2000 FOIA Annual Report
I. Basic Information Regarding Report
A.
Questions about this report should be directed to:
Marylea W. Byrd
Assistant General Counsel
Freedom of Information Act Division
Office of General Counsel, Room 10248
451 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410
(202) 708-3866
B. The
World Wide Web address to obtain an electronic copy of the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) report is www.hud.gov.
C. A paper copy of the report can be obtained by submitting a request
to:
The
Assistant General Counsel
Freedom of Information Act Division
451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 10248
Washington, DC 20410.
D. During
the preparation of this Report we identified serious errors in the
way that data had been reported in previous reports. These errors
were the result of problems with the way that information had been
collected and mistakes made in the electronic record keeping. This
resulted in an over-reporting of the number of open FOIA requests
and an under reporting of staffing levels and costs. We have attempted
to correct the data to accurately reflect the information for FY2000
and have taken steps in insure that accurate information will be
compiled and reported in future annual reports.
II. How to Make a FOIA Request.
A.
A FOIA request may be submitted to HUD Headquarters through the
Department of Housing and Urban Development's website. The
address is www.hud.gov.
You may also submit a FOIA request to Headquarters at the above
listed address. A FOIA request may be submitted to any of the HUD
Field Offices by submitting it to that office to the attention of
the FOIA Liaison for that office.
B. The Department's response time ranges from 20 days to eighteen
months due primarily to a backlog of pending FOIA requests.
C. A request for records may not be granted because (1) an assurance
to pay fees incurred to process a request was not provided; (2)
the request does not reasonably describe the records sought; or
(3) the information requested is exempt from disclosure and a foreseeable
harm has been identified in accordance with the Attorney General's
Memorandum for Heads of Departments and Agencies regarding the Freedom
of Information Act, October 4, 1993, to permit withholding of the
information.
III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report.
A.
Agency-specific acronyms or other terms are as follows.
HUD
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
B.
Basic terms expressed in common terminology.
- 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).
-
Initial Request - a request to a federal agency for access
to records under the FOIA.
-
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 FOIA, or any other FOIA
determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Routine/Simple request - a FOIA request that is processed
based on the simplicity of records requested.
-
Complex request - a FOIA request that is processed based on
the volume and/or complexity of records requested.
- Grant
- an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response
to a FOIA request.
-
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 FOIA exemptions; or a decision
to disclose some records in their entirety, but to withhold
others in whole or in part.
-
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
exempted under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or for
some procedural reason.
-
No Documents - no records are located in response to a FOIA
request.
-
Time limits - the time period for an agency to respond to
a FOIA request, is ordinarily 20 working days from the receipt
of the FOIA request.
-
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).
-
Median number - the middle, not average, number. For example,
of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
-
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
A.
List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by HUD during the current
fiscal year with a brief description of the type of information
withheld.
001:
Pub. L. 101-235, Section 103, HUD Reform Act of 1989:
Prohibition of advance disclosure of funding decision.
002:
42 USC § 3601(a), Fair Housing Enforcement:
Person aggrieved; complaint; copy; investigations; informal proceedings;
violation of secrecy; penalties.
003:
25 USC § 6103(a), Tax Reform Act of 1976:
Confidentiality and Disclosure of Tax Returns and Return Information.
004:
Rule 6(e)(2), Federal Rules for Criminal Procedures:
General Rule of Secrecy of Grand Jury Proceedings.
007:
48 CFR Part 15.1001(c)(v), Federal Acquisition Regulations:
Post award notices to unsuccessful offerors.
011:
Section 821, Pub. L. 104-201, National Defense Authorization Act.
B.
Statutes Invoked Pursuant to Exemption 3.
| Statute
Invoked |
Times
Invoked |
| 001 |
1 |
| 002 |
9 |
| 003 |
2 |
| 004 |
3 |
| 007 |
1 |
| 011 |
11 |
C.
There were no court challenges to the agency's determination to
invoke Exemption 3 during the fiscal year.
V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Request.
A.
Number of initial requests.
1.
Number of requests pending as of the end of the preceding fiscal
year As shown on the FY 1999 Annual Report: 4,453
a. Cases closed prior to this Fiscal Year previously shown open:
3,961
b. Requests actually pending at the end of the preceding fiscal
year: 492
2.
Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 3,408
3.
Number of requests processed during current fiscal year: 2,878
4.
Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year:
1,022
B.
Disposition of initial requests.
1.
Number of total grants: 1,412
2. Number of partial/full denials: 473
3. Other reasons: 993
a.
Number of times each FOIA exemption used.
| Exemption
invoked |
Number
of times invoked |
| 1 |
0 |
| 2 |
14 |
| 3 |
27 |
| 4 |
135 |
| 5 |
179 |
| 6 |
211 |
| 7a |
39 |
| 7b |
4 |
| 7c |
29 |
| 7d |
3 |
| 7e |
3 |
| 7f |
1 |
| 8 |
4 |
b. Other reasons: 993
| Reason |
Number
of times invoked |
| Request
withdrawn |
295 |
| No
records |
317 |
| Miscellaneous
(fee related, not a proper FOIA request, duplicate) |
381 |
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Request.
A.
Number of appeals received during this fiscal year: 52
B.
Disposition of appeals.
1.
Number of appeals affirmed: 32
2. Number of appeals reversed: 2
3. Number of appeals affirmed in part/reversed in part: 6
4. Number of appeals dismissed/moot: 12
C.
Number of times each FOIA exemption used.
| Exemption
Invoked |
Number
of times invoked |
| 1 |
0 |
| 2 |
0 |
| 3 |
1 |
| 4 |
19 |
| 5 |
14 |
| 6 |
17 |
| 7a |
0 |
| 7b |
0 |
| 7c |
0 |
| 7d |
0 |
| 7e |
0 |
| 7f |
0 |
| 8 |
0 |
| 9 |
0 |
VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests.
A.
Median number of days to process different type of requests: 43
days
B.
Status of pending requests.
1.
Number of requests pending as of the end of current fiscal year:
530
2.
Median number of days that such requests were pending as of
9/30/00: 262 days
VIII. Comparisons with Previous Year(s).
A.
Comparison of numbers of requests received.
| Year |
Requests
received |
| 1995 |
7374 |
| 1996 |
6359 |
| 1997 |
3698 |
| 1998 |
3354 |
| 1999 |
3607 |
| 2000 |
3408 |
B.
Comparison of numbers of requests processed.
| Year |
Requests
processed |
| 1995 |
6322 |
| 1996 |
5488 |
| 1997 |
3250 |
| 1998 |
2827 |
| 1999 |
3513 |
| 2000 |
2878 |
IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing.
A.
Staffing levels.
- Number of FTEs of non-attorneys processing FOIA requests:
29
- Number of FTEs of attorneys involved in processing FOIA
requests: 11
- TOTAL FTEs: 40
B.
Total costs (including staff and all resources).
1.
FOIA processing (including appeals): $1,645,000.
2. Litigation-related activities (estimated): 546,000.
3. Total costs: $2,191,000.
X. Fees
A.
Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing requests:
$29,793.90
B.
Total amount of fees billed by agency for processing requests:
$38,086.00
XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule).
The
World Wide Web internet address to obtain the Department of Housing
and Urban Development FOIA Regulation is as follows: www.hud.gov.
XII. Initial FOIA/Inspector General Request.
A.
Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 151
B.
Disposition of initial requests.
1.
Number of total grants: 48
2.
Number of Privacy Act issued combined with FOIA: 2
3.
Number of denials/partial grants: 85
| Exemption
invoked |
Number
of times invoked |
| 1 |
0 |
| 2 |
0 |
| 3 |
1 |
| 4 |
2 |
| 5 |
15 |
| 6 |
33 |
| 7a |
25 |
| 7b |
1 |
| 7c |
23 |
| 7d |
1 |
| 7e |
2 |
| 7f |
1 |
| 8 |
0 |
| 9 |
0 |
C.
Statutes invoked pursuant to Exemption 3.
Rule
6(e) of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure "security of Grand
Jury Proceedings": 1
D.
Other reasons.
1.
Withdrawn: 2
2. No records: 16
XIII. Appeals of Initial Denials FOIA/Inspector General Request.
A.
Number of appeals received during this fiscal year: 7
B.
Disposition of Appeals.
1.
Number of appeals granted in full: 1
2. Number of appeals denied in full: 2
3. Number of appeals denied in part: 2
4. Number of appeals-no responsive documents: 2
C.
Authority relied on for total or partial denials on appeal.
| Exemption
invoked |
Number
of times invoked |
| 1 |
0 |
| 2 |
0 |
| 3 |
0 |
| 4 |
0 |
| 5 |
0 |
| 6 |
1 |
| 7a |
1 |
| 7b |
0 |
| 7c |
1 |
| 7d |
1 |
| 7e |
0 |
| 7f |
0 |
| 8 |
0 |
| 9 |
0 |
D.
Number of fee waiver reduction requests appeals: 0
E.
Total amount of fees collected for making records for the current
fiscal year: $2,066.95
F.
Total amount of fees billed for making records for the current
fiscal year: $2,476.75
G.
Fee waivers requested/granted (6) $753.59
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