and their staffs may put in writing any oral requests they receive directly. (b) Addressing requests. It will help us to handle your request sooner if you address it to the Freedom of Information Officer in the HHS unit that is most likely to have the records you want. (See §5.31 of this Part for a list of Freedom of Information Officers.) If you cannot determine this, send the request to: HHS Freedom of Information Officer, 645-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201. Write the words "Freedom of Information Act Request" on the envelope and letter. (c) Details in the letter. You should provide details that will help us identify and 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, communicate with a Freedom of Information Officer. 85.22 Requests not handled under the FOIA. (a) We will not handle your request under the FOIA and this regulation to the extent it asks for records that are currently available, either from HHS or from another part of the Federal Government, under a statute that provides for charging fees for those records. For example, we will not handle your request under the FOIA and this regulation to the extent it asks for detailed earnings statements under the Social Security program, or records currently available from the Government Printing Office of the National Technical Information Service. (b) We will not handle your request under the FOIA and this regulation to the extent it asks for records that are distributed by an HHS program office as part of its regular program activity, for example, health education brochures distributed by the Public Health Service or public information leaflets distributed by the Social Security Adstration. 45 CFR Subtitle A (10-1-94 Edition) $5.23 Referral of requests outside the Department. If you request records that were created by, or provided to us by, another Federal agency, and if that agency asserts control over the records, we may refer the records and your request to that agency. We may likewise refer requests for classified records to the agency that classified them. In these cases, the other agency will process and respond to your request, to the extent it concerns those records, under that agency's regulation, and you need not make a separate request to that agency. We will notify you when we refer your request to another agency. $5.24 Responding to your request. (a) Retrieving records. The Department is required to furnish copies of records only when they are in our possession or we can retrieve them from storage. If we have stored the records you want in the National Archives or another storage 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. Various laws, regulations, and manuals give the time periods for keeping records before they may be destroyed. For example, there is information about retention of records in the Records Disposal Act of 1944, 44 U.S.C. 3301 through 3314; the Federal Property Management Regulations, 41 CFR 10111.4; the General Records Schedules of the National Archives and Records Administration; and in the HHS Handbook: Files Maintenance and Records Disposition. (b) Furnishing records. The requirement is that we furnish copies only of records that we have or can retrieve. We are not compelled to create new records. For example, we are not required to write a new program so that a computer will print information in the format you prefer. However, if the requested information is maintained in computerized form, but we can, with minimal computer instructions, produce the information on paper, we will do this if it is the only way to respond to a request. Nor are we required to perform research for you. 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. Moreover, we are required to furnish only one copy of a record and usually impose that limit. If information 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 in an electronic medium, we will provide the printout. Subpart C-Release and Denial of Records 85.31 Designation of authorized officials. (a) Freedom of Information Officers. To provide coordination and consistency in responding to FOIA requests, only Freedom of Information Officers have the authority to release or deny records. These same officials determine fees. (1) HHS Freedom of Information Officer. Only the HHS Freedom of Information Officer may determine whether to release or deny records in any of the following situations: (i) The records you seek include records addressed to or sent from an official or office of the Office of the Secretary, including its staff offices, or of any Regional Director's Office; (ii) The records you seek include any records of the Office of Human Development Services, the Family Support Administration, or any organizational unit of HHS not specifically indentified below; or (iii) The records include records of more than one of the major units identified below (PHS, HCFA, and SSA) either at headquarters or in a Regional Office. (2) PHS Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Public Health Service or if the records you seek involve more than one health agency of the Public Health Service, including its records in the regions, only the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Communications), who also is the PHS Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records, except as follows: (i) CDC and ATSDR Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Centers for Disease Control and/or the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, only the Director, Office of Public Affairs, CDC, who also is the CDC and ATSDR Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (ii) FDA Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Food and Drug Administration, only the Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs, FDA, who also is the FDA Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (iii) NIH Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the National Institutes of Health, only the Associate Director of Communications, HIH, who also is the NIH Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (iv) HRSA Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Health Resources and Services Administration, only the Associate Administrator for Communications, HRSA, who also is the HRSA Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (v) ADAMHA Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration, only the Associate Administrator for Communications and Public Affairs, ADAMHA, who is also the ADAMHA Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (vi) IHS Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Indian Health Service, only the Director of Communications, IHS, who also is the IHS Freedom of Information Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (3) SSA Freedom of Information Officer. If the records you seek are exclusively records of the Social Security Administration, including its records in the re formation Officer, may determine whether to release or deny the records. (b) Delegations. Any of the above Freedom of Information Officers may delegate his or her authority to release or deny records and to determine fees. Any such delegation requires the concurrence of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. (c) Addresses and telephone numbers. The addresses and telephone numbers of the Freedom of Information Officers are listed below. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICERS HHS Freedom of Information Officer, Room 645-F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201, Tel: (202) 472-7453 SSA Freedom of Information Officer, Room 4-H-8, Annex Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235, Tel: (301) 965-3962 HCFA Freedom of Information Officer, Room FDA Freedom of Information Officer, HFW- NIH Freedom of Information Officer, Na- ADAMNA Freedom of Information Officer, 22 $5.33 Denial of (a) Information are in writing a terms the materi reasons for the de plicable, a refere emption of the E withholding or d right to appeal t tify the official t send the appeal; a person who made all or part of the re (b) Unproductive diligent search for your request. Never be able always to f want using the in vided, or they may vise you that we h find the records search, this does no nial of your request. $5.34 Appeal of den (a) Right of appe right to appeal a par of your FOIA reques must put your appea send it to the review in the denial letter. your appeal within 3 not apply to the records that you requested, or give reasons why they should be released regardless of whether the exemption(s) apply. Because we i have some discretionary authority in deciding whether to release or withhold Apie zwƐrecords, you may strengthen your request by explaining your reasons for I DE DATOS ON wanting the records. However, you are dana! not required to give any explanation. (c) Review process. Before making a decision on an appeal of a denial, the designated review official will consult we cannot! with the General Counsel to ensure Fa record to be that the rights and interests of all parto recos ties affected by the request are prothe best tected. Also, the concurrence of the Aspoor qualysistant Secretary for Public Affairs is !of requests. om furnished. Al¦ and describe in! terial withheld; sti e denial, including, erence to the spec POLA authori - deletion; explai the decision and I to whom you = and are signed e the decision to request. e searches. We For records to ertheless, we ma ▪ find the records nformation you! y not exist. If we have been unabl despite a dilig not constitute & required in all appeal decisions, includ- 85.35 Time limits. (a) General. FOIA sets certain time sonable timo spect them, as that decision. (2) We will dec working days af the appropriate (c) Extension cers of review of time limits in u Extension at th the appeal stag working days. writing of any e cumstances" in we: (1) Search fo from field facili tions other tha the request. (2) Search for great many red single request. (3) Consult w agency that has the determinati (4) Conduct r mitters and reg to determine th non-disclosable Subp 85.41 Fees to of requests. The paragraph category of req that we will g ever, for each c fees may be lim for the reasons 5.45 or for other (a) Commercial quest is for a co charge you the and duplication. (b) Educationa tions and news m cational institu cial scientific ir marily for scho search, or a rep media, and you ancial se $5.42 Fees to be charged-general provisions. (a) We may charge search fees even if the records we find are exempt from disclosure, or even if we do not find any records at all. (b) If we are not charging you for the first two hours of search time, under $5.41(c), and those two hours are spent on a computer search, then the two free hours are the first two hours of the operator's own operation. If the operator spends less than two hours on the search, we well reduce the total search fees by the average hourly rate for the operator's time, multipled by two. (c) If we are not charging you for the first 100 pages of duplication, under $5.41 (b) or (c), then those 100 pages are the first 100 pages of photocopies of standard size pages, or the first 100 pages of computer printout. If we cannot use this method to calculate the fee reduction, then we will reduce your total duplication fee by the normal charge for photocopying a standard size page, multiplied by 100. (d) We will not charge you any fee at all if the costs of routine collection and processing of the fee are likely to equal or exceed the amount of the fee. As of May 1987, such costs among the units HHS ranged between $6.00 and $12.50. (e) If we determine that you (acting either alone or together with others) are breaking down a single request into a series of requests in order to avoid (or reduce) the fees charged, we may aggregate all these requests for purposes of calculating the fees charged. (f) We will charge interest on unpaid bills beginning on the 31st day following the day the bill was sent. We will use the provisions of Part 30 of this Title in assessing interest, administra HHS chare (a) Mazna of records is performed GS-1 throug based on the employee: = through GS-1 the salary of and when don hourly rate b GS-15, step 7, the hourly ra taking the cur specified grade that rate to co ing to the nea November 25, 19 $20, and $37 resp involves employ these levels, we propriate for ea (b) Computer ing the actual computer plus spent by the o given in paragrap (c) Photocopy pages $0.10 per p charge lower fees ments where (1) The docume printed in large nu (2) The progra that using existi this request, and a FOI requests, will program requireme (3) The FOI Offic the lower fee is ade prorated share of t costs. (d) Photocopying (such as punchcards reproducing other tapes) the actual the mach lus t 24 |