FOIA Handbook

* The Office of Administration, whose sole function is to advise and assist the President, and which has no substantial independent authority, is not subject to FOIA and related authorities.

This handbook is intended to assist you in making a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of Administration (OA), Executive Office of the President (EOP). For further details please refer to the OA FOIA Regulations which can be found at 5 CFR §2502. These regulations are currently being updated.

OA is a distinct entity from the other components of the EOP. Please contact the separate EOP entities, that are subject to FOIA, individually, if you would like to make a FOIA request for their records.

The EOP entities subject to the FOIA are:

• Council on Environmental Quality
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Office of the United States Trade Representative

The EOP entities exempt from the provisions of the FOIA are:

• White House Office
• Office of Administration *
• Office of the Vice President
• Council of Economic Advisers
• National Security Council
• Office of Policy Development
  • Domestic Policy Council
  • Office of National AIDS Policy
  • National Economic Council
• President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Mission of the Office of Administration:

The Office of Administration (OA) was established within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1977. The Office was activated, effective December 4, 1977, by Executive Order 12028 of December 12, 1977. Its primary function is to provide common administrative and support services for the various entities of the EOP. The services include personnel; financial management; data processing; library services; records management; and general office operations, such as mail, messenger, printing, procurement, and supply services. OA has no field organizations and consists of the following:

(1) Office of the Director and General Counsel

(2) Equal Employment Opportunity

(3) Facilities Management

(4) Financial Management

(5) General Services

(6) Human Resources Management

(7) Information Systems & Technology

(8) Library Research Services

(9) Operations and Legislative Liaison

(10) Security

Current Publications:

None at this time.

Submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request:

A request made under the FOIA must be submitted in writing, by mail or fax, to the following address:

Office of Administration
FOIA Officer
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Phone: (202) 395-2273
Fax: (202) 456-7921

The words FOIA REQUEST should be clearly marked on both the letter and the envelope. Due to security measures at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the New Executive Office Building, requests made in person should be delivered to Room G-1, at the above address. Describe the specific records requested in enough detail so that they can be located with a reasonable amount of effort. Requests for answers posed as questions are not covered under the FOIA. The request must be for records. Records must exist at the time the request is submitted.

Please state your willingness and ability to pay applicable fees or provide a justification to support a fee waiver.

For further information, please refer to the Office of Administration FOIA Regulations at 5 CFR §2502, which are currently being reviewed in light of the passage of the E-FOIA Amendment of 1996. Questions relating to the OA records and disclosure regulations may be directed to (202) 395-2273.

Privacy Act:

Information may also be requested from OA under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a. Privacy Act requests for information in OA's files must be in writing and sent to the same address as FOIA requests (see Submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request). For further details please refer to the OA Privacy Act Regulations which can be found at 5 CFR §2504.

The Privacy Act Regulations apply to all records maintained by the Office of Administration that are contained in a system of records, and that contain information about an individual. The regulations also establish procedures that (a) authorize an individual's access to records maintained about him/her; (b) limit the access of other persons to those records; and (c) permit an individual to request the amendment or correction of records about him/her self.

Please note that records maintained by OA are usually kept only on individuals employed by the office and not on all other citizens or residents of the United States.

EOP Publications:

There are no OA publications. If you are interested in publications from other EOP entities, please visit the individual web sites.

OA's website address:

/oa/

OA's Electronic Reading Room

OA's Electronic Reading Room located on OA's website (see address above) contains documents specifically identified for inclusion by the FOIA, as well as documents for which we have received multiple requests:

• The IMPAC Credit Card Holders Listing;
• Government Information Locator System (GILS);
• Office of Administration Annual FOIA Reports;
• Handbook for FOIA Requests;
• Office of Administration FOIA Regulations; and
• Index and Description of Major Information and Record Locater Systems

Related Links

Office of Administration

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

FOIA within the EOP

FOIA Handbook

Electronic Reading Room

Office of Administration FOIA Regulations