Communication records between USDA and Corn Refiners Association

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All communications between anyone affiliated with the USDA and anyone affiliated with the Corn Refiners Association, from Nov. 1, 2016 to the present, regarding appointments to the USDA. Of particular interest is the appointment of Kailee Tkacz, former director of food policy at the Corn Refiners Association and now a policy adviser at the USDA whom Sec. Sonny Perdue appointed in July 2017. The search should include, but not be limited to, communications to and from USDA officials Kailee Tkacz, Sonny Perdue, Brandom Lipps and Maggie Lyons, and communications to and from the Corn Refiners Association's John Bode, Christina Martin, Julia Gustafson, Allison Cooke, Cassandra Kuball and Keniece Barbee. Corn Refiners Association employees have email addresses ending in corn.org.

All communications between USDA officials Kailee Tkacz, Brandon Lipps, Maggie Lyons or Sonny Perdue and anyone affiliated with the Corn Refiners Association, from July 1, 2017 to the present. Corn Refiners Association employees have email addresses ending in corn.org.

All communications between USDA officials Kailee Tkacz, Brandon Lipps, Maggie Lyons or Sonny Perdue and anyone affiliated with the SNAC International, from July 1, 2017 to the present. SNAC International employees have email addresses ending in snacintl.org.

All communications between USDA officials Kailee Tkacz, Brandon Lipps, Maggie Lyons or Sonny Perdue and anyone affiliated with the National Grocers Association, from July 1, 2017 to the present. National Grocers Association employees have email addresses ending in nationalgrocers.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.

Please see my fee waiver request:

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I am requesting a waiver of all fees under 5 U.S.C. Section 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The information I seek is in the public interest because it will contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government. This request is not a commercial request -- it is being made by a journalist and is seeking documents of clear public interest and concern.
I believe I meet the criteria for a fee waiver recognized by the U.S. Justice Department - and by the federal courts, See Project on Military Procurement v. Department of the Navy, 710 F. Supp. 362 363, 365 (D.C.D. 1989).

My request concerns the operations or activities of government because the records relate to the health of every American. The records that are responsive to this request will spotlight the way that officials and outside forces influence public policy.

Also, the information sought has informative value, or potential for contribution to public understanding. Please note the decision in Elizabeth Eudey v. Central Intelligence Agency, 478 F. Supp. 1175 1176 (D.C.D. 1979) (even a single document has the potential for contributing to public understanding). As an experience independent journalist, I plan to disseminate this information to the public at large through publication in one of the more than 20 outlets that have published my work. Those award-winning publications get millions of visitors per month.

In your deliberations, please take note of the following cases: Campbell v. U.S. Department of Justice, 334 U.S. App. D.C. (1998)(administrative and seemingly repetitious information is not exempt from fee-waiver consideration); Project on Military Procurement (agencies cannot reject a fee waiver based on the assumption that the information sought is covered by a FOIA exemption; and Landmark Legal Foundation v. Internal Revenue Service, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21722 (D.C.D. 1998)(the fact that the information will soon be turned over to a public body does not exempt the material from fee-waiver consideration).

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,

Alex Kotch

Ms. Weatherly,

I just saw this CNN article based on a FOIA that turned up emails between Kailee Tkacz and anyone associate with the National Grocers Association, Corn Refiners Association and SNAC International. The emails referenced were sent in January 2018. This is covered in the period I requested (Nov. 2016 through Feb. 14, 2018.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/23/politics/usda-agriculture-department-emails-food-industry-lobbyists/index.html

Why did my request turn up no records, while POGO's request turned up very relevant records that merited a CNN story?

Looking forward to your prompt reply.

Alex

Jennifer,

My request says the Corn Refiners search "should include, but not be limited to" the Corn Refiners employees I mentioned. So I'd like all emails from anyone who works for/with the Corn Refiners Association, SNAC International, or the National Grocers Association to ANY employee of the USDA.

I'll follow up with Office of the Secretary as well.

Since my full request wasn't completed, especially while another organization did get the emails I specifically requested, I hope you can expedite this.

Thank you,
Alex