My first task on the FOIA Audit was to trackdown the nineteen agencies which had not responded to our requests and try to coax out a response (or at least find out what the hold up was).
It turns out that a couple of agencies weren’t to blame for the delays, as we sent some requests to outdated or incorrect fax numbers. But the remaining delays were all due to agency mistakes and backlogs. The Department of Agriculture and the American Battlefield Monuments Commission had no record of our requests, even though they confirmed that we had sent them through the correct channels. Both were happy to accept another copy of our requests through e-mail. One agency – the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission – just plumb forgot to send us their response to our request, but they apologized and responded after my call. According to the date on the response letter, they had completed the request just two days after we filed it. But didn’t send it out for five whole months.
I had trouble getting status updates on our requests from two agencies – the Legal Services Corporation and the Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency. Although I left a several voicemail messages with the FOIA staff at each agency, they have yet to return my calls.
But most agencies I was able to get in touch with had the same response – “We’re working on it.” A few agencies estimated that they would be finished processing our requests in a week or two, but they weren’t able to stick to their estimates. Most agencies – including the Selective Service System – had no idea when we could expect a response. As of late January, the Department of State still hadn’t even assigned our request to a FOIA agent.
Although some agencies were less than helpful, and despite some inefficiencies, the clearest thing I learned while conducting the audit was how kind and eager to help most FOIA staff were once I got in touch with them. During our conversations, their desire to help provide the public with information was clear. Agencies’ FOIA staff are a great resource for FOIA requesters.
