[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2708]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 8, 1994]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

22 CFR Part 503

 

Freedom of Information Act Regulations

AGENCY: United States Information Agency.

ACTION: Notice of final rule.

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SUMMARY: This regulation revises the Agency's current regulation 
implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Other regulatory 
provisions regarding law enforcement records, fees for processing 
requests, and Executive Order No. 12600, concerning predisclosure 
notification for business records, were already printed and are 
unaffected by this rule as they already conform to the amendments 
enacted by the Freedom of Information Reform Act of 1986 (Final Rule 
published June 26, 1989).

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 8, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Freedom of Information Office, United States Information 
Agency, room M-29, 301 4th Street SW., Washington, DC 20547, telephone 
(202) 619-5499.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Lola L. Secora, Freedom of Information 
Officer (202) 619-5499.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Information Agency 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise its FOIA 
regulations on November 16, 1993 (FR/Vol. 58, No. 219). Pursuant to 
that notice, USIA received only one comment from the public, and it was 
commendatory.
    The final rule is based on the proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 503

    Freedom of Information.

    Accordingly, 22 CFR part 503 is amended as set forth below:

PART 503--FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REGULATION

    The authority citation for part 503 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552 Reform Act of 1986 as amended by Pub. L. 
99-570; Sec. 1801-1804; 22 U.S.C. 2658; 5 U.S.C. 301; 13 U.S.C. 8; 
E.O. 10477, as amended; 47 FR 9320, Apr. 2, 1982, E.O. 12356. 5 
U.S.C. Sec. 552 (1988 & Supp. III 1991) as amended by Freedom of 
Information Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-570, title I, 
Sections 1801-1804, 100 Stat. 3207, 3207-48-50 (1986) (codified at 5 
U.S.C. Sec. 552 (1988)); 22 U.S.C. Sec. 2658 (1988); 5 U.S.C. Sec. 
301 (1988); 13 U.S.C. Sec. 8 (1988); Executive Order No. 10477, 3 
CFR 958 (1949-1953) as amended by Executive Order No. 10822, 3 CFR 
355 (1959-1963), Executive Order No. 12292, 3 CFR 134 (1982), 
reprinted in 22 U.S.C. Sec. 1472 (1988); Executive Order No. 12356, 
3 CFR 166 (1983), reprinted in 50 U.S.C. Sec. 401 (1988).
    2. Sections 503.1 through 503.6 are revised to read as follows:


Sec. 503.1  Introduction and definitions.

    (a) Introduction. The FOIA and this part apply to all records of 
the United States Information Agency, including all of its foreign 
posts. As a general policy, USIA follows a balanced approach in 
administering the FOIA. We recognize the right of public access to 
information in the possession of the Agency, but we also protect the 
integrity of the Agency's internal processes. This policy calls for the 
fullest possible disclosure of records consistent with those 
requirements of administrative necessity and confidentiality which are 
recognized by the Freedom of Information Act.
    (b) Definitions--Access Appeal Committee or Committee, means the 
Committee delegated by the Agency Director for making final Agency 
determinations regarding appeals from the initial denial of records 
under the FOIA. This Committee also reviews final appeal denials of 
documents made by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for its 
records.
    Agency or USIA means the United States Information Agency. It 
includes all components of USIA in the U.S. and all foreign posts 
abroad (known as the U.S. Information Service or USIS). (See 22 CFR 
part 504, chapter V--Organization.)
    Commercial use, when referring to a request, means that the request 
is from or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose 
that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the 
requester or of a person on whose behalf the request is made. Whether a 
request is for a commercial use depends on the purpose of the request 
and the use to which the records will be put. The identity of the 
requester (individual, non-profit corporation, for-profit corporation), 
or the nature of the records, while in some cases indicative of that 
purpose or use, is not necessarily determinative. When a request is 
from a representative of the news media, the request shall be deemed 
not to be for commercial use.
    Department means any executive department, military department, 
government corporation, government controlled corporation, any 
independent regulatory agency, or other establishment in the executive 
branch of the Federal Government. A private organization is not a 
department even if it is performing work under contract with the 
Government or is receiving Federal financial assistance. Grantee and 
contractor records are not subject to the FOIA unless they are in the 
possession and control of USIA.
    Duplication means the process making a copy of a record and sending 
it to the requester, to the extent necessary to respond to the request. 
Such copies include paper copy, microform, audiovisual materials, and 
magnetic tapes, cards and discs.
    Educational institution means a preschool, elementary or secondary 
school, institution of undergraduate or graduate higher education, or 
institution of professional or vocational education.
    FOIA means section 552 of title 5, United States Code, as amended.
    Freedom of Information Officer means the USIA official who has been 
delegated the authority to release or withhold records and assess, 
waive, or reduce fees in response to FOIA requests.
    Non-commercial scientific institution means an institution that is 
not operated substantially for purposes of furthering its own or 
someone else's business, trade, or profit interests, and that is 
operated for purposes of conducting scientific research whose results 
are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.
    Post or USIS means all overseas offices of the USIA.
    Records means any handwritten, typed or printed documents (such as 
memoranda, books, brochures, studies, writings, drafts, letters, 
transcripts, and minutes) and documentary material in other forms (such 
as punchcards; magnetic tapes, cards, or discs; paper tapes; audio or 
video recordings; maps; photographs; slides, microfilm; and motion 
pictures). It does not include objects or articles such as exhibits, 
models, equipment, and duplication machines or audiovisual processing 
materials. Nor does it include books, magazines, pamphlets, or other 
reference material in formally organized and officially designated USIA 
libraries, where such materials are available under the rules of the 
particular library.
    Representative of the news media means a person actively gathering 
news for an entity organized and operated to publish or broadcast news 
to the public.``News'' means information that is about current events 
or that would be of current interest to the public. News media entities 
include television and radio broadcasters, publishers of periodicals 
(to the extent they publish ``news'') who make their products available 
for purchase or subscription by the general public, and entities that 
may disseminate news through other media (e.g., electronic 
dissemination of text). Freelance journalists shall be considered 
representatives of a news media entity if they can show a solid basis 
for expecting publication through such an entity. A publication 
contract or a requester's past publication record may show such a 
basis.
    Request means asking in writing for records whether or not the 
request refers specifically to the Freedom of Information Act.
    Review means examining the records to determine which portions, if 
any, may be released, and any other processing that is necessary to 
prepare the records for release. It includes only the first examination 
and processing of the requested documents for purposes of determining 
whether a specific exemption applies to a particular record or portion 
of a record.
    Search means looking for records or portions of records responsive 
to a request. It includes reading and interpreting a request, and also 
page-by-page and line-by-line examination to identify responsive 
portions of a document. However, it does not include line-by-line 
examination where merely duplicating the entire page would be a less 
expensive and a quicker way to comply with the request.


Sec. 503.2  Making a request.

    (a) How to request records. All requests for documents shall be 
made in writing. Requests should be addressed to the United States 
Information Agency, Freedom of Information Officer, GC/FOI, room M-301 
4th Street SW., Washington, DC 20547. Write the words ``Freedom of 
Information Act Request'' on the envelope and letter.
    (b) Details in your letter. Your request for documents should 
provide as many details as possible that will help us find the records 
you are requesting. If there is insufficient information, we will ask 
you for more. Include your telephone number(s) to help us reach you if 
we have questions. If you are not sure how to write your request or 
what details to include, you may call the FOIA Office. The more 
specific the request for documents, the faster the Agency will be able 
to respond to your requests.
    (c) Requests not handled under FOIA. We will not provide documents 
requested under the FOIA and this part if the records are currently 
available in the National Archives, subject to release through the 
Archives, or commonly sold to the public by it or another agency 
pursuant to statutory authority (for example, records currently 
available from the Government Printing Office or the National Technical 
Information Service). Agency records that are normally freely available 
to the general public, such as USIA World, are not covered by the FOIA. 
Also requests from Federal departments and court orders for documents 
are not FOIA requests, nor are requests from Chairmen of Congressional 
committees or subcommittees.
    (d) Referral of requests outside the agency. If you request records 
that were created by or provided to us by another Federal department, 
we may refer your request to or consult with that department. We may 
also refer requests for classified records to the department that 
classified them. In cases of referral, the other department is 
responsible for processing and responding to your request under that 
department's regulation. When possible, we will notify you when we 
refer your request to another department.
    (e) Responding to your request--(1) Retrieving records. The Agency 
is required to furnish copies of records only when they are in our 
possession and control. If we have stored the records you want in a 
records retention center, we will retrieve and review them for possible 
disclosure. However, the Federal Government destroys many old records, 
so sometimes it is impossible to fill requests. The Agency's record 
retention policies are set forth in the General Records Schedules of 
the National Archives and Records Administration and in USIA's Records 
Disposition Schedule, which establish time periods for keeping records 
before they may be destroyed.
    (2) Furnishing records. The Agency is only required to furnish 
copies of records which we have or can retrieve; we are not compelled 
to create new records. For example, if the requested information is 
maintained in computerized form and we can, with minimal computer 
instructions, produce the information on paper, we will do so--if this 
is the only way to respond to a request. We are not, however, required 
to write a new computer program in order to print documentary material 
in a format you might prefer.
    On the other hand, we may decide to conserve government resources 
and at the same time supply the records you need by consolidating 
information from various records rather than copying them all. The 
Agency is required to furnish only one copy of a record. If we are 
unable to make a legible copy of a record to be released, we will not 
attempt to reconstruct it. Rather we will furnish the best copy 
possible and note its poor quality in our reply or on the copy. If 
material exists in different forms, we will provide the record in the 
form that best conserves government resources. For example, if it 
requires less time and expense to provide a computer record as a paper 
printout rather than on tape, we will provide the printout.


Sec. 503.3  Availability of agency records.

    (a) Release of records. If we have released a record or part of a 
record to others in the past, we will ordinarily release it to you 
also. This principle does not apply if the previous release was an 
unauthorized disclosure. However, we will not release it to you if a 
statute forbids this disclosure and we will not necessarily release it 
to you if an exemption applies in your situation and did not apply or 
applied differently in the previous situations.
    (b) Denial of requests. All denials are in writing and describe in 
general terms the material withheld and state the reasons for the 
denial, including a reference to the specific exemption of the FOIA 
authorizing the withholding or deletion. The denial also explains your 
right to appeal the decision and it will identify the official to whom 
you should send the appeal. Denial letters are signed by the person who 
made the decision to deny all or part of the request, unless otherwise 
noted.
    (c) Unproductive searches. We make a diligent search for records to 
satisfy your request. Nevertheless, we may not be able always to find 
the records you want using the information you provided, or they may 
not exist. If we advise you that we have been unable to find the 
records despite a diligent search, you will nevertheless be provided 
the opportunity to appeal the adequacy of the Agency's search. However, 
if your request is for records that are obviously not connected with 
this Agency or your request has been provided to us in error, a ``no 
records'' response will not be considered an adverse action and you 
will not be provided an opportunity to appeal.
    (d) Appeal of denials. You have the right to appeal a partial of 
full denial of your FOIA request. To do so, you must put your appeal in 
writing and address it to the official identified in the denial letter. 
Your appeal letter must be dated and postmarked within 30 calendar days 
from the date of the Agency's denial letter. Because we have some 
discretionary authority in deciding whether to release or withhold 
records, you may strengthen your appeal by explaining your reasons for 
wanting the records. However, you are not required to give any 
explanation. Your appeal will be reviewed by the Agency's Access Appeal 
Committee which consists of senior Agency officials. When the Committee 
responds to your appeal, that constitutes the Agency's final action on 
the request. If the Access Appeal Committee grants your appeal in part 
or in full, we will send the records to you promptly or set up an 
appointment for you to inspect them. If the decision is to deny your 
appeal in part or in full, the final letter will state the reasons for 
the decision, name the officials responsible for the decision, and 
inform you of the FOIA provisions for judicial review.


Sec. 503.4  Time limits.

    (a) General. The FOIA sets certain time limits for us to decide 
whether to disclose the records you requested, and to decide appeals. 
If we fail to meet the deadlines, you may proceed as if we had denied 
your request or your appeal. Since requests may be misaddressed or 
misrouted, you should call or write to confirm that we have the request 
and to learn its status if you have not heard from us in a reasonable 
time.
    (b) Time allowed. (1) We will decide whether to release records 
within 10 working days after your request reaches the appropriate area 
office that maintains the records you are requesting. When we decide to 
release records, we will actually provide the records at that time, or 
as soon as possible after that decision, or let you inspect them as 
soon as possible thereafter.
    (2) We will decide an appeal within 20 working days after the 
appeal reaches the appropriate reviewing official.
    (3) The FOI Officer or appeal official may extend the time limits 
in unusual circumstances for initial requests or appeals, up to 10 
working days. We will notify you in writing of any extensions. 
``Unusual circumstances'' include situations where we: Search for and 
collect records from field facilities, records centers or locations 
other than the office processing the records; search for, collect, or 
examine a great many records in response to a single request; consult 
with another office or department that has substantial interest in the 
determination of the request; and/or conduct negotiations with 
submitters and requesters of information to determine the nature and 
extent of non-disclosable proprietary materials.


Sec. 503.5  Records available for public inspection.

    (a) To the extent that they exist, we will make the following 
records of general interest available for your inspection and copying:
    (1) Orders and final opinions, including concurring and dissenting 
opinions in adjudications. (See Sec. 503.8(e) of this part for 
availability of internal memoranda, including attorney opinions and 
advice.)
    (2) Statements of policy and interpretations that we have adopted 
but have not published in the Federal Register.
    (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that 
affect the public. (We will not make available, however, manuals or 
instructions that reveal investigative or audit procedures as described 
in Sec. 503.8 (b) and (g) of this part.)
    (4) In addition to such records as those described in paragraph (a) 
of this section, we will make available to any person a copy of all 
other Agency records, unless we determine that such records should be 
withheld from disclosure under subsection (b) of the Act and 
Secs. 503.8 and 503.9 of this part.
    (b) Before releasing these records, however, we may delete the 
names of people, or information that would identify them, if release 
would invade their personal privacy to a clearly unwarranted degree. 
(See Sec. 503.8(f).)
    (c) This Agency does not publish an FOIA index because it is 
impracticable to do so.


Sec. 503.6  Restriction on some agency records.

    Under the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 
U.S.C. 1461, as amended), the USIA is prohibited from disseminating 
within the United States information about the U.S., its people, and 
its policies when such materials have been prepared by the Agency for 
audiences abroad. This includes films, radio scripts and tapes, video 
tapes, books, and similar materials produced by the Agency. However, 
this law does provide that upon request, such information shall be made 
available at USIA for examination only by representatives of the press, 
magazines, radio systems and stations, research students or scholars 
and available for examination only to Members of Congress.


Sec. 503.9  [Reserved]

    3. Section 503.9 is removed and reserved.
Les Jin,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 94-2708 Filed 2-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M