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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) 21 DAYS TO RESPOND TO ARCHIVE; OUTSTANDING REQUESTS AS OLD AS 3 YEARS

Recordkeeping Issues - FEMA initiated telephone contact with the Archive to clarify request and advised that staff shortages could lead to some delay in processing.

Ten Oldest - FEMA responded approximately 21 business days after the request was made; it reported ten FOIA requests ranging from September 24, 2000 to October 10, 2000. The requests included several relating to what appears to be wrongful discharge or employment discrimination litigation against the agency; these include requests for materials used to prepare an Office of Inspector General Response to an inquiry, materials and communications concerning correspondence to an individual that concerned that individual, psychological and psychiatric evaluations of the individual, as well as information about a variety of positions with the agency and the employment history of other individuals.

Workload Statistics - FEMA's reported statistics from 1998 through 2002 indicate that the agency has received a variable number of FOIA requests from a high of 655 in 2001 to a low of 230 in 2000 (up 26.09% from 289 in 1998 to 377 in 2002). The number processed each year also has varied from a high of 498 in 2001 to a low of 196 in 2000 (up 13.57% from 280 processed in 1998 to 318 processed in 2002). FEMA's processing rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests processed to the number received -- decreased from 96.89% in 1998 to 84.35% in 2002.

Backlog Statistics - FEMA's backlog of pending FOIA requests has increased (from 38 FOIA requests pending at the end of 1998 to 250 FOIA requests pending at the end of 2002). FEMA's backlog as a percentage of FOIA requests processed each year has increased from 13.57% in 1998 to 78.62% in 2002. Its backlog rate per year -- a comparison of the number of requests pending at the end of the year to the number received during that year -- has increased from 12.46% in 1998 to 66.31% in 2002.

Processing Time - While its median days to process has ranged from 35-107 days over the 1998-2002 period, the median days that backlogged requests have been pending has increased from 71 to 205 days over that period. No processing times are reported for expedited requests.

 

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

FEMA Response Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (1) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (2) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (3) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (4) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (5) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (6) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (7) Letter

FEMA September 24, 2000 (8) Letter

FEMA October 10, 2000 (1) Letter

FEMA October 10, 2000 (2) Letter