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This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Reference Guide is designed to familiarize you with the procedures for making a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA request to the Federal Housing Finance Board (Finance Board). The process is neither complicated nor time consuming. Following the guidance will make it more likely that you will receive the information you are seeking in the shortest amount of time. In most cases this Reference Guide will provide you with the basic information that you will need to make a FOIA request to the Finance Board. If you need additional information, the Finance Board has a formal rule for making FOIA requests, which you can find at part 910 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Code of Federal Regulations is available in all law libraries and federal depository libraries. You can access the Finance Board's FOIA rule electronically on the World Wide Web: Freedom of Information Act Regulation: 12 C.F.R. part 910. You also can request a copy of the FOIA rule from the FOIA Officer by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by fax at 202-408-2580, by telephone at 202-408-2511, or by regular mail to the FOIA Officer, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006.
You can make a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA, which you can find at section 552 of Title 5 of the United States Code, is a federal law that provides any person a right of access to many federal agency records. The Finance Board must disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for certain records that may be withheld from disclosure under a FOIA exemption. This right of access is enforceable in a court of law. We consider your request, including the contact information you provide in order for us to respond to you, to be public information.
No. You can find a great deal of information about the Finance Board on the World Wide Web at http://www.fhfb.gov/. The website has information about popular topics including: records of actions of the Finance Board staff and Board of Directors, including resolutions, orders, advisory bulletins, regulatory interpretations, no-action letters, approvals, and waivers; Finance Board rules and regulations; the monthly mortgage interest rate survey known as MIRS; agendas and transcripts of Board of Directors meetings and hearings; Finance Board and Federal Home Loan Bank policies, initiatives, and programs; and press releases, speeches, testimony, and publications. You also can obtain records that are publicly available such as press releases, speeches, testimony, reports to Congress, and publications by contacting the correspondence analyst by telephone at 202-408-2910, by fax at 202-408-2895, or by electronic mail at rogersk@fhfb.gov.
You may obtain any non-exempt agency record. You should be aware that the FOIA does not require agencies to do research for you, to analyze data, to answer written questions, or to create records in order to respond to a request.
There are many records accessible through the Finance Board website at http://www.fhfb.gov/. On the website you can view, among other things, Finance Board rules and regulations, press releases, speeches, testimony, publications, Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) data, the Finance Board's strategic plan and annual FOIA report, agendas and transcripts of Board of Directors meetings and hearings, and information about Finance Board and Federal Home Loan Bank policies, initiatives, and programs. On the FOIA Reading Room page, you can view and print the following records:
- Advisory Bulletins
- Approvals
- Chairperson Orders
- Federal Register Notices
- General Counsel Opinions
- Managing Director Orders
- No-Action Letters
- Regulatory Interpretations
- Resolutions of the Board of Directors
- Supervisory Actions
- Waivers
The Finance Board has a formal rule for making and processing FOIA requests, which you can find at part 910 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Code of Federal Regulations is available in all law libraries and federal depository libraries. You can access and download a copy of the Finance Board's FOIA rule electronically: Freedom of Information Act Regulation: 12 C.F.R. part 910. You also can request a copy of the FOIA regulation from the FOIA Officer by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by fax at 202-408-2580, by telephone at 202-408-2511, or by regular mail to the FOIA Officer, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006.
Usually, we respond within 20 working days of the date the FOIA Officer receives a complete request. Many times, we are able to respond more quickly. If your request involves a large volume of records, or records dispersed among several offices, we may require additional time to respond. Under the FOIA, we can extend the response time for an additional 10 working days. When we need a time extension, we may notify you in writing and offer you the opportunity to modify or limit your request. Alternatively, you may agree to a different timetable for the processing of your request. You can request an expedited response if you have a compelling need. If you request expedited processing, you must explain the reasons why your request should be expedited and should certify that the reasons you have given are true and correct.
The FOIA provides exemptions that authorize the withholding of information of a sensitive nature. The exemptions authorize withholding: (1) classified national defense and foreign relations information; (2) internal agency rules and practices; (3) information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law; (4) trade secrets and other confidential business information; (5) inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges; (6) information involving matters of personal privacy; (7) certain types of information compiled for law enforcement purposes; (8) information relating to the supervision of financial institutions; and (9) geological information on wells. Generally, exempt information at the Finance Board includes examination records; records that if released, would cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; confidential proprietary business information; internal communications regarding proposed Finance Board and Federal Home Loan Bank policies and initiatives; and law enforcement investigative records. As a matter of policy, we will consider making a discretionary disclosure of exempt information whenever possible. The Finance Board strives to achieve maximum responsible information disclosure through this discretionary disclosure policy.
When we withhold information from you, the Finance Board's written response ordinarily identifies what records have been withheld and specifies the FOIA exemption that permits the withholding.
The FOIA Officer will notify you in writing. If we know the records are located at another federal agency, we will advise you.
The Finance Board's Chief FOIA Officer is Janice Kaye. The Deputy FOIA Officer/FOIA Public Liaison is Shelia Willis. You may contact the FOIA staff by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by regular mail at 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006, by telephone at 202-408-2511, or by fax at 202-408-2580.
You can download a copy from the Finance Board's website or make a written request to the FOIA Officer by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by regular mail at 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006, by fax at 202-408-2580, or by telephone at 202-408-2511.
No form is required. Simply send us a letter that includes a clear and specific description of the records or information you want, along with your name, address, telephone number, fax number, and electronic mail address. You should include the notation "Freedom of Information Act Request" on the front of your envelope and also at the beginning of your letter to make sure that the FOIA Officer receives your request without delay. We consider your request, including the contact information you provide in order for us to respond to you, to be public information.
You should send your FOIA request to the Finance Board FOIA Officer. You can reach the FOIA Officer by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by regular mail at FOIA Officer, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006, by fax at 202-408-2580, or by telephone at 202-408-2511.
There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request and, in the majority of requests made to the Finance Board, no fees ever are charged. The FOIA, however, permits an agency to recover some of the costs of processing a FOIA request by charging the FOIA requester for employee time spent searching for records and reviewing them for release. Agencies also may charge for duplication. You can find our fee schedule at section 910.9 of the Finance Board FOIA regulation: Freedom of Information Act Regulation: 12 C.F.R. part 910.
You can limit the amount that you are willing to pay in fees in your request letter. If you do not do so, the Finance Board will assume that you are willing to pay fees of up to $25. If the FOIA Officer estimates that the total fees for processing your request will exceed $25, we will notify you in writing of the estimate and offer you an opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees. If you continue to want all of the records involved, we will ask you to agree in writing to pay the estimated fees and will suspend processing your request until you agree to do so. You ordinarily will not have to actually pay the fees until after we have processed your request. If, however, you have failed to pay fees within 30 days of billing in the past, or if the estimated fees exceed $250, we may require you to pay the estimated fees before we process the records. If you agree to pay fees and then fail to do so within 30 days of billing, we may charge interest on the overdue balance and the Finance Board will not process any further requests from you until payment has been made in full.
You also can ask the Finance Board to waive the FOIA fees. The FOIA Officer will not grant a fee waiver unless you can show that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. The FOIA Officer usually denies requests for fee waivers from individuals who are seeking records pertaining to themselves under this standard because disclosure usually will not result in any increase of the public's understanding of government operations and activities. In addition, a requester's inability to pay fees is not a legal basis for granting a fee waiver.
The FOIA Officer will advise you of the right to file an administrative appeal within 30 days of the date of the letter responding to you request. You may disagree with the withholding of information or a fee determination or you may believe that there are additional records responsive to your request that the FOIA Officer failed to locate. You also may file an administrative appeal if the FOIA Officer did not grant your request for expedited processing or a fee waiver. All appeals must be made in writing and addressed to the FOIA Office by electronic mail at FOIA@fhfb.gov, by regular mail to the FOIA Office, Federal Housing Finance Board, 1625 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20006, or by fax at 202-408-2580. No specific form or particular language is required. Simply send us a letter explaining the reasons why you disagree with our action, along with your name, address, telephone number, fax number, and electronic mail address. If you are appealing because you believe there are additional records, you should specify why you think the records exist and, if possible, where you believe they might be located. You should include the notation "Freedom of Information Act Appeal" on the front of your envelope and also at the beginning of your letter to make sure that the FOIA Office receives your appeal without delay. Within 20 working days, the appellate official will independently determine whether the FOIA Officer properly processed your request and notify you in writing. If you still believe that the Finance Board has not handled your FOIA request in accordance with the law, you have the right to challenge the agency's action in a lawsuit filed in federal court.
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