LETTER TO THOMAS P. O'NEILL FROM HARRY E. FITZWATER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86M00886R001500050022-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 6, 2009
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: February 15, 1984
• Content Type: LETTER

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v.v ... istry
Central Intelligence Agency
The Honorable George Bush
President of the Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Submitted herewith, pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C.
552(d), is the report of the Central Intelligence Agency
concerning its administration of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) during calendar year 1983.
During 1983, 2,466 requests for information were logged and
put into processing by the Agency, of which 1,266 were handled
under the Freedom of Information Act. Several hundred
additional request letters were received during the year but
not formally processed pending receipt of additional informa-
tion from the requesters. These incomplete requests were, with
but one or two exceptions, requests for access to personal
records, which, under the Agency's regulations, are usually
processed under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974
(5 U.S.C. 522a) rather than the Freedom of Information Act.
Production/workload statistics for CY 1983 are enclosed at
Tab A.
During CY 1983 the number of requests for information
increased by 188 over 1982. Despite the heavy demand to focus
our resources on world intelli ence roblems, we were still
STAT able to devote the equivalent full-time employees to the
effort. The dollar cost for personnel alone to sustain this
effort amounted to over $3.75 million. Of this total, $2.8
million was devoted to FOIA. We have not factored in the cost
of space and equipment needed to support our FOIA/PA
activities. This cost continues to increase as we strive to
improve our efficiency in processing these requests. For
example, during the past year, more efficient word processors
were purchased to increase the production and timeliness of our
responses to requesters. We have also designed some enhance-
ments to our computer tracking system to help us monitor
requests more effectively. Despite our efforts, the backlog,
which was on the decline early in the year, climbed to 407
above the year-end figure for 1982--a 15 percent increase. We
attribute this mainly to a heavy volume of requests received
during the latter half of the year, the complexity of those
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I - O1S Registry
Central Intelligence Agency
The Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Speaker:
Submitted herewith, pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C.
552(d), is the report of the Central Intelligence Agency
concerning its administration of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) during calendar year 1983.
During 1983, 2,466 requests for information were logged and
put into processing by the Agency, of which 1,266 were handled
under the Freedom of Information Act. Several hundred
additional request letters were received during the year but
not formally processed pending receipt of additional informa-
tion from the requesters. These incomplete requests were, with
but one or two exceptions, requests for access to personal
records, which, under the Agency's regulations, are usually
processed under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974
(5 U.S.C. 522a) rather than the Freedom of Information Act.
Production/workload statistics for CY 1983 are enclosed at
Tab A.
During CY 1983 the number of requests for information
increased by 188 over 1982. Despite the heavy demand to focus
our resources on world intelli ence roblems, we were still
STAT able to devote the equivalent full-time employees to the
effort. The dollar cost for personnel alone to sustain this
effort amounted to over $3.75 million. Of this total, $2.8
million was devoted to FOIA. We have not factored in the cost
of space and equipment needed to support our FOIA/PA
activities. This cost continues to increase as we strive to
improve our efficiency in processing these requests. For
example, during the past year, more efficient word processors
were purchased to increase the production and timeliness of our
responses to requesters. We have also designed some enhance-
ments to our computer tracking system to help us monitor
requests more effectively. Despite our efforts, the backlog,
which was on the decline early in the year, climbed to 407
above the year-end figure for 1982--a 15 percent increase. We
attribute this mainly to a heavy volume of requests received
during the latter half of the year, the complexity of those
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requests, and an increased emphasis on training of personnel
responsible for FOIA processing. We did, however, see a
continued reduction in cases awaiting processing as
administrative appeals. The appeal backlog was reduced by 48
cases; at the end of 1983 it stood at 115 open appeals.
The principal difficulty the Act poses for the Agency is
its effect on our intelligence collection effort, as
Director Casey and other senior officials have stated on
numerous occasions. To operate effectively as a foreign
intelligence gathering organization, we must be able to enlist
the cooperation of individuals and foreign governments. Many
potential sources have refused this cooperation considering the
risk of inadvertent disclosure too great, in part because our
records--even the most sensitive ones--are subject to the
provisions of FOIA. We can and do assure our sources that the
Act provides exemptions to protect from disclosure both
classified material and information relating to intelligence
sources and methods and that we employ multiple layers of
review to further ensure protection. Some, however, remain
unconvinced. Many are aware that there is the risk of error,
and, despite the elaborate precautions, mistakes have been made
resulting in the release of classified or sensitive informa-
tion. Furthermore, the more knowledgeable know that courts do
review Agency classification decisions and that the potential
exists for the Agency to be overruled.
In addition to the impact on our intelligence collection
activity because of concern on the part of our sources, our
liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services have
suffered. Deputy Director John McMahon recently told a
Congressional committee that our overseas representatives
continue to report consternation on the part of these services
over what is seen as a potential legal requirement to disclose
information entrusted to us.
Furthermore, the administrative burden to the Agency over
the past years has been considerable. Since 1975 we estimate
that the Agency has expended over $25 million in just personnel
costs for processing all requests for information--$13.7
million for FOIA. The benefit to the public resulting from
this expenditure has been, overall, marginal at best. To be
sure, some of the information released has benefited selected
segments of the public. For instance, scholars and some
members of the news media have found useful the release of some
finished intelligence studies and OSS records. Most records
held by CIA, however, remain classified under the criteria of
Executive order 12356 or predecessor Orders and/or involve
intelligence sources and methods. As such, this information is
exempted from access under the Freedom of Information Act.
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When feasible, segregable portions of otherwise exempt records
are released, but the public benefit arising from the
disclosure of fragmentary and often incomplete raw intelligence
is dubious, and the result is sometimes even misleading. The
provisions of the Act which permit the Agency to charge fees
for record searches and for duplication are grossly inadequate
for recovering even minimal costs. For all years, the Agency
has collected a total of $85,024 in fees. When compared with
expenditures for administering just the FOIA, this amounts to
slightly over one-half cent collected for every dollar spent.
Because of the number of fee waivers or fee reductions granted,
even under the January 1983 guidelines, the Agency was able to
collect only $8,817.10 in fees and advance deposits during
CY 1983. This represents a decrease of 21 percent compared with
CY 1982 collections. Nevertheless, with review time consti-
tuting our greatest cost, FOIA processing can never become
anywhere near self-supporting.
As explained in earlier reports, the Agency also faces some
real problems in seeking to meet the time deadlines stipulated
in the Act, and we believe these complicating factors are worth
repeating. Because of the decentralized character of our
systems of records, a number of files and indices must usually
be searched to process a typical request. For example, a
reasonably simple request may require as many as 21 records
systems to be searched, a complex request over 100 systems.
Whenever relevant records are located, these must be reviewed
with painstaking care by knowledgeable officers of the CIA to
ensure no information is released which might damage national
security, harm U.S. foreign relations, or reveal the identities
of intelligence sources or methods. This critical analysis
requires the expenditure of an inordinate amount of manpower.
Moreover, it cannot be entrusted to FOIA officers hired just
for the purpose of review, as is done in other agencies.
Rather, this analysis and review requires the exercise of
careful judgment by professional intelligence officers who have
primary responsibility for vital programs of intelligence
collection and analysis for the President and other policy-
makers. Experienced operations officers and analysts cannot be
easily or readily acquired on the open market. It takes years
of experience and training to develop a top-quality intel-
ligence officer. Resources the Agency allocates to the
administration of the FOIA are in competition with priority
intelligence requirements. Intelligence officers must
necessarily be diverted from their primary duties to review
material responsive to FOIA requests. If the volume of
requests were to decline sufficiently to enable us to reduce
our backlog, we could probably improve our response time
considerably. Given the configuration of Agency records
systems, the number of systems that must be searched, and the
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level at which records must be carefully reviewed for release,
however, it is doubtful that the Agency will ever be in a
position to respond to FOIA requests within the time limits set
by the Act. We continue to look for ways to make our
processing more efficient, and in an effort to be fair to all,
we have continued to follow the policy of handling requests on
a first-received, first-processed basis. Unless a request
essentially duplicates a previous request, long delays are
inevitable under this policy. Some requesters, understandably
impatient over the lack of response, file administrative
appeals or go into early litigation, thereby further burdening
the Agency as other resources are tasked to meet the priority
demands of litigation.
In summary, the negative perceptions on the part of
potential sources, the diversion of expertise from our primary
mission, the cost, the time constraints required by FOIA, and
the impact on our liaison relationships are the major problems
we face in complying with the FOIA. Nevertheless, we believe
the Agency's performance is a conscientious one, and we
continue to look for ways in which it can be improved without
impairing national security.
Sincerely,
Harry E. Fitzwater
Deputy Director
for
Administration
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Production/Workload Statistics
FOIA
PA
EO*
TOTALS
%
Workload:
Cases carried over
from 1982
1360
1096
283
2739
(53.0)
Cases logged
during 1983
1266
971
229
2466
(47.0)
Totals
2626
2067
512
5205
Actions taken:
Granted in full
128
156
56
340
(16.5)
Granted in part
214
256
91
561
(27.2)
Denied in full
138
108
46
292
(14.1)
No records found
85
388
0
473
(23.0)
No CIA records found
6
6
0
12
( 0.6)
Cancelled
285
24
0
309
(15.0)
Withdrawn
21
6
0
27
( 1.3)
Referred elsewhere
22
2
2
26
( 1.3)
Early appeal
12
1
0
13
( 0.7)
Early litigation
4
2
0
6
( 0.3)
Totals:
915
949
195
2059
(100.0)
Cases carried over
to 1984
1711
1118
317
3146
Change in workload
+351
+22
+34
+407
(+15)
*These are requests processed under the mandatory
classification review provision of Executive Order 12356. Most of
them are either referrals from the Presidential Libraries or
declassification requests from other Federal agencies.
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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE CONGRESS FOR THE YEAR 1983
1. Total number of initial determinations not to comply with a
request for records made under subsection 552(a): 352
2. Authority relied upon for each such determination:
(a) Exemptions in 552(b):
Number of times (i.e.,
Exemption involved requests) invoked
(b)(1)
217
(b)(2)
0
(b)(3)
243
(b)(4)
4
(b)(5)
6
(b)(6)
20
(b)(7)
2
(b)(8)
0
(b)(9)
0
(b) Statutes invoked pursuant to Exemption No. 3:
Number of times (i.e.,
Statutory citation requests) invoked
50 U.S.C. 403 (d)(3) 243
and/or 50 U.S.C. 403g
(c) Other authority: None
There were 435 other FOIA cases in which the requesters
were neither given access to nor denied the records sought. None
of these cases was regarded as a denial, however, inasmuch as the
Agency was either prepared to act upon the request or there
proved to be no records to act upon. Accordingly, they have not
been included in the 352 figure provided in answer to question
No. 1, above. In 85 instances, our searches uncovered no records
relevant to the request. In six other cases, we found no
CIA-originated records, but did locate in our files pertinent
documents created by another agency, which were subsequently
referred to the agency of origin for review and direct response
to the requesters. There were 22 instances where the information
requested did not fall under CIA's jurisdiction, and the requests
were thus referred to the agency or agencies having cognizance
over the records. In 12 cases, requesters appealed on the basis
of our failure to respond within the statutory deadline; in
another four cases, the requesters went into litigation for the
same reason. In each of these instances, therefore, the initial
processing of the requests progressed into the Agency's appellate
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or litigation channels. Twenty-one requests were withdrawn by
the requesters after processing had commenced, but before action
on them could be completed. Finally, 285 cases were canceled by
the Agency because of the failure of requesters to respond to
letters asking for clarification, additional identifying
information, notarized releases from third parties, fee payments,
fee deposits, or written commitments that all reasonable search
and/or copying fees would be paid, etc. In each of the latter
cases, at least 90 days had elapsed without a reply from the
requester before action was taken to discontinue processing.
3. Total number of administrative appeals from adverse initial
decisions made pursuant to subsection (b)(6): 15
In seven additional cases, requests which were initially
processed under the provisions of the Privacy Act were processed
under the Freedom of Information Act upon appeal, in accord with
the wishes of the appellants. These were requests for access to
personal records, which the CIA usually processes under the
Privacy Act rather than the Freedom of Information Act. Also,
based upon the failure of the Agency to reply to Freedom of
Information requests within ten working days, 12 appeals were
received.
(a) Number of appeals in which, upon review, request for
information was granted in full: None
(b) Number of appeals in which, upon review, request for
information was denied in full: 27
(c) Number of appeals in which, upon review, request was
denied in part: 17
4. Authority relied upon for each such appeal determination:
(a) Exemptions in 552(b):
Number of times (i.e.,
Exemption invoked appeals) invoked
(b)(1)
43
(b)(2)
0
(b)(3)
42
(b)(4)
0
(b)(5)
4
(b)(6)
4
(b)(7)
1
(b)(8)
0
(b)(9)
0
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(b) Statutes invoked pursuant to Exemption No. 3:
Number of times (i.e.,
Statutory citation appeals) invoked
50 U.S.C. 403(d)(3)
and/or 50 U.S.C. 403g
5. Names and titles of those persons who, on appeal, were
responsible for the denial in whole or in part of records
requested and the number of instances of participation of each:
Name
Taylor, James H.
Fitzwater, Harry E.
Title
Inspector General
Deputy Director for
Administration
Deputy Director for
Intelligence
Deputy Director
for Operations
No. of instances
of participation
Gates, Robert M.
Stein, John H.
6. Provide a copy
a proceeding under
of each court opinion or order giving rise to
subsection (a)(4)(F): etc.: None
7. Provide an up-to-date copy of all rules or regulations issued
pursuant to or in implementation of the Freedom of Information
Act (5 U.S.C. 552):
8. Provide separately a copy of the fee schedule adopted and the
total dollar amount of fees collected for making records
available:
See Tab C for a copy of the fee schedule.
The total amount collected and transmitted for deposit
in the U.S. Treasury during 1983 was $8,817.10.
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9. A. Availability of records:
As the CIA does not promulgate materials as described in
5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(A)-(C), no new categories have been published.
In the case of each request made pursuant to the Freedom
of Information Act, all reasonably segregable portions of records
are released.
B. Costs
A total) tactual man-hours of labor was devoted
during calendar year 1983 to the processing of Freedom of
Information Act, Privacy Act, and mandatory classification review
requests, appeals, and litigation. Taking into account leave and
holidays, this would equate to approximately full-time
personnel. We estimate the average grade for professional
employees involved in these programs at GS-12/5, and for clerical
employees GS-06/4. The funds expended during calendar year 1983
on personnel salaries, if overtime payments are ignored, would
thus amount to slightly over $3.4 million. If fringe benefits
such as retirement and hospitalization are factored in as
amounting to 10 percent of the salaries, the total personnel
costs come to just over $3.75 million. Of this total,
approximately $2.8 million can be attributed to the Freedom of
Information Act.
C. Compliance with time limitations for Agency
determinations:
(I) Provide the total number of instances in which it was
necessary to seek a 10-day extension of time: None
The Agency's processing backlogs have been such that in
almost all instances the deadlines for responding to requests and
appeals expired prior to our actually working on them. We were
seldom in a position, for that reason, to assert that any of the
three conditions upon which an extension must be based existed.
We have, accordingly, explained the problem to requesters and
appellants and apprised them of their rights under the law.
(II) Provide the total number of instances where court
appeals were taken on the basis of exhaustion of administrative
procedures because the Agency was unable to comply with the
request within the applicable time limits: 10
Of these, six actions were brought under the FOIA and
four were brought under both the FOIA and PA.
STAT
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(III) Provide the total number of instances in which a court
allowed additional time upon a showing of exceptional
circumstances, together with a copy of each court opinion or
order containing such an extension of time : 6
Copies of the pertinent court orders are attached at
Tab D. No written orders were issued by the court in American
Broadcasting Co., Inc., v. CIA (CA 83-1836) Bevis V. Department
of State (CA 83-0993), Center for National Security Studies v. CIA
(CA 83-1869), and Rosa v. Burkhalter (CA 83-6254). Additional
time was granted pursuant to an oral agreement at status call.
D. Internal Memoranda:
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IPD 15 February 1984
Distribution:
Orig - Adse
1 - DDA Subject w/report
1 - DDA Chrono w/o
1 - DDA/IRO w/report
1 - ER w/report
1 - D/OIS Subject w/report
1 - D/OIS Chrono w/o
1 - OGC w/report
1 - OLL w/report & tabs
1 - DDS&T/IRO w/report
1 - DDO/IRO w/report
1 - DDI/IRO w/report
1 - DDO/IMS w/report
1 - O/DCI/FOI w ;report
1 - IPD Chrono w/o
1 - 2 IPD Subj. w/encls.
1 - IPD Corres (Annual) w/report & tabs
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