Sixteen federal agencies took an average of 75 days each to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information, according to the Cause of Action watchdog group. The law permits 20 days plus a 10-day extension.

Overall, the Education Dept. was the only agency to earn an “A” for its FOIA responsiveness, while the Commerce and Defense departments received an “F.”

Homeland Security, Housing & Urban Development and Treasury each received a “D-” grade. Health and Human Services, Justice and Transportation received a “D.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and Interior each scored a “B”; Veterans Affairs got “B-.” The rest mostly earned Cs.

The group submitted identical FOIA requests to 16 different federal agencies in April 2012. Grading was based on timeliness, extent of redactions and whether or not a fee waiver was granted.

The findings indicate “inconsistency at best,” Dan Epstein, executive director, said in a statement.

More information: Cause of Action report: http://goo.gl/zHfft