30558 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

(ii) The Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC); 

(iii) The National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA); 

(iv) The Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency (OCC); 

(v) The Federal Housing Finance 

Board regulating lenders within the 

Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system. 

(9) If lenders cannot meet the 

requirements under (a)(1) through (8), 

they may demonstrate its ability to 

originate and underwrite loans by 

submitting appropriate documentation, 

examples of which include, but are not 

limited to: * * * 

(10) A lender that proposes to service 

loans that cannot meet (a)(1) through (8) 

must demonstrate its ability by 

submitting appropriate documentation, 

examples of which include but are not 

limited to: * * * 

(b) Financial Requirements for NonSupervised Lenders. All lenders not 

covered in paragraph (8) of this section, 

must have: 

(i) A minimum adjusted net worth of 

$250,000, or $50,000 in working capital 

plus one percent of the total volume in 

excess of $25 million in guaranteed 

loans originated, serviced or purchased 

during the lender’s prior fiscal year, up 

to a maximum required adjusted net 

worth of $2.5 million, and 

(ii) one or more lines of credit with a 

minimum aggregate of one million 

dollars. 

* * * * * 

(c) SFHGLP participation 

requirements Lenders and their agents 

must comply with the following 

requirements: 

(1) Keep up to date, and comply with, 

all Agency regulations and handbooks, 

including all amendments and revisions 

of program requirements and policies. 

Lenders must also comply with all other 

applicable federal, state, and local laws, 

rules, and requirements, including those 

under the purview of the Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau, such as the 

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act 

and the Truth in Lending Act. Lenders 

who originate a minimal number loans, 

as determined by the Agency, in a 24 

month time frame may be required to 

take updated training to ensure a 

lender’s continued knowledge of the 

program; 

(2) Regularly check Rural 

Development’s website for new 

issuances related to the program; 

(3) Underwrite loans according to 

Rural Development regulations and 

process and approve loans in 

accordance with program instructions; 

(4) Review loan applications for 

accuracy and completeness; 

(5) Ensure that applicant income 

limits are not exceeded; 

(6) Ensure that borrowers have 

adequate loan repayment ability and 

acceptable credit histories; 

(7) Ensure that loss claims include 

only supportable costs; 

(8) Cooperate fully with Agency 

reporting and monitoring requirements; 

(9) Comply with limitations on loan 

purposes, loan limitations, interest 

rates, and loan terms; 

(10) Inform Rural Development 

immediately after the sale, transfer, or 

change of servicers of any Agency 

guaranteed loan; 

(11) Maintain reasonable and prudent 

business practices consistent with 

generally accepted mortgage industry 

standards, such as maintaining fidelity 

bonding; 

(12) Remain responsible for servicing 

even if servicing has been contracted to 

a third party; 

(13) Use Rural Development, HUD, 

Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac forms, 

unless otherwise approved by Rural 

Development; 

(14) Maintain eligibility under 

paragraph (a) of this section; 

(15) Notify Rural Development if there 

are any material changes in organization 

or practices; 

(16) Be neither debarred nor 

suspended from participation in Federal 

programs, not debarred, suspended or 

sanctioned under state licensing and 

certification laws and regulations; 

(17) Notify Rural Development in the 

event of its bankruptcy or insolvency; 

(18) Remain free from default and 

delinquency on any debt owed to the 

Federal government; 

(19) Allow Rural Development or its 

representative access to the lender’s 

records, including, but not limited to, 

records necessary for on-site and desk 

reviews of the lender’s operation and 

the operations of any of its agents to 

verify compliance with Agency 

regulations and guidelines; 

(20) Maintain adequate operational 

quality control and reporting procedures 

to prevent fraud; 

(21) Maintain complete loan files with 

all required documentation that is 

accessible by Agency upon request for 

review; 

(22) Execute a lender’s agreement 

provided by Rural Development; 

(23) Evidence that principal officers 

must have a minimum of two years of 

experience in originating or servicing 

guaranteed mortgage loans; and 

(24) Provide documentation as 

required by the Agency to be reviewed 

every two years for continued lender 

participation. 

* * * * * 

§ 3555.105 [Amended] 

■ 4. Amend § 3555.105 by removing 

paragraphs (b)(4) and (5) and 

renumbering paragraph (b)(6) as 

appropriate. 

■ 5. Amend § 3555.151 by adding 

paragraph (i)(9) to read as follows: 

§ 3555.151 Eligibility Requirements. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(9) Applicants with delinquent child 

support payments subject to collection 

by administrative offset are ineligible 

unless the payments are brought 

current, the debt is paid in full, or 

otherwise satisfied. 

* * * * * 

Chadwick Parker, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11937 Filed 6–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

22 CFR Part 212 

RIN 0412–AA97 

United States Agency for International 

Development: Regulation To 

Implement the Freedom of Information 

Act 

AGENCY: Agency for International 

Development (USAID). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This regulation updates 

certain procedures and standards 

USAID follows in processing requests 

for records under the Freedom of 

Information Act (‘‘FOIA’’). 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

August 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments for 

this proposed rule to Alecia S. Sillah, 

Supervisory FOIA Team Lead, Bureau 

for Management, Office of Management 

Services, Information Records Division, 

U.S. Agency for International 

Development, electronically at foia@

usaid.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher A. Colbow, Bureau for 

Management, Office of Management 

Services, Information Records Division, 

U.S. Agency for International 

Development, 1300 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, USAID Annex, Room 2.4.0A, 

Washington, DC 20523; tel. 202–916– 

4661; foia@usaid.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

This rulemaking proposes revisions to 

22 CFR part 212, USAID’s regulations 


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under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) and the Privacy Act. The Agency 

is revising its regulations to update 

several procedural provisions, including 

methods for submitting requests under 

the FOIA, and initial appeals of denials 

of requests, for records of the Office of 

the USAID Inspector General (OIG). The 

Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App. 3) was enacted 

to, ‘‘create independent and objective 

units,’’ to perform investigative and 

monitoring functions within Executive 

Departments and Agencies of the 

Federal Government, including USAID. 

These revisions will further the OIG’s 

independence and streamline the 

processing of requests that seek OIG 

records. 

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 212 

Freedom of information. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, USAID proposes to revise 22 

CFR part 212 to read as follows: 

PART 212—PUBLIC INFORMATION 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

Sec. 

212.1 Purpose and scope. 

212.2 Policy. 

212.3 Records available on the Agency’s 

website. 

Subpart B—Proactive Disclosures of 

Agency Records 

212.4 Materials available for public 

inspection and copying. 

Subpart C—Requirements for Making 

Requests 

212.5 How to make a request for records. 

Subpart D—Responsibility for Responding 

to Requests 

212.6 Designation of authorized officials. 

212.7 Processing of request. 

Subpart E—Timing of Responses to 

Requests 

212.8 Time limits. 

Subpart F—Responses to Requests 

212.9 Responsibility for responding to 

requests. 

Subpart G—Confidential Commercial 

Information 

212.10 Policy and procedures. 

Subpart H—Administrative Appeals 

212.11 Appeal procedures. 

212.12 Mediation and dispute services. 

Subpart I—Preservation of Records 

212.13 Policy and procedures. 

Subpart J—Fees 

212.14 Fees to be charged—general. 

212.15 Fees to be charged—requester 

categories. 

Subpart K—FOIA Definitions 

212.16 Glossary. 

Subpart L—Other Rights and Services 

212.17 Rights and services qualified by the 

FOIA statute. 

Subpart M—Privacy Act Provisions 

212.18 Purpose and scope. 

212.19 Privacy definitions. 

212.20 Request for access to records. 

212.21 Request to amend or correct records. 

212.22 Request for accounting of record 

disclosures. 

212.23 Appeals from denials of PA 

amendment requests. 

212.24 Specific exemptions. 

Authority: Pub. L. 114–185, 130 Stat. 538. 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

§ 212.1 Purpose and scope. 

This subpart contains the rules that 

the United States Agency for 

International Development (hereinafter 

‘‘USAID’’ or ‘‘the Agency’’) follows in 

processing requests for records under 

the Freedom of Information Act 

(‘‘FOIA’’), 5 U.S.C. 552. The rules in this 

subpart should be read in conjunction 

with the text of the FOIA. Requests 

made by individuals for records about 

themselves under the Privacy Act of 

1974, are processed under subpart O. 

Definitions of FOIA terms are referenced 

in subpart L. 

§ 212.2 Policy. 

(a) General policy. As a general 

policy, USAID follows a balanced 

approach in administering the FOIA. 

USAID recognizes the right of the public 

to access information in the possession 

of the Agency. USAID also recognizes 

the legitimate interests of organizations 

or persons who have submitted records 

to the Agency or who would otherwise 

be affected by release of records. USAID 

has no discretion to release certain 

records, such as trade secrets and 

confidential commercial information, 

prohibited from release by law. USAID’s 

policy calls for the fullest responsible 

disclosure consistent with those 

requirements of administrative necessity 

and confidentiality which are 

recognized under the FOIA. 

(b) Definitions. For purposes of 

subparts A through K, M, and O of this 

part, record means information 

regardless of its physical form or 

characteristics including information 

created, stored, and retrievable by 

electronic means that is created or 

obtained by the Agency and under the 

control of the Agency at the time of the 

request, including information 

maintained for the Agency by an entity 

under Government contract for records 

management purposes. It does not 

include records that are not already in 

existence and that would have to be 

created specifically to respond to a 

request. Information available in 

electronic form shall be searched and 

compiled in response to a request unless 

such search and compilation would 

significantly interfere with the operation 

of the Agency’s automated information 

systems. 

§ 212.3 Records available on the Agency’s 

website. 

Information that is required to be 

published in the Federal Register under 

5 U.S.C. 552(a)(1) is regularly updated 

by the Agency and found on its public 

website: https://www.usaid.gov/foiarequests, or for records of the Office of 

the USAID Inspector General (OIG), on 

the FOIA page of OIG’s public website: 

https://oig.usaid.gov/FOIA. Records 

required by FOIA to be made available 

for public inspection in an electronic 

format under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) are 

available on the Agency’s and OIG’s 

public websites. 

Subpart B—Proactive Disclosures of 

Agency Records 

§ 212.4 Materials available for public 

inspection and copying. 

In accordance with this subpart, the 

Agency shall make the following 

materials available for public inspection 

in an electronic format: 

(a) Operational policy in USAID’s 

Automated Directives System (ADS) 

which have been adopted by the Agency 

and are not published in the Federal 

Register; 

(b) Administrative staff manuals and 

instructions to staff that affect any 

member of the public; and 

(c) Copies of all records, regardless of 

form or format, which have been 

released pursuant to a FOIA request, 

and which have been requested three (3) 

or more times, or because of the nature 

of their subject matter, have become or 

are likely to become the subject of 

subsequent requests for substantially the 

same records. The Agency shall decide 

on a case by case basis whether records 

fall into this category, based on the 

following factors: 

(1) Previous experience with similar 

records; 

(2) The particular characteristics of 

the records involved, including their 

nature and the type of information 

contained in them; and 

(3) The identity and number of 

requesters and whether there is 

widespread media, historical, academic, 

or commercial interest in the records. 


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Subpart C—Requirements for Making 

Requests 

§ 212.5 How to make a request for records. 

(a) General information. USAID has a 

de-centralized system for responding to 

FOIA requests for all USAID records. 

The USAID FOIA operations are broken 

down into two component FOIA 

Offices: The Bureau for Management, 

Office of Management Services, 

Information and Records Division (M/ 

MS/IRD) and the Office of the USAID 

Inspector General (OIG). 

(b) The Bureau for Management, 

Office of Management Services, 

Information and Records Division (M/ 

MS/IRD) is the central processing point 

for requests for USAID records 

contained in Washington, DC and its 

overseas missions. All FOIA requests for 

USAID records (other than OIG records) 

must be submitted to this office. To 

make a request for the Agency’s records, 

a requester may send request via one of 

the following mediums: 

(1) By Email: foia@usaid.gov. Please 

include your mailing address, email 

address, phone number, and fee 

category with your request. While our 

FOIA Specialists are happy to answer 

questions about the FOIA Program and/ 

or help you formulate your request over 

the phone, please be advised that FOIA 

requests cannot be accepted by phone. 

(2) Online Portal: To submit your 

request online, please click the 

subsequent link: https://

foiarequest.usaid.gov/index.aspx. 

(3) By U.S. Postal Mail: United States 

Agency for International Development 

Bureau for Management, Office of 

Management Services Services, 

Information and Records Division, 

USAID Annex, Room 2.4.0A, 

Washington, DC 20523, (202) 916–4661. 

(4) By Fax: (202) 916–4990. 

(c) OIG records. The Inspector General 

has received delegated authority from 

USAID’s Administrator to process 

requests and issue determinations with 

respect to requests, and appeals of 

initial denials of requests, for the OIG’s 

records. To make a request for OIG 

records, a requester may send a request 

via one of the following mediums: 

(1) By email: foiaoig@usaid.gov. 

Please include your mailing address, 

email address, phone number, and fee 

category with your request. 

(2) Online Portal: Please submit a 

request online via the OIG website at 

https://oig.usaid.gov/FOIA. 

(3) By U.S. Postal Mail: United States 

Agency of International Development, 

Office of Inspector General, Office of 

General Counsel, 1300 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW, Suite 6.06–D, Washington, 

DC 20523, (202) 712–1150. 

(d) Third party requests. Where a 

request for records pertains to a third 

party, a requester may receive greater 

access by submitting either a notarized 

consent form signed by the person who 

is the subject of the records, or a signed 

declaration by that person, made under 

penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

1746, authorizing disclosure of the 

records to the requester, or by 

submitting proof that the individual is 

deceased (e.g., a copy of a death 

certificate or an obituary). In addition, 

requesters may present an argument that 

there exists an overriding public interest 

in disclosure of the information related 

to official misconduct by producing 

evidence that alleged Government 

impropriety occurred. As an exercise of 

administrative discretion, the 

component’s FOIA office can require a 

requester to supply additional 

information if necessary in order to 

verify that a particular individual has 

consented to disclosure. 

(e) Description of records sought. 

Requesters must describe the records 

sought in sufficient detail to enable the 

component’s FOIA office personnel to 

locate them with a reasonable amount of 

effort. To the extent possible, requesters 

should include specific information that 

may assist in identifying the requested 

records, such as the date, title or name, 

author, recipient, subject matter of the 

record, case number, file designation, or 

reference number. In general, requesters 

should include as much detail as 

possible about the specific records or 

the types of records that they are 

seeking. Before submitting their 

requests, requesters may contact the 

component FOIA office’s FOIA contact 

or FOIA Public Liaison to discuss the 

records they are seeking and to receive 

assistance in describing the records. If, 

after receiving a request, the 

component’s FOIA office determines 

that it does not reasonably describe the 

records sought, the component’s FOIA 

office shall inform the requester what 

additional information is needed or why 

the request is otherwise insufficient. 

Requesters who are attempting to 

reformulate or modify such a request 

may discuss their request with the 

component FOIA office’s designated 

FOIA Specialist or its FOIA Public 

Liaison, each of whom is available to 

assist the requester in reasonably 

describing the records sought. If a 

request does not reasonably describe the 

records sought, the component FOIA 

office’s response to the request may be 

delayed or denied. 

Subpart D—Responsibility for 

Responding to Requests 

§ 212.6 Designation of authorized officials. 

(a) The Assistant Administrator for 

the Bureau for Management (M) serves 

as the USAID Chief FOIA Officer. The 

Chief FOIA Officer has overall 

responsibility for USAID compliance 

with the FOIA. The Chief FOIA Officer 

provides high level oversight and 

support to USAID’s FOIA programs, and 

recommends adjustments to agency 

practices, personnel, and funding as 

may be necessary to improve FOIA 

administration, including through an 

annual Chief FOIA Officers Report 

submitted to the U.S. Department of 

Justice. The Chief FOIA Officer is 

responsible for offering training to 

agency staff regarding their FOIA 

responsibilities; serves as the primary 

liaison with the Office of Government 

Information Services and the Office of 

Information Policy; and reviews, not 

less frequently than annually, all 

aspects of the Agency’s administration 

of the FOIA to ensure compliance with 

the FOIA’s requirements. 

(b) The Bureau for Management, 

Office of Management Services, 

Information and Records Division (M/ 

MS/IRD) is the component FOIA office 

that receives, tracks, and processes all of 

USAID’s FOIA requests, other than 

requests for OIG records, to ensure 

transparency within the Agency. 

(c) The Deputy Director, Bureau for 

Management, Office of Management 

Services (M/MS/OD) serves as the 

USAID FOIA Appeals Officer for 

requests for all USAID records other 

than OIG records. The FOIA Appeals 

Officer is responsible for receiving and 

acting upon appeals from requesters 

whose initial FOIA requests for USAID 

records (other than OIG records) have 

been denied, in whole or in part. 

(d) The Deputy Inspector General 

serves as the USAID OIG FOIA Appeals 

Officer for appeals of requests for OIG 

records. 

(e) The Chief, Bureau for 

Management, Office of Management 

Services, Information and Records 

Division (M/MS/IRD) serves as USAID’s 

FOIA Officer and USAID’s FOIA Public 

Liaison. The FOIA Officer is responsible 

for program direction, original denials, 

and policy decisions required for 

effective implementation of USAID’s 

FOIA program. The FOIA Public Liaison 

serves as a supervisory official to whom 

a FOIA requester can raise concerns 

about the services received, following 

an initial response from the FOIA staff. 

In addition, the FOIA Public Liaison 

assists, as appropriate, in reducing 

delays, increasing transparency and 


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understanding of the status of requests, 

and resolving disputes. 

(f) The General Counsel to the 

Inspector General serves as the OIG’s 

FOIA Officer and FOIA Public Liaison. 

(g) The Supervisory FOIA Team Lead 

is the Principal Operations Officer 

within the component’s FOIA office for 

the processing of FOIA requests and 

release determinations. 

(h) The FOIA Specialist also known as 

the Government Information Specialist 

(GIS) is responsible for processing 

requests and preparing records for 

release when such releases are 

authorized by the FOIA. They do not 

have the authority to make denials, 

including ‘‘no records’’ responses. 

(i) The General Counsel (GC), FOIA 

Backstop Attorney Advisor has 

responsibility for providing legal advice 

on all USAID matters regarding or 

resulting from the FOIA (other than OIG 

matters). Upon request, GC advises M/ 

MS/IRD on release and denial decisions, 

and apprises the FOIA Office of all 

significant developments with respect to 

the FOIA. 

(j) OIG attorneys have responsibility 

for providing legal advice on all 

requests and appeals related to OIG 

records. 

(k) Each Attorney Advisor designated 

to provide legal advice to USAID 

Bureaus/Independent Offices (B/IOs) is 

responsible for providing, at M/MS/ 

IRD’s request, legal advice on FOIA 

requests assigned to those B/IOs. 

(l) The designated FOIA Liaison 

Officer (FLO) in each USAID Bureau 

and Office is responsible for tasking and 

facilitating the collection of responsive 

records and monitoring the production 

of records to M/MS/IRD. 

§ 212.7 Processing of request. 

(a) In general. In determining which 

records are responsive to a request, the 

component’s FOIA office ordinarily will 

include only records in its possession as 

of the date that it begins its search. If 

any other date is used, the component’s 

FOIA office shall inform the requester of 

that date. 

(b) Authority to grant or deny 

requests. The FOIA Officer is authorized 

to grant or to deny any requests for 

records that are maintained by the 

Agency (other than OIG records). The 

OIG FOIA Officer is authorized to grant 

or to deny any requests for records 

maintained by OIG. 

(c) Consultation, referral, and 

coordination. When reviewing records 

located by the Agency in response to a 

request, the component’s FOIA office 

shall determine whether another agency 

of the Federal Government is better able 

to determine whether the record is 

exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. 

All consultations and referrals received 

by the Agency will be handled 

according to the date that the first 

agency received the perfected FOIA 

request. As to any such record, the 

component’s FOIA office shall proceed 

in one of the following ways: 

(1) Consultation. When records 

originated with USAID, but contain 

within them information of substantial 

interest to another agency, or other 

Federal Government office, the 

component’s FOIA office should consult 

with that other agency prior to making 

a release determination. 

(2) Referral. (i) When a component’s 

FOIA office believes that a different 

Department, agency, or component, is 

best able to determine whether to 

disclose the record, the component’s 

FOIA office will refer the responsibility 

for responding to the request regarding 

that record, as long as the referral is to 

an agency that is subject to the FOIA. 

Ordinarily, the agency that originated 

the record will be presumed to be best 

able to make the disclosure 

determination. However, if the 

component’s FOIA office and the 

originating agency jointly agree that the 

former is in the best position to respond 

regarding the record, then the record 

may be handled as a consultation. 

(ii) Whenever the component’s FOIA 

office refers any part of the 

responsibility for responding to a 

request to another agency, it shall 

document the referral, maintain a copy 

of the record that it refers, and notify the 

requester of the referral and inform the 

requester of the name(s) of the agency to 

which the record was referred, 

including that agency’s FOIA contact 

information. 

(iii) Re-routing of misdirected 

requests. Where a component’s FOIA 

office determines that a request was 

misdirected within the agency, the 

receiving component’s FOIA office must 

route the request to the FOIA office of 

the proper component within the 

agency. 

(3) Coordination. The standard 

referral procedure is not appropriate 

where disclosure of the identity of the 

agency to which the referral would be 

made could harm an interest protected 

by an applicable exemption, such as the 

exemptions that protect personal 

privacy or national security interests. In 

such instances, in order to avoid harm 

to an interest protected by an applicable 

exemption, the component’s FOIA office 

will coordinate with the originating 

agency to seek its views on the 

disclosability of the record. The release 

determination for the record that is the 

subject of the coordination will then be 

conveyed to the requester by the 

component’s FOIA office. 

(d) Classified information. On receipt 

of any request involving classified 

information, the component’s FOIA 

office must determine whether the 

information is currently and properly 

classified in accordance with applicable 

classification rules. Whenever a request 

involves a record containing 

information that has been classified or 

may be appropriate for classification by 

another agency under any applicable 

executive order concerning the 

classification of records, the 

component’s FOIA office must refer the 

responsibility for responding to the 

request regarding that information to the 

agency that classified the information, 

or that should consider the information 

for classification. Whenever USAID’s 

record contains information that has 

been derivatively classified (for 

example, when it contains information 

classified by another agency), the 

component’s FOIA office must refer the 

responsibility for responding to that 

portion of the request to the agency that 

classified the underlying information. 

(e) Furnishing records. The 

component’s FOIA office shall furnish 

copies only of records that the Agency 

has in its possession. The Agency is not 

compelled to create new records. The 

Agency is not required to perform 

research for a requester. The 

component’s FOIA office is required to 

furnish only one copy of a record. If 

information exists in different forms, the 

component’s FOIA office will provide 

the record in the form that best 

conserves government resources. 

Requests may specify the preferred form 

or format (including electronic formats) 

for the records sought by the requester. 

The component’s FOIA office will 

accommodate the form or format request 

if the record is readily reproducible in 

that form or format. 

(f) Archival records. The Agency 

ordinarily transfers records in 

accordance with its retirement 

authority, included in ADS 502, to the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration. These records become 

the physical and legal custody of the 

National Archives. Accordingly, 

requests for retired Agency records 

should be submitted to the National 

Archives by mail addressed to Special 

Access and FOIA Staff (NWCTF), 8601 

Adelphi Road, Room 5500, College Park, 

MD 20740 by fax to (301) 837–1864; or 

by email to specialaccess_foia@

nara.gov. 

(g) Poor copy. If USAID cannot make 

a legible copy of a record to be released, 

the Agency is not required to 

reconstruct it. Instead, the component’s 


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FOIA office will furnish the best copy 

possible and note its poor quality in the 

component’s FOIA office reply. 

Subpart E—Timing of Responses to 

Requests 

§ 212.8 Time limits. 

(a) In general. The component’s FOIA 

office ordinarily will respond to 

requests according to their order of 

receipt. 

(b) Multitrack processing. (1) The 

component’s FOIA office shall designate 

a specific track for requests that are 

granted expedited processing, in 

accordance with the standards set forth 

in paragraph (e) of this section. The 

component’s FOIA office may designate 

additional processing tracks that 

distinguish between simple and more 

complex requests based on the 

estimated amount of work or time 

needed to process the request. Among 

the factors the component’s FOIA office 

may consider are, the number of pages 

involved in processing the request and 

the need for consultations or referrals. 

The component’s FOIA office shall 

advise requesters of the track into which 

their request falls and, when 

appropriate, shall offer the requesters an 

opportunity to narrow their request so 

that it can be placed in a different 

processing track. 

(2) The component’s FOIA office shall 

generally process requests in each track 

on a ‘‘first-in, first-out’’ basis. 

(c) Unusual circumstances. Whenever 

the statutory time limit for processing a 

request cannot be met because of 

‘‘unusual circumstances,’’ as defined in 

the FOIA, and the component’s FOIA 

office extends the time limit on that 

basis, the component’s FOIA office 

shall, before expiration of the 20-day 

period to respond, notify the requester 

in writing of the unusual circumstances 

involved and of the date by which 

processing of the request can be 

expected to be completed. Where the 

extension exceeds 10 working days, the 

component’s FOIA office shall, in the 

written notice, notify the requester of 

the right to contact the component’s 

FOIA office’s FOIA Public Liaison, or 

seek dispute resolution services from 

the Office of Government Information 

Services (OGIS). In addition, the 

component’s FOIA office shall, as 

described by the FOIA, provide the 

requester with an opportunity to modify 

the request or arrange an alternative 

time period for processing. 

(d) Aggregating requests. For the 

purposes of satisfying unusual 

circumstances under the FOIA, the 

component’s FOIA office may aggregate 

requests in cases where it reasonably 

appears that multiple requests, 

submitted either by a requester or by a 

group of requesters acting in concert, 

constitute a single request that would 

otherwise involve unusual 

circumstances. The component’s FOIA 

office shall not aggregate multiple 

requests that involve unrelated matters. 

(e) Expedited processing. (1) Requests 

and appeals shall be processed on an 

expedited basis whenever it is 

determined that they involve: 

(i) Circumstances in which the lack of 

expedited processing could reasonably 

be expected to pose an imminent threat 

to the life or physical safety of an 

individual; 

(ii) An urgency to inform the public 

about an actual or alleged Federal 

Government activity, if made by a 

person who is primarily engaged in 

disseminating information; 

(iii) The loss of substantial due 

process rights; or 

(iv) A matter of widespread and 

exceptional media interest in which 

there exist possible questions about the 

government’s integrity that affect public 

confidence. 

(2) A requester who seeks expedited 

processing must submit a statement, 

certified to be true and correct, 

explaining in detail the basis for making 

the request for expedited processing. 

For example, under paragraph (e)(1)(ii) 

of this section, a requester who is not a 

full-time member of the news media 

must establish that the requester is a 

person whose primary activity or 

occupation is information 

dissemination, though it need not be the 

requester’s sole occupation. Such a 

requester also must establish a 

particular urgency to inform the public 

about the government activity involved 

in the request—one that extends beyond 

the public’s right to know about 

government activity generally. The 

existence of numerous articles 

published on a given subject can be 

helpful in establishing the requirement 

that there be an ‘‘urgency to inform’’ the 

public on the topic. As a matter of 

administrative discretion, the 

component’s FOIA office may waive the 

formal certification requirement. 

(3) The component’s FOIA office shall 

notify the requester within 10 calendar 

days of the receipt of a request for 

expedited processing of its decision 

whether to grant or deny expedited 

processing. If expedited processing is 

granted, the request shall be given 

priority, placed in the processing track 

for expedited requests, and shall be 

processed as soon as practicable. If a 

request for expedited processing is 

denied, any appeal of that decision shall 

be acted on expeditiously. 

Subpart F—Responses to Requests 

§ 212.9 Responsibility for responding to 

requests. 

(a) In general. The component’s FOIA 

office should, to the extent practicable, 

communicate with requesters having 

access to the internet using electronic 

means, such as email or web portal. 

(b) Acknowledgments of requests. The 

component’s FOIA office shall 

acknowledge the request and assign it 

an individualized tracking number. The 

component’s FOIA office shall include 

in the acknowledgment a brief 

description of the records sought to 

allow requesters to more easily keep 

track of their requests. 

(c) Grants of requests. Once the 

component’s FOIA office makes a 

determination to grant a request in full 

or in part, it shall notify the requester 

in writing. The component’s FOIA office 

also shall inform the requester of any 

fees charged and shall disclose the 

requested records to the requester 

promptly upon payment of any 

applicable fees. 

(d) Consultations and referrals. 

Whenever the component’s FOIA office 

consults with another Federal 

Government office over the releasability 

of a record, the component’s FOIA office 

shall notify the requester of the 

consultation and inform the requester of 

the name(s) of the agency or office with 

which the consultation is taking place. 

Whenever the component’s FOIA office 

refers any part of the responsibility for 

responding to a request to another 

Federal Government office, the 

component’s FOIA office shall 

document the referral, maintain a copy 

of the record that it refers, notify the 

requester of the referral, and inform the 

requester of the name(s) of the agency to 

which the record was referred, 

including that agency’s FOIA contact 

information. 

(e) Adverse determinations of 

requests. If the component’s FOIA office 

has made an adverse determination 

denying a request in any respect, the 

component’s FOIA office shall notify 

the requester of that determination in 

writing, and provide the contact 

information for the FOIA Public Liaison, 

as well as a description of the 

requester’s right to seek mediation 

services from the Office of Government 

Information Services (OGIS). Adverse 

determinations, or denials of requests, 

include decisions that: The requested 

record is exempt, in whole or in part; 

the request does not reasonably describe 

the records sought; the information 

requested is not a record subject to the 

FOIA; the requested record does not 

exist, cannot be located, or has been 


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destroyed; or the requested record is not 

readily reproducible in the form or 

format sought by the requester. A 

response will provide an estimate of the 

volume of any records or any 

information withheld. Adverse 

determinations also include denials 

involving fees or fee waiver matters or 

denials of requests for expedited 

processing. 

(f) Information furnished. All denials 

are in writing and describe in general 

terms the material withheld; state the 

reasons for the denial, including, as 

applicable, a reference to the specific 

exemption of the FOIA authorizing the 

withholding; explain your right to 

appeal the decision and identify the 

official to whom you should send the 

appeal; and are signed by the person 

who made the decision to deny all or 

part of the request. Records disclosed in 

part must be marked clearly to show the 

amount of information deleted and the 

exemption under which the deletion 

was made unless doing so would harm 

an interest protected by an applicable 

exemption. The location of the 

information deleted must also be 

indicated on the record, if technically 

feasible. 

(g) Conducting searches. USAID 

performs a diligent search for records to 

satisfy your request. Nevertheless, the 

Agency may not be able to find the 

records requested using the information 

provided, or the records may not exist. 

Subpart G—Confidential Commercial 

Information 

§ 212.10 Policy and procedure. 

(a) Definitions. (1) Confidential 

commercial information means 

commercial or financial information 

obtained by the Agency from a 

submitter that may be protected from 

disclosure under Exemption 4 of the 

FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). 

(2) Business submitter means any 

person or entity, including a 

corporation, State, or foreign 

government, but not including another 

Federal Government entity, that 

provides information, either directly or 

indirectly to the Federal Government. 

(b) Designation of confidential 

commercial information. A submitter of 

confidential commercial information 

must use good faith efforts to designate 

by appropriate markings, either at the 

time of submission or within a 

reasonable time thereafter, any portion 

of its submission that it considers to be 

protected from disclosure under 

Exemption 4. These designations shall 

expire 10 years after the date of the 

submission unless the submitter 

requests and provides justification for a 

longer designation period. 

(c) When notice to business submitters 

is required. (1) The component’s FOIA 

office shall promptly provide written 

notice to a business submitter of 

confidential commercial information 

whenever records containing such 

information are requested under the 

FOIA if, after reviewing the request, the 

responsive records, and any appeal by 

the requester, the component’s FOIA 

office determines that it may be required 

to disclose the records, provided: 

(i) The requested information has 

been designated in good faith by the 

business submitter as information 

considered protected from disclosure 

under Exemption 4; or 

(ii) The component’s FOIA office has 

a reason to believe that the requested 

information may be protected from 

disclosure under Exemption 4, but has 

not yet determined whether the 

information is protected from disclosure 

under that exemption or any other 

applicable exemption. 

(2) The notice shall either describe the 

commercial information requested or 

include a copy of the requested records 

or portions of records containing the 

information. In cases involving a 

voluminous number of submitters, 

notice may be made by posting or 

publishing the notice in a place or 

manner reasonably likely to accomplish 

it. 

(d) Exceptions to business submitter 

notice requirements. The notice 

requirements of this section shall not 

apply if: 

(1) The component’s FOIA office 

determines that the information is 

exempt under the FOIA; 

(2) The information has been lawfully 

published or has been officially made 

available to the public; 

(3) Disclosure of the information is 

required by a statute other than the 

FOIA or by a regulation issued in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 12600 of June 23, 1987; 

or 

(4) The designation made by the 

business submitter appears obviously 

frivolous, except that, in such a case, the 

component’s FOIA office shall give the 

business submitter written notice of any 

final decision to disclose the 

information and must provide that 

notice within a reasonable number of 

days prior to a specified disclosure date. 

(e) Opportunity to object to disclosure. 

(1) The component’s FOIA office shall 

specify a reasonable time period within 

which the business submitter must 

respond to the notice referenced in this 

section. If a business submitter has any 

objections to disclosure, the business 

submitter should provide the 

component’s FOIA office with a detailed 

written statement that specifies all 

grounds for withholding the particular 

information under any exemption of the 

FOIA. In order to rely on Exemption 4 

as basis for nondisclosure, the business 

submitter must explain why the 

information constitutes a trade secret or 

commercial or financial information 

that is privileged or confidential. 

(2) A business submitter who fails to 

respond within the time period 

specified in the notice shall be 

considered to have no objection to 

disclosure of the information. 

Information received by the 

component’s FOIA office after the date 

of any disclosure decision shall not be 

considered by the component’s FOIA 

office. Any information provided by a 

business submitter under this subpart 

may itself be subject to disclosure under 

the FOIA. 

(f) Analysis of objections. The 

component’s FOIA office shall consider 

a business submitter’s objections and 

specific grounds for nondisclosure in 

deciding whether to disclose the 

requested information. 

(g) Notice of intent to disclose. 

Whenever the component’s FOIA office 

decides to disclose information over the 

objection of a business submitter, the 

component’s FOIA office shall provide 

the business submitter written notice, 

which shall include: 

(1) A statement of the reasons why 

each of the business submitter’s 

disclosure objections was not sustained; 

(2) A description of the information to 

be disclosed; and 

(3) A specified disclosure date, which 

shall be a reasonable time subsequent to 

the notice. 

(h) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. Whenever 

a requester files a lawsuit seeking to 

compel the disclosure of confidential 

commercial information, the 

component’s FOIA office shall promptly 

notify the business submitter. 

(i) Requester notification. The 

component’s FOIA office shall notify 

the requester whenever it provides the 

submitter with notice and an 

opportunity to object to disclosure; 

whenever it notifies the submitter of its 

intent to disclose the requested 

information; and whenever a submitter 

files a lawsuit to prevent the disclosure 

of the information. 

Subpart H—Administrative Appeals 

§ 212.11 Appeal procedures. 

The component’s FOIA office must 

inform the requester of the reasons for 

the denial and the requester’s right to 

appeal the denial to the FOIA Appeals 


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Officer whenever a FOIA request is 

denied. 

(a) What a requester can appeal. A 

requester may appeal the withholding of 

a document or denial of a fee waiver 

request. A requester may contest the 

type or amount of fees that were 

charged, or may appeal any other type 

of adverse determination under the 

FOIA. A requester may also appeal 

because USAID failed to conduct an 

adequate search for the documents 

requested. However, a requester may not 

file an administrative appeal for the lack 

of a timely response. A requester may 

administratively appeal any portion 

denied when their request is granted in 

part and denied in part. 

(b) Requirements for making an 

appeal. A requester may appeal any 

adverse determinations to the 

component’s FOIA office. The requester 

must make the appeal in writing. To be 

considered timely, the appeal must be 

postmarked, or in the case of electronic 

submissions, transmitted, within 90 

calendar days after the date of the 

response. The appeal should clearly 

identify the component FOIA office’s 

determination that is being appealed 

and the assigned request number. To 

facilitate handling, the requester should 

mark both the appeal letter and 

envelope, or subject line of the 

electronic transmission, ‘‘Freedom of 

Information Act Appeal.’’ 

(c) Adjudication of appeals. (1) The 

Deputy Director of the Bureau for 

Management Services or designee will 

conduct de novo review and make the 

final determination on the appeals 

related to all Agency records other than 

OIG records. The Deputy Inspector 

General will conduct de novo review 

and make the final determination on the 

appeals relating to OIG records. 

(2) An appeal ordinarily will not be 

adjudicated if the request becomes a 

matter of FOIA litigation. 

(d) Decisions on appeals. A decision 

on an appeal must be made in writing. 

A decision that upholds the component 

FOIA office’s determination will contain 

a statement that identifies the reasons 

for the affirmance, including any FOIA 

exemptions applied. The decision will 

provide the requester with notification 

of the statutory right to file a lawsuit 

and will inform the requester of the 

mediation services offered by the Office 

of Government Information Services of 

the National Archives and Records 

Administration (OGIS) as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation. 

Mediation is a voluntary process. If the 

component’s FOIA office agrees to 

participate in the mediation services 

provided by OGIS, it will actively 

engage as a partner to the process in an 

attempt to resolve the dispute. If the 

component FOIA office’s decision is 

remanded or modified on appeal, the 

requester will be notified of that 

determination in writing. The 

component’s FOIA office will thereafter 

further process the request in 

accordance with that appeal 

determination and respond directly to 

the requester. 

(e) When appeal is required. Before 

seeking review by a court of the 

component FOIA office’s adverse 

determination, a requester generally 

must first submit a timely 

administrative appeal. 

(f) Where to file an appeal. An appeal 

(other than appeals related to OIG 

records) may be filed by sending a letter 

to: FOIA Appeals Officer, Bureau for 

Management, Deputy Director, Office of 

Management Services, U.S. Agency for 

International Development, USAID 

Annex, M/MS, Room 10.8 OD, 

Washington, DC 20523; or by email at 

foia@usaid.gov. An appeal relating to 

OIG records may be filed by sending a 

letter to: Deputy Inspector General, 

Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency 

for International Development, Suite 

6.06–D, RRB, 1300 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20523– 

4601; or by email at foiaoig@usaid.gov. 

There is no charge for filing an 

administrative appeal. 

§ 212.12 Mediation and dispute services. 

The Office of Government Information 

Services of the National Archives and 

Records Administration (OGIS) is a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

resource for the public and the 

government. Congress has charged OGIS 

with reviewing FOIA policies, 

procedures and compliance of Federal 

agencies and to recommend changes to 

the FOIA. OGIS’ mission also includes 

providing dispute resolution services 

between Federal agencies and 

requesters. OGIS works as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation. When 

the component’s FOIA office makes a 

determination on a request, the 

component’s FOIA office shall offer the 

services of the FOIA Public Liaison, and 

will notify requesters of the mediation 

services provided by OGIS. Specifically, 

the component’s FOIA office will 

include in the component’s FOIA 

office’s notification to the requester: 

(a) The right of the requester to seek 

assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison 

of the component’s FOIA office, and in 

the case of an adverse determination; 

(b) The right of the requester to seek 

dispute resolution services from the 

FOIA Public Liaison of the component’s 

FOIA office or the Office of Government 

Information Services. 

Subpart I—Preservation of Records 

§ 212.13 Policy and procedures. 

The component’s FOIA office shall 

preserve all correspondence relating to 

the requests it receives under this 

subpart, and all records processed 

pursuant to such requests, until such 

time as the destruction of such 

correspondence and records is 

authorized pursuant to Title 44 of the 

United States Code or the General 

Records Schedule 4.2 of the National 

Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA). Under no circumstances shall 

records be sent to a Federal Records 

Center, transferred to the permanent 

custody of NARA, or destroyed while 

they are the subject of a pending 

request, appeal, or civil action under the 

FOIA. 

Subpart J—Fees 

§ 212.14 Fees to be charged—general. 

(a) In general. The component’s FOIA 

office shall charge for processing 

requests under the FOIA in accordance 

with the provisions of this section and 

with the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Guidelines. In order to 

resolve any fee issues that arise under 

this section, the component’s FOIA 

office may contact a requester for 

additional information. The 

component’s FOIA office shall ensure 

that search, review, and duplication are 

conducted in the most efficient and the 

least expensive manner. The 

component’s FOIA office ordinarily will 

collect all applicable fees before sending 

copies of records to a requester. 

Requesters must pay fees by check or 

money order made payable to the 

Treasury of the United States. 

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this 

section: 

(1) Commercial use request is a 

request that asks for information for a 

use or a purpose that furthers a 

commercial, trade, or profit interest, 

which can include furthering those 

interests through litigation. The 

component FOIA office’s decision to 

place a requester in the commercial use 

category will be made on a case-by-case 

basis based on the requester’s intended 

use of the information. 

(2) Direct costs are those expenses that 

the Agency incurs in searching for and 

duplicating (and, in the case of 

commercial use requests, reviewing) 

records in order to respond to a FOIA 

request. Direct costs do not include 

overhead expenses such as the costs of 

space, and of heating or lighting a 

facility. 

(3) Duplication is reproducing a copy 

of a record, or of the information 


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contained in it, necessary to respond to 

a FOIA request. Copies can take the 

form of paper, audiovisual materials, or 

electronic records, among others. 

(4) Educational institution is any 

school that operates a program of 

scholarly research. A requester in this 

fee category must show that the request 

is made in connection with his or her 

role at the educational institution. 

Agencies may seek verification from the 

requester that the request is in 

furtherance of scholarly research. 

(5) Fee waiver is a waiver or reduction 

of processing fees if a requester can 

demonstrate that certain statutory 

standards are satisfied, including that 

the information is in the public interest 

and is not requested for a commercial 

interest. 

(6) Noncommercial scientific 

institution is an institution that is not 

operated on a ‘‘commercial’’ basis, as 

defined in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section and that is operated solely for 

the purpose of conducting scientific 

research the results of which are not 

intended to promote any particular 

product or industry. A requester in this 

category must show that the request is 

authorized by and is made under the 

auspices of a qualifying institution and 

that the records are sought to further 

scientific research and are not for a 

commercial use. 

(7) Representative of the news media 

is any person or entity that gathers 

information of potential interest to a 

segment of the public, uses its editorial 

skills to turn the raw materials into a 

distinct work, and distributes that work 

to an audience. The term ‘‘news’’ means 

information that is about current events 

or that would be of current interest to 

the public. Examples of news media 

entities include television or radio 

stations that broadcast ‘‘news’’ to the 

public at large and publishers of 

periodicals that disseminate ‘‘news’’ 

and make their products available 

through a variety of means to the 

general public, including news 

organizations that disseminate solely on 

the internet. A request for records 

supporting the news-dissemination 

function of the requester shall not be 

considered to be for a commercial use. 

‘‘Freelance’’ journalists who 

demonstrate a solid basis for expecting 

publication through a news media entity 

shall be considered as a representative 

of the news media. A publishing 

contract would provide the clearest 

evidence that publication is expected; 

however, components shall also 

consider a requester’s past publication 

record in making this determination. 

(8) Requester category is one of the 

three categories that agencies place 

requesters in for the purpose of 

determining whether a requester will be 

charged fees for search, review, and 

duplication. The three categories are: 

Commercial requesters; non-commercial 

scientific or educational institutions or 

news media requesters; and all other 

requesters. 

(9) Review is the examination of a 

record located in response to a request 

in order to determine whether any 

portion of it is exempt from disclosure. 

Review time includes processing any 

record for disclosure, such as doing all 

that is necessary to prepare the record 

for disclosure, including the process of 

redacting the record and marking the 

appropriate exemptions. Review costs 

are properly charged even if a record 

ultimately is not disclosed. Review time 

also includes time spent both obtaining 

and considering any formal objection to 

disclosure made by a confidential 

commercial information submitter, but 

it does not include time spent resolving 

general legal or policy issues regarding 

the application of exemptions. 

(10) Search is the process of looking 

for and retrieving records or information 

responsive to a request. Search time 

includes page-by-page or line-by-line 

identification of information within 

records and the reasonable efforts 

expended to locate and retrieve 

information from electronic records. 

(c) Charging fees. In responding to 

FOIA requests, the component’s FOIA 

office shall charge the following fees 

unless a waiver or reduction of fees has 

been granted under paragraph (k) of this 

section. 

(1) Search. Requests made by 

educational institutions, noncommercial 

scientific institutions, or representatives 

of the news media are not subject to 

search fees. Search fees shall be charged 

for all other requesters, subject to the 

restrictions of paragraph (d) of this 

section. The component’s FOIA office 

may properly charge for time spent 

searching even if they do not locate any 

responsive records or if they determine 

that the records are entirely exempt 

from disclosure. 

(2) Duplication. Duplication fees shall 

be charged to all requesters, subject to 

the restrictions of paragraph (d) of this 

section. The component’s FOIA office 

shall honor a requester’s preference for 

receiving a record in a particular form 

or format where it is readily 

reproducible by the component’s FOIA 

office in the form or format requested. 

Where photocopies are supplied, the 

component’s FOIA office shall provide 

one copy per request at a cost of ten 

cents per page. For copies of records 

produced on tapes, disks, or other 

media, the direct costs of producing the 

copy, including operator time shall be 

charged. Where paper documents must 

be scanned in order to comply with a 

requester’s preference to receive the 

records in an electronic format, the 

requester shall pay the direct costs 

associated with scanning those 

materials. For other forms of 

duplication, the component’s FOIA 

office shall charge the direct costs. 

(3) Review. Review fees shall be 

charged to requesters who make 

commercial use requests. Review fees 

shall be assessed in connection with the 

initial review of the record, i.e., the 

review conducted by the component’s 

FOIA office to determine whether an 

exemption applies to a particular record 

or portion of a record. No charge will be 

made for review at the administrative 

appeal stage of exemptions applied at 

the initial review stage. However, if a 

particular exemption is deemed to no 

longer apply, any costs associated with 

the component’s FOIA office re-review 

of the records in order to consider the 

use of other exemptions may be 

assessed as review fees. 

(d) Restrictions on charging fees. (1) 

No search fees will be charged for 

requests by educational institutions, 

noncommercial scientific institutions, 

or representatives of the news media, 

unless the records are sought for 

commercial use. 

(2) When the component’s FOIA 

office determines that unusual 

circumstances apply to the processing of 

a request, and the component’s FOIA 

office has provided timely written 

notice to the requester, the delay is 

excused for an additional 10 days. If the 

component’s FOIA office fails to comply 

with the extended time limit, it may not 

charge search fees (or for requesters 

with preferred fee status, may not 

charge duplication fees) except as 

provided in (d)(2)(i) and (ii) of this 

section. 

(i) Exception: If unusual 

circumstances apply and more than 

5000 pages are necessary to respond to 

the request, the component’s FOIA 

office may charge search fees (or, for 

requesters in preferred fee status, may 

charge duplication fees) if timely 

written notice has been made to the 

requester and the component’s FOIA 

office has discussed with the requester 

via written mail, electronic mail, or 

telephone (or made not less than 3 goodfaith attempts to do so) how the 

requester could effectively limit the 

scope of the request. 

(ii) Court Determination that 

exceptional circumstances exist: If a 

court determines that exceptional 

circumstances exist, the component’s 

FOIA office’s failure to comply with a 


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time limit shall be excused for the 

length of time provided by the court 

order. 

(3) If the component’s FOIA office 

fails to comply with the time limits in 

which to respond to a request, and if no 

unusual or exceptional circumstances, 

as those terms are defined by the FOIA, 

apply to the processing of the request, 

it may not charge search fees, or, in the 

instances of requests from requesters 

described in paragraph (d)(1) of this 

section, may not charge duplication 

fees. 

(4) No search or review fees will be 

charged for a quarter-hour period unless 

more than half of that period is required 

for search or review. 

(5) Except for requesters seeking 

records for a commercial use, the 

component’s FOIA office shall provide 

without charge: 

(i) The first 100 pages of duplication 

(or the cost equivalent for other media); 

and 

(ii) The first two hours of search. 

(6) When, after first deducting the 100 

free pages (or its cost equivalent) and 

the first two hours of search, a total fee 

calculated under paragraph (c) of this 

section is $25.00 or less for any request, 

no fee will be charged. 

(e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess 

of $25.00. (1) When the component’s 

FOIA office determines or estimates that 

the fees to be assessed in accordance 

with this section will exceed $25.00, the 

component’s FOIA office shall notify 

the requester of the actual or estimated 

amount of the fees, including a 

breakdown of the fees for search, review 

or duplication, unless the requester has 

indicated a willingness to pay fees as 

high as those anticipated. If only a 

portion of the fee can be estimated 

readily, the component’s FOIA office 

shall advise the requester accordingly. If 

the requester is a noncommercial use 

requester, the notice shall specify that 

the requester is entitled to the statutory 

entitlements of 100 pages of duplication 

at no charge and, if the requester is 

charged search fees, two hours of search 

time at no charge, and shall advise the 

requester whether those entitlements 

have been provided. 

(2) In cases in which a requester has 

been notified that the actual or 

estimated fees are in excess of $25.00, 

the request shall not be considered 

received and further work will not be 

completed until the requester commits 

in writing to pay the actual or estimated 

total fee, or designates some amount of 

fees the requester is willing to pay, or 

in the case of a noncommercial use 

requester who has not yet been provided 

with the requester’s statutory 

entitlements, designates that the 

requester seeks only that which can be 

provided by the statutory entitlements. 

The requester must provide the 

commitment or designation in writing, 

and must, when applicable, designate 

an exact dollar amount the requester is 

willing to pay. The component’s FOIA 

office is not required to accept payments 

in installments. 

(3) If the requester has indicated a 

willingness to pay some designated 

amount of fees, but the component’s 

FOIA office estimates that the total fee 

will exceed that amount, the 

component’s FOIA office shall toll the 

processing of the request when it 

notifies the requester of the estimated 

fees in excess of the amount the 

requester has indicated a willingness to 

pay. The component’s FOIA office shall 

inquire whether the requester wishes to 

revise the amount of fees the requester 

is willing to pay or modify the request. 

Once the requester responds, the time to 

respond will resume from where it was 

at the date of the notification. 

(4) The component’s FOIA office shall 

make available their FOIA Public 

Liaison or other FOIA Specialists to 

assist any requester in reformulating a 

request to meet the requester’s needs at 

a lower cost. 

(f) Charges for other services. 

Although not required to provide 

special services, if the component’s 

FOIA office chooses to do so as a matter 

of administrative discretion, the direct 

costs of providing the service shall be 

charged. Examples of such services 

include certifying that records are true 

copies, providing multiple copies of the 

same document, or sending records by 

means other than first class mail. 

(g) Charging interest. The 

component’s FOIA office may charge 

interest on any unpaid bill starting on 

the 31st day following the date of billing 

the requester. Interest charges shall be 

assessed at the rate provided in 31 

U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the 

billing date until payment is received by 

the component’s FOIA office. The 

component’s FOIA office shall follow 

the provisions of the Debt Collection 

Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97–365, 96 Stat. 

1749), as amended, and its 

administrative procedures, including 

the use of consumer reporting agencies, 

collection agencies, and offset. 

(h) Aggregating requests. When the 

component’s FOIA office reasonably 

believes that a requester or a group of 

requesters acting in concert is 

attempting to divide a single request 

into a series of requests for the purpose 

of avoiding fees, the component’s FOIA 

office may aggregate those requests and 

charge accordingly. The component’s 

FOIA office may presume that multiple 

requests of this type made within a 30- 

day period have been made in order to 

avoid fees. For requests separated by a 

longer period, the component’s FOIA 

office will aggregate them only where 

there is a reasonable basis for 

determining that aggregation is 

warranted in view of all the 

circumstances involved. Multiple 

requests involving unrelated matters 

shall not be aggregated. 

(i) Advance payments. (1) For 

requests other than those described in 

paragraphs (i)(2) or (3) of this section, 

the component’s FOIA office shall not 

require the requester to make an 

advance payment before work is 

commenced or continued on a request. 

Payment owed for work already 

completed (i.e., payment before copies 

are sent to a requester) is not an advance 

payment. 

(2) When the component’s FOIA 

office determines or estimates that a 

total fee to be charged under this section 

will exceed $250.00, it may require that 

the requester make an advance payment 

up to the amount of the entire 

anticipated fee before beginning to 

process the request. The component’s 

FOIA office may elect to process the 

request prior to collecting fees when it 

receives a satisfactory assurance of full 

payment from a requester with a history 

of prompt payment. 

(3) Where a requester has previously 

failed to pay a properly charged FOIA 

fee to the component’s FOIA office 

within 30 calendar days of the billing 

date, the component’s FOIA office may 

require that the requester pay the full 

amount due, plus any applicable 

interest on that prior request, and the 

component’s FOIA office may require 

that the requester make an advance 

payment of the full amount of any 

anticipated fee before the component’s 

FOIA office begins to process a new 

request or continues to process a 

pending request or any pending appeal. 

If the component’s FOIA office has a 

reasonable basis to believe that a 

requester has misrepresented the 

requester’s identity in order to avoid 

paying outstanding fees, it may require 

that the requester provide proof of 

identity. 

(4) In cases in which the component’s 

FOIA office requires advance payment, 

the request shall not be considered 

received and further work will not be 

completed until the required payment is 

received. If the requester does not pay 

the advance payment within 30 

calendar days after the date of the 

component FOIA office’s fee 

determination, the request will be 

closed. 


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(j) Other statutes specifically 

providing for fees. The fee schedule of 

this section does not apply to fees 

charged under any statute that 

specifically requires an agency to set 

and collect fees for particular types of 

records. In instances where records 

responsive to a request are subject to a 

statutorily-based fee schedule program, 

the component’s FOIA office shall 

inform the requester of the contact 

information for that program. 

(k) Requirements for waiver or 

reduction of fees. (1) Records responsive 

to a request shall be furnished without 

charge or at a reduced rate below the 

rate established under paragraph (c) of 

this section, where the component’s 

FOIA office determines, based on all 

available information, that the requester 

has demonstrated that: 

(i) Disclosure of the requested 

information is in the public interest 

because it is likely to contribute 

significantly to public understanding of 

the operations or activities of the 

government, and 

(ii) Disclosure of the information is 

not primarily in the commercial interest 

of the requester. 

(2) In deciding whether disclosure of 

the requested information is in the 

public interest because it is likely to 

contribute significantly to public 

understanding of operations or activities 

of the government, the component’s 

FOIA office shall consider all four of the 

following factors: 

(i) The subject of the request must 

concern identifiable operations or 

activities of the Federal Government, 

with a connection that is direct and 

clear, not remote or attenuated. 

(ii) Disclosure of the requested 

records must be meaningfully 

informative about government 

operations or activities in order to be 

‘‘likely to contribute’’ to an increased 

public understanding of those 

operations or activities. The disclosure 

of information that already is in the 

public domain, in either the same or a 

substantially identical form, would not 

contribute to such understanding where 

nothing new would be added to the 

public’s understanding. 

(iii) The disclosure must contribute to 

the understanding of a reasonably broad 

audience of persons interested in the 

subject, as opposed to the individual 

understanding of the requester. A 

requester’s expertise in the subject area 

as well as the requester’s ability and 

intention to effectively convey 

information to the public shall be 

considered. It shall be presumed that a 

representative of the news media will 

satisfy this consideration. 

(iv) The public’s understanding of the 

subject in question must be enhanced by 

the disclosure to a significant extent. 

However, the component’s FOIA office 

shall not make value judgments about 

whether the information at issue is 

‘‘important’’ enough to be made public. 

(3) To determine whether disclosure 

of the requested information is 

primarily in the commercial interest of 

the requester, the component’s FOIA 

office shall consider the following 

factors: 

(i) The component’s FOIA office shall 

identify any commercial interest of the 

requester, as defined in paragraph (b)(1) 

of this section, that would be furthered 

by the requested disclosure. Requesters 

shall be given an opportunity to provide 

explanatory information regarding this 

consideration. 

(ii) A waiver or reduction of fees is 

justified where the public interest is 

greater than any identified commercial 

interest in disclosure. The component’s 

FOIA office ordinarily shall presume 

that where a news media requester has 

satisfied the public interest standard, 

the public interest will be the interest 

primarily served by disclosure to that 

requester. Disclosure to data brokers or 

others who merely compile and market 

government information for direct 

economic return shall not be presumed 

to primarily serve the public interest. 

(4) Where only some of the records to 

be released satisfy the requirements for 

a waiver of fees, a waiver shall be 

granted for those records. 

(5) Requests for a waiver or reduction 

of fees should be made when the request 

is first submitted to the component’s 

FOIA office and should address the 

criteria referenced in this section. A 

requester may submit a fee waiver 

request at a later time so long as the 

underlying record request is pending or 

on administrative appeal. When a 

requester who has committed to pay 

fees subsequently asks for a waiver of 

those fees and that waiver is denied, the 

requester shall be required to pay any 

costs incurred up to the date the fee 

waiver request was received. A 

requester may appeal the denial of a fee 

waiver. 

§ 212.15 Fees to be charged—requester 

categories. 

(a) The following specific fees are 

charged for services rendered: 

(1) Commercial Use: 

Search: $40.00 per hour. 

Search costs will be assessed even 

though no records may be found or even 

if, after review, there is no disclosure or 

records. 

Review: $55.00 per hour. 

Duplication: 10¢ per page. 

(2) Educational & Non-Commercial 

Scientific Institutions 

Search: No fee. 

Review: No fee. 

Duplication: 10¢ per page after the 

first 100 pages. 

(3) Representatives of the News Media 

Search: No fee. 

Review: No fee. 

Duplication: 10¢ per page after the 

first 100 pages. 

(4) All Others 

Search: Same as ‘‘Commercial Users’’ 

except the first two hours shall be 

furnished without charge. 

Review: No fee. 

Duplication: 10¢ per page after the 

first 100 pages. 

(b) If copies of records are provided in 

other than paper format (such as on 

microfiche, video tape, or as electronic 

data files), or other than first-class mail 

is requested or required, the requester is 

charged the actual cost of providing 

these additional services. 

Subpart K—FOIA Definitions 

§ 212.16 Glossary. 

As used in this part: 

Administrative FOIA Appeal is an 

independent review of the initial 

determination made in response to a 

FOIA request. Requesters who are 

dissatisfied with the response made on 

their initial request have a statutory 

right to appeal the initial determination 

made by the component’s FOIA office. 

Agency is any executive agency, 

military agency, government 

corporation, government-controlled 

corporation, or other establishment in 

the executive branch of the Federal 

Government, or any independent 

regulatory agency. Thus, USAID is an 

agency. 

Complex request is a request that 

typically seeks a high volume of 

material or requires additional steps to 

process such as the need to search for 

records in multiple locations. 

Consultation is when USAID locates a 

record that contains information of 

substantial interest to another agency, 

and the component’s FOIA office asks 

for the views of that other agency on the 

disclosability of the records before any 

final determination is made. 

Discretionary disclosure is 

information that the component’s FOIA 

office releases even though it could have 

been withheld under one of the FOIA’s 

exemptions. 

Duplication is reproducing a copy of 

a record, or of the information contained 

in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA 

request. Copies can take the form of 

paper, audiovisual materials, or 

electronic records, among others. 


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Electronic record is any information 

that is recorded in a form that only a 

computer can process and that satisfies 

the definition of a Federal record per the 

Federal Records Act. Federal electronic 

records are not necessarily kept in a 

‘‘recordkeeping system’’ but may reside 

in a generic electronic information 

system or are produced by an 

application such as word processing or 

electronic mail. 

Exemptions are nine categories of 

information that are not required to be 

released in response to a FOIA request 

because release would be harmful to a 

government or private interest. These 

categories are called ‘‘exemptions’’ from 

disclosures. 

Expedited processing is the FOIA 

response track granted in certain limited 

situations, specifically when a FOIA 

request is processed ahead of other 

pending requests. 

Freedom of Information Act or FOIA 

is a United States federal law that grants 

the public access to information 

possessed by government agencies. 

Upon written request, U.S. government 

agencies are required to release 

information unless it falls under one of 

nine exemptions listed in the Act. 

Frequently requested records are 

records that have been requested three 

(3) or more times from the component’s 

FOIA office. 

Multi-track processing is a system that 

divides in-coming FOIA requests 

according to their complexity so that 

simple requests requiring relatively 

minimal review are placed in one 

processing track and more complex 

requests are placed in one or more other 

tracks. Requests granted expedited 

processing are placed in yet another 

track. Requests in each track are 

processed on a first in/first out basis. 

Office of Government Information 

Services (OGIS) offers mediation 

services to resolve disputes between 

FOIA requesters and agencies as an 

alternative to litigation. OGIS also 

reviews agency FOIA compliance, 

policies, and procedures and makes 

recommendations for improvement. The 

Office is a part of the National Archives 

and Records Administration, and was 

created by Congress as part of the OPEN 

Government Act of 2007, which 

amended the FOIA. 

Proactive disclosures are records 

made publicly available by agencies 

without waiting for a specific FOIA 

request. Agencies now post on their 

websites material concerning their 

functions and mission. The FOIA itself 

requires agencies to make available 

certain categories of information, 

including final opinions and orders, 

specific policy statements, certain 

administrative staff manuals and 

frequently requested records. 

Record means information regardless 

of its physical form or characteristics 

including information created, stored, 

and retrievable by electronic means that 

is created or obtained by the Agency 

and under the control of the Agency at 

the time of the request, including 

information maintained for the Agency 

by an entity under Government contract 

for records management purposes. It 

does not include records that are not 

already in existence and that would 

have to be created specifically to 

respond to a request. Information 

available in electronic form shall be 

searched and compiled in response to a 

request unless such search and 

compilation would significantly 

interfere with the operation of the 

Agency’s automated information 

systems. 

Referral occurs when an agency 

locates a record that originated with, or 

is of otherwise primary interest to 

another Department, agency, or 

component. It will forward that record 

to the other agency to process the record 

and to provide the final determination 

directly to the requester. 

Simple request is a FOIA request that 

a component’s FOIA office anticipates 

will involve a small volume of material 

or which will be able to be processed 

relatively quickly. 

Subpart L—Other Rights and Services 

§ 212.17 Rights and services qualified by 

the FOIA statute. 

Nothing in this subpart shall be 

construed to entitle any person, as a 

right, to any service or to the disclosure 

of any record to which such person is 

not entitled under the FOIA. 

Subpart M—Privacy Act Provisions 

§ 212.18 Purpose and scope. 

This subpart contains the rules that 

the USAID follows under the Privacy 

Act of 1974 (PA), 5 U.S.C. 552a, as 

amended. These rules should be read 

together with the text of the statute, 

which provides additional information 

about records maintained on 

individuals. The rules in this subpart 

apply to all records in systems of 

records maintained by the agency that 

are retrieved by an individual’s name or 

personal identifier. They describe the 

procedures by which individuals may 

request access to records about 

themselves, request amendment or 

correction of those records, and request 

an accounting of disclosures of those 

records by the agency. If any records 

retrieved pursuant to an access request 

under the PA are found to be exempt 

from access under that Act, they will be 

processed for possible disclosure under 

the FOIA, as amended. No fees shall be 

charged for access to or amendment of 

PA records. 

§ 212.19 Privacy definitions. 

As used in this subpart, the following 

definitions shall apply: 

(a) Individual means a citizen or a 

legal permanent resident alien (LPR) of 

the United States. 

(b) Maintain includes maintain, 

collect, use, or disseminate. 

(c) Record means any item, collection, 

or grouping of information about an 

individual that is maintained by the 

agency and that contains the 

individual’s name or the identifying 

number, symbol, or other identifying 

particular assigned to the individual, 

such as a finger or voice print or 

photograph. 

(d) System of records means a group 

of any records under the control of the 

agency from which information is 

retrieved by the name of an individual 

or by some identifying number, symbol, 

or other identifying particular assigned 

to an individual. 

§ 212.20 Request for access to records. 

(a) In general. Requests for access to 

records (other than OIG records) under 

the PA must be made in writing and 

mailed to the Bureau for Management 

Services, Information and Records 

Division at the address given in § 212.5. 

Requests for access to OIG records 

under the PA must be made in writing 

and mailed to the Office of General 

Counsel for the OIG at the address given 

in § 212.5. 

(b) Description of records sought. 

Requests for access should describe the 

requested record(s) in sufficient detail to 

permit identification of the record(s). At 

a minimum, requests should include the 

individual’s full name (including 

maiden name, if appropriate) and any 

other names used, current complete 

mailing address, (city, state and 

country). Helpful data includes the 

approximate time period of the record 

and the circumstances that give the 

individual reason to believe that the 

agency maintains a record under the 

individual’s name or personal identifier, 

and, if known, the system of records in 

which the record is maintained. In 

certain instances, it may be necessary 

for the component’s FOIA office to 

request additional information from the 

requester, either to ensure a full search, 

or to ensure that a record retrieved does 

in fact pertain to the individual. 

(c) Verification of personal identity. 

The component’s FOIA office will 

require reasonable identification of 


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individuals requesting records about 

themselves under the PA’s access 

provisions to ensure that records are 

only accessed by the proper persons. 

Requesters must state their full name, 

current address, citizenship or legal 

permanent resident alien status, and 

date (city, state, and country). The 

request must be signed, and the 

requester’s signature must be either 

notarized or made under penalty of 

perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746. If 

the requester seeks records under 

another name the requester has used, a 

statement, under penalty of perjury, that 

the requester has also used the other 

name must be included. 

(d) Third party access. The 

component’s FOIA office may process 

third party requests, as described in this 

section. In the absence of a request by, 

or prior written consent of, the 

individual to whom the records pertain, 

the component’s FOIA office will 

process third party requests under the 

FOIA. The Agency’s form, AID 507–1, 

may be used to certify the identity and 

provide third party authorization. 

(1) Parents and guardians of minor 

children. Upon presentation of 

acceptable documentation of the 

parental or guardian relationship, a 

parent or guardian of a U.S. citizen or 

LPR minor (an unmarried person under 

the age of 18) may, on behalf of the 

minor, request records under the PA 

pertaining to the minor. In any case, 

U.S. citizen or LPR minors may request 

such records on their own behalf. 

(2) Guardians. A guardian of an 

individual who has been declared by a 

court to be incompetent may act for and 

on behalf of the incompetent individual 

upon presentation of appropriate 

documentation of the guardian 

relationship. 

(3) Authorized representatives or 

designees. Third-party access to an 

individual’s records shall be granted 

pursuant to a written request by, or with 

the prior written consent of, the 

individual. The designated third party 

must submit identity verification 

information described in paragraph (c) 

of this section. 

(e) Referrals and consultations. If the 

component’s FOIA office determines 

that records retrieved as responsive to 

the request were created by another 

Department, agency, or component it 

ordinarily will refer the records to the 

originating agency for direct response to 

the requester. If the agency determines 

that records retrieved as responsive to 

the request are of interest to another 

agency, it may consult with the other 

agency before responding to the request. 

The component’s FOIA office may make 

agreements with other agencies to 

eliminate the need for consultations or 

referrals for particular types of records. 

(f) Records relating to civil actions. 

Nothing in this subpart entitles an 

individual to access to any information 

compiled in reasonable anticipation of a 

civil action or proceeding. 

(g) Time limits. The component’s 

FOIA office will acknowledge the 

request promptly and furnish the 

requested information as soon as 

possible thereafter. 

§ 212.21 Request to amend or correct 

records. 

(a) An individual has the right to 

request that the component’s FOIA 

office amend a record pertaining to the 

individual that the individual believes 

is not accurate, relevant, timely, or 

complete. 

(b) Requests to amend records must be 

in writing to the component’s FOIA 

office, and mailed or delivered to the 

Bureau for Management, Office of 

Management Services, Information and 

Records Division (for non OIG records), 

or the Office of the USAID Inspector 

General (for OIG records) at the 

addresses given in § 212.5, with 

ATTENTION: PRIVACY ACT 

AMENDMENT REQUEST written on the 

envelope. The component’s FOIA office 

will coordinate the review of the request 

with the appropriate offices of the 

Agency. The component’s FOIA office 

will require verification of personal 

identity before it will initiate action to 

amend a record. Amendment requests 

should contain, at a minimum, 

identifying information needed to locate 

the record in question, a description of 

the specific correction requested, and an 

explanation of why the existing record 

is not accurate, relevant, timely, or 

complete. The request must be signed, 

and the requester’s signature must be 

either notarized or made under penalty 

of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746. 

The requester should submit as much 

pertinent documentation, other 

information, and explanation as 

possible to support the request for 

amendment. 

(c) All requests for amendments to 

records shall be acknowledged within 

10 working days. 

(d) In reviewing a record in response 

to a request to amend, the Agency shall 

review the record to determine if it is 

accurate, relevant, timely, and complete. 

(e) If the Agency agrees with an 

individual’s request to amend a record, 

it shall: 

(1) Advise the individual in writing of 

its decision; 

(2) Amend the record accordingly; 

and 

(3) If an accounting of disclosure has 

been made, advise all previous 

recipients of the record of the 

amendment and its substance. 

(f) If the Agency denies an 

individual’s request to amend a record, 

it shall advise the individual in writing 

of its decision and the reason for the 

refusal, and the procedures for the 

individual to request further review. See 

§ 171.25 of this chapter. 

§ 212.22 Request for accounting of record 

disclosures. 

(a) How made. Except where 

accountings of disclosures are not 

required to be kept, as set forth in 

paragraph (b) of this section, or where 

accountings of disclosures do not need 

to be provided to a requesting 

individual pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

552a(c)(3), an individual has a right to 

request an accounting of any disclosure 

that the component’s FOIA office has 

made to another person, organization, or 

agency of any record about an 

individual. This accounting shall 

contain the date, nature, and purpose of 

each disclosure as well as the name and 

address of the recipient of the 

disclosure. Any request for accounting 

should identify each particular record in 

question and may be made by writing 

directly to the Appeals Officer, Bureau 

for Management, Office of Management 

Services at the address given in 

§ 212.19. 

(b) Where accountings are not 

required. The component’s FOIA office 

is not required to keep an accounting of 

disclosures in the case of: 

(1) Disclosures made to employees 

within the Agency who have a need for 

the record in the performance of their 

duties; and 

(2) Disclosures required under the 

FOIA. 

§ 212.23 Appeals from denials of PA 

amendment requests. 

(a) If the component’s FOIA office 

denies a request for amendment of such 

records, the requester shall be informed 

of the reason for the denial and of the 

right to appeal the denial to the Appeals 

Review Panel. Any such appeal must be 

postmarked within 60 working days of 

the date of the component FOIA office’s 

denial letter and sent to: Appeals 

Officer, Bureau for Management, Office 

of Management Services (for non OIG 

records), and Deputy Inspector General, 

Office of Inspector General (for OIG 

records) at the addresses given in 

§ 212.11. 

(b) Appellants should submit an 

administrative appeal of any denial, in 

whole or in part, of a request for access 

to the PA at the address in paragraph (a) 


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of this section. The component’s FOIA 

office will assign a tracking number to 

the appeal. 

(c) The Appeals Review Panel will 

decide appeals from denials of PA 

amendment requests within 30 business 

days, unless the Panel extends that 

period for good cause shown, from the 

date when it is received by the Panel. 

(d) Appeals Review Panel decisions 

will be made in writing, and appellants 

will receive notification of the decision. 

A reversal will result in reprocessing of 

the request in accordance with that 

decision. An affirmance will include a 

brief statement of the reason for the 

affirmance and will inform the 

appellant that the decision of the Panel 

represents the final decision of the 

Agency and of the right to seek judicial 

review of the Panel’s decision, when 

applicable. 

(e) If the Panel’s decision is that a 

record shall be amended in accordance 

with the appellant’s request, the 

Chairman—USAID’S FOIA Liaison 

Officer or their designee shall direct the 

office responsible for the record to 

amend the record, advise all previous 

recipients of the record of the 

amendment and its substance (if an 

accounting of previous disclosures has 

been made), and so advise the 

individual in writing. 

(f) If the Panel’s decision is that the 

amendment request is denied, in 

addition to the notification required by 

paragraph (d) of this section, the 

Chairman—USAID’S FOIA Liaison 

Officer or their designee-shall advise the 

appellant: 

(1) Of the right to file a concise 

Statement of Disagreement stating the 

reasons for disagreement with the 

decision of the Agency; 

(2) Of the procedures for filing the 

Statement of Disagreement; 

(3) That any Statement of 

Disagreement that is filed will be made 

available to anyone to whom the record 

is subsequently disclosed, together with, 

at the discretion of the Agency, a brief 

statement by the component’s FOIA 

office summarizing its reasons for 

refusing to amend the record; 

(4) That prior recipients of the 

disputed record will be provided a copy 

of any statement of disagreement, to the 

extent that an accounting of disclosures 

was maintained. 

(g) If the appellant files a Statement of 

Disagreement under paragraph (f) of this 

section, the component’s FOIA office 

will clearly annotate the record so that 

the fact that the record is disputed is 

apparent to anyone who may 

subsequently access the record. When 

the disputed record is subsequently 

disclosed, the component’s FOIA office 

will note the dispute and provide a copy 

of the Statement of Disagreement. The 

component’s FOIA office may also 

include a brief summary of the reasons 

for not amending the record. Copies of 

the component FOIA office’s statement 

shall be treated as part of the 

individual’s record for granting access; 

however, it will not be subject to 

amendment by an individual under this 

part. 

§ 212.24 Specific exemptions. 

(a) Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k), the 

Director or the Administrator may, 

where there is a compelling reason to do 

so, exempt a system of records, from any 

of the provisions of subsections (c)(3); 

(d); (e)(1); (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I); and (f) 

of the Act if a system of records is: 

(1) Subject to the provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 552(b)(1); 

(2) Investigatory material compiled for 

law enforcement purposes, other than 

material within the scope of subsection 

(j)(2) of the Act: Provided, however, that 

if any individual is denied any right, 

privilege, or benefit to which he or she 

would otherwise be eligible, as a result 

of the maintenance of such material, 

such material shall be provided to such 

individual, except to the extent that the 

disclosure of such material would reveal 

the identity of a source who furnished 

information to the Government under an 

express promise that the identity of the 

source would be held in confidence, or 

prior to the effective date of this section, 

under an implied promise that the 

identity of the source would be held in 

confidence; 

(3) Maintained in connection with 

providing protective services to the 

President of the United States or other 

individuals pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3056; 

(4) Required by statute to be 

maintained and used solely as statistical 

records; 

(5) Investigatory material compiled 

solely for the purpose of determining 

suitability, eligibility, or qualifications 

for Federal civilian employment, 

military service, Federal contracts, or 

access to classified information, but 

only to the extent that the disclosure of 

such material would reveal the identity 

of a source who furnished information 

to the Government under an express 

promise that the identity of the source 

would be held in confidence, or, prior 

to the effective date of this section, 

under an implied promise that the 

identity of the source would be held in 

confidence; 

(6) Testing or examination material 

used solely to determine individual 

qualifications for appointment or 

promotion in the Federal service, the 

disclosure of which would compromise 

the objectivity or fairness of the testing 

or examination process; or 

(7) Evaluation material used to 

determine potential for promotion in the 

armed services, but only to the extent 

that the disclosure of such material 

would reveal the identity of a source 

who furnished information to the 

Government under an express promise 

that the identity of the source would be 

held in confidence, or, prior to the 

effective date of this section, under an 

implied promise that the identity of the 

source would be held in confidence. 

(b) Each notice of a system of records 

that is the subject of an exemption 

under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k) will include a 

statement that the system has been 

exempted, the reasons therefore, and a 

reference to the Federal Register, 

volume and page, where the exemption 

rule can be found. 

(c) The systems of records to be 

exempted under section (k) of the Act, 

the provisions of the Act from which 

they are being exempted, and the 

justification for the exemptions, are set 

forth in this paragraph (c): 

(1) Criminal Law Enforcement 

Records. If the 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) 

exemption claimed under paragraph (c) 

of (22 CFR 215.13) and on the notice of 

systems of records to be published in 

the Federal Register on this same date 

is held to be invalid, then this system 

is determined to be exempt, under 5 

U.S.C. 552(a)(k)(1) and (2) of the Act, 

from the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 

552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1); (e)(4); (G); (H); (I); 

and (f). The reasons for asserting the 

exemptions are to protect the materials 

required by executive order to be kept 

secret in the interest of the national 

defense or foreign policy, to prevent 

subjects of investigation from frustrating 

the investigatory process, to insure the 

proper functioning and integrity of law 

enforcement activities, to prevent 

disclosure of investigative techniques, 

to maintain the ability to obtain 

necessary information, to fulfill 

commitments made to sources to protect 

their identities and the confidentiality 

of information and to avoid endangering 

these sources and law enforcement 

personnel. 

(2) Personnel Security and Suitability 

Investigatory Records. This system is 

exempt under U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), (k)(2), 

and (k)(5) from the provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1); (e)(4); (G); 

(H); (I); and (f). These exemptions are 

claimed to protect the materials 

required by executive order to be kept 

secret in the interest of national defense 

or foreign policy, to prevent subjects of 

investigation from frustrating the 

investigatory process, to insure the 

proper functioning and integrity of law 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 30571 

enforcement activities, to prevent 

disclosure of investigative techniques, 

to maintain the ability to obtain candid 

and necessary information, to fulfill 

commitments made to sources to protect 

the confidentiality of information, to 

avoid endangering those sources and, 

ultimately, to facilitate proper selection 

or continuance of the best applicants or 

persons for a given position or contract. 

Special note is made of the limitation on 

the extent to which this exemption may 

be asserted. 

(3) Litigation Records. This system is 

exempt under 5 U.S.C. 552(k)(1), (k)(2), 

and (k)(5) from the provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1); (e)(4)(G), 

(H), (I); and (f). These exemptions are 

claimed to protect the materials 

required by executive order to be kept 

secret in the interest of national defense 

or foreign policy, to prevent subjects of 

investigation from frustrating the 

investigatory process, to insure the 

proper functioning and integrity of law 

enforcement activities, to prevent 

disclosure of investigative techniques, 

to maintain the ability to obtain candid 

and necessary information, to fulfill 

commitments made to sources to protect 

the confidentiality of information. 

Dated: May 24, 2021. 

Christopher A. Colbow, 

Chief, Information and Records Division, 

FOIA Public Liaison/Agency Records Officer, 

U.S. Agency for International Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11381 Filed 6–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6116–02–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[WC Docket No. 17–97; FCC 21–62; FR ID 

30569] 

Call Authentication Trust Anchor 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) seeks comment on a 

proposal to shorten by one year the 

STIR/SHAKEN implementation 

extension for small voice service 

providers that originate an especially 

large number of calls, so that such 

providers must implement STIR/ 

SHAKEN in the IP portions of their 

networks no later than June 30, 2022. 

The Commission believes this proposal 

will protect Americans from illegal 

robocalls—especially illegally spoofed 

robocalls—by ensuring that voice 

service providers most likely to be the 

source of illegal robocalls authenticate 

calls sooner, allowing terminating voice 

service providers to know if the caller 

ID is legitimate and take action as 

appropriate, including by blocking or 

labeling suspicious calls. The 

Commission also seeks comment on 

how to define which small voice service 

providers should receive a shortened 

extension and on ways to monitor 

compliance. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

July 9, 2021; reply Comments are due on 

or before August 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by WC Docket No. 17–97, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing ECFS: https://www.fcc.gov/ 

ecfs/. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

one copy of each filing. 

• Filings can be sent by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 

Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 

20701. 

• U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

• Effective March 19, 2020, and until 

further notice, the Commission no 

longer accepts any hand or messenger 

delivered filings. This is a temporary 

measure taken to help protect the health 

and safety of individuals, and to 

mitigate the transmission of COVID–19. 

See FCC Announces Closure of FCC 

Headquarters Open Window and 

Change in Hand-Delivery Policy, Public 

Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 2788 (March 19, 

2020), https://www.fcc.gov/document/ 

fcc-closes-headquarters-open-windowand-changes-hand-delivery-policy. 

In addition to filing comments with 

the Secretary, a copy of any comments 

on the Paperwork Reduction Act 

proposed information collection 

requirements contained herein should 

be submitted to the Federal 

Communications Commission via email 

to PRA@fcc.gov and to Nicole Ongele, 

FCC, via email to Nicole.Ongele@

fcc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, please contact 

Alexander Hobbs, Attorney Advisor, 

Competition Policy Division, Wireline 

Competition Bureau, at 

Alexander.Hobbs@fcc.gov or at (202) 

418–7433. For additional information 

concerning the Paperwork Reduction 

Act proposed information collection 

requirements contained in this 

document, send an email to PRA@

fcc.gov or contact Nicole Ongele at (202) 

418–2991. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Third 

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(Further Notice) in WC Docket No. 17– 

97, FCC 21–62, adopted on May 20, 

2021, and released on May 21, 2021. 

The full text of this document is 

available for public inspection at the 

following internet address: https://

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC21-62A1.pdf. To request materials in 

accessible formats for people with 

disabilities (e.g. braille, large print, 

electronic files, audio format, etc.), send 

an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 

Consumer & Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), or 

(202) 418–0432 (TTY). 

Synopsis 

I. Introduction 

1. In this Third Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, we take further 

action to stem the tide of illegal 

robocalls by proposing to accelerate the 

date by which small voice providers 

that originate an especially large amount 

of call traffic must implement the STIR/ 

SHAKEN caller ID authentication 

framework. STIR/SHAKEN combats 

illegally spoofed robocalls by allowing 

voice service providers to verify that the 

caller ID information transmitted with a 

particular call matches the caller’s 

number. In March 2020, pursuant to 

Congressional direction in the PalloneThune Telephone Robocall Abuse 

Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence 

(TRACED) Act, the Commission adopted 

timelines for voice service providers to 

implement STIR/SHAKEN. In 

September 2020, pursuant to the 

TRACED Act, the Commission provided 

a two-year extension of the deadline for 

all small voice service providers to 

implement STIR/SHAKEN. New 

evidence suggests, however, that a 

subset of small voice service providers 

appears to be originating a large and 

increasing quantity of illegal robocalls. 

To better protect Americans from 

illegally spoofed robocalls, we therefore 

propose to shorten that deadline from 

two years to one for the subset of small 

voice providers that are at a heightened 

risk of originating an especially large 

amount of robocall traffic. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1