Any  member of the public may request access to information held by federal  agencies, without showing a need or reason for seeking the information. Justice also worked with agencies to improve the quality of  data in FOIA annual reports. For example, the public continued to submit more requests for information  from the federal government through FOIA, but many agencies, despite  increasing the numbers of requests processed, did not keep pace with this  increased volume. As a result, the number of pending requests carried over  from year to year has been steadily increasing. However, our ability to  make generalizations about processing time is limited by the type of  statistic reported (that is, the median). Our ability to make further generalizations about FOIA processing times is  limited by the fact that, as required by the act, agencies report median  processing times only and not, for example, arithmetic means (the usual  meaning of “average” in everyday language). Agency Improvement Plans Generally Included Areas of Improvement Emphasized by the Executive Order

As required by the Executive Order, all the 25 agencies submitted  improvement plans based on the results of reviews of their respective FOIA  operations, as well as on the areas emphasized by the order. In some cases, agencies did not set goals for a given  area because they determined that they were already strong in that area. All agency plans discussed avoiding or reducing backlog, and most (22 out  of 25) established measurable goals and timetables for this area of focus. Most Agencies Plan to Increase Public Dissemination of Records through Web Sites

The Executive Order calls for “increased reliance on the dissemination of  records that can be made available to the public” without the necessity of a  FOIA request, such as through posting on Web sites. Medians are useful as representative numbers that  are not skewed by a few outliers, but the addition of averages (arithmetic  means) and ranges would enhance the ability to make useful comparisons  and provide a more complete picture. The 25 agencies submitted  FOIA improvement plans that generally responded to elements emphasized  by the Executive Order and form a reasonable basis for carrying out the  order’s goals. To ensure that its plan includes an appropriate focus on communicating  with requesters and the public, we recommend that the Secretary of the  Treasury direct the department’s Chief FOIA Officer to review its FOIA  operations in the other areas emphasized in the Executive Order  (increasing reliance on public dissemination of records, improving  communications with FOIA requesters about the status of their requests,  and increasing public awareness of FOIA processing) and, as appropriate,  revise the improvement plan for fiscal year 2007 to include goals and  milestones in these areas. EPA and NSF offered additional information about their FOIA  operations. Scope and Methodology

To gauge agencies’ progress in processing requests, we analyzed the  workload data (from fiscal year 2002 through 2005) included in the 25  agencies’ annual FOIA reports to assess trends in volume of requests  received and processed, median processing times, and the number of  pending cases. All agency workload data were self-reported in annual  reports submitted to the Attorney General. = number of requests processed; Days = median days to process; ± =

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Why GAO Did This Study

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes that federal agencies must provide access to their information, enabling the public to learn about government operations and decisions. To help ensure proper implementation, the act requires that agencies report annually to the Attorney General, giving specific information about their FOIA operations, such as numbers of requests received and processed and median processing times. Also, a recent Executive Order directs agencies to develop plans to improve FOIA operations, including decreasing backlog. For this study, GAO was asked to examine the status and trends of FOIA processing at 25 major agencies as reflected in annual reports, as well as the extent to which improvement plans contain the elements emphasized by the Executive Order. To do so, GAO analyzed the 25 agencies' annual reports and improvement plans.

What GAO Found

Based on data in annual reports from 2002 to 2005, the public continued to submit more requests for information from the federal government through FOIA. Despite increasing the numbers of requests processed, many agencies did not keep pace with the volume of requests that they received. As a result, the number of pending requests carried over from year to year has been steadily increasing. Agency reports also show great variations in the median times to process requests (less than 10 days for some agency components to more than 100 days at others). However, the ability to determine trends in processing times is limited by the form in which these times are reported: that is, in medians only, without averages (that is, arithmetical means) or ranges. Although medians have the advantage of providing representative numbers that are not skewed by a few outliers, it is not statistically possible to combine several medians to develop broader generalizations (as can be done with arithmetical means). This limitation on aggregating data impedes the development of broader pictures of FOIA operations, which could be useful in monitoring efforts to improve processing and reduce the increasing backlog of requests, as intended by the Executive Order. The improvement plans submitted by the 25 agencies mostly included goals and timetables addressing the four areas of improvement emphasized by the Executive Order: eliminating or reducing any backlog of FOIA requests; increasing reliance on dissemination of records that can be made available to the public without the need for a FOIA request, such as through posting on Web sites; improving communications with requesters about the status of their requests; and increasing public awareness of FOIA processing. Most of the plans (20 of 25) provided goals and timetables in all four areas; some agencies omitted goals in areas where they considered they were already strong. Although details of a few plans could be improved, all the plans focus on making measurable improvements and form a reasonable basis for carrying out the goals of the Executive Order.