21 CFR § 1401.3 - Definitions.

For the purpose of this part, all the terms defined in the Freedom of Information Act apply.

Commercial use request is a request that asks for information for a use or a purpose that furthers a commercial, trade, or profit interest, which can include furthering those interests through litigation. An agency's decision to place a requester in the commercial use category will be made on a case-by-case basis based on the requester's intended use of the information. Agencies will notify requesters of their placement in this category.

Direct costs means the expense actually expended to search, review, or duplicate in response to a FOIA request. For example, direct costs include 116% of the salary of the employee performing work (i.e., the basic rate of pay for the employee plus 16 percent of that rate to cover benefits) and the actual costs incurred while operating equipment.

Duplicate means the process of making a copy of a document. Such copies may take the form of paper, microform, audio-visual materials, or machine-readable documentation.

Educational institution is any school that operates a program of scholarly research. A requester in this fee category must show that the request is made in connection with his or her role at the educational institution. Agency may seek verification from the requester that the request furthers scholarly research, and agency will advise requesters of their placement in this category.

Fee waiver means the waiver or reduction of processing fees if a requester can demonstrate that certain statutory standards are satisfied, including that the information is in the public interest and is not requested for a commercial interest.

FOIA public liaison means a supervisory agency FOIA official who assists in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and resolving disputes between the requester and ONDCP.

Noncommercial scientific institution is an institution that is not operated on a “commercial” basis and that is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. A requester in this category must show that the request is authorized by and is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are sought to further scientific research and are not for a commercial use. Agency will advise requesters of their placement in this category.

OGIS means the Office of Government Information Services of the National Archives and Records Administration. OGIS offers FOIA dispute resolution services, which is a voluntary process. If ONDCP agrees to participate in the dispute resolution services provided by OGIS, ONDCP will actively engage as a partner to the process in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

Records and any other terms used in this part in reference to information includes any information that would be an agency record subject to the requirements of this part when maintained in any format, including electronic format.

Representative of the news media is any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. The term “news” means information that is about current events or information that would be of interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations that broadcast “news” to the public at large and publishers of periodicals that disseminate “news” and make their products available through a variety of means to the general public, including news organizations that disseminate solely on the internet. A request for records supporting the news-dissemination function of the requester will not be considered to be for a commercial use. “Freelance” journalists who demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through a news media entity will be considered as a representative of the news media. A publishing contract would provide the clearest evidence that publication is expected; however, the Agency can also consider a requester's past publication record in making this determination. The Agency will advise requesters of their placement in this category.

Request means a letter or other written communication seeking records or information under FOIA.

Requester category means one of the three categories that ONDCP will place requesters in for the purpose of determining whether a requester will be charged fees for search, review, and duplication. The categories are: commercial use requests; non-commercial scientific or educational institutions or news media requesters; and all other requesters.

Review means the process of examining documents that are located during a search to determine if any portion should lawfully be withheld. It is the processing of determining disclosability. Review time includes processing any record for disclosure, such as doing all that is necessary to prepare the record for disclosure, including the process of redacting the record and marking the appropriate exemptions. Review costs are properly charged even if a record ultimately is not disclosed. Review time also includes time spent both obtaining and considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a confidential commercial information submitter under § 1401.18, but it does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.

Search means to review, manually or by automated means, agency records for the purpose of locating those records responsive to a request.