Introduction
This handbook
is intended to assist you in making Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) requests for Selective Service System (SSS)
records. It will get you started and provide you with a
brief description of your rights and the manner in which SSS
will respond to your requests.
The FOIA, which
is know by its legal cite as 5 U.S.C. §552, along with the SSS
Regulations, governs how requests will be processed within SSS.
SSS Regulations can be found at 32 Code of Federal Regulations
Chapter XVI which is available in most libraries.
The Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs(PIA) Office is responsible for
responding to all FOIA requests for SSS. If you desire records
from SSS, you should send your request to:
Selective
Service System
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Selective
Service FOIA Reading Room
Selective Service can provide a FOIA “reading
room” for individuals who wish to review Selective Service
headquarters orders and directives, manuals, and
regulations. Requests must be specific and presented in
writing, identifying information requested for review. Send
written requests to:
Selective
Service System
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Selective
Service Electronic Access
Selective
Service’s Home Page contains information on Selective
Service’s mission and description of Selective Service’s
organizational structure. The section under FOIA contains
Selective Service’s FOIA regulations, this handbook,
Selective Service’s FOIA Annual Reports for the most recent
six years, a link to Selective Service’s Government
Information Locator System (GILS), which contains a list of
Selective Service’s major information systems and record
locator systems.
In addition, the Home Page provides access to the latest copy of
Selective Service’s Annual Report to Congress as well as other
Selective Service documents. Electronic versions of Selective
Service documents are intended to provide broad access to the
text of Selective Service directives and other key information.
The World Wide Web address for the Selective Service Home Page
is:http://www.sss.gov
Freedom
of Information Act
The Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) which is found at 5 U.S.C. 552, is a law
that gives a person the right to obtain federal agency records
unless the records (or parts of the records) are protected from
disclosure by any of the nine exemptions contained in the law.
The FOIA was recently amended by the Electronic Freedom of
Information Act of 1996 (E-FOIA Amendments).
Regulations that
set forth procedures for requesting Selective Service records
under the FOIA are published at 32 CFR Part 1662. The CFR can
be found in all law libraries and federal depository libraries.
You may also obtain a copy from Selective Service at the address
listed below or at the Selective Service’s Home Page.
Selective Service
makes available in its Public Reading Room information
pertaining to matters issued, adopted or promulgated by
Selective Service; these are commonly known as “reading room
materials.” These materials include Selective Service
Headquarters and Directives, regulations, Selective Service’s
Annual FOIA reports, and Selective Service’s Annual Report to
Congress. Many of these documents are also available through
the Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Office, and Selective
Service’s Home Page.
In addition to
gaining access to reading room materials, requesters may also
file FOIA requests with Selective Service to obtain records. It
is important to understand that there is no central office in
the government which processes FOIA request for all agencies;
each federal agency responds to FOIA requests for records of its
own files. Thus, the public must submit FOIA requests to
Selective Service to obtain records that are in Selective
Service files. Please be aware that the FOIA does not require
agencies to do research, to analyze data, to answer written
questions, or to create records in order to respond to a
request.
Requests for
information should be as specific as possible. Requesters
should consult Selective Service’s FOIA regulations, which
outline the procedures governing the FOIA request process.
Send written request to:
Selective Service System
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Privacy
Act
Information may also be
requested from Selective Service under the Privacy Act, 5
U.S.C. 552a. Generally, the Privacy Act permits a person to
seek access to agency records pertaining to the requester,
provided the record is maintained within a “system of
records”, i.e., the record is retrieved by the individual
requester’s name or personal identifier. Privacy Act
requests for information in Selective Service’s files must
be in writing, and sent to:
Selective Service System
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Selective Services Privacy Act regulations are published
at 32 CFR Part 1665.
Frequently
Asked Questions
What
is the FOIA?
The
FOIA is a federal law that establishes the publics right
to request existing records from federal government records.
Who
can file a FOIA request?
Any
"person," organization, university, business or
state and local government can file a FOIA request.
What
is a record?
A
record is the product(s) of data compilation, such as all
books, papers, maps, and photographs, machine readable materials,
inclusive of those in electronic form or format, or other
documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
made or received by an agency of the United States Government
under federal law in connection with the transaction of public
business and in Selective Service possession and control at
the time the FOIA request is made.
Can
we ask questions under FOIA?
The
FOIA does not require federal agencies to answer questions,
render opinions, or provide subjective evaluations. Requests
must seek records, such as those mentioned above.
How
do I file a FOIA request?
(1)
Label your request "Freedom of Information Act
Request," preferably within the request letter
and on the envelope, and address the request to:
Selective Service System
Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
(2)
Describe the specific records you are requesting in enough
detail so that the record(s) can be located with a reasonable
amount of effort.
(3)
State your willingness to pay applicable fees. If you
seek a waiver, provide a justification for such a waiver.
What
are some of the reasons for not releasing a record?
(1)
A reasonable search of files failed to identify records
responsive to your request.
(2)
The request is withdrawn by the requester.
(3)
The requester is unwilling to pay fees associated with
a request; the requester is past due in the payment of
fees from a previous FOIA request; or the requester disagrees
with the fee estimate.
(4)
A record has not been described with sufficient information
to enable Selective Service to locate a record.
(5)
The information requested is not a record within the meaning
of the FOIA and Selective Service Regulations.
(6)
The request is a duplicate request (e.g., a requester
asks for the same information more than once).
(7)
The record is denied in whole or in part in accordance
with the provisions of the FOIA.
What
are FOIA exemptions and exclusions?
Records
(or portions of records) will be disclosed unless that disclosure
would be inconsistent with a FOIA exemption. The nine FOIA
exemptions are cited in the FOIA as 5 U.S.C. Sec.
§ 552 (b)(1)
through (b) (9):
(b)(1)
- records currently and properly classified in the interest
of national security;
(b)(2)
- records related solely to internal personnel rules and
practices;
(b)(3)
- records protected by another law that specifically exempts
the information from public release;
(b)(4)
- trade secrets and commercial or financial information
obtained from a private source which would cause substantial
competitive harm to the source if disclosed;
(b)(5)
- internal records that are deliberative in nature and are
part of the decision making process that contain opinions
and recommendations;
(b)(6)
- records which if released, would result in clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy;
(b)(7)
- investigatory records or information compiled for law
enforcement purposes;
(b)(8)
- records for the use of any agency responsible for the
regulation or supervision of financial institutions; and
(b)(9)
- records containing geological and geophysical information
(including maps) concerning wells.
Congress
also provided special protection in the FOIA for three narrow
categories of law enforcement and national security records. The
provisions protecting those records are known as “exclusions.”
The first exclusion protects the existence of an ongoing
criminal law enforcement investigation when the subject of the
investigation is unaware that it is pending and disclosure could
reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
proceedings. The second exclusion is limited to criminal law
enforcement agencies and protects the existence of informant
records when the informant’s status has not been officially
confirmed. The third exclusion is limited to the FBI and
protects the existence of foreign intelligence or
counterintelligence, or international terrorism records when the
existence of such records is classified. Records falling within
an exclusion are not subject to the requirements of the FOIA.
Can
I appeal a denial?
Yes.
If your request is initially denied in whole or in part, you
will be advised of your appeal rights and the proper procedures
for submitting the appeal.
How
long will it take for my request to be processed?
In
fairness to all requesters, Selective Service processes requests
in order by date of receipt. Depending on the complexity of
the request, a response should be generated within 20 working
days of receipt of the request. If a response cannot be generated
within the above time period, an interim response is forwarded
to the requester indicating when a response may be anticipated.
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