Agency Reorganization Plans

To Whom It May Concern:

I. Description of Records Sought

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

On April 12, 2017, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney sent a memorandum for heads of executive departments and agencies titled, "Comprehensive Plan for Reforming the Federal Government and Reducing the Federal Civilian Workforce." The memorandum is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2017/M-17-22.pdf.

In the "OMB/Agency Reform Plan Meetings" section, Director Mulvaney's memorandum states that by June 30, 2017, agencies must provide OMB with (a) a high-level draft of their Agency Reform Plan that includes the Areas the agency is developing for their reforms; (b) progress on near-term workforce reduction actions; and (c) a plan to maximize employee performance.

I am requesting records of the responses to these three items (Agency Reform Plan, progress report, and employee performance plan) that the OMB received from the Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Office of the President, and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Health & Human Services, Interior, and Justice.

Director Mulvaney's memorandum also mentioned that a "more detailed timeline and other resources are available to Executive branch agencies at https://go.max.gov/omb/govreform." I would like copies of this detailed timeline and the webpage at that intranet's URL.

II. Request for a Fee Waiver

I respectfully request that you waive all fees in connection with this request as provided by 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The Sierra Club is a national environmental nonprofit with no commercial interest in obtaining the requested information. Instead, our organization intends to analyze and disseminate the requested information free of charge so that the public can be better informed and meaningfully participate in the role of the government in protecting the nation's natural resources and public health.

The subject matter of the requested records is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government by disclosing how federal agencies are planning to reorganize their offices and what lines of work may be impacted. The Sierra Club and its supporters have demonstrated interest and expertise in the subject area, as the organization has made many recommendations on how various agencies and offices should conduct their business to be better stewards of the environment, public health, and our democracy. We maintain policy experts in DC and elsewhere who will be able to contextualize how these workforce reductions and agency reorganizations will affect the issues that our supporters care deeply about.

III. Media Requester Status

In addition to the public interest fee waiver, I ask to be properly categorized as a representative of the news media. The bulk of my professional duties at the Sierra Club entails planning and writing content about public policy, including composing mass communications to our followers, analyzing FOIA responses, and coordinating press outreach. Here are some examples that resulted from my work:

https://sierraclub.org/planet/2017/04/hiring-freeze-prevented-epa-filling-hundreds-jobs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/19/nearly-700-vacancies-at-cdc-because-of-trump-administration-hiring-freeze/
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4480/over-700000-people-tell-government-to-block-seed-mergers

The Sierra Club has the ability and intention to disseminate the information it receives through this request. The information may be shared through emails to an audience reaching into the millions, Facebook and Twitter posts reaching tens of thousands of followers, articles on our often-visited website, and analysis provided to the media.

IV. Exempt Records

Should you decide to invoke a FOIA exemption with regard to any of the requested records, please include in your response letter sufficient information for an appeal, including:

1. Basic factual material about each withheld item, including the originator, date, length, general subject matter, and location of each item.
2. Explanations and justifications for denial, including the identification of the category within the governing statutory provision under which the document (or portion thereof) was withheld and a full explanation of how each exemption fits the withheld material.

If you determine that portions of a requested record are exempt from disclosure, please redact the exempt portions and provide the remainder of the record.

V. Record Delivery

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

Please produce the records on a rolling basis; at no point should the search for – or deliberation concerning – certain records delay the production of others that the agency has already retrieved and elected to produce.

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,

Alexander Rony
Sierra Club