Communication between top VA officials and "Shoe Bob" Carey
| Tracking # |
18-08721-F, 19-02525-F 18-08721-F, 18-08721-F |
| Submitted | June 11, 2018 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Jasper Craven
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
All e-mail communications between officials at The Independence Fund including "Shoe Bob" Bob Carey, the Chief Advocacy Officer, and the following VA officials: Casin Spero, Darin Selnick, Curt Cashour, David Shulkin, Scott Blackburn, Thomas Bowman, Peter O'Rourke, Brooks Tucker and Jonathan Ullyot between Jan. 20, 2017 and present day. Keywords should include, but are not limited to, "VA," "accountability," "choice," "congress," "CVA," "private," and "mission." The emails from the independence fund staffers will end in @independencefund.org
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,
Jasper Craven
From:
Thank You
Shirley Williams
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA 002)
(202) 273-5716 Fax
Confidentiality Note: This e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify by reply e-mail and destroy the original message and all copies.
From:
From: Williams, Shirley (075)
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2018 1:26 PM
To: requests@muckrock.com
Cc: Major, Anita; Johnson, Lyndon (VA)
Subject: Acknowledgement of Receipt FOIA 18-08721-F
When referring to your request please use FOIA 18-09149-F
Thank You
Shirley Williams
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA 002)
(202) 273-5716 Fax
Confidentiality Note: This e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure. Dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail or the information herein by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify by reply e-mail and destroy the original message and all copies.
From:
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F,.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
August 3, 2018 In Reply Refer To: 001B
FOIA Request: 18-09149-F
Mr. Jasper Craven
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 54630
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>; jclarkcraven@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Craven:
This is the partial Initial Agency Decision to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs (OSVA) dated and received June 11, 2018, and assigned FOIA tracking number 18-09149-F. You seek all OSVA email communications between officials at the Independence Funding including "Shoe Bob" Bobby Carey, the Chief Advocacy Officer and the following VA officials: Casin Spero, Darin Selnick, David Shulkin, Thomas Bowman, Peter O'Rourke, between 1/20/2017-present.
To clarify, the OIT (18-08721-F), OPIA (18-09148-F), and OAWP (18-09150-F) FOIA offices are processing you FOIA requests for similar records located within their respective offices.
June 22, 2018, and August 2, 2018, Reasonable Searches
On June 22, 2018 (our search cut-off date), and August 2, 2018, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the email boxes of former VA Secretary David Shulkin, former VA Acting Secretary Peter O'Rourke, former VA Senior Advisor Darin Selnick, former VA Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, and White House Liaison Casin Spero for emails with @independencefund.org. We used the search date timeframe of January 20, 2017 to May 3, 2018. This search yielded one hundred seven (107) pages of responsive emails and attachments.
In the future, we intend to release redacted emails and attachments dated between May 4, 2018 and June 22, 2018.
Partial Initial Agency Decision
For one hundred seven (107) responsive emails and attachments located thus far, OSVA now releases ninety-nine (99) pages. For eight (8) pages, we are required to consult with the White House FOIA Liaison. Are reviewing the ninety-nine (99) pages, we redact some information with FOIA Exemption 6.
5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) exempts from required disclosure "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." "Withholding a telephone number or e-mail address, alone, is not sufficient to protect that [privacy] interest; alternate means of contacting and harassing these employees would be readily discoverable on the Internet if this court ordered their names disclosed." Long v. Immigration & Customs Enf't, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160719 (D.C. Cir. 2017). Information withheld consists of names, VA usernames, identifies, book names and pictures revealing identities, phone numbers, email addresses of private citizens and VA employees; VA does not redact names and email address of VA Senior Executives. Disclosure could expose employees to forgery, fraud, identity theft, and harassment. The redacted information reveals nothing about how the agencies perform their statutory duties. VA did not redact personal information in publicly released documetns.
FOIA Mediation
As part of the 2007 FOIA amendments, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) was created to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. Under the provisions of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, the following contact information is provided to assist FOIA requesters in resolving disputes:
VA Central Office FOIA Public Liaison:
Name: John Buck
Email Address: vacofoiaservice@va.gov<mailto:vacofoiaservice@va.gov>
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
Email Address: ogis@nara.gov<mailto:ogis@nara.gov>
Fax: 202-741-5769
Mailing address:
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
FOIA Appeal
This concludes OSVA's first partial response to request 18-09149-F. Please be advised that should you desire to do so, you may appeal the determination made in this response to:
Office of General Counsel (024)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
If you should choose to file an appeal, please include a copy of this letter with your written appeal and clearly indicate the basis for your disagreement with the determination set forth in this response. Please be advised that in accordance with VA's implementing FOIA regulations at 38 C.F.R. § 1.559, your appeal must be postmarked no later than ninety (90) days of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,
Richard Ha
OSVA FOIA/Privacy Officer
Attachment
Ninety-nine (99) of redacted emails and attachments with @independencefund.org
Richard Ha, JD, CIPP/G
OSVA FOIA/Privacy Officer
Office of the Executive Secretary, Office of the Secretary (OSVA)
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
202-632-5286 o
202-309-3072 c
Richard.ha1@va.gov<mailto:Richard.ha1@va.gov>
Telework Weds
CWS 2nd Mon
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) prohibiting the release of information that another statute prohibits; 41 U.S.C. § 4702(b) prohibiting the release of unincorporated proposals; 41 U.S.C. § 423(a) prohibiting the release of bid or proposal information or evaluations before award; 26 U.S.C. § 6103 prohibiting the release of tax identification numbers; 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4) prohibiting the release of confidential commercial information; 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) under the deliberative process, attorney-client, and work product privileges; and 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) protecting personally identifiable information. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
From:
August 22, 2018 In Reply Refer To: 001B
FOIA Request: 18-09149-F
Mr. Jasper Craven
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 54630
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>; jclarkcraven@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Craven:
This is the Second Agency Decision to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs (OSVA) dated and received June 11, 2018, and assigned FOIA tracking number 18-09149-F. You seek all OSVA email communications between officials at the Independence Funding including "Shoe Bob" Bobby Carey, the Chief Advocacy Officer and the following VA officials: Casin Spero, Darin Selnick, David Shulkin, Thomas Bowman, Peter O'Rourke, between 1/20/2017-present.
To clarify, the OIT (18-08721-F), OPIA (18-09148-F), and OAWP (18-09150-F) FOIA offices are processing you FOIA requests for similar records located within their respective offices.
June 22, 2018, August 2, 2018, and August 21, 2018 Reasonable Searches
On June 22, 2018 (our search cut-off date), and August 2, 2018, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the email boxes of former VA Secretary David Shulkin, former VA Acting Secretary Peter O'Rourke, former VA Senior Advisor Darin Selnick, former VA Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, and White House Liaison Casin Spero for emails with @independencefund.org. We used the search date timeframe of January 20, 2017, to May 3, 2018. This search yielded ninety-nine (99) pages of responsive emails and attachments.
On August 21, 2018, the OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the email boxes of former VA Acting Secretary Peter O'Rourke, former VA Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman, and White House Liaison Casin Spero for emails with @independencefund.org. We used the search date timeframe of May 4, 2018, to June 22, 2018. This search yielded eleven (11) pages of responsive emails and attachments.
Second Agency Decision
After reviewing eleven (11) pages, OSVA redacts some information with FOIA Exemption 6. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) exempts from required disclosure "personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." "Withholding a telephone number or e-mail address, alone, is not sufficient to protect that [privacy] interest; alternate means of contacting and harassing these employees would be readily discoverable on the Internet if this court ordered their names disclosed." Long v. Immigration & Customs Enf't, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160719 (D.C. Cir. 2017). Information withheld consists of names, identifies, phone numbers, email addresses of private citizens and federal employees; VA does not redact names and email address of VA Senior Executives. Disclosure could expose employees to forgery, fraud, identity theft, and harassment. The redacted information reveals nothing about how the agencies perform their statutory duties. VA did not redact personal information in publicly released documents.
August 3, 2018 Initial Agency Decision
On August 3, 2018, after reviewing ninety-nine (99) pages, OSVA redacted some information with FOIA Exemption 6.
FOIA Mediation
As part of the 2007 FOIA amendments, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) was created to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. Under the provisions of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, the following contact information is provided to assist FOIA requesters in resolving disputes:
VA Central Office FOIA Public Liaison:
Name: John Buck
Email Address: vacofoiaservice@va.gov<mailto:vacofoiaservice@va.gov>
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
Email Address: ogis@nara.gov<mailto:ogis@nara.gov>
Fax: 202-741-5769
Mailing address:
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
FOIA Appeal
This concludes OSVA's response to request 18-09149-F. Please be advised that should you desire to do so, you may appeal the determination made in this response to:
Office of General Counsel (024)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
If you should choose to file an appeal, please include a copy of this letter with your written appeal and clearly indicate the basis for your disagreement with the determination set forth in this response. Please be advised that in accordance with VA's implementing FOIA regulations at 38 C.F.R. § 1.559, your appeal must be postmarked no later than ninety (90) days of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,
Richard Ha, JD, CIPP/G
OSVA FOIA/Privacy Officer
Attachment - eleven (11) redacted pages
Richard Ha, JD, CIPP/G
OSVA FOIA/Privacy Officer
Office of the Executive Secretary
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (OSVA)
202-632-5286 o
202-309-3072 c
Richard.ha1@va.gov<mailto:Richard.ha1@va.gov>
Telework Weds
CWS 2nd Mon
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) prohibiting the release of information that another statute prohibits; 41 U.S.C. § 4702(b) prohibiting the release of unincorporated proposals; 41 U.S.C. § 423(a) prohibiting the release of bid or proposal information or evaluations before award; 26 U.S.C. § 6103 prohibiting the release of tax identification numbers; 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4) prohibiting the release of confidential commercial information; 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) under the deliberative process, attorney-client, and work product privileges; and 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6) protecting personally identifiable information. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
From:
10/03/2018 Mr. Jasper Craven This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 09/15/2018 in which you requested the following: Your request was received in this office on 09/24/2018. Your request has been assigned to 18-12756-F and an acknowledgement response will be forthcoming
From:
10/03/2018 Mr. Jasper Craven This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 09/15/2018. Your request was received in this office on 09/28/2018. Your request has been assigned to 18-12958-F and an acknowledgement response will be forthcoming.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F,.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F,.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Mr. Craven,
This FOIA request number is not assigned to the Office of General Counsel. For your convenience, I will notify the VACO FOIA Officer assigned to this request number – Joan Haynesworth.
M. Renee Baxter
OGC FOIA, Privacy Officer, and Records Mgmt.
Office of General Counsel
810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Room 1175P
Washington, DC 20024-0001
My direct line: 202-461-7862/ Fax No. 202-273-9299
CWS: 1st Friday of pay period
FOIA Requester Service Telephone: 202-461-7860
Send all FOIA Mail to: OGCFOIARequests@va.gov<mailto:OGCFOIARequests@va.gov>
Remember, the perfect is the enemy of the good!
From:
Good morning Mr. Craven;
In response to your request for the status of your FOIA request no. 18-08721-F, your request
is in processing. I anticipate a final response to you within the next week. I apologize for
any inconvenience that this may have caused you.
Thank you for your patience. Have a great day!
Joan L. Haynesworth (Contractor)
FOIA Analyst, VACO FOIA Service
Quality, Privacy, and Risk (QPR)
Office of Information and Technology (OI&T)
Cell/Office: (202) 632-8466 / Fax: (202) 632-7581
vacofoiaservice@va.gov<mailto:vacofoiaservice@va.gov>
FOIA Service Hotline: 1-877-750-3642
-
~WRD000
From:
A no responsive documents response.
From:
Good afternoon Mr. Craven;
FOIA Service acknowledges receipt of your FOIA request dated June 11, 2018.
The attached letter provides you with a final response to your request seeking records
related to OI&T (Scott Blackburn).
This concludes FOIA Services response to your request.
Thanks for your patience and have a great day!
Joan L. Haynesworth (Contractor)
FOIA Analyst, VACO FOIA Service
Quality, Privacy, and Risk (QPR)
Office of Information and Technology (OI&T)
Cell/Office: (202) 632-8466 / Fax: (202) 632-7581
vacofoiaservice@va.gov<mailto:vacofoiaservice@va.gov>
FOIA Service Hotline: 1-877-750-3642
-
image001
From:
Mr. Craven,
Attached is the acknowledgement of your November 9, 2018, FOIA request to the VA.
M. Renee Baxter
OGC FOIA, Privacy Officer, and Records Mgmt.
Information Law Group - Office of General Counsel
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20024-0001
FOIA Requester Service Telephone: 202-461-7860
Send all FOIA Mail to: OGCFOIARequests@va.gov<mailto:OGCFOIARequests@va.gov>
Remember, the perfect is the enemy of the good!
From:
02/04/2019
Mr. Jasper Craven
DEPT MR 55929, 411A Highland Avenue
Somerville, NC 02144-2516
Dear Mr. Craven:
This letter is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated 11/09/2018 in which you requested the following:
“All e-mail correspondence between Bill First, former U.S. Senator, and Darin Selnick, David Shulkin, as well as members of current VA senior leadership (detailed here: https://www.va.gov/opa/bios/) between May 1, 2017 and present day. Key words include: "issues," "AECOM," "partnership," infrastructure," "palliative," "IT," "help" and "Valor."”.
Your request was initially processed by the VACO FOIA Service and referred to several offices including ours. This office received your request on 12/20/2018. Your request has been assigned to 19-02525-F.
My apologies for the delay in acknowledging this request. I am currently the only FOIA Officer on staff for this office and this request was received in this office while I was out on extended medical leave.
As of today’s, date I have requested our IT department search for the following:
1. VA Senior Leadership under our oversight during the E-Mail Correspondence dated between May 1, 2017 and November 9, 2018 to include e-mail boxes of: Ms. Karen Brazell; Mr. Greggory Giddens (former employee); and Mr. Jan Frye – Jan.Frye@va.gov (former employee).
2. Directed to or Received from: (William) Bill First – Former U.S. Senator; Darin Selnick; and David Shulkin.
3. With the following search terms in the subject line and/or body: "issues," "AECOM," "partnership," infrastructure," "palliative," "IT," "help" and "Valor."
Please be advised, that our IT Department normally handles the requests on a first in, first out case, in which I have no control over. Therefore, there will be a delay in processing your request. I will update you again with the findings of these searches upon completion.
Patricia Litewski
FOIA Officer
Procurement Policy Services (OALC-PPS)
Department of Veterans Affairs | Central Office | Washington, DC
Office: 202.632.5952 | Mobile: 202.697.3655 | Email: patricia.litewski@va.gov<mailto:patricia.litewski@va.gov>
Telework: Monday and Thursday | Compressed Work Schedule: 1st Friday
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F, 19-02525-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Good Morning Mr. Craven,
In researching request 18-08721-F, I have determined that OALC-PPS was not assigned the processing of this request. I have attached a copy of the acknowledgement letter showing which offices have oversight of this request. With processing Point of Contact notes for the portions which are still open and Initial Agency Decision letters for the portions that have been closed. Please be aware that our offices are decentralized and I do not have access to any other records besides the ones attached which I pulled from our FOIAXpress tracking system. You will need to reach out to the point of contacts listed for any additional information.
For Request 19-02525-F dated 11/09/2018 and received in this office on 12/14/2018. I have attached our offices acknowledgement letter.
I regret the day you have experienced in receiving a VA response. The delay is due to a shortage of FOIA Staff coupled with a significant FOIA backlog, and the requirements under 38. C.F.R 1.555 (C) to consult with the component(s) that generated the documents or have a substantial interest in the records prior to any disclosures.
We use Multitrack Processing to process FOIA requests. The Simple track is for requests that can be processed in one to twenty workdays. The Complex track is for requests that can be processed in twenty-one to sixty workdays. Within each track, requests are usually processed on a first-in, first-out basis. This request falls under the “Complex” processing track. Below is my action history on your request. I currently have 8 “Complex” requests in que dated prior to yours. While I work on getting records for requests simultaneously, and I am required to review and redacted responsive records, then respond to them on a first-in, first-out basis.
Please be assured that I am working as diligently as possible in processing all requests.
Litewski, Patricia
Craven, Jasper
MuckRock News
All e-mail correspondence between Bill First, former U.S. Senator, and Darin Selnick, David Shulkin, as well as members of current VA senior leadership (detailed here: https://www.va.gov/opa/bios/) between May 1, 2017 and present day. Key words include: "issues," "AECOM," "partnership," infrastructure," "palliative," "IT," "help" and "Valor."
09. Records received & awaiting review for redaction
-53
11/09/2018 Request Dated
11/13/2018 Request Received by FOIA Serv.
12/14/2018 Portion Assigned to this Office
02/04/2018 Record Search Requested
02/04/2018 OALC-PPS Ack & Status Update
02/19/2019 Records Received
Complex
Patricia Litewski
FOIA Officer
Procurement Policy Services (OALC-PPS)
Department of Veterans Affairs | Central Office | Washington, DC
Office: 202.632.5952 | Mobile: 202.697.3655 | Email: vacooalf@va.gov<mailto:vacooalf@va.gov>
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F, 19-02525-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Good Morning Mr. Craven,
In regards to request no. 18-08721-F, please review my previous response of March 6, 2019.
In regards to request no. 19-02525-F dated 11/09/2018 and received in this office on 12/14/2018. I currently have 6 “Complex” requests in que dated prior to yours. Since your last update request I have been able to complete 2 complex cases dated prior to yours. I am sorry that I cannot provide you a more definite response time answer. Please be assured that I am working as diligently as possible in processing all requests.
Litewski, Patricia
Craven, Jasper
MuckRock News
All e-mail correspondence between Bill First, former U.S. Senator, and Darin Selnick, David Shulkin, as well as members of current VA senior leadership (detailed here: https://www.va.gov/opa/bios/) between May 1, 2017 and present day. Key words include: "issues," "AECOM," "partnership," infrastructure," "palliative," "IT," "help" and "Valor."
09. Records received & awaiting review for redaction
-79
11/09/2018 Request Dated
11/13/2018 Request Received by FOIA Serv.
12/14/2018 Portion Assigned to this Office
02/04/2018 Record Search Requested
02/04/2018 OALC-PPS Ack & Status Update
02/19/2019 Records Received
03/06/2019 Requester Requested Status Update – Provided Update via E-mail
04/08/2019 Requester Requested Status Update – Provided Update via E-mail
Complex
Respectfully,
Patricia Litewski
FOIA Officer
Procurement Policy Services (OALC-PPS)
Department of Veterans Affairs | Central Office | Washington, DC
Office: 202.632.5952 | Mobile: 202.697.3655 | Email: vacooalf@va.gov<mailto:vacooalf@va.gov>
Telework: Monday and Thursday | Compressed Work Schedule: 1st Friday
[cid:image001.png@01D4EDEF.5B4D0D50]
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
-
image001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 11, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #18-08721-F, 19-02525-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Good Morning Mr. Craven,
In researching request 18-08721-F, I have determined that OALC-PPS was not assigned the processing of this request. I have attached a copy of the acknowledgement letter showing which offices have oversight of this request. With processing Point of Contact notes for the portions which are still open and Initial Agency Decision letters for the portions that have been closed. Please be aware that our offices are decentralized and I do not have access to any other records besides the ones attached which I pulled from our FOIAXpress tracking system. You will need to reach out to the point of contacts listed in the attached documents for any additional information. (This information was previously provided to you on – 03/06/2019 and 04/08/2019)
In regards to 19-02525-F - I regret to inform you that I still remain the only FOIA staff within our office, and that we still face a significant FOIA backlog. This request falls under the Complex processing track. I currently have 5 Complex requests in que dated prior to yours. While I work on getting records for requests simultaneously, and I am required to review and redacted responsive records, then respond to them on a first-in, first-out basis. Additionally, I must work cases in conjunction with the other day-to-day operations of running the office making it is impossible for me to determine an estimate release date. Please be assured that I am working cases as quickly as I can.
Respectfully,
Patricia Litewski
FOIA Officer
Procurement Policy Services (OALC-PPS)
Department of Veterans Affairs | Central Office | Washington, DC
Office: 202.632.5952 | Mobile: 202.697.3655 | Email: vacooalf@va.gov<mailto:vacooalf@va.gov>
[cid:image001.png@01D5056C.00C9CE10]
These messages and attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552. If you received these messages and attachments in error, you must inform the FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves its discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.
Files
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