Freedom of Information Act:
State Department Request Processing
GGD-89-23: Published: Jan 23, 1989. Publicly Released: Mar 8, 1989.
Additional Materials:
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In response to a congressional request, GAO examined the Department of State's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request processing operations.
GAO found that State: (1) received 7,567 FOIA requests from 1985 through 1987; (2) took longer than 6 months to complete three-fourths of the requests; (3) reported a backlog of 3,700 requests; (4) recognized that its limited staff could not keep up with the work load and hired temporary employees, which helped reduce its backlog by over 50 percent; and (5) administratively closed 220 requests in a 1986 effort to reduce its backlog, but resumed processing the cases in 1988. GAO also found that: (1) although document search and retrieval frequently took less than an hour of actual staff time, 40 or more days often elapsed before reviewers actually completed requests due to limited staff and insufficient management controls; and (2) State took management initiatives to establish accountability in its review process, scheduled reviewers to provide greater work continuity, and created a performance rating system to evaluate reviewers.
Feb 11, 2021
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Freedom of Information Act:
Update on Federal Agencies' Use of Exemption StatutesGAO-21-148: Published: Jan 12, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Oct 8, 2020
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Open Data:
Agencies Need Guidance to Establish Comprehensive Data Inventories; Information on Their Progress is LimitedGAO-21-29: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 8, 2020.
Jul 16, 2020
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Coast Guard:
Actions Needed to Ensure Investments in Key Data System Meet Mission and User NeedsGAO-20-562: Published: Jul 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2020.
Mar 30, 2020
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Information Management:
Selected Agencies Need to Fully Address Federal Electronic Recordkeeping RequirementsGAO-20-59: Published: Feb 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 30, 2020.
Mar 16, 2020
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Freedom of Information Act:
Federal Agencies' Recent Implementation EffortsGAO-20-406R: Published: Mar 11, 2020. Publicly Released: Mar 16, 2020.
Dec 16, 2019
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Assessing Data Reliability (Supersedes GAO-09-680G)GAO-20-283G: Published: Dec 16, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2019.
Oct 17, 2019
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Freedom of Information Act:
DHS Needs to Reduce Backlogged Requests and Eliminate Duplicate ProcessingGAO-20-209T: Published: Oct 17, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 17, 2019.
Aug 10, 2018
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Paperwork Reduction Act:
Agencies Could Better Leverage Review Processes and Public Outreach to Improve Burden EstimatesGAO-18-381: Published: Jul 11, 2018. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2018.
Jun 25, 2018
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Freedom of Information Act:
Agencies Are Implementing Requirements but Additional Actions Are NeededGAO-18-365: Published: Jun 25, 2018. Publicly Released: Jun 25, 2018.
Mar 13, 2018
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Freedom of Information Act:
Agencies Are Implementing Requirements but Need to Take Additional ActionsGAO-18-452T: Published: Mar 13, 2018. Publicly Released: Mar 13, 2018.
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