Freedom of Information Act:

DHS Has Taken Steps to Enhance Its Program, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness

GAO-09-260, Mar 20, 2009

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The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires federal agencies to generally provide the public with access to government information. In December 2005, the President issued Executive Order 13392, to improve agencies' FOIA processing. The order required each agency to review its operations and develop plans for improvement. Since its establishment, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accounted for a major and increasing portion of pending FOIA requests governmentwide. While it has reported achieving a notable reduction since 2006, DHS still possesses the largest backlog of overdue requests in the government. GAO was asked to determine (1) what key steps DHS has taken to enhance its FOIA program, and (2) what opportunities exist to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of FOIA operations across the department. To do this, GAO reviewed DHS's improvement plan; examined policies, procedures, and other documentation; and interviewed agency officials.

DHS has taken steps to enhance its FOIA program. DHS developed an improvement plan that focused on eliminating its backlog of overdue requests, implementing enhanced training requirements, and deploying more advanced technology. Further, the DHS Privacy Office has initiated actions to ensure policy compliance and provide oversight of FOIA operations throughout the department's component agencies, including developing a departmentwide handbook, monitoring monthly data processing statistics, and instituting relevant training for employees. As a result, DHS has reported reducing its backlog by about 24 percent since implementing its plan. However, opportunities exist for DHS to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of FOIA processing across the department. Specifically, implementation of the following practices could facilitate the processing of information requests at a number of its major components: (1) Internal monitoring and oversight. Establishing mechanisms for monitoring and oversight of processing efficiency may help reduce the backlog of open requests. (2) Component-specific training. Component-specific training could enhance the efficiency of processing within component agencies. (3) Online status-checking services. Providing requesters with online access to information concerning the status of their requests could contribute to better customer service and higher staff productivity. (4) Electronic dissemination of records. Releasing records in an electronic format could provide cost savings and increase efficiency. (5) Electronic redaction. By adopting electronic redaction more broadly, DHS may be able to reduce the staff time otherwise spent manually redacting records, while also improving the consistency of its responses to requests. By implementing these practices--which are already being used by certain DHS components and other agencies--across major DHS components, the department could further reduce its backlog, increase efficiency, improve customer service, and respond to information requests in a more timely fashion

Status Legend:

More Info
  • Review Pending-GAO has not yet assessed implementation status.
  • Open-Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned, or actions that partially satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
  • Closed-implemented-Actions that satisfy the intent of the recommendation have been taken.
  • Closed-not implemented-While the intent of the recommendation has not been satisfied, time or circumstances have rendered the recommendation invalid.
    • Review Pending
    • Open
    • Closed - implemented
    • Closed - not implemented

    Recommendations for Executive Action

    Recommendation: To help improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the department's FOIA program, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FOIA Officers at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, United States Secret Service, and United States Coast Guard to consider establishing a policy of primarily disseminating records to requesters in an electronic format when large numbers of pages are involved.

    Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security

    Status: Open

    Comments: CBP: The CBP FOIA Division stated that it now automatically provides electronic responses to FOIA requests when large numbers of pages are involved, unless the requester indicates a preference for another format. On April 6, 2009, CBP updated its acknowledgement letters to inform FOIA requesters of this change. Coast Guard: The USCG stated that it will change their FOIA manual to instruct processors that when practicable for USCG and acceptable to the requester, the USCG will provide responsive records for large-volume requests via an electronic format. USSS: USSS stated that going forward, for requests where it is cost-effective for the USSS to provide an electronic response, it will immediately adopt it as its default release medium.

    Recommendation: To help improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the department's FOIA program, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FOIA Officers at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, United States Coast Guard, and United States Secret Service to consider providing requesters with an online mechanism to obtain information about the status of their requests.

    Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security

    Status: Open

    Comments: CBP: CBP stated that its application to establish an electronic FOIA processing system has been accepted by DHS' Efficiency Review Steering Committee and that it will incorporate the ability to check request status online by December 31, 2009. FEMA: The FEMA ORM stated that it has has contacted the FEMA Chief Information Officer to determine the feasibility of implementing a web-based online status tool to be used with FEMA's FOIA tracking system that will enable requesters to obtain information regarding the status of their requests. TSA: TSA stated that it estimates its online status check feature for requesters will be available on its FOIA CMS by the end of FY 2009. Coast Guard: The USCG stated it is evaluating potential enhancements to its current electronic FOIA system used at Headquarters that would enable public access for request tracking and is currently conducting market research regarding associated costs and configurations in support of this goal. USSS: The USSS stated its' website is a content-only site, and hosts no interactive applications. It also stated that the FOIA Program has consulted with the USSS Applications Branch to discuss creating an interactive capability.

    Recommendation: To help improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the department's FOIA program, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FOIA Officers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and United States Secret Service to consider developing and implementing specialized training programs for their staff.

    Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security

    Status: Open

    Comments: FEMA: A FEMA Office of Records Management (ORM) official stated the office was planning to conduct Agency-wide training where each employee will be required to complete a block of instruction covering the need to reduce outstanding FOIA requests and the methodology to be used to do so efficiently. In addition to this planned training, the ORM has conducted a two-hour Records Management overview training presented to FEMA FOIA Points of Contact for Records Management and FOIA employees agency-wide, which covered specific responsibilities and actions needed to comply with FOIA requirements. USSS: The United States Secret Service (USSS) FOIA Program reported it provides periodic on-the-job training that covers the processing of information pertaining to the Service's unique mission and covers processing law enforcement sensitive information, to include the Service's protective methodologies and unique investigative techniques. It also stated efforts were underway to customize a formal FOIA training program, which is projected to be completed no later than December 31, 2009.

    Recommendation: To help improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the department's FOIA program, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FOIA Officers at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and United States Coast Guard to consider establishing monitoring and oversight mechanisms to help reduce the backlog of overdue requests.

    Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security

    Status: Open

    Comments: CBP: Customs and Border Protection stated it has established monitoring and oversight mechanisms and has reduced the backlog of overdue requests by 86 percent from 2,198 to 293. Some of the oversight mechanisms CBP described were: the Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade, where CBP's FOIA Division resides, issues weekly status reports to each CBP Assistant Commissioner who has outstanding FOIA requests; the CBP FOIA Division continues to monitor and report on the outstanding FOIA requests to ensure that offices with responsive records adequately prioritize the outstanding requests; and weekly reporting from the FOIA Division to the Executive Director, Commercial Targeting and Enforcement to allow for constant monitoring of CBP's responsiveness to FOIA requests. FEMA: FEMA's Office of Records Management (ORM) stated it is currently reviewing its pending FOIA cases in an effort to assign program office responsibilities and is developing a reporting tool-the FEMA FOIA Scorecard-that will provide appropriate accountability within FEMA. TSA: Transportation Security Administration (TSA) stated that it initiated a process review in January, which is currently still underway. Specific process improvements thus far include weekly staff meetings, updating the FOIA Case Management System (CMS) software, and utilization of DHS model correspondence. Coast Guard: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) stated it recently increased its efforts to monitor and track FOIA requests for the purpose of reducing the backlog by requesting that field-unit level units send daily reports of FOIA requests received to the Headquarters FOIA staff. Further, when no indication of closure is received within 15 days, Headquarters FOIA staff issue a reminder notification to the unit's command requesting the status of the request. If the request remains open on the 20th day, Headquarters staff send a notification to senior Headquarters command for potential intervention.

    Recommendation: To help improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the department's FOIA program, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the FOIA Officers at the Transportation Security Administration and United States Coast Guard to consider expanding the use of electronic redaction when processing requests.

    Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security

    Status: Open

    Comments: TSA: TSA stated that it has acquired commercial software, which will allow for electronic redaction, and has rolled it out to all processors. It provided formal training that was completed in the last week of May 2009. USCG: The USCG stated it was conducting research to determine which software is best suited to improve its redaction capability.