C. 253(b) Protects the solicitations of unsuccessful bidders in a 

competitive proposal. This provision is used to withhold 

the unsuccessful bidder’s contract proposal as well as 

information in the winning solicitation that was not 

incorporated into the contract. 

Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep't of the 

Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21 

(D.D.C. 2003) 

18 U.S.C. 701 Official Badges, identification cards. Prohibits the 

reproduction of official identification media. Used to 

withhold copies of the IRS employee identification badges 

and pocket commissions. 

Not litigated 

26 U.S.C. 6103 Confidentiality of Returns and Return Information: 

Prohibits the disclosure of (1) tax returns and return 

information of 3rd party taxpayers (section 6103(a)); (2) 

the standards used for selection of returns for examination 

(section 6103(b)(2)) ; and (3) a requester’s own return 

information if the release would seriously impair federal 

tax administration (section 6103(e)(7)). 

Church of Scientology v. IRS, 

484 U.S. 9 (1987); Aronson v. 

IRS, 973 F.2d 962 (1st Cir. 1992); 

Stebbins v. Sullivan, No. 90-

5361, slip op. at 1 (D.C. Cir. July 

22, 1992); Wishart v. 

Commissioner, C-97-20614-SW 

(N.D. Cal., decided August 6, 

1998); Gillin v. IRS, No. 90-31 

(D.N.H. Apr. 15, 1991), aff’d, 

980 F.2d 819 (1st Cir. 1992); 

Casa Investors, Ltd. V. Gibbs, 

No. 88-2485, 1990 WL 180703 

(D.D.C. Oct. 11, 1990); 

Chamberlain v. Kurtz, 589 F.2d 

at 827 (5th Cir). 

26 U.S.C. 6105 Confidentiality of information arising under treaty 

obligations. 

Tax Analysts v. IRS, No. 99-0372, 

2002 WL 1791162 (D.D.C. Aug. 

6, 2002) 
10

31 U.S.C. 5319 Bank Secrecy Act Records: Prohibits the disclosure of 

records. Generally used to withhold Currency 

Transaction Reports. 

Small v. IRS, 820 F. Supp. 163 

(D.N.J. 1992) 

Rule 6(e) Part of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure X Grand 

Jury Secrecy: regulates matters occurring before the 

Grand Jury. Used to withhold records used in Grand Jury 

proceedings. 

Fund for Constitutional Gov’t v. 

National Archives & Records 

Service, 656 F. 2nd 856, 867 (D.C. 

Cir. 1981); Walston v. U.S. 

Department of Justice, 799 F. 

Supp. 193, 195 (D.D.C. 1992) 

31 U.S.C. § 

5218(g)(3) 

Information withheld under the Bank Secrecy Act statute 

would include Currency Transaction Reports, Foreign 

Bank Account Reports, Currency and Monetary 

Instrument Reports, Suspicious Activity Reports, and 

Registration of Money Services Businesses. 

None 
11

V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests. 

 A. Number of initial requests. 

Bureau Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of End of 

Preceding Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Received in 

Current Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed in 

Current Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End of 

Current Year 

DO 1,717 832 976 1,573

TTB 28 100 122 6

OCC 5 7,469 7,454 20

BEP 3 76 75 4

FMS 12 209 213 8

IRS 2913 24,561 25,404 2,070

MINT 9 272 273 8

BPD 0 125 122 3

OTS 94 4,517 4,508 103

TIGTA 24 277 273 28

FinCEN 78 121 98 101

TOTAL 4,883 38,559 39,518 3,924
12

B. Disposition of initial requests (continued on next page) 

Bureau Total 

Grants 

Total 

Partial 

Grants 

Total 

Denials

No 

Records

Referrals Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

DO 121 333 8 49 292 60 2 31

TTB 24 41 18 26 4 3 1 0

OCC 7,148 33 11 121 81 18 3 10

BEP 27 32 2 7 4 3 0 0

FMS 55 39 6 65 13 1 0 0

IRS 11,071 2,257 232 5,372 382 251 827 0

MINT 196 4 1 40 0 1 1 0

BPD 21 11 2 20 19 0 0 11

OTS 4,274 76 27 15 6 76 0 2

TIGTA 15 131 4 51 7 2 2 5

FinCEN 14 2 60 1 4 1 0 1

TOTAL 22,966 2,959 371 5,767 812 416 836 60
13

B. Disposition of Initial Requests (continued from previous page) 

Bureau Not a 

Proper 

FOIA 

Request 

Not an 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate Lack of ID or 

3rd Party 

Authorization 

No 

Response 

from 

Requester 

Mail 

Returned 

DO 2 0 0 0 48 30 

TTB 3 2 0 0 0 0 

OCC 6 12 1 0 10 0 

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 

FMS 6 0 0 28 0 0 

IRS 4,185 0 827 0 0 0 

MINT 1 0 0 29 0 0 

BPD 0 38 0 0 0 0 

OTS 11 14 7 0 0 0 

TIGTA 47 3 6 0 0 0 

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 15 0 

TOTAL 4,261 69 841 57 73 30 
14

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used: 

 

Bureau (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)(A) (7)(B) (7)(C) (7)(D) (7)(E) (7)(F) (8) (9)

DO 5 15 143 69 94 235 1 0 27 0 0 0 3 0

TTB 0 5 42 31 14 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCC 0 2 0 18 17 12 10 0 0 0 0 0 27 0

BEP 0 1 0 12 6 9 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

FMS 0 2 36 2 2 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

IRS 0 115 2,005 34 445 541 487 3 855 52 819 9 0 0

MINT 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BPD 0 3 0 1 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OTS 0 1 0 82 42 62 0 0 8 1 6 0 54 0

TIGTA 0 28 51 0 35 12 0 0 113 8 18 1 0 0

FinCEN 0 1 57 0 4 2 0 0 22 0 24 0 0 0

TOTAL 5 173 2,334 250 662 932 500 3 1,026 61 867 10 84 0
15

VI. Appeals of initial denials of FOIA/PA requests (continued on next page) 

Bureau Number of 

Appeals 

Received in 

Current 

Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Processed in 

Current 

Year

Number of

Appeals 

Completely 

Upheld in 

Current Year

Number of 

Appeals 

Partially 

Reversed in 

Current Year 

Number of 

Appeals 

Completely 

Reversed

DO 10 7 6 1 0

TTB 5 5 2 3 0

OCC 12 5 3 2 0

BEP 6 6 2 4 0

FMS 7 7 0 1 2

IRS 239 289 257 24 4

MINT 2 0 0 0 0

BPD 6 6 1 1 0

OTS 3 2 2 0 0

TIGTA 32 29 19 10 0

FinCEN 6 4 4 0 0

TOTAL 328 360 296 46 6
16

4. Other reasons for non-disclosure on appeals (Continued from previous page) 

Bureau No 

Records

Referrals WithdrawnFeeRelatedRecords 

Not 

reasonably 

Described

Not a 

Proper

FOIA or 

Appeal

Not an 

Agency 

Record

Duplicate

Request

DO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TTB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OCC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BEP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FMS 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

IRS 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0

Mint 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BPD 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TIGTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FinCEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 8 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
17

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption was used in an appeal 

 

Bureau (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)(A) (7)(B) (7)(C) (7)(D) (7)(E) (7)(F) (8) (9) 

DO 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TTB 0 1 1 1 3 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

OCC 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

BEP 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FMS 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

IRS 0 6 117 2 47 21 48 1 33 9 40 4 0 0

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

BPD 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OTS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

TIGTA 0 3 12 0 4 1 1 0 24 1 2 0 0 0

FinCEN 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

TOTAL 0 11 135 7 58 34 50 1 59 10 43 4 4 0
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VII. Compliance with time limits/status of pending requests 

A. Median Time for Processing Requests 

 * Simple request limited to the Office of Tax Policy 

Bureau 

 

Simple Requests

 

Complex Requests

 Requests Accorded 

Expedited Processing

Number 

of 

Requests 

Processed 

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Process 

Number 

of 

Requests 

Processed

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Process 

Number 

of 

Requests 

Processed 

Median 

Number of 

Days to 

Process 

DO* 302 2 674 224 0 0

TTB 98 23 21 71 3 3

OCC 7,374 2 80 24 0 0

BEP 64 24 11 13 0 0

FMS 0 0 213 8 0 0

IRS 0 0 25,404 26 0 0

MINT 0 0 272 15 1 9

BPD 0 0 122 3 0 0

OTS 0 0 4,508 8 0 0

TIGTA 238 11 31 40 4 1

FinCEN 0 0 98 62 0 0

 TOTAL 8,076 n/a 31,434 n/a 8 n/a
19

B. Status of pending requests 

Bureaus Number of Requests Pending as 

of End of Fiscal Year 

Median Number of Days 

Pending 

DO 1,573 96

TTB 6 29

OCC 20 124

BEP 4 5

FMS 8 113

IRS 2,070 25

Mint 8 29.5

BPD 3 15

OTS 103 145

TIGTA 28 20

FinCEN 101 200

TOTAL 3,924 n/a

VIII. Additional Information/Explanation. 

The Department of the Treasury/DO received four (4) requests for expedited processing and 

granted one (1) request on an expedited basis. The median number of days to process this request 

was six (6) days. 

The Treasury Bureaus granted a total of eight (8) requests for expedited processing. 
20

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing 

Bureaus Staffing Levels Total Costs 

(staff and resources combined) 

Number of 

Full Time 

Personnel 

Number of 

Personnel 

with Part 

Time or 

Occasional 

FOIA Duties 

(in Total 

Work-Years) 

Total 

Number 

of 

Personnel 

(in WorkYears) 

FOIA 

Processing 

(including 

appeals) 

Litigationrelated 

activities 

Total Costs 

DO 4 15.93 19.93 313,399.24 60,095.86 373,495.10

TTB 1 .54 1.54 119,098.38 0 119,098.38

OCC 6 2 8 733,675.70 0 733,675.70

BEP 1 .40 1.40 165,800.00 0 165,800.00

FMS 0 .50 .50 62,771.86 0 62,771.86

IRS 6 66 72 9,686,572.00 445,476.00 10,132,048.00

MINT 1 0 1 97,967.00 0 97,967.00

BPD 1 .20 1.20 130,000.00 0 130,000.00

OTS 2 1.55 3.55 270,650.00 0 270,650.00

TIGTA 5 .27 5.27 531,512.00 2,437.00 533,949.00

FinCEN 1 .3 1.3 119,728.00 0 119,728.00

TOTAL 28 87.69 115.69 12,231,174.18 508,008.86 12,739,183.04

X. FOIA Fees 

FOIA Fees 

Total Fees collected Percentage of Total Costs 

TOTAL $619,242.09 4.86 % 

XI. Treasury Department FOIA Implementing Regulations. 

 The Department’s FOIA regulations can be found at 31 CFR Part 1, Subpart A. The 

regulations can be accessed at: www.treas.gov/foia/foiaregs.pdf. 
21

XII. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation 

A. Description of supplement/modification of agency improvement plan if applicable. 

TTB No modifications. 

BPD No modifications 

BEP No modifications 

TIGTA No modifications 

FinCEN No modifications 

IRS No modifications 

OTS No modifications 

OCC No modifications 

FMS No modifications 

B. Report on agency implementation of its plan, including its performance in meeting 

milestones, with respect to each improvement area. 

DO 1. Implemented FOIA Service Center and FOIA liaison. Contact information is 

posted on FOIA web site. Requesters are assisted in FOIA case tracking status; 

questions as well as general FOIA questions of where and how to file a request. 

2. Obtained proven leadership- hired FOIA Director in May 2006. 

3. Implemented FOIA Council. Held monthly meetings to discuss issues and 

resolutions on FOIA and Privacy Act administration. 

4. Implemented 10 oldest request blitz on revolving basis. 

5. Implemented fast track template blitz. 

6. Report on monthly backlog metrics to Chief FOIA Officer 

7. Currently backlog requests as of November 30, 2006 total 847 requests which 

are 6.4% of snapshot goal of 5% by December 31, 2006 for Departmental Offices. 

On December 31, 2006, DO backlog held at 5.9% reduction at 851 requests. 

TTB In response to the President's Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005, 

(Improving Agency Disclosure of Information), and the Department of the 

Treasury, TTB recognizes the Assistant Secretary for Management as the Chief 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer. Additionally, TTB recognizes Hugh 

Gilmore as its public liaison to serve as the supervisory official with whom a FOIA 

requester can raise concerns about service the FOIA requester receives from the 

TTB’s FOIA Requester Service Center following an initial response from the 

center staff. 

TTB is represented at the at the Treasury Department’s FOIA Council meetings. 

The council meetings, initiated to establish governance and sponsorship within 

Treasury, sets goals and objectives through the Treasury FOIA Council. 

Representatives suggest ways for improving the FOIA process. This tool enables 

us to monitor and report through the Treasury Council to the Chief FOIA Officer. 
22

TTB is improving its process by establishing its FOIA Requester Service Center. 

The FOIA Requester Service Center enables FOIA requesters to seek information 

concerning the status of their FOIA requests and appropriate information about the 

TTB’s FOIA responses. 

Where information is readily available, TTB is improving its backlog by reviewing 

and quickly responding to requests. Request placed on fast-track reduces or 

eliminates backlog by more than 10 percent. 

BEP In 2005, BEP processed 90 FOIA requests with median days to process requests at 

14 days. In 2006, BEP received 79 FOIA requests and completed processing of 75. 

In 2007, BEP will continue to track and monitor requests to alleviate backlogs. 

FMS Conducted FOIA training with every division in FMS that responds to FOIA 

inquiries; created and instituted the position of backup Disclosure Officer to 

respond to FOIA requests and inquiries in the absence of the Disclosure Officer; 

raised awareness of the importance of responding to FOIA inquiries within the 

required timeframe and, when deadlines were not being met, raised the issue with 

senior level staff. 

IRS 1. The IRS is an active participant at FOIA Council meetings. 

2. The IRS has submitted monthly FOIA Performance Measures Reports. 

3. The IRS has provided the results of its reviews of its oldest FOIA cases. 

4. Since the adoption of the Department of the Treasury FOIA Improvement Plan 

in June, the IRS has emphasized processing of backlog cases with the result that the 

backlog inventory was reduced from 1054 at August 30, 2006, the first month in 

which the results of the emphasis can be seen, to 941 at December 31, a decrease of 

113 cases or 11% in the total backlog inventory, exceeding the 5% goal which is 

set for December 31, 2006. 

MINT Mint normally does not maintain a large backlog, and currently does not have a 

large backlog. The backlog has been reduced to eight and is on track to meet the 

milestone for September 2007. 

BPD Due to the small volume of requests in relationship to other Bureaus, BPD has 

never had a backlog. We have one FOIA Officer who handles the FOIA process 

from beginning to end along-side subject matter experts (SME’s) from each area 

and OCC’s assistance when needed. Our requests are received and responded to 

within the 20-workday requirement by our FOIA Officer. 

The requests pending as of September 30 have all been processed within the 20-day 

requirement. 

OTS 

As provided in the FOIA Improvement Plan, OTS has established a FOIA Liaison 

and FOIA Service Center and participates in the Department-wide FOIA Council. 

See Section C for backlog information. 

 
23

TIGTA TIGTA continues to exceed its performance measures pertaining to timeliness of 

FOIA processing. The number of requests pending at the end of the current 

reporting period was 28 and the median number of days that requests were pending 

as of September 30, 2006 was 20 business days. 

Last year TIGTA purchased FOIAXpress, a software program for FOIA processing 

and document management. The program has helped us considerably in managing 

some of the labor-intensive administrative steps like preparing and sending search 

memos to TIGTA function(s) that may have records responsive to particular 

requests. We also purchased a high speed scanner to help with returned records, 

allowing us to edit the scanned documents electronically. TIGTA analysts attend 

yearly training on FOIAXpress updates, to learn of new improvements and 

efficiencies. TIGTA Disclosure prepares monthly reports to Chief Counsel and 

weekly reports to Treasury on caseload progress (including the number of FOIA 

requests closed in 60 or fewer work days and status of our 10 oldest pending 

requests). TIGTA’s performance goal is to close 65% of its FOIA requests in 60 

days or less; for FY 06, TIGTA closed 98% of its FOIA cases in 60 days or less. 

TIGTA is also exploiting its use of FOIAXpress in connection with the review and 

posting of TIGTA’s audit reports on its website, and collaborate closely with the 

Office of Audit in this practice. We utilize the document management feature of 

FOIAXpress to store and manage all types of documents routed through TIGTA 

Disclosure for review, from testimony authorizations to Privacy Act referrals. 

We’re using the gamut of FOIAXpress features to improve efficiencies and 

processing times. 

We’ve already taken aggressive steps to improve our processing (as our stats 

reflect) but we’re always on the lookout for additional opportunities. 

FinCEN FinCEN has amended its FOIA tracking process to increase the workflow and 

ensure timely processing of requests. 

In keeping with Treasury’s Plan, FinCEN established a FOIA Requester Service 

Center and is a regular participant at the Department-wide FOIA Council meetings. 

 

In accordance with FOIA subsection (a)(6)(D) and Department of Treasury 

regulations for processing requests of various sizes on different tracks based on the 

amount of work or time (or both), FinCEN has established a multi-tracking process 

to assist the bureau in complying with the 20 workday time limit. 

As an added effort to further reduce our backlog and satisfy any milestones 

identified in Treasury’s Plan, including Treasury’s 10% backlog reduction goal by 

September 30, 2007, FinCEN has temporarily assigned support personnel to assist 

with processing simple requests placed on a fast track for responding to the 

requester. The milestones in our plan call for closure of all FY 2004 and 2005 

open requests (the oldest requests) and closure of FY 2006 simple requests. 

FinCEN anticipates completing these milestones prior to the end of the 2nd quarter 

of FY 2007.
24

C. Identification and discussion of any deficiency in meeting plan milestones, if applicable. 

DO No deficiency found at this time. 

IRS No deficiency found at this time. 

OTS Did not meet the 5% reduction in backlog as of 12/31/06. The Reassignment of 

FOIA staff to other duties contributed to a 4.6% increase in backlog from 

September 2005 to December 2006 are reasons. Shifting primary duties back to 

FOIA of those reassigned personnel should alleviate this problem with an option to 

hire an additional full-time employee assigned to FOIA processing if necessary 

given the increasing trends of incoming and backlog requests continues. The 5% 

reduction should be met by March 31, 2007. 

OCC No deficiency found at this time. 

BEP No deficiency found at this time. 

FinCEN Did not meet the 5% milestone for reduction in backlog as of 12/31/06. 

Instead, a 1.1 increase was noted. FOIA is tasked to one full-time employee who 

was out of the office for 3 weeks in the first quarter of this fiscal year. 

Additionally, there was an increase in the incoming FOIA requests. Revising the 

tracking system and reassigning one temporary full-time support staff to fast track 

requests are measures to resolve this increase by March 31, 2007. 

D. Additional narrative statement regarding other executive order related activities – optional 

DO 1. Through the FOIA Council, the members have explored online redaction 

software vendors to increase efficiency with the administration of the FOIA 

process. Vendors were invited to participate in the demonstration sessions and 

received Q&A from the members. This was a valuable brainstorming session to 

receive feedback from the varied Departmental Offices and Bureaus as to what 

issues we could foresee as a group to such a technological solution. 

2. The brainstorming session produced a statement of work which was forwarded 

to the Treasury Chief Information Office to develop into a Treasury-wide 

Enterprise Content Management project. 

3. The invitation by the Department of Justice to participate in the FOIA/IT forum 

for technology discussion was disseminated to the FOIA Council members for 

further follow-up on research and development of a Treasury-wide solution for 

investigation on pitfalls, what works, and lessons learned. 

4. The Chief FOIA Officer has designated the Departmental Disclosure officer as 

the FOIA Public Liaison responsible for eight of Treasury’s bureaus. 
25

BEP BEP’s increased sharing of popular information through use of its website, and 

links to other websites has contributed to the reduction of FOIA cases. BEP is also 

looking into the viability of accepting FOIA requests electronically and providing 

responsive records electronically in return. 

IRS 1. The FOIA ending inventory was reduced by 29% during FY 2006. 

2. The IRS is piloting an automated FOIA system in 2 Disclosure Offices. This 

pilot will convert the current labor-intensive, paper based case processing operation 

to an automated environment, utilizing centralized receipt of all FOIA/PA requests, 

fully electronic case files, online redaction and review of documents. The test was 

started on October 17, 2006 and will run through March 16, 2007 after which it 

will be evaluated. 

 

E. Concise descriptions of FOIA exemptions. 

(1) Protects matters “(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive 

order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in 

fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order.” 

(2) related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency; 

(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of this title), 

provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such 

a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for 

withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld; 

(4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and 

privileged or confidential; 

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by 

law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency; 

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a 

clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; 

(7)(A) Authorizes the withholding of "records or information compiled for law 

enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law enforcement 

records or information...could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement 

proceedings." 

(7)(B) Protects "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes (the 

disclosure of which) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial 

adjudication. 
26

(7)(C) Provides protection for personal information in law enforcement records the 

disclosure of which "could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy. 

(7)(D) Provides protection for "records or information compiled for law enforcement 

purposes which could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential 

source and information furnished by a confidential source. 

(7)(E) Provides protection to all law enforcement information which "would disclose 

techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would 

disclose guidelines for law enforcements investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure 

could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law." 

(7)(F) Permits the withholding of information necessary to protect the physical safety of 

"any individual" when disclosure of information about him "could reasonably be expected 

to endanger his life or physical safety." 

 

(8) Records contained in or related to examination, operation, or condition reports prepared 

by, on behalf of, or for the use of any agency responsible for regulation or supervision of 

financial institutions. 

 

F. Additional Stats: 

a. Time range of requests pending, by date of request (or, where applicable, by date of 

referral from another agency) 

DO Date of requests range from March 5, 1993 to present. 

TTB Date of requests range from June 13, 2006 to present. 

OCC Date of requests range from May 17, 2006 to present. 

BEP Date of requests range from September 18, 2006 to present. 

FMS Date of requests range from December 12, 2005 to present. 

IRS The dates of requests range from June 5, 2000 to present. 

MINT Date of request range from September 20, 2006 to present. 

BPD Date of requests range from September 20, 2006 to present. 

OTS 

Date of requests ranges from December 14, 2004 to present. 

TIGTA June 7, 2006 to present. 
27

b. Time range of consultations pending with other agencies, by date of initial 

interagency communication 

DO Not applicable. 

TTB Not applicable. 

OCC Not applicable. 

BEP Not applicable. 

FMS Not applicable. 

IRS Not applicable. 

MINT Not applicable. 

BPD Not applicable. 

OTS Not applicable. 

TIGTA Not applicable. 

FinCEN Not applicable. 

 

G. Improvement Plan attached. 

 http://www.treas.gov/foia/reading-room/foia-improvement-plan.pdf