United States Postal Service
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Report for Fiscal Year 2002
(October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002)
- Basic Information Regarding Report
Name, title, address, and telephone number of person to be contacted with questions about the report
Robert J. Faruq, Sr.
Manager, Records Office
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 5825
Washington, DC 20260-5825
Telephone (202) 268-2608Electronic address for report on the World Wide Web
http://www.usps.com/foia/annualreports/02foiarp.htm How to obtain a copy of this report in paper form
A hard copy of this report
may be obtained upon written request to:
Robert J. Faruq, Sr.
Manager, Records Office
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 5825
Washington, DC 20260-5825
Telephone (202) 268-2608
- How to Make a FOIA Request
A FOIA request for Postal Service records may be directed to the records
custodian who is the head of the facility where the records are maintained. For example,
if the requester knows the records are located at a particular post office, the postmaster
at that post office would be the records custodian. If the desired records are maintained
by a functional unit at Headquarters, the Vice President of that unit would be the records
custodian. If the requester does not know where the records are maintained, the request
should be directed to the Records Office at Postal Service
Headquarters in Washington, DC.
There is no
required form for submitting a request. A requester should simply write a letter,
indicating FOIA somewhere on the letter, and describe the records wanted. It is
also helpful to include the amount of processing fees for which the requester is willing
to accept liability. If estimated processing fees exceed that amount, the requester will
be notified in advance.
A request should describe, with as much detail as possible, the records being
requested. The description should be detailed enough to permit an agency employee familiar
with the subject matter to locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. A
reasonable description is required by the FOIA and helps ensure prompt retrieval of the
records of interest while minimizing processing costs to the requester.
Detailed information on submitting a FOIA request may be found in Publication 549, Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) Requests for Postal Service Records, a guide for obtaining
Postal Service records. (See FOIA web page for link.) Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA
requests
FOIA processing at the Postal Service is decentralized. As stated
above, a FOIA request should be sent directly to the records custodian of the records
being sought. This may be any one of 40,000 post offices or hundreds of administrative
offices could receive a FOIA request. However, if the requester does not know where
records are maintained, a request should be sent as follows:
Non-investigative records:
Robert J. Faruq, Sr.
Manager, Records Officer
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 5825
Washington, DC 20260-5825
Investigative records:
Lee Heath
Chief Postal Inspector
United States Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3100
Washington, DC 20260-2100
Brief description of the Postal
Service's response-time ranges
The Postal Service does not use multi-track processing. Due to
decentralized processing, most offices are able to respond to most requests within the
twenty working days time period set by the FOIA. Additional time may be needed if a
request involves a time consuming search or review or a voluminous amount of records. In
these instances, or in the unusual case of a backlog, the requester will be notified.
Brief description of why some requests are not granted
The Postal Service's policy is to make its official
records available to the public to the maximum extent consistent with the public interest.
A requester will receive copies of all responsive records or parts of records that are not
subject to one of the exemptions contained in the FOIA. Once the records custodian has
processed a request and any fee issues have been resolved, the requester will be sent a
written initial response with a determination of available records that may be disclosed.
The response letter will advise whether any information is being withheld pursuant to one
or more of the exemptions. When pages are being withheld in their entirety, the records
custodian either will specify the number of pages being withheld or will make a reasonable
effort to estimate the amount of the withheld information.
The exemptions in the FOIA authorize federal agencies to
withhold information covering: (1) classified national defense and foreign relations
information, (2) internal agency rules and practices, (3) information that is prohibited
from disclosure by another federal law, (4) trade secrets and other confidential business
information, (5) inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal
privileges, (6) information involving matters of personal privacy, (7) certain types of
information compiled for law enforcement purposes, (8) information relating to the
supervision of financial institutions, and (9) geological information on wells. Although
not legally obligated to do so, the records custodian may disclose exempt information as a
matter of administrative discretion if that disclosure is not prohibited by any law and
would not cause any foreseeable harm.
Exemptions 1), 8), and 9) are rarely, if ever, applicable to
Postal Service records.
- Definitions of Terms and Acronyms used in the Report
Agency-specific acronyms or other terms
USPS - United States Postal Service.
Records custodian - the head of a postal
facility such as an area office, district office, post office, or other postal
installation that maintains Postal Service records and information. Vice Presidents are
the custodians of records and information maintained at Headquarters. Custodians are
responsible for seeing that records within their facilities or organizations are managed
according to Postal Service policies.
Basic request - a request that required less
than two hours of resources to process.
Complicated request - a request that required
two hours or more of resources to process.
E-FOIA - the "Electronic Freedom of
Information Act Amendments of 1996, Public Law No. 104-231, 110 Stat. 3048," making
major revisions to the FOIA, including subsection (e) that pertains to the submission of
annual reports by federal agencies on their administration of the Act.
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.
Initial request - a request to a federal agency
for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act.
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 Freedom of Information Act, 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.
Multi-track processing - a system in which
simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and
more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in
each track are processed on a first-in, first-out basis. A requester who has an urgent
need for records may request expedited processing (see below). Note: The Postal Service
does not have a multi-track processing system since it usually does not have FOIA
backlogs.
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.
Simple request - a FOIA request that an agency
using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the
volume and/or simplicity of records requested. Note: The Postal Service does not have a
multi-track processing system since it does not usually have a backlog. However, in
calculating median processing time, it does distinguish between basic and complicated
requests. See III.A. above.
Complex request - a FOIA request that an agency
using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the volume and/or
complexity of records requested. Note: The Postal Service does not have a multi-track
processing system since it does not usually have a backlog. However, in calculating median
processing time, it does distinguish between basic and complicated requests. See III.A.
above.
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 of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in
their entireties 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 exempt under one or more of the
FOIA's exemptions.
Time limits - the time period in the Freedom of
Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days
from proper receipt of a perfected FOIA request).
Perfected request - a FOIA request for records
which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office
of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no
remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.
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.
- Exemption 3 Statutes
39
U.S.C. 410(c)(1) |
Records relating to names and addresses of
postal customers |
None |
39
U.S.C. 410(c)(2) |
Records relating to commercial information
that is proprietary to the Postal Service |
None |
39
U.S.C. 410(c)(3) |
Records relating to information prepared for
use in negotiating collective bargaining agreements |
None |
39
U.S.C. 410(c)(4) |
Records relating to information prepared for
use in Postal Rate Commission proceedings |
None |
39
U.S.C. 410(c)(6) |
Records relating to investigatory files |
None |
39
U.S.C. 412 |
Records containing lists of postal customers |
None |
- Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests
Numbers of Initial Requests
1. Number
of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year |
83 |
156 |
Not captured |
239 |
2.
Number of requests received during current fiscal year |
612 |
139 |
413 |
1164 |
3.
Number of requests processed during current fiscal year |
543 |
156 |
420 |
1119 |
4.
Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year |
152 |
139 |
Not captured |
291 |
Disposition of initial requests
1.
Number of total grants |
565 |
2.
Number of partial grants |
162 |
3.
Number of denials |
117 |
a. Number of times each FOIA
exemption used (counting each exemption once per request)
|
496 |
(1) Exemption 1-
|
3 |
(2) Exemption 2-
|
23 |
(3) Exemption 3-
|
74 |
(4) Exemption 4-
|
12 |
(5) Exemption 5-
|
45 |
(6) Exemption 6-
|
154 |
(7) Exemption 7(A)-
|
14 |
(8) Exemption 7(B)-
|
0 |
(9) Exemption 7(C)-
|
120 |
(10) Exemption 7(D)-
|
32 |
(11) Exemption 7(E)-
|
14 |
(12) Exemption 7(F)-
|
5 |
(13) Exemption 8-
|
0 |
(14) Exemption 9-
|
0 |
4.
Other reasons for nondisclosure |
275 |
a. No records
|
122 |
b. Referrals
|
8 |
c. Request withdrawn
|
3 |
d. Fee-related reason
|
26 |
e. Records not reasonably described
|
86 |
f. Not a proper FOIA request for some
other reason
|
2 |
g. Not an agency record
|
11 |
h. Duplicate request
|
14 |
i. Other
|
3 |
Incomplete authorization
|
2 |
Unable to locate requester
|
1 |
Referred to appeal process
|
0 |
- Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
Number of appeals
1. Number of
appeals received during fiscal year |
175 |
2. Number of
appeals processed during fiscal year |
193 |
Disposition of Appeals
1.
Number completely upheld |
104 |
2.
Number partially reversed |
2 |
3.
Number completely reversed |
13 |
- Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per appeal)
|
168 |
(1) Exemption 1-
|
0 |
(2) Exemption 2-
|
4 |
(3) Exemption 3-
|
41 |
(4) Exemption 4-
|
10 |
(5) Exemption 5-
|
35 |
(6) Exemption 6-
|
36 |
(7) Exemption 7(A)-
|
5 |
(8) Exemption 7(B)-
|
0 |
(9) Exemption 7(C)-
|
24 |
(10) Exemption 7(D)-
|
6 |
(11) Exemption 7(E)-
|
6 |
(12) Exemption 7(F)-
|
1 |
(13) Exemption 8-
|
0 |
(14) Exemption 9-
|
0 |
4.
Other reasons for nondisclosure |
74 |
a. No records exist
|
15 |
b. Referrals
|
11 |
c. Request withdrawn
|
12 |
d. Fee-related reason
|
3 |
e. Records not reasonably described
|
0 |
f. Not a proper FOIA request for some
other reason
|
15 |
g. Not an agency record
|
0 |
h. Duplicate request
|
5 |
i. Other:
|
13 |
Initial response pending
|
11 |
Out of time
|
2 |
* Includes backlog
from prior years
- Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
Median processing time for requests processed during the
year
Records Office
1.
Basic requests |
377 |
7 |
2.
Complicated requests |
166 |
24 |
3.
Requests accorded expedited processing |
0 |
N/A |
Inspection Services
1.
Basic requests |
70* |
75 |
2.
Complicated requests |
24* |
62 |
3.
Requests accorded expedited processing |
0 |
N/A |
Other Postal Locations
1.
Basic requests |
305 |
9 |
2.
Complicated requests |
107 |
21 |
3.
Requests accorded expedited processing |
8 |
13 |
Status of pending requests
1.
Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year |
152 |
139 |
Not captured |
2.
Median number of days such requests were pending as of that date |
153 |
Not captured |
Not captured |
- Comparisons with Previous Years
The number of requests received decreased 23.77% (1164 FY
2002, 1527 FY 2001).
The number of requests processed decreased 14.97% (1119 FY
2002, 1369 FY 2001).
The median number of days requests were pending as of the
end of the fiscal year decreased 12.06% (153 FY 2002, 174 FY 2001).
Number of expedited requests granted 8; 12 requests for expedited processing received.
* The numbers in this section and in section V do not add up because changes need to be made to the system. Changes will be made and numbers will add up in future reports
- Costs/FOIA Staffing
Staffing levels*
Number of full-time FOIA personnel - *5
Number of personnel with part-time FOIA duties - 5.5
work-years
Total number of personnel - 10.5 work-years
* Staff in main FOIA processing offices
Total costs (including staff and all resources)
FOIA processing including appeals $ 330,703
Estimated litigation-related activities $ 10,000
Total costs $ 340,703
- Fees
Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing
requests: - $ 87,196
Percentage of total costs: - 28.8%
- FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)
The Postal Service's release of information regulations in
support of the FOIA are found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/39cfr265_00.html.
The fee provisions are contained at section 265.9 of those
regulations. |