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DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY (TRE)
135 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; OUTSTANDING REQUESTS UP
TO 9 YEARS OLD
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Recordkeeping Issues - When the Archive sought to
assess the status of the FOIA request 19 business days after
it had been transmitted, TRE informed the Archive that
it does not start the clock on its processing time for FOIA
requests until it acknowledges the request. The request
was then acknowledged on March 26, 2003, 34 business days
after it had been submitted. TRE advised that it could not
distinguish whether a request was pending coordination with
another agency or if it was limited to action within TRE.
On April 22, 2003, the Archive limited the request to those
pending completion at TRE without the need for coordination
to other agencies. |
Ten Oldest - TRE responded approximately 135 business
days after the request was made; it reported ten FOIA requests
ranging from December 9, 1994 to May 24, 1995. The requests
concerned records related to wine label rulemaking that imposed
limitations to prevent the impression that the wine is a distilled
spirits product, records of communications in 1993 between
Roger Altman and Harold Ickes, records from the Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding the handling of attorney
Monroe Leigh's FOIA requests concerning the Texaco/Haiti matter,
records relating to official government trips to the People's
Republic of China by Secretary Michael Blumenthal and Secretary
Donald Regan, records in connection with the meeting of the
Joint U.S.-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs held
in Tokyo on July 15-17, 1973, records from the Office of Foreign
Assets Control regarding work by former OFAC employee Frankie
Foer concerning the Texaco/Haiti matter, records in connection
with the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe to
Washington, D.C. on January 27-28, 1984, records generated
or received in connection with the White House Security Review
led by Ronald Noble, application to and licenses from OFAC
for subsidiary trade and/or sales of medicine, pharmaceuticals
and medical supplies to Cuba from 1990-1992, and records regarding
the system used to give credit ratings and related materials
for Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. |
Workload Statistics - TRE's reported statistics from
1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency has received a
varying number of FOIA requests with a decrease in 2002 (down
18.60% from 57,589 in 1998 to 46,879 in 2002). The number
processed each year also has varied and ultimately decreased
(down 14.90% from 56,184 processed in 1998 to 47,812 processed
in 2002). TRE's processing rate per year -- a comparison of
the number of requests processed to the number received -
increased from 97.56% in 1998 to 101.99% in 2002. |
Backlog Statistics - TRE's backlog of pending FOIA
requests has varied over the years, but ultimately increased
since 1998 (from 7014 FOIA requests pending at the end of
1998 to 7681 FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002). TRE's
backlog as a percentage of FOIA requests processed each year
has increased from 12.48% in 1998 to 16.07% in 2002. Its backlog
rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests pending
at the end of the year to the number received during that
year -- has increased from 11.53% in 1998 to 16.38% in 2002.
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Processing Time - Under its multi track system, TRE
reports its median days to process simple requests has ranged
from 1-22 days over the 1998-2002 period. TRE reports its
median days to process complex requests has ranged from 5-1000
days over the 1998-2002 period. The median days that backlogged
requests have been pending ranges from 1-545 days for 2002.
Expedited requests have a median processing time range of
3-20 days over the 1998-2001 time period, with a range of
1-78 reported for 2002. |
TEN
OLDEST REQUESTS
Treasury
Response Letter
Treasury December
9, 1994 Letter
Treasury December
23, 1994 Letter
Treasury
March 8, 1995 (1) Letter
Treasury
March 8, 1995 (2) Letter
Treasury March
30, 1995 Letter
Treasury April
5, 1995 Letter
Treasury April
12, 1995 Letter
Treasury April
17, 1995 Letter
Treasury May 2, 1995 Letter
Treasury May 25, 1995 Letter
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