Freedom of Information Act Fee-for-Service Office
NHLBI operates a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fee-for-Service
Center that processes FOIA requests for multiple NIH institutes
and centers. If you have any questions, please call our office
on 301-496-9737.
The FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552, provides individuals with a right
to access to records in the possession of the Federal government.
The government may withhold information pursuant to the nine
exemptions and three exclusions contained in the Act.
NHLBI FOIA Coordinator
- Suzanne A. Freeman
Phone: 301-496-9737
Fax: 301-402-3604
How to Submit a FOIA Request
If the information you are interested
in is not in the public domain, please
follow the suggestions listed below when
preparing your FOIA request:
- Identify specific records requested
(as applicable--grant number and principal
investigator's name, subject matter
of the records, dates, originating
office, etc)
- State that the records are requested
under the Freedom of Information Act
- Include contact information (address,
telephone number, e-mail address)
in case our office needs additional
information
- FOIA requests should be submitted in writing to the NHLBI FOIA Coordinator for processing
What You Need to Know about FIOA
Grant Applicants
If your grant application is funded, you
should be aware that some or all of this
application as well as documents (such
as correspondence) contained in the grant
file may be requested under FOIA.
“…The Freedom of Information
Act and implementing DHHS regulations
(45 CRF Part 5) require the release of
certain information about grants, upon
request, irrespective of the intended
use of the information. Trade secrets
and commercial, financial, or otherwise
intrinsically valuable information that
is obtained from a person or organization
and that is privileged or confidential
information may be withheld from disclosure.
Information, which, if disclosed, would
be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy, may also be withheld from disclosure.
Although the grantee institution and the
principal investigator will be consulted
about any such release, the PHS will make
the final determination. Generally available
for release, upon request, except as noted
above, are: all funded grant applications
including their derivative funded noncompeting
supplemental grant applications; pending
and funded noncompeting continuation applications;
progress reports of grantees; and final
reports of any review or evaluation of
grantee performance conducted or caused
to be conducted by the DHHS. Generally,
not available for release to the public
are: competing grant applications (initial,
competing continuation, and supplemental)
for which awards have not been made; evaluative
portions of site visit reports; and summary
statements of findings and recommendations
of review groups...”
—Grant Application (PHS 398, rev.
05/2001)
More Information
For additional information, visit the National
Institutes of Health FOIA Page.
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