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I. |
BASIC
INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT |
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1. |
Name, address and
telephone numbers of person(s) to be contacted with questions about the
Report:
David M. Sena, Acting Chief FOIA Officer
Export-Import Bank of the United States
811 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20571
(202) 565-3272
david.sena@exim.gov
Dawn R. Kral, FOIA Public Liaison
Export-Import Bank of the United States
811 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20571
(202) 565-3248
dawn.kral@exim.gov |
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2. |
Electronic link for access to the Report on Ex-Im Bank's
Web site: |
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www.exim.gov/about/disclosure/foia2011.cfm
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3. |
To
receive a "hard copy" of this report, contact either of the
above-named individuals. |
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II. |
MAKING
A FOIA REQUEST |
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1. |
All FOIA requests are
received and processed at the following address:
Export-Import
Bank of the United States
Freedom of Information Act Office
811 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20571
Guidance on making a FOIA request can be found at www.exim.gov/about/disclosure/foiahowto.cfm |
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2. |
Brief description of why some FOIA requests are not
granted:
Ex-Im Bank most commonly
withholds information pursuant to FOIA Exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(5).
Exemption (b)(4) is mostly applied to information received as part of Ex-Im
Bank's review of credit applications. The information is received from
buyers, commercial financial institutions, suppliers, and other private
sector entities and is sensitive and business confidential in nature.
Exemption (b)(5) is generally applied to staff correspondence generated
during the credit review process, and to pre-decisional memoranda prepared
for the Bank's Board of Directors and Credit Committee containing staff
analyses and recommendations. |
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III. |
ACRONYMS,
DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS |
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1. |
Agency-specific acronyms or terms used in this Report: None. |
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2. |
Definitions of terms used in this Report: |
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a. |
Administrative Appeal - a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher
administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial
request level. |
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b. |
Average Number - the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the
quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average
number is 8. |
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c. |
Backlog - the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an
agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time
period for a response. |
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d. |
Component - for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a
"component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an
Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that
processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in
their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each
principal component of the agency. |
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e. |
Consultation - the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first
forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other
agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the
consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the
agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to the
FOIA requester. |
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f. |
Exemption 3 Statute - a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the
agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the
FOIA. |
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g. |
FOIA Request - a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to
records concerning another person (i.e., a "third-party"
request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest.
FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records
concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those
requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens.
Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit
of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy
Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency
determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of
records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency
looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which
require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are
included in this Report.
Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for
processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however,
include records for which the agency has received a consultation from
another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of
this Report.) |
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h. |
Full Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA
request. |
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Full Denial - an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA
request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or
more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as
when no records could be located. |
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j. |
Median Number - the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median
number is 7. |
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k. |
Multi-Track Processing - a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are
placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are
placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing
are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a
first in/first out basis. |
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Expedited Processing - an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a
requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth
in the statute and in agency regulations. |
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ii. |
Simple Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its
fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of
the records requested. |
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iii. |
Complex Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a
slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records
requested. |
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l. |
Partial Grant/Partial Denial - in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to
disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are
exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a
procedural reason. |
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m. |
Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an
agency has not taken final action in all respects. |
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n. |
Perfected Request -
a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made
in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any)
and procedures to be followed. |
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o. |
Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an agency
has taken final action in all respects. |
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p. |
Range in Number of Days - the lowest and highest number of days to process
requests or administrative appeals. |
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q. |
Time Limits - the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request
(ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request). |
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3. |
Concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions: |
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a. |
Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information |
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b. |
Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices |
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c. |
Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law |
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d. |
Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information |
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e. |
Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal
privileges |
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f. |
Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy |
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g. |
Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent
that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to
interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a
right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be
expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D)
could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential
source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement
investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law
enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be
expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual |
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h. |
Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions |
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i. |
Exemption 9: geological information on wells
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