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Freedom of Information Annual Report FY 2007

I. AGENCY: National Institutes of Health

REPORT PREPARED BY: Susan R. Cornell

TITLE: Freedom of Information Officer

ADDRESS: Bldg. 31, Rm. 5B35, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

PHONE NUMBER: 301-496-5633

ELECTRONIC ADDRESS FOR REPORT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB:
http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/annualreports/index.htm

ADDRESS FOR PAPER COPIES OF REPORT:
Freedom of Information Office
Building 31, Room 5B35
9000 Rockville Pike,
Bethesda, Maryland 20892

II. HOW TO MAKE A FOIA REQUEST:

See http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/index.htm#requests

A. Names, addresses and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that process FOIA requests:

NIH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COORDINATORS

IC	BLDG	ROOM	PHONE
NCI	31 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892	10A34	301-496-2999
NHGRI	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NINR	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NCRR	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NEI	31 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892	6A19	301-496-4334
NHLBI	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NIA	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NIAAA	5635 Fishers Lane Bethesda, MD 20892	3111	301-443-8771
NIAID	6610 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20817	2600	301-451-5109
NIAMS	6701 Democracy Blvd. Bethesda, MD 20892	854	301-594-3504
NIBIB	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NICHD	31 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892	2A32	301-496-5135
NIDA	6001 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	5230	301-443-6036
NIDCD	6120 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	516	301-496-3033
NIDDK	6707 Democracy Blvd. Bethesda, MD 20817	652	301-496-2978
NIDCR	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NIEHS	Mail Drop NH-10 Box 12233 Research Triangle Pk., NC 27709		919-541-3411
NIGMS	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NIMH	6001 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	8209	301-443-6130
NINDS	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NLM	38A 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892	2N07	301-402-9705
NCCAM	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
NCMHD	6705 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
CC	10 Cloister Court Bethesda, MD 20892	5	301-496-2563
CIT	10401 Fernwood Rd. Bethesda, MD 20817	3NE52G	301-496-6204
OFM	2115 East Jefferson St. Rockville, MD 20892	3C-302A	301-496-9498
OLAO	6011 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	549K	301-594-5458
OAMP	6100 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	6D01	301-496-6431
CSR	6701 Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD 20817	3030	301-435-1117
FIC	6705 Rockledge Dr. Betheseda, MD 20892	6070	301-496-9737
OBA	6705 Rockledge Dr. Rockville, MD 20817	757	301-435-8267
OER	6705 Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD 20892	4184	301-402-1058
OLAW	6705 Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD 20892	4184	301-402-1058
ORS	31 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892	2B37	301-402-3570
OTT	6011 Executive Blvd. Rockville, MD 20852	325	301-435-5239

B. Brief description of agency's response time range(s): Response time ranges from three weeks to several months depending on complexity of request.

C. Brief description of why some requests are not granted: Requests are not granted if the information requested falls within one of the statute's enumerated exemptions, the information requested falls under the jurisdiction of another DHHS component (such requests are forwarded); or if no documents exist which are responsive to the request.

III. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS USED IN REPORT:

A. Agency specific terms or acronyms:

NCI	National Cancer Institute
NHGRI	National Human Genome Research Institute
NINR	National Institute of Nursing Research
NCRR	National Center for Research Resources
NEI	National Eye Institute
NHLBI	National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
NIA	National Institute on Aging
NIAAA	National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
NIAID	National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIAMS	National Institute on Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
NIBIB	National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NICHD	National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIDA	National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIDCD	National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NIDDK	National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
NIDCR	National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
NIEHS	National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIGMS	National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIMH	National Institute of Mental Health
NINDS	National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NLM	National Library of Medicine
CC	Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
CIT	Center for Information Technology
NCCAM	National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
NCMHD	National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
OFM	Office of Financial Management
OLAO	Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations
OAMP	Office of Acquisition Management and Policy
CSR	Center for Scientific Review
FIC	Fogarty International Center
OBA	Office of Biotechnology Activities
OER	Office of Extramural Research
OMA	Office of Management Assessment
OLAW	Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
ORS	Office of Research Services
OTT	Office of Technology Transfer

B. Basic terms: Description can be found on the DHHS website, see http://www.hhs.gov/foia/

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES:

A. List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by the agency during report year:

Ex. 3 Statute Cited	Description of Information Withheld	Has a court upheld the use of this statute	Case Citation
35 U.S.C. § 122	Information contained in a pending or otherwise non-issued patent application	Yes	Irons and Sears v. Dann, 606 F. 2d 1215 (D.C. Cir 1979; Leeds v. Quigg, 720 F. Supp. 193 (D.D.C.1989)
35 U.S.C. § 205	Any record which is part of an application for a patent filed with any foreign patent office	No
35.U.S.C. § 202(c)(5)	Utilization reports	No
41 U.S.C. §253b(m)	Technical proposals not incorporated into a final contract	Yes	Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep’t. of Interior, 305 F.Supp.2d 21 (D.D.C. 2003)
5 U.S.C. App 4 § 107(a)(2)	OGE Form 450 and certain information on HHS Form 520	Yes	Meyerhoff v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 958 F.2d 1498 (9th Cir. 1992)

V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS (Include all requests, 3rd or 1st party):

A. Numbers of initial requests (line 1 + line 2 - line 3 = line 4):

Number of requests pending at close of preceding fiscal year: 550¹

Number of requests received during reporting fiscal year: 14,472

Number of requests processed during reporting fiscal year: 14,446

Number of requests pending at close of reporting fiscal year: 576

B. Disposition of Initial Requests:

Number granted in full: 14,072

Number granted in part: 38

Number of full denials: 7

Number of times each FOIA exemption was used:

Exemption 1:	0
Exemption 2:	1
Exemption 3:	4
Exemption 4:	14
Exemption 5:	17
Exemption 6	38
Exemption 7:	0
Exemption 7(A)	0
Exemption 7(B)	0
Exemption 7(C)	9
Exemption 7(D)	0
Exemption 7(E)	0
Exemption 7(F)	0
Exemption 8:	0
Exemption 9:	0

Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 329

a.	no records:	167
b.	referrals:	37
c.	request withdrawn:	90
d.	fee-related reason:	16
e.	records not reasonably described:	12
f.	not a proper FOIA request for some other reason:	0
g.	not an agency record:	7
h.	duplicate request:	0
i.	Other (specify):	0

VI. APPEALS OF INITIAL DENIALS OF FOIA/PA REQUESTS (include all access requests whether first or third party):

A. Numbers of Appeals:

Number of appeals received during the fiscal year: 28

Number of appeals processed during the fiscal year: 26

B. Disposition of Appeals: To Be Provided by DHHS – The Appeal Authority

Number completely upheld:

Number partially reversed:

Number completely reversed:

Number still pending at end of fiscal year:

Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption used once per appeal).

Exemption 1:

Exemption 2:

Exemption 3:

Exemption 4:

Exemption 5:

Exemption 6:

Exemption 7:

Exemption 7(A):

Exemption 7(B):

Exemption 7 (C):

Exemption 7(D):

Exemption 7(E):

Exemption 7(F):

Exemption 8:

Exemption 9:

Other reasons for non-disclosure (total):

a.	No records:
b.	referrals:
c.	request withdrawn:
d.	Fee-related reason:
e.	records not reasonably described:
f.	Not a proper FOIA request for some other reason:
g.	Not an agency record:
h.	duplicate request:
i.	constructive denial:

VII. COMPLIANCE WITH TIME LIMITS/STATUS OF PENDING REQUESTS:

A. Median Processing Time for Requests Processed During the Year.

Simple Requests (if multiple tracks used): Multiple tracks were not used

number of requests processed: N/A

median number of days to process: N/A

Complex Requests (specify for any and all tracks used):

number of requests processed: N/A

median number of days to process: N/A

Requests Accorded Expedited Processing: 1

number of requests processed: 0²

median number of days to process: Case pending

All Requests – (single track used)

number of requests processed: 14,446

median number of days to process FOIA: 23

median number of days to process PA: 2

B. Status of Pending Requests (if multiple tracks are being used, report for each track as well as totals).

Number of requests pending as of the end of the fiscal year: 576

Median number of days that FOIA requests were pending as of that date: 46

Median number of days that PA requests were pending as of that date: 10

VIII. COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS YEARS(S) (Optional):

IX. COSTS/FOIA & PA STAFFING:

A. Staffing levels:

Number of full-time FOIA/PA personnel: 22

Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA /PA duties (in total work-years): 24.67

Total number of personnel (in work years): 46.67

B. Total costs (including staff and all resources):

FOIA & PA processing (including appeals): $2,945,126.21

Litigation-related activities (estimated): $36,337.65

Total costs: $2,981,463.86

Comparison with previous year(s) (including percentage of change)(optional):

X. FEES:

A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing requests: $34,281.78
B. Percentage of total costs: .001%

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS (including fee schedule): See 45 C.F.R. Part 5 or http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/cfr45.htm

XII. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation

Please refer to the DHHS Annual Report: http://www.hhs.gov/foia/reports/07anlrpt.html

¹At the close of FY 2006 the NIH reported 561 pending requests. In FY 2007, the NIH closed 11 cases retroactively as these cases had been completed during previous fiscal years.

²On August 8, 2007, NIH received a request for voluminous records requiring extensive review. Partial releases were made on Sept. 9, Oct. 12, and Oct 26, 2007. It is anticipated that a final response will be sent by Nov. 30, 2007.

This page was last reviewed on February 27, 2008 .