NIH Contract w/ Stratton Securities Inc for ORR Support
Tracking # |
51272, 2020-00492-FOIA-OS 51272 |
Submitted | June 23, 2019 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Russel Neiss
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
A copy of the contract between NIH and Stratton Securities Inc with the AWARD ID of "75N99019L00008" signed on June 14, 2019.
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,
Russel Neiss
From: National Institutes of Health
Dear Mr. Neiss:
Attached please find your acknowledgement letter.
Also, I am having a difficult time searching for Sydney Jones. She's not in the general directory. Would you happen to know what department/IC she works? Knowing which IC will help our IT.
Thank you.
Holly
Government Information Specialist
National Institutes of Health
Management Analysis and Review Branch, ORF/ORS
31 Center Drive, Room 2B37
Bethesda, MD 20892-2041
Tel: 301.594.9520
Fax: 301.594.9522
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Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
From: Russel Neiss
Hi Holly,
Please send along responsive records as they come if that helps to expedite it (particularly since the contract may be easier to find and send than the emails).
I believe Ms. Jones is at the CRC.
Below is the contact information I have located:
NIH Offices of Acquisition
Telephone: (301) 402-1433
Fax: (301) 480-5563
E-mail address: sj11a@nih.gov
Mailing Address: CRC, Room 6-5561, Bethesda, MD 20892
Again, thank you for your time.
From: National Institutes of Health
Thank you.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institutes of Health
Dear Mr. Neiss:
I hope you're well.
The NIH FOIA Office will be processing your request.
Please contact them at nihfoia@od.nih.gov<mailto:nihfoia@od.nih.gov> regarding any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Holly
Government Information Specialist
National Institutes of Health
Management Analysis and Review Branch, ORF/ORS
31 Center Drive, Room 2B37
Bethesda, MD 20892-2041
Tel: 301.594.9520
Fax: 301.594.9522
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Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
From: National Institutes of Health
Good morning, Mr. Neiss,
Thank you for your email. Your request is in queue for review. Per HHS policy, NIH processes FOIA requests on a first-in-first-out basis.
Please feel free to continue to check with this office for the status of your request.
Best regards,
Gorka Garcia-Malene
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institutes of Health
Good afternoon Mr. Neiss,
This is Hawyee Yan from NIH FOIA office. Your request was forwarded to this office. I have questions regarding this case and would like to discuss with you. Please let me know when is a good time for us to talk.
Thank you!
Hawyee Yan l Government Information Specialist
National Institutes of Health l Freedom of Information Act Office
Phone: 301-435-7484
From: Russel Neiss
Hi,
I believe the history of this request is very straight forward.
I sent two separate FOIA requests to the NIH via fax on 6/24/2019. They were combined into a single request that was given the number 51272.
A copy of your response letter can be found here: https://cdn.muckrock.com/foia_files/2019/06/25/51272_Muckrock.pdf
I have received no further follow up until your email excepting pro-forma letters telling me my request was in the queue.
You can see the full history of correspondence related to this request at the following two urls:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/nih-emails-related-to-orr-rental-76036/
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/nih-contract-w-stratton-securities-inc-for-orr-support-76034
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write back. I believe that these records should be fairly easy to locate however.
Thank you,
Russel Neiss
From: National Institutes of Health
Good afternoon, Mr. Neiss,
We wanted to make sure our search for records is conducted accurately and thoroughly. According to the combined requests, you seek:
* all emails sent to or from Sydney Jones, from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019, that contain any of the following keywords: "ORR", "75N99019L00007", "UAC", "Unaccompanied Alien Child".
* all emails sent to or from Sydney Jones, from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019, to the domain: "acf.hhs.gov".
* all emails sent to or from Pat Rice, from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019, that contain any of the following keywords: "ORR", "75N99019L00007", "UAC", "Unaccompanied Alien Child".
* all emails sent to or from Pat Rice, from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019, to the domain: "acf.hhs.gov".
* a copy of the contract between NIH and Stratton Securities Inc with the Award ID of 75N99019L00008, signed on June 14, 2019.
Could you please confirm that the two Award ID, 75N99019L00007 and 75N99019L00008, are correct and not a typo?
Thank you!
Hawyee Yan l Government Information Specialist
National Institutes of Health l Freedom of Information Act Office
Phone: (301) 496-5633
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From: Russel Neiss
Thank you -- the "75N99019L00007" is indeed a typo.
The contract and records related to said contract is number 75N99019L00008
It can be seen here in the Federal Procurement Data System:
https://www.fpds.gov/ezsearch/fpdsportal?q=PRINCIPAL_NAICS_CODE%3A%22531110%22+DEPARTMENT_FULL_NAME%3A%22HEALTH+AND+HUMAN+SERVICES%2C+DEPARTMENT+OF%22+PIID%3A%2275N99019L00008%22&templateName=1.5.1&indexName=awardfull
Again thank you so much for your assistance.
From: National Institutes of Health
Mr. Neiss,
Thank you for your clarification. We will proceed with processing the request.
Best regards,
Hawyee
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From: National Institutes of Health
Good afternoon Mr. Neiss,
Please see attached letter in response to your NIH FOIA request.
Best regards,
Hawyee Yan l Government Information Specialist
National Institutes of Health l Freedom of Information Act Office
Phone: (301) 496-5633
From: Russel Neiss
This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 ("FOIA"), concerning the National Institutes of Health ("NIH" or "Agency") refusal to disclose certain documents within its control. The requested documents are a series of emails created or received by two NIH employees, and a contract awarded by the NIH to Stratton Securities Inc (Contract 75N99019L00008). These documents are clearly under NIH jurisdiction and the Agency's refusal to disclose the requested items violates the FOIA.
On June 24, 2019 I filed two separate FOIA requests to the NIH via fax. They were combined into a single request that was given the number 51272 in an acknowledgement letter sent on June 25, 2019.
The request sought:
1. All Emails sent to or from Sydney Jones (sjlla@nih.gov) from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019 that contain any of the following keywords: "ORR", "75N99019L00007","UAC", "Unaccompanied Alien Child"
2. All Emails sent to or from Sydney Jones (sjlla@nih.gov) from May 1, 2019 - June 14, 2019 from or to the domain: "acf.hhs.gov"
3. All Emails sent to or from Pat Rice (ricepa@mail.nih.gov) from May 1, 2019 – June 14, 2019, that contain any of the following keywords: "ORR", "75N99019L00007", "UAC", "Unaccompanied Alien Child"
4. All Emails sent to or from Pat Rice (ricepa@mail.nih.gov) from May 1, 2019 – June 14, 2019, from or to the domain "acf.hhs.gov"
5. A copy of Contract 75N99019L00008 that was awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Stratton securities Inc with the AWARD ID of "75N99019L00008" signed on June 14, 2019.
In an email on January 24, 2020 I confirmed that the award ID of 75N99019L00007 was a typo and that all the records requested were related to contract number 75N99019L00008.
On January 28, 2020 in a "final response" letter, the Agency refused to disclose any of the requested materials. The Agency offered no legal justification for their refusal to disclose these documents, nor did they inform me of my right to appeal this adverse determination.
In denying the release of these records, the Agency strangely suggesting that emails sent or received by NIH officials and a contract signed by the NIH are somehow under the jurisdiction of Administration for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services and not the NIH. It is clear that the NIH failed to conduct an adequate search for responsive records. To achieve FOIA’s core purpose of disclosure, an agency must perform an adequate search for responsive records. [Founding Church of Scientology v. NSA, 610 F.2d 824, 837 (D.C. Cir. 1979)]. An agency “must show that it made a good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records, using methods which can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested.” [Oglesby v. Dep’t of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C. Cir.1990)]. A court will apply “a ‘reasonableness’ test” to assess whether an agency’s search for responsive records was adequate. [Campbell v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 27 (D.C. Cir. 1998)]. This reasonableness test is “consistent with congressional intent tilting the scale in favor of disclosure.” Id.
Here, the evidence suggests that the NIH violated FOIA by failing to conduct an adequate search for responsive records and failing to disclose records that are responsive to the Request. Accordingly, the NIH must produce all of the withheld records immediately. In so doing, the Agency must also provide an estimated date of completion of its release of the records. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(7)(B).
Thank you for your time and attention, and your commitment to open government.
Best regards,
Russel Neiss
From: National Institutes of Health
RE: 2020-00492-FOIA-OS Mr. Russell Neiss
MuckRock News
Dept. MR 76034 411A Highland Ave.
Somerville,, MA 02144-2516 Dear Mr. Neiss: This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated: June 24, 2019. We received your request on February 04, 2020 and have begun processing your request.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Trent
FOIA Specialist
Main Office Line: 202-690-7453
From: National Institutes of Health
Dear Russell Neiss, Please see the attached acknowledgement letter for information concerning your FOIA matter. The tracking number for your request is 2020-00492-FOIA-PHS. For status updates or other inquiries, please contact our office via email or call (202)260-6933. FOIARequest@psc.hhs.gov Sincerely, Ray Noussoukpoe
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #51272, 2020-00492-FOIA-OS.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institutes of Health
Good Afternoon,
Please see the attached final letter in response to your NIH FOIA request.
Thank you.
Roger Bordine
Program Support
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
[National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery Into Health]<http://www.nih.gov/>
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From: Department of Health and Human Services
Dear Russel Neiss: This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated: May 21, 2020. We've received and have begun processing your request. Please review the attached documents for more details and next steps. Thank you, HHS FOIA Team
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #51272, 2020-00492-FOIA-OS.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #51272, 2020-00492-FOIA-OS.
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 23, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #51272, 2020-00492-FOIA-OS.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institutes of Health
Good Morning,
Please direct your inquiry regarding your closed NIH FOIA request, to the HHS FOIA Office where it was referred to, at foiarequest@hhs.gov<mailto:foiarequest@hhs.gov>
Thank you.
Roger Bordine
Program Support
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
[National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery Into Health]<http://www.nih.gov/>
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