We are very pleased to announce the release of our latest FOIA compliance agency assessment – this report takes an in-depth look at the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) FOIA program.
OGIS’s agency assessments are based on direct observation and review of CFPB’s FOIA case files, analysis of applicable data and documents, and interviews with agency employees and officials. Our agency assessment reports are intended to provide sufficient detail about the FOIA program’s processes to understand its operations, and provide actionable recommendations to strengthen the FOIA program. These recommendations are based on our knowledge of FOIA practices across the government.
As we noted in our report, the FOIA CFPB program maintains a relatively small backlog and is able to respond to most requests well within the law’s 20 working day response time. We also noted that despite an increase in the number of requests received each fiscal year (FY), the size of CFPB’s FOIA staff has been constant since FY 2016, and is not expected to grow within the next five years. Our report also notes that the CFPB has invested in technology that greatly enhances the efficiency of its FOIA program, and that CFPB’s FOIA Program encourages good communication practices with requesters.
To learn more about the CFPB program and our recommendations, please download the report. We will be following up with the CFPB in 120 days to learn what steps they have taken in response to our recommendations.
Uh… “the FOIA CFPB program maintains a relatively small backlog” = “the FOIA CFPB program continuously breaks the law.”