Request for Copy of Memorandum of Agreement between VA and NAACP

Team,

Good morning.

I have your FOIA request however I need a Point of Contact name and email address in order to properly log your request and start the request process.

Please reply to this email with the POC when you can.

Thank you

James McCummings
Government Information Specialist
VA FOIA Service
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Compliance, Risk and Remediation (CRR)
Office of Information and Technology (OI&T)
Department of Veteran Affairs

Dear MuckRock News, This email is to acknowledge receipt of your

March 13, 2024 In Reply Refer To: 001B

FOIA Request: 24-06769-F

MuckRock News
DEPT MR 159291
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115

requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Dear MuckRock News,

This is the Initial Agency Decision to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (OSVA) dated February 25, 2024, transferred to this FOIA office on March 5, 2024, and assigned FOIA tracking number 24-06769-F. You requested, "the signed agreement between the VA and the NAACP."

Reasonable Search Dated 3/5/24 & 3/6/24
On March 5, 2024, an OSVA FOIA Officer searched through the VA Integrated Enterprise Workflow Solutions (VIEWS), VA's official System of Record for partnership agreements, for responsive records. An OSVA FOIA Officer used the search term "NAACP."

On March 6, 2024, an OSVA FOIA Officer requested that the VA Center for Minority Veterans search for and provided all responsive records in its possession. These two (2) searches yielded seven (7) responsive pages.

News Media Fee Category
We have placed you in the news media category. For this FOIA request, OSVA does not charge any FOIA fees. OSVA reserves the right to charge FOIA fees for any future FOIA requests.

Initial Agency Decision
OSVA releases seven (7) pages redacted 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." The Supreme Court has interpreted the term "similar files" broadly, to include all information that "applies to a particular individual." U.S. Dep't of State v. Wash. Post Co., 456 U.S. 595, 602 (1982). FOIA Exemption 6 permits VA to withhold a document or information within a document if disclosure of the information, either by itself or in conjunction with other information available to either the public or the FOIA requester, would result in an unwarranted invasion of an individual's personal privacy without contributing significantly to the public's understanding of the activities of the federal government.

Specifically, the information being withheld, as indicated on the attached document, under FOIA Exemption 6, consists of the personal signatures of federal employees and partners. VA releases the names of Senior Executives and federal partners. Federal employees and partners retain a significant privacy interest under certain circumstances, such as in instances where the release of their information could represent a threat to their well-being, harassment, or their ability to function within their sphere of employment. The federal employee and partners whose information is at issue have a substantial privacy interest in their personal information. In weighing the private versus the public interest, we find that there is no public interest in the personal signatures of federal employees and partners. The coverage of FOIA Exemption 6 is absolute unless the FOIA requester can demonstrate a countervailing public interest in the requested information by demonstrating that the FOIA requester is in a position to provide the requested information to members of the general public and that the information requested contributes significantly to the public's understanding of the activities of the Federal government. Additionally, the requester must demonstrate how the public's need to understand the information significantly outweighs the privacy interest of the person to whom the information pertains. Upon consideration of the records, I have not been able to identify a countervailing public interest of sufficient magnitude to outweigh the privacy interest of the individuals whose names are redacted. The protected information has been redacted and (b)(6) inserted. "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).

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: Darryl Webb
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 Initial Agency Decision to request 24-06769-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

Attachments - redacted seven (7) 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>
In-Office 1st Mon, 2nd Tues, both Wed, both Fri
CWS 2nd Mon
Please copy OSVAFOIA@va.gov<mailto:OSVAFOIA@va.gov> on all FOIA-related emails

How am I doing?<https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VACOVACOOS/oes/Lists/How%20are%20we%20doing%20Survey/Item/newifs.aspx?List=5dd9f7bd-a6eb-49fb-b331-325e148df6b7&Source=https%3A%2F%2Fdvagov.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2FVACOVACOOS%2Foes%2FLists%2FHow%2520are%2520we%2520doing%2520Survey%2FAllItems.aspx&RootFolder=%2Fsites%2FVACOVACOOS%2Foes%2FLists%2FHow%20are%20we%20doing%20Survey&Web=1bbc1302-f149-448f-96ea-bce1cabb3b48>

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.