1. Home
  2. FOIA
  3. FOIA Service Center

FOIA

2023 Chief FOIA Officer Report

Margaret McCloskey Shanks, Deputy Secretary and Chief FOIA Officer for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), hereby submits the Chief FOIA Officer Report on behalf of the Board.

Section I: FOIA Leadership and Applying the Presumption of Openness

The guiding principle underlying the Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness. The Guidelines also highlight the importance of agency leadership in ensuring effective FOIA administration.

Please answer the following questions about FOIA leadership at your agency and describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the FOIA.

A. Leadership Support for FOIA

1. The FOIA requires each agency to designate a Chief FOIA Officer who is a senior official at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(j)(1) (2018). Is your agency's Chief FOIA Officer at or above this level?

Yes

2. Please provide the name and title of your agency's Chief FOIA Officer.

Margaret McCloskey Shanks, Deputy Secretary of the Board

3. What steps has your agency taken to incorporate FOIA into its core mission? For example, has your agency incorporated FOIA milestones into its strategic plan?

The Board's Strategic Plan 2020-23 emphasizes the Board's commitment to expanding and enhancing platforms that inform, educate, and engage the public. The plan notes that promoting broader and improved communication and outreach efforts increase transparency and understanding of the Board's mission, policy rationales, and decision-making processes. In addition, the Board's Annual Performance Plan 2022 states that enhancing public access to information through compliance with FOIA is one way the Board increases transparency efforts.

B. Presumption of Openness

4. The Attorney General's 2022 FOIA Guidelines provides that "agencies should confirm in response letters to FOIA requesters that they have considered the foreseeable harm standard when reviewing records and applying FOIA exemptions." Does your agency provide such confirmation in its response letters?

Yes, the Board confirms in response letters to FOIA requesters that the foreseeable harm standard was considered when reviewing records and applying FOIA exemptions.

5. In some circumstances, agencies may respond to a requester that it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of requested records if acknowledging the existence of records would harm an interest protected by a FOIA exemption. This is commonly referred to as a Glomar response. With respect to these responses, please answer the below questions:

a) In addition to tracking the asserted exemption, does your agency specifically track whether a request involved a Glomar response?

No, the Board does not specifically track whether a request involved a Glomar response. Nonetheless, the Board has not issued a Glomar response during this reporting period.

b) If yes, please provide:

i. the number of times your agency issued a full or partial Glomar response (separate full and partial if possible);

ii. the number of times a Glomar response was issued by exemption (e.g., Exemption 7(C) - 20 times, Exemption 1 – 5 times).

N/A

c) If your agency does not track the use of Glomar responses, what would your agency need to do to track in the future? If possible, please describe the resources and time involved.

The Board's commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) FOIA case management system does not have the ability to search specifically for Glomar responses because that metric is not captured when closing a request. In order to track Glomar responses, the system's vendor would have to add that metric to a new version of the software that could be installed into the Board's case management system or the Board would have to develop a manual tracking process.

6. Optional -- If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied, please describe them here.

The Board has dedicated significant resources to promoting transparency and openness by providing important information in a variety of manners that is easily accessible to the public and that accommodates different user preferences. The Board has taken initiatives to further the presumption of openness, such as updating and redesigning webpages and engaging with members of the public on social media platforms. See responses to questions in Section III of this report for more specific examples.

Section II: Ensuring Fair and Effective FOIA Administration

A. FOIA Training

1. The FOIA directs agency Chief FOIA Officers to ensure that FOIA training is offered to agency personnel. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(j)(2)(F). Please describe the efforts your agency has undertaken to ensure proper FOIA training is made available and used by agency personnel.

The Board incorporated the Office of Information Policy's (OIP) FOIA training modules into the Board's internal training application, which is accessible by all Board staff. Employees with responsibility for administering the FOIA must meet specific performance standards, which include taking substantive FOIA training and require demonstrating appropriate subject matter expertise.

2. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend substantive FOIA training during the reporting period such as that provided by the Department of Justice?

Yes

3. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the topics covered.

Board FOIA professionals attended virtual training provided by OIP on the following topics:

  • Continuing FOIA Education – discussed current legal and policy developments impacting FOIA administration and an overview of recent FOIA court decisions;
  • Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Workshop – provided overview of exemption requirements and processes;
  • Advanced FOIA Training – discussed topics in FOIA administration including privacy considerations and procedural requirements;
  • Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training – gave an overview of Executive Order 13526 and the withholding of classified national security information and an overview of withholding law enforcement records;
  • Privacy Considerations Training – discussed the interface between the FOIA and the Privacy Act and an overview of Exemptions 6 and 7(C); and
  • Processing from Start to Finish Workshop – discussed the process of a FOIA request from receipt of the agency to final response to the requester.

Board FOIA professionals also attended the following programs provided by the American Society of Access Professionals:

  • 15th Annual National Training Conference – provided information and guidance on numerous FOIA topics, including commonly used FOIA exemptions, the Privacy Act and related privacy issues, records management and searches, and hot topic panel discussions;
  • FOIA and Privacy Interface – discussed the complex relationship between the Privacy Act and FOIA, recognizing the issues affected by both Acts and when to apply the statutes; and
  • FOIA Procedural Overview – discussed the key procedural elements of the FOIA and a summary of its exemptions.

4. Please provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period.

All (100 percent) of the Board's FOIA professionals with responsibility for administering the Board's FOIA program attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period.

5. OIP has directed agencies to "take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend substantive FOIA training at least once throughout the year." If your response to the previous question is that less than 80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your agency's plan to ensure that all FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training during the next reporting year.

N/A

6. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their obligations under the FOIA. In particular, please describe how often and in what formats your agency provides FOIA training or briefings to non-FOIA staff; and if senior leaders at your agency received a briefing on your agency's FOIA resources, obligation and expectations during the FOIA process.

All Board staff can access OIP's FOIA training modules, which are incorporated into the Board's internal training application. In addition, the Board's Chief FOIA Officer and FOIA Public Liaison have briefed senior leaders about the Board's FOIA staffing resources and routinely assist Board staff in understanding their responsibilities under the FOIA as well as exemption application and the foreseeable harm standard.

B. Outreach

7. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue, outside of the standard request process, with the requester community or open government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA? Please describe any such outreach or dialogue, and, if applicable, any specific examples of how this dialogue has led to improvements in your agency's FOIA administration.

No, the Board's FOIA professionals did not engage in any outreach or dialogue outside of the standard request process with the requester community; however, the Board's FOIA professionals regularly dialogue with the requester community to explain the Board's FOIA processes. These dialogues assist requesters with submitting more targeted requests that can be processed in a timelier manner which improves the Board's overall FOIA administration.

8. As part of the standard request process, do your FOIA professionals proactively contact requesters concerning complex or voluminous requests in an effort to clarify or narrow the scope of the request so requesters can receive responses more quickly? Please describe any such outreach or dialogue, and, if applicable, any specific examples.

Yes, the Board's FOIA professionals proactively contact requesters concerning complex or voluminous requests in an effort to clarify or narrow the scope. For example, the Board regularly receives requests for various types of banking application records which are often complex or voluminous. The Board's FOIA professionals proactively contact requesters of those applications about modifying the scope of their request to accept the public version of the application which greatly reduces the processing time so requesters can receive responses faster.

9. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the services provided by the agency's FOIA Public Liaison. Please provide an estimate of the number of times requesters sought assistance from your agency's FOIA Public Liaison during FY 2022 (please provide a total number or an estimate of the number).

FOIA requesters sought assistance from the Board's FOIA Public Liaison approximately ten times during FY 2022.

C. Other Initiatives

10. Has your agency evaluated the allocation of agency personnel resources needed to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands? If so, please describe what changes your agency has or will implement.

Yes, the Board evaluated the allocation of agency personnel resources needed to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands. The Board plans to hire an additional FOIA professional to address the increased FOIA demands.

11. How does your agency use data or processing metrics to ensure efficient management of your FOIA workload? For example, case management reports, staff processing statistics, etc. In addition, please specifically highlight any data analysis methods or technologies used.

The Board uses case management reports and staff processing statistics to ensure efficient management of FOIA workload. The Board's Information Disclosure Section manager uses monthly FOIA backlog reports and weekly staff processing reports/statistics to reassign cases among the FOIA professionals as necessary.

12. Optional -- If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure fair and effective FOIA administration, please describe them here.

The Board's Chief FOIA Officer and the Board's FOIA Public Liaison regularly review the status of pending FOIA requests to mitigate processing delays and to strategize ways to close backlogged FOIA requests. The Chief FOIA Officer also communicates with Board staff in other divisions, when necessary, to facilitate closing requests.

Section III: Proactive Disclosures

The Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines emphasize that "proactive disclosure of information is … fundamental to the faithful application of the FOIA." The Guidelines direct agencies to post "records online quickly and systematically in advance of any public request" and reiterate that agencies should post records "in the most useful, searchable, and open formats possible."

1. Please describe what steps your agency takes to identify, track, and post (a)(2) proactive disclosures.

The Board's FOIA Public Liaison collaborates with staff from other Board divisions to identify and proactively post records of public importance in the Board's electronic FOIA reading room. In addition, the Board's Information Disclosure Section dedicated two FOIA professionals who periodically review the Board's FOIA logs and monthly status reports to identify, track, and post records for proactive disclosure.

2. Provide examples of material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D). Please include links to these materials as well.

As previously stated in Section I, the Board is committed to increasing transparency and openness by posting information of public interest in a variety of searchable and open formats to accommodate a broad range of user preferences. The items described below are examples of information that has been proactively disclosed on the Board's public website.

3. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency's website?

Yes, the Board is taking steps to make the posted information more useful to the public.

4. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements. In particular, please describe steps your agency is taking to post information in open, machine-readable, and machine-actionable formats, to the extent feasible. If not posting in open formats, please explain why and note any challenges.

Board staff and contractors post information in open, machine-readable, and machine-actionable formats when feasible.

  • The Board added data file types to the FRB/US Model Project, which is a large-scale estimated general equilibrium model of the U.S. economy for forecasting and analyzing policy options. The Project updated the FRB/US in EViews, FRB/US in Python, and LINVER Package to improve economic forecasting.
  • The Board updated and/or redesigned the webpages below to make the information more useful to the public.
    • Cybersecurity and Operational Resilience, which involves the ability to maintain core business lines and critical operations through any hazard such as a cybersecurity attack;
    • Stress Tests, which assesses whether banks are sufficiently capitalized to absorb losses during stressful conditions while meeting obligations to creditors and counterparties and continuing to be able to lend to households and businesses;
    • FedEd Federal Reserve Education Outreach, which exposes students to careers in economics and finance and educates them about the role of the Federal Reserve System in the global economy; and
    • Whistleblower Reporting, which allows people to anonymously provide information about a financial institution regulated by the Federal Reserve that may have violated the law or engaged in wrongdoing.
  • The Board updated various statistical release reports, such as:
    • H.2, which provides information on actions of the Board, its staff, and the Federal Reserve Banks;
    • H.4.1, which provides information on factors affecting reserve balances;
    • H.6, which provides information about money stock measures;
    • H.8, which provides information about assets and liabilities of commercial banks in the United States;
    • H.10, which provides information about foreign exchange rates; and
    • H.15, which provides information about selected interest rates.

The Board provided interactive data visualizations to disseminate information of public interest, such as:

5. Does your proactive disclosure process or system involve any collaboration with agency staff outside the FOIA office, such as IT or data personnel? If so, describe this interaction.

The Board's FOIA Public Liaison collaborates with Board staff in other divisions, such as Legal, to identify information of broad public interest that should be proactively disclosed. The Board's FOIA Public Liaison also collaborates with Board IT staff to post the information on the Board's public website.

6. Optional -- Please describe the best practices used to improve proactive disclosures and any challenges your agency faces in this area.

As noted in response to Question 1 in Section III, the Board's Information Disclosure Section dedicated two FOIA professionals to identify, track, and post records for proactive disclosure. The Board has not faced challenges in this area. As evident from the examples above, the Board has dedicated substantial resources to identifying and proactively posting a broad spectrum of information concerning Board actions, policies, and decisions.

Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology

A key component of FOIA administration is using technology to make information available to the public and to gain efficiency in FOIA processing. The Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines emphasize the importance of making FOIA websites easily navigable and complying with the FOIA.gov interoperability requirements. Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is using technology to improve its FOIA administration and the public's access to information.

1. Has your agency reviewed its FOIA-related technological capabilities to identify resources needed to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands?

Yes, the Board reviewed its FOIA-related technology capabilities to identify resources needed to respond to current and anticipated FOIA demands.

2. Please briefly describe any new types of technology your agency began using during the reporting period to support your FOIA program.

The Board's COTS software, which is fully interoperable with DOJ's National FOIA Portal on FOIA.gov, streamlines and automates the entire lifecycle of processing FOIA requests from initial intake to delivering the response. The Board has installed system updates to the software during the reporting period to improve the system's functionality.

3. Does your agency currently use any technology to automate record processing? For example, does your agency use machine learning, predictive coding, technology assisted review or similar tools to conduct searches or make redactions? If so, please describe and, if possible, estimate how much time and financial resources are saved since implementing the technology.

The Board uses COTS software to automate record processing. The software allows Board staff to redact the same information and multiple pages simultaneously. The Board also uses COTS software to conduct email searches and de-dupe records. Using automated technology may have reduced the Board's processing time by approximately one-third depending upon the volume and nature of the records.

4. OIP issued guidance in 2017 encouraging agencies to regularly review their FOIA websites to ensure that they contain essential resources, and are informative and user-friendly. Has your agency reviewed its FOIA website(s) during the reporting period to ensure it addresses the elements noted in the guidance?

Yes, the Board's FOIA Public Liaison reviewed the Board's FOIA website during the reporting period to ensure it addresses the elements noted in the guidance.

5. Did all four of your agency's quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2022 appear on FOIA.gov?

Yes, all four of the Board's quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2022 appear on FOIA.gov.

6. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports on FOIA.gov, please explain why and provide your agency's plan for ensuring that such reporting is successful in Fiscal Year 2023.

N/A

7. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used to compile their Annual FOIA Reports. Please provide the link to this posting for your agency's Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency's Fiscal Year 2022 Annual FOIA Report.

2021 Report: https://www.federalreserve.gov/foia/annrept_2021.htm

2021 Raw Data: https://www.federalreserve.gov/foia/annualreports.htm

8. In February 2019, DOJ and OMB issued joint Guidance establishing interoperability standards to receive requests from the National FOIA Portal on FOIA.gov. Are all components of your agency in compliance with the guidance?

Yes, the Board is in compliance with the guidance establishing interoperability to receive requests from the National FOIA Portal on FOIA.gov.

9. Optional -- Please describe the best practices used in greater utilizing technology and any challenges your agency faces in this area.

The Board uses robust electronic recordkeeping software to assist with maintaining and archiving records needed to process FOIA requests. The Board's electronic recordkeeping system, known as FIRMA, currently maintains over 6 million documents and increases in volume by about 750,000 documents each year.

Section V: Steps Taken to Remove Barriers to Access, Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests, and Reduce Backlogs

The Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines instruct agencies "to remove barriers to requesting and accessing government records and to reduce FOIA processing backlogs." Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is removing barriers to access, improving timeliness in responding to requests, and reducing FOIA backlogs.

A. Remove Barriers to Access

1. Has your agency established alternative means of access to first-party requested records outside of the FOIA process?

Yes, the Board has established alternative means of access to first-party requested records outside of the FOIA process.

2. If yes, please provide examples. If no, please indicate why not. Please also indicate if you do not know.

First-party requesters can submit requests to the Board by using the online portal or by mailing requests to the Board's address.

B. Timeliness

3. For Fiscal Year 2022, what was the average number of days your agency reported for adjudicating requests for expedited processing? Please see Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2022 Annual FOIA Report.

The Board adjudicated requests for expedited processing in an average of eight days.

4. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was above ten calendar days, according to Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2022 Annual FOIA Report, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for expedited processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less.

N/A

5. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests?

Yes, the Board uses simple, complex, and expedited tracks to process requests.

6. If your agency uses a separate track for simple requests, according to Annual FOIA Report Section VII.A., was the agency overall average number of days to process simple requests twenty working days or fewer in Fiscal Year 2022?

Yes, the average number of days to process a simple request was five.

7. If not, did the simple track average processing time decrease compared to the previous Fiscal Year?

N/A

8. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2022 that were placed in your simple track. Please use the following calculation based on the data from your Annual FOIA Report: (processed simple requests from Section VII.C.1.) divided by (requests processed from Section V.A.) x 100.

Twenty-eight percent of FOIA requests processed by the Board were placed in the simple track.

9. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to process all non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?

N/A

C. Backlogs

BACKLOGGED REQUESTS 10. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2022, according to Annual FOIA Report Section XII.D.2, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2021?

Yes, the backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2022 decreased compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2021 although the Board processed more requests in Fiscal Year 2022.

11. If not, according to Annual FOIA Report Section XII.D.1, did your agency process more requests during Fiscal Year 2022 than it did during Fiscal Year 2021?

N/A

12. If your agency's request backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2022, please explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

  • An increase in the number of incoming requests.
  • A loss of staff.
  • An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.
  • Impact of COVID-19 and workplace and safety precautions.
  • Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

N/A

13. If you had a request backlog, please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of the total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2022. Please use the following calculation based on the data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged requests from Section XII.A.) divided by (requests received from Section V.A.) x 100. This number can be greater than 100%. If your agency has no request backlog, please answer with "N/A."

The percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of the total number of requests received is less than three percent.

BACKLOGGED APPEALS

14. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2022, according to Section XII.E.2 of the Annual FOIA Report, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2021?

No, the backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2022 increased compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2021.

15. If not, according to Section XII.E.1 of the Annual FOIA Report, did your agency process more appeals during Fiscal Year 2022 than it did during Fiscal Year 2021?

Yes, the Board processed over twice as many appeals in Fiscal Year 2022 than it did during Fiscal Year 2021.

16. If your agency's appeal backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2022, please explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

  • An increase in the number of incoming appeals
  • A loss of staff
  • An increase in the complexity of the requests received (if possible, please provide examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase)
  • Impact of COVID-19 and workplace and safety precautions
  • Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible

The appeal backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2022 because the Board received twice as many appeals in Fiscal Year 2022 than it did during Fiscal Year 2021. In addition, the majority of the appeals involved complex and highly sensitive information.

17. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of the total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2022. Please use the following calculation based on the data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged appeals from Section XII.A.) divided by (appeals received from Section VI.A.) x 100. This number can be greater than 100%. If your agency did not receive any appeals in Fiscal Year 2022 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A."

The percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of the total number of appeals received is less than eight percent.

D. Backlog Reduction Plans

18. In the 2022 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 1000 requests in Fiscal Year 2021 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead. Did your agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year? If so, describe your agency's efforts in implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 2022?

N/A

19. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2022, please explain your agency's plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2023.

N/A

E. Reducing the Age Requests, Appeals, and Consultations

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

20. In Fiscal Year 2022, did your agency close the ten oldest pending perfected requests that were reported in Section VII.E. of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report?

Yes, the Board closed the ten oldest pending perfected requests that were reported in the Board's Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report.

21. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section VII.E. of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total oldest requests to close, please indicate that.

N/A

22. Beyond work on the ten oldest requests, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall age of your pending requests.

To reduce the overall age of pending requests, the Board assigned new requests to FOIA professionals who had prior experience processing similar types of requests and contacted requesters about accepting similar previously released records or publicly available versions of records.

TEN OLDEST APPEALS

23. In Fiscal Year 2022, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in Section VI.C.5 of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report?

Yes, the Board closed the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in the Board's Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report.

24. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section VI.C.5 of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that.

N/A

25. Beyond work on the ten oldest appeals, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall age of your pending appeals.

The Board dedicated significant resources to processing appeals to manage the substantial increase in the number of appeals received.

TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS

26. In Fiscal Year 2022, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report?

Yes, the Board closed the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in the Board's Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report.

27. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that.

The Board had less than ten total consultations to close by the end of the fiscal year.

Additional Information on Ten Oldest

28. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please explain why and provide a plan describing how your agency intends to close those "ten oldest" requests, appeals, and consultations during Fiscal Year 2023.

The Board will dedicate additional resources to closing the three "ten oldest" pending appeals.

F. Additional Information about FOIA Processing

29. Were any requests at your agency the subject of FOIA litigation during the reporting period? If so, please describe the impact on your agency's overall FOIA request processing and backlog. If possible, please indicate the number and nature of requests subject to litigation, common causes leading to litigation, and any other information to illustrate the impact of litigation on your overall FOIA administration.

The Board had eight requests from two requesters that were the subject of FOIA litigation during the reporting period. Six of the eight requests related to ethics matters involving Federal Reserve System leadership and the sale of stocks or other securities. The seventh request pertained to community development and community affairs. The eighth request sought records relating to a variety of topics including unconscious bias, systemic racism, and climate change. Half of the lawsuits resulted from the requester disagreeing with the Board's exemption claims after the administrative appeals. The other half of the lawsuits were due to the Board's untimely responses to the initial requests. Despite having eight active litigation matters, the Board successfully reduced its FOIA backlog in Fiscal Year 2022.

30. How many requests during Fiscal Year 2022 involved unusual circumstances as defined by the FOIA? (This information is available in your agency's FY22 raw data).

Two hundred and eighteen requests during Fiscal Year 2022 involved unusual circumstances as defined by the FOIA.

Back to Top
Last Update: February 27, 2023