FOIA Advisor

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FOIA News: Veterans Affairs posts annual FOIA report for 2020

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued its annual FOIA report for fiscal year 2020, joining Transportation and Commerce as the only cabinet agencies to release their reports thus far. A few highlights from VA’s report:

  • Received 19,053 requests (a decrease of 10% from 2019) and processed 19, 323 requests.

  • Received 369 appeals and processed 432 appeals.

  • Backlogged requests rose from 2491 in 2019 to 3220 in 2020, a nearly 30% increase.

  • Granted all 184 requests for a public interest fee waiver.

  • Expended $16,460, 304 in non-litigation costs and collected $41,221 in fees, or one quarter of one percent.