2017 FOIA Processing Costs Spike

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records pertaining to the sharp rise in FOIA request processing costs, amounting to $17,815,266.00 higher than the previous year, which occurred in 2017 (see Annual DOJ FOIA Reports for 2016, 2017, and 2018, particularly page 61 of the 2017 report).

DOJ FOIA Report 2016: https://www.justice.gov/oip/page/file/920581/download
DOJ FOIA Report 2017: https://www.justice.gov/oip/page/file/1024596/download
DOJ FOIA Report 2018: https://www.justice.gov/oip/page/file/1135751/download

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Joseph Ratliff