Internal correspondence on VA regulatory rule
Submitted | Oct. 18, 2017 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Jasper Craven
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
All internal email communications and involving VA employee Jeffrey Martin in the Office of Regulation Policy & Management concerning the proposed regulation: "Employees whose Association with For-Profit Educational Institutions Poses No Detriment to Veterans." Please also include intitial drafts of the proposed regulations, whose ID is VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227. Here's a link to the proposed rule: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227
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:
Dear Mr. Craven,
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your electronic Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated October 18, 2017, requesting:
"All internal email communications and involving VA employee Jeffrey Martin in the Office of Regulation Policy & Management concerning the proposed regulation: "Employees whose Association with For-Profit Educational Institutions Poses No Detriment to Veterans." Please also include initial drafts of the proposed regulations, whose ID is VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227. Here's a link to the proposed rule: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227."
The FOIA Service received your request on October 19, 2017, and assigned FOIA tracking number 18-00909-F. Please refer to this number when communicating with the VA about this request.
The records you seek are not located in this office. Your request is being referred to the VA's Office of the Secretary (OSVA) for a file search and a direct reply to you. If you have questions about the status of your request, please contact Ms. Lisa Matuszczak directly at the address below:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of the Secretary
FOIA Officer: Ms. Lisa Matuszczak
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420 Phone: 202-461-4857 / FAX: 202-273-4880 / Email: OSVAFOIA@va.gov<mailto:OSVAFOIA@va.gov>
We appreciate your interest in the VA.
Sincerely,
Diane Cooke
VA FOIA Service (005R1C)
Office of Privacy Information and Identity Protection (PIIP)
Quality, Privacy, 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>
[Quality, Privacy, Risk icon.]QPR's Mission Statement:
"To instill and promote a culture of quality, privacy and risk management in collaboration with our business partners to enable a better Veteran experience."
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 18, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Mr. Craven,
We forwarded your email below to Ms. Lisa Matuszczak, FOIA Officer for the Office of the Secretary. That is the office which is processing your request. In the future, you may contact Ms. Matuszczak directly for a status on your request.
V/R,
VA FOIA Service
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~WRD000
From:
Good afternoon Mr. Craven,
On Monday, June 11, 2018, I reported to duty as the new FOIA/Privacy Officer for the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (OSVA). I am processing your FOIA request (18-00909-F) dated October 18, 2017 and received in this FOIA Office on October 31, 2017. You requested, for records located within the Office of the Secretary,
"All internal email communications and involving VA employee Jeffrey Martin in the Office of Regulation Policy & Management concerning the proposed regulation: "Employees whose Association with For-Profit Educational Institutions Poses No Detriment to Veterans." Please also include intitial drafts of the proposed regulations, whose ID is VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227. Here's a link to the proposed rule: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=VA-2017-VACO-0001-0227."
We seek clarification as to whether you are still interested in your FOIA request. Please kindly consider whether the requested information is still newsworthy. Withdrawing this FOIA request would mean that we could process your more recent FOIA requests quicker. If we do not receive this clarification within thirty (30) days, we will conclude that you are no longer in pursuing your FOIA request. 38 C.F.R. § 1.558(d)(4).
So that you may receive your requested information (if any exists) quicker, we also seek clarification as to whether you are willing to narrow your FOIA request by time period, topic, or custodians of responsive records.
Your FOIA request also presents "unusual circumstances" because we must search for responsive records, collect them from, and consult with VA field offices and components and because records are voluminous. Thus, we take the deadline extension. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(i) & 38 C.F.R. § 1.556(c)(i)-(iii).
Regards,
Richard Ha, JD, CIPP/G
OSVA FOIA/Privacy Officer
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
Richard.ha1@va.gov<mailto:Richard.ha1@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(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: Jasper Craven
Richard,
I am also happy to drop this request under the agreement that other requests of mine will be more quickly addressed.
From:
Good morning Mr. Craven,
As long as I’m not being recorded (I’ve been recorded before at a previous job), we can speak at 10AM or later today. I show three (3) more recent OSVA FOIAs from you: 18-07982-F, 18-07084-F, and 18-03943-F. I show 18-04203-F as belong to NCA (National Cemetery Administration), but I think you meant OSVA FOIA 18-03943-F.
For 18-03943-F, by the end of next week at the latest, we were planning on producing about one thousand (1000) redacted pages concerning either internal VA emails amongst VA senior executives mentioning CVA, or emails between VA senior executives and CVA. If it helps, I might be able to expedite to middle of next week or even end of this week.
Regards,
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
Richard.ha1@va.gov<mailto:Richard.ha1@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(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.