Emails on Tribal Government Relations

Mr. Craven,

Attached is the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledgement letter pertaining to your June 30, 2019, Freedom of Information Act request. The original signed letter will be forthcoming in the mail.

V/R,

Diane M Cooke

Diane Cooke
VA FOIA Service (005R1C)
Quality, Performance, and Risk (QPR)
Office of Information and Technology (OI&T)
Office: 202-632-7419
Fax: 202-632-7581
Hotline: 1-877-750-3642

Please take a moment and let us know how we did by completing a quick evaluation: Got a minute? Rate Our Service!<https://vaww.vashare.oit.va.gov/sites/QPR/Lists/QPR%20Customer%20Satisifaction%20Evaluation/Item/newifs.aspx>

[cid:image001.png@01D525A6.2CA69090]QPR's Mission Statement:
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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.

September 13, 2019 In Reply Refer To: 001B

FOIA Request: 19-09069-F

Via email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>; jclarkcraven@gmail.com<mailto:jclarkcraven@gmail.com>
Jasper Craven
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 76321
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

Dear Mr. Craven,

This is the Initial Agency Decision (IAD) to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (OSVA) dated and received June 30, 2019, and assigned FOIA Tracking number 19-09069-F. You requested, in your words,
Emails between VA Secretary Robert Wilkie and top officials at the VA's Office of Tribal Government Relations, including Stephanie Birdwell, Peter Vicaire between July 23, 2018 and present day. Key words include: "plan," "trump," "benefits claims," "meeting," "cost," "Tribal Advisory Committee Act," "tribe," "visit," "tribal organization," "NCAI."

IAD and Reasonable Searches Dated 8/13/19, 8/20/19, & 9/13/19
On August 13, 2019, our search cut-off date, the OSVA FOIA Officer requested that the VA IT office search for and provide all responsive records within the email boxes of Robert Wilkie with the date timeframe of July 23, 2018, to August 13, 2019. On August 20, 2019, the VA IT office completed its search.

On September 13, 2019, the OSVA FOIA Officer conducted a follow-up search through the email boxes of Robert Wilkie for any emails with Stephanie Birdwell and Peter Vicaire from July 23, 2019, to August 13, 2019. Despite the August 13, 2019, August 20, 2019, and September 13, 2019 searches, OSVA found no responsive records. Thus, OSVA issues you a "no records" response.

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 IAD to request 19-09069-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 Officer

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 emails/attachments are For Official Use Only, not to be shared outside intended parties, and may not be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) exempting 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/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) exempting 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 emails/attachments in error, you must inform the OSVA FOIA Officer and destroy them immediately. The VA reserves discovery rights including, but not limited to, objections, privileges, motions, etc.

Greetings Jasper Craven:

The purpose of this email is to communicate the Veterans Health Administration(VHA) Central Office FOIA Office’s response to your 01/16/2020 Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) request. Please refer to the attached initial agencydecision letter (IAD). Unless specifically requested byyou, a hard copy of the attached document will not be mailed via postal mail.

If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at (785) 230-8430.

Thank you,

Stacy Ekis
VHA FOIA Officer

Greetings,

Attached is your response to your FOIA 20-00008, if you have any additional questions feel free to contact my office. Information on the letter for your appeal process if you disagree has been provided to you. Thank you.

Gregorio E. O. Kishketon A.A.S., A.S., B.S., C.O.R.
Office of the Assistant Deputy UnderSecretary for Health and Health Informatics
VHA FOIA Officer|FOIA Litigations |Information Access and Privacy Office
Office of Health Informatics and Analytics
Health Information Governance (10A7B)
810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20420
Tel. (202)461-0854 | Fax (202) 273-9387/86
Cell. (202)352-6654
Key Mail Group: VHA 10A7 Actions
Gregorio.kishketon2@va.gov<mailto:Gregorio.kishketon2@va.gov>
[VHA]
This message may contain information that is confidential and/or protected by Public Law 104-191, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164 and 5 USC §552a, 38 CFR Sections 1.575-1.584. If it has been sent to you in error, please reply immediately to advise the sender of the error and then destroy this message, any copies of this message and any printout of this message. If you are not the intended recipient of the message, any unauthorized dissemination, distribution or copying of the material in this message, and any attachments to the message is strictly forbidden.

On behalf of the OPIA FOIA Liaison

Thank You
Shirley Williams
Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA 075)
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA 002)
(202) 461-7400
(202) 461-7402
(202) 273-5716 Fax

[cid:image002.jpg@01D3D61E.49531160]

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.

Mr. Craven: Attached is an acknowledgement letter from the VA Office of General Counsel to your FOIA/PA request dated December 14, 2020, and assigned as 21-01843-F.

Mr. Craven: Please review the attached letter which is in response to your December 14, 2020, FOIA/PA request to the Office of General Counsel. Thank you for your interest in the VA.

From: amarah.hicks@va.gov <amarah.hicks@va.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 2:17 PM
To: requests@muckrock.com
Cc: Hicks, Amarah <Amarah.Hicks@va.gov>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] VHA Central Office Response to FOIA Request: 18-09905-F

Greetings Jasper Craven:

The purpose of this email is to communicate the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Central Office FOIA Office’s response to your June 27, 2018 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Please refer to the attached initial agency decision letter (IAD). Unless specifically requested by you, a hard copy of the attached documents will not be mailed via postal mail.

If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at 561-512-9077.

Thank you,

Amarah Hicks
VHA FOIA Officer

Greetings Jasper Craven:

The purpose of this email is to communicate the Veterans Health Administration(VHA) Central Office FOIA Office’s response to your June 27, 2018 Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) request. Please refer to the attached initial agencydecision letter (IAD). Unless specifically requested byyou, a hard copy of the attached documents will not be mailed via postal mail.

If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at561-512-9077.

Thank you,

Amarah Hicks
VHA FOIA Officer

Mr. Craven: Please review the attached letter which is in response to your November 9, 2018 FOIA/PA request to the Office of General Counsel. Thank you for your interest in the VA.

Mr. Craven,

The purpose of this email is to communicate the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Central Office's administrative closure to your November 9, 2018 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Please refer to the attached letter for details.

Unless specifically requested by you, a hard copy of the attached document will not be mailed via postal mail.

If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at (315) 263-3653.

Thank you.

Angela Pluff
VHA FOIA Officer | Information Access and Privacy Office
Office of Health Informatics
Health Information Governance (105HIG)
810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20420
Tel. (315) 263-3653 | Fax (202) 273-9387

Mr. Craven: Please review the attached letter which is in response to your June 30, 2019, FOIA/PA request to the Office of General Counsel. Thank you for your interest in the VA.