Chief FOIA officer's recent email (U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary)
| Tracking # |
2024-OGC-01263-F |
| Multi Request | Chief FOIA officer's recent email |
| Submitted | Oct. 20, 2024 |
| Est. Completion | April 10, 2025 |
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Communications
From: Sai
Dear U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary,
On behalf of myself and Fiat Fiendum, I hereby request the following records:
1. The one email in your chief FOIA officer's email inbox or equivalent which was received nearest and before October 19, 2024, midnight Eastern time, regardless of subject matter.
2. The one email in your chief FOIA officer's email spam folder or equivalent which was received nearest and before October 19, 2024, midnight Eastern time, regardless of subject matter.
3. The one email in your chief FOIA officer's sent email folder or equivalent which was sent nearest and before October 19, 2024, midnight Eastern time, regardless of subject matter.
4. The total full-time equivalent count of people who work for your FOIA office as of October 19, 2024.
This request is expressly limited to U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary's own FOIA office. Please do not refer it to any other agency or division. This request is expressly not a Privacy Act request, and no PA waiver will be provided.
Please provide the email records in EML, Maildir, MBOX, MIX, MSG, or PST format only — not PDF, Word, image, etc — including all metadata (e.g. full email headers as received/sent) and attachments, without alteration other than narrowly tailored electronic redaction of specifically claimed exemptions that do not affect any part of non exempt information (and, in particular, without rasterization).
Please provide the fourth record as a statement in your response letter, or at your option, as the most readily available record, in original electronic format as currently stored on your computer systems, which includes that information.
Please provide all records either as individual files, or as an unencrypted ZIP file, uploaded to MuckRock. Do not apply any encryption, DRM, or other restriction.
I request fee waiver, because
* Fiat Fiendum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit;
* this request is for public interest, non-commercial purposes;
* these records would give a snapshot of insight into the everyday processes of FOIA offices; and
* these records are being requested in order to conduct a government-wide audit of agencies' FOIA compliance.
In the event that you deny fee waiver, please process this request as-is, because I will not agree to any fees.
Please be sure to provide:
* 5 USC 552(a)(6)(A)(i)(II) FOIA Public Liaison information
* 5 USC 552(a)(6)(A)(i)(III)(aa) appeal information
* 5 USC 552(a)(6)(A)(i)(III)(bb) OGIS information
* 5 USC 552(a)(7)(A) tracking number
* 5 USC 552(a)(7)(B)(ii) completion ETA
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,
Sai
President, Fiat Fiendum, Inc.
P.S. Sai is my full legal name.
From: U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary
Dear Sai:
This email acknowledges receipt of your attached Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), Office of Information Affairs, FOIA Division (OIA-FOIA). Your request was received by this office on October 24, 2024.
The OIA-FOIA is under the purview of the General Counsel (GC) and serves as the focal point for USDA’s FOIA program. It provides coordination and ensures agency-wide compliance with the FOIA. Additionally, the OIA-FOIA processes requests and appeals on behalf of the Office of the Secretary (OSEC); the Under Secretaries; USDA’s staff offices; and the Research, Education and Economics and Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs mission areas.
The FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), requires USDA to make a determination in response to a FOIA request within 20 business days from its date of receipt. In unusual circumstances, the Federal agency time limit may be extended by 10 business days as stated in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B). If your request seeks numerous records that will necessitate a wide-ranging search, including searches with components and possible consultations with components that have a substantial interest in the determination of this request, USDA will invoke a 10 business day extension for determination of your request. You have the option to narrow the scope of your request to limit the number of potentially responsive records.
Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your request. Pursuant to USDA FOIA Regulations, Title 7 CFR §1.6(a), the USDA processes FOIA requests according to their order of receipt.
Provisions of the FOIA allow USDA to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. For purposes of fee assessment, you have been categorized as an ”news media” requester, pursuant to 7 CFR Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 1 Section 2(b)(4)(i). For your review and information, a copy of the USDA FOIA Fee Schedule is attached. In accordance with 7 CFR Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 1, Section 3(b), your fees shall be waived where the amount of the fee is $25.00 or less.
You have requested a fee waiver. Your request is under consideration.
A search will be conducted for records responsive to your request. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for determination of releasability. Please be assured that a FOIA analyst will respond to your request as expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with your request.
Your request has been assigned FOIA Case No. 2024-OGC-01263-F. Please refer to this case number in any future correspondence. If you have any questions regarding the processing of this request, please contact Mr. Harald Fuller-Bennett at 202-239-4522 or electronically at harald.fullerbennett@usda.gov<mailto:harald.fullerbennett@usda.gov> or USDAFOIA@usda.gov<mailto:USDAFOIA@usda.gov>. For additional information regarding USDA FOIA regulations and process, please refer to the information available on-line at Freedom of Information Act Division | USDA.
We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
Sincerely,
Office of Information Affairs
Freedom of Information Act Division
[cid:image001.png@01DB2623.7D7E9480]
Harald Fuller-Bennett (he/his)
Government Information Specialist
Office of Information Affairs
US Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 4041
Washington, DC 20250
☎ 202-239-4522 (Desk)
📱 202-809-7889 (Mobile)
📠 844-288-3373 (Fax)
✉ Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov<mailto:Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov>
This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
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image001
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 Oct. 22, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #2024-OGC-01263-F.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary
Hello,
I believe I am sending this email to Sai, correct? Please confirm that you are the individual who filed this FOIA request and I will provide an update on the status.
Sincerely,
[cid:image001.png@01DB3F35.266CC240]
Harald Fuller-Bennett (he/his)
Government Information Specialist
Office of Information Affairs
US Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 4041
Washington, DC 20250
☎ 202-239-4522 (Desk)
📱 202-809-7889 (Mobile)
📠 844-288-3373 (Fax)
✉ Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov<mailto:Harald.FullerBennett@usda.gov>
From: U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary
Dear Sai:
Please reply to this message to confirm that you are still interested in receiving a response to your FOIA request.
Sincerely,
Harald
From: U.S. Department Of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary
Dear Sai:
We are writing to confirm your interest in a records request you submitted to the USDA in October, 2024. Please confirm your interest (or lack thereof) for us before April 10, 2025. If we do not hear back from you, your request will be closed administratively.
We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
Sincerely,
Harald Fuller-Bennett
Government Information Specialist
Office of the General Counsel
[U.S. Department of Agriculture]
