USAID Freedom of Information Act Annual Report FY2013

Agency for International Development (USAID) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2013 provides information on the agency's FOIA activities. The report is prepared by the Bureau for Management, Office of Management Services, Information and Records Division. The report begins with basic information regarding the report, including the name, title, address, and telephone number of the person to contact with questions about the report. Alecia S. Sillah is the Lead Government Information Specialist, and her contact information is provided. The report also includes information on how to obtain a copy of the report in paper form, as well as the electronic address for the report on the World Wide Web. The report is divided into several sections, including Making a FOIA Request, Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions, Exemption 3 Statutes, FOIA Requests, Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of FOIA Requests, FOIA Requests: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests, Requests for Expedited Processing and Requests for Fee Waiver, FOIA Personnel and Costs, Fees Collected for Processing Requests, FOIA Regulations, and Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons. The report explains that FOIA requests can be submitted in writing, by fax, or by e-mail, and that the requester must agree to pay any FOIA processing fees. The report also provides information on the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA requests. The report defines various terms, including Administrative Appeal, Average Number, Backlog, Consultation, Exemption 3 Statute, FOIA Request, Full Grant, Full Denial, Initial Request, Median Number, Multi-track Processing, Expedited Processing, Simple Request, Complex Request, Partial Grant/Partial Denial, Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal, Perfected Request, Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal, Range in Number of Days, and Time Limits. The report also provides concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions, including Exemption 1, which relates to classified national defense information, and Exemption 7, which relates to information that could reasonably be expected to interfere with law enforcement proceedings. The report provides information on the number of FOIA requests received and processed by USAID in Fiscal Year 2013, as well as the number of requests that were granted, partially granted, or denied. The report also provides information on the number of requests that were pending at the end of the fiscal year. The report explains that USAID uses multi-track processing to handle FOIA requests, with simple requests placed in one track and more voluminous and complex requests placed in other tracks. The report also provides information on the number of requests that were granted expedited processing. The report provides information on the fees collected for processing requests, as well as the number of FOIA personnel and costs associated with processing requests. The report also provides information on the regulations governing FOIA requests and the procedures for appealing initial determinations of FOIA requests. The report concludes with information on the number of backlogs, consultations, and comparisons made by USAID in Fiscal Year 2013. The report provides a comprehensive overview of USAID's FOIA activities in Fiscal Year 2013.