Robert Wilkie Calendar
| Tracking # |
18-08107-F, 18-08122-F |
| Submitted | May 22, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Jasper Craven
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
All visitor logs to the Veterans Administration federal building at 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington D.C. between March 1, 2018 and present day. Please also send Acting VA Secretary Wilkie's calendar for this same period of time.
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 acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated May 22, 2018, in which you requested all visitor logs to the VA federal building at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. between March 1, 2018 and present day. In addition, the Acting VA Secretary Wilkie's calendar for this same period.
The FOIA Service received your request on May 22, 2018, and assigned it FOIA tracking numbers 18-08107-F and 18-08122-F. Please refer to these numbers when communicating with the VA about this request.
The records you requested, if they exist, would be maintained by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations, Security, and Preparedness (OSP) (18-08107-F) and the Office of the Secretary Veterans Affairs (OSVA) (18-08122-F). Therefore, we are redirecting your request to these offices for a file search and a direct response to you. If you wish to know the status of your request, please contact them directly at the following addresses:
Department of Veterans Affairs
OSP, (007) VACO
FOIA Officer: Tanya Al-Khateeb
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Email: vacoospfoia@va.gov<mailto:vacoospfoia@va.gov>
Phone: (202) 461-6587
Fax: (202) 461-0963
Questions regarding the status of your request should be directed to Ms. Al-Khateeb.
Department of Veterans Affairs
OSVA, (002B) VACO
FOIA Officer: Milli O'Brien
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Email: osvafoia@va.gov<mailto:osvafoia@va.gov>
Phone: (202) 461-4809
Fax: (202) 273-4880
Questions regarding the status of your request should be directed to Ms. O'Brien.
We appreciate your interest in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline (Jackie) Short
VACO 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) 632-7426
Fax: (202) 632-7581
FOIA Service 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>
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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:
June 14, 2018 In Reply Refer To: 001B
FOIA Request: 18-08122-F
Mr. Jasper Craven
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 54630
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Dear Mr. Craven:
This is the Initial Agency Decision to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dated May 22, 2018. Your request was referred to the Office of the Secretary, Veterans Affairs (OSVA) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations, Security, and Preparedness (OSP) for action on May 29, 2018. You are seeking "all visitor logs to the Veterans Administration federal building at 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington D.C. between March 1, 2018 and present day. Please also send Acting VA Secretary Wilkie's calendar for this same period of time."
OSVA is processing the calendar portion of your FOIA request, assigned FOIA tracking number 18-08122-F. The visitor logs portion of your FOIA request was referred to OSP and is being processed under a separate FOIA tracking number, 18-08107-F.
Reasonable Search
The OSVA Alternate FOIA Officer requested that the Executive Assistant, Office of the Secretary, submit all responsive records in her possession. This reasonable search yielded responsive records for the time period between April 2, 2018 (the date Acting Secretary Wilkie joined VA) and May 25, 2018 (the date Acting Secretary Wilkie stepped down from his acting role due to his status as Nominee.)
Initial Agency Decision
OSVA located fifty-four (54) pages of calendar entries responsive to your request, of which we release to you. There are no responsive calendar records for the time period between March 1, 2018, and April 1, 2018, as Acting Secretary Wilkie had not yet joined VA then. 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." "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). Information withheld consists of names and email addresses of private citizens and federal employees. Disclosure could expose employees to forgery, fraud, identity theft, and harassment. The redacted information reveals nothing about how the agencies perform their statutory duties.
FOIA Fees
In accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 1.561, we categorize you as a "news media" requester. Due to the delay in processing your request caused by OSVA's backlog, OSVA will not be assessing fees associated with this request.
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 response to request 18-08122-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
OSVA FOIA Officer
Attachment
Fifty-four (54) pages of redacted calendar entries
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:
Attached is the response to the FOIA request of May 22, 2018, referencing visitor logs at the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters building.
Files
pages