U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of the Associate Attorney General
July 1, 1997
The Vice President
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510Dear Mr. Vice President:
Enclosed is a copy of the Department of Justice's 1996 annual report on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) activities. This report covers the FOIA activities of all Department of Justice organizations. Because the Department as a matter of administrative discretion processes all requests received under the Privacy Act of 1974 (requests by individuals for access to records about themselves) under the FOIA as well as under the Privacy Act, the enclosed report covers all first-party and third-party access requests received by the Department regardless of the particular Act cited by the requester.
A comparison of this year's report with the Department's 1995 annual report shows that in 1996 the Department received 16,429 more FOIA requests and 2,386 more Privacy Act requests than during the previous year, an annual increase of 18,815 total requests (14.1%). The administration of the Freedom of Informa- tion Act consumes considerable agency resources, and calendar year 1996 costs are reported in the cost table at page 22 of the report. This cost table primarily reflects those costs incurred in "processing" access requests. Not included are significant costs incurred by the Department in litigating FOIA issues for the United States Government.
I can assure you of this Administration's firm commitment to the Freedom of Information Act, as amended by the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-231, and to its faithful implementation in the strong spirit of government openness established by President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno. We look forward to continuing to work together with Congress, in a constructive partnership based upon our mutual interests in sound FOIA administration, on all matters pertaining to the Act.
Sincerely,
John C. Dwyer
Acting Associate Attorney General
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