DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES FOIA Office Health Resources and Services Administration 5600 Fishers Lane, Rm. 13N82 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: 301-443-2865 March 23, 2018 Sent via email Austin R. Evers Executive Director American Oversight 1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite B255 Washington, DC 20005 foia@americanoversight.org Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Case Number 18F113 Dear Mr. Evers: This letter responds to your FOIA request dated March 18, 2018. In summary, you requested records sufficient to show whether any of the following powers granted by the Public Health Emergency declaration as a result of the opioid crisis have been employed by the Secretary: 1. Access or use of funds in the Public Health Emergency Fund for the opioid public health emergency. 42 U.S.C. § 247d (b)(1). 2. Grant extensions or waive sanctions to related to the submission of data or reports required under laws administered by the Secretary. 42 U.S.C. § 247d (d). 3. Temporary appointment or reassignment of personnel. 42 U.S.C. § 247d (e). 4. Waive statutory requirements for HIV/AIDS treatment and related grants. 42 U.S.C. § 300ff-83. 5. Waive application deadlines or compliance with any other requirement for Substance Abuse and Mental Health grants on a state-by-state basis. 42 U.S.C. § 300x-67. 6. Waive Paperwork Reduction Act requirements. 42 U.S.C. § 247d (f). 7. Designate, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, areas and controlled substances that may be prescribed remotely by the practice of telemedicine. 21 U.S.C. §802(54)(D). Upon receipt of your request, it was sent to the Bureau of Primary Healthcare (BPHC), Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW), HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB), Division of Policy and Information Coordination (DPIC), Office of Federal Assistance Management (OFAM), Office of Operations (OO), and the Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation (OPAE). All of the aforementioned program offices (BPHC, BHW, HAB, DPIC, OFAM, OO, and OPAE) advised that they had no records responsive to your request. While we believe that an adequate search of the appropriate files was conducted for the records you requested, you have the right to appeal this finding that there are no records in HRSA’s possession, which would be responsive to your request. You can appeal and preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider your request and the agency’s decision. HRSA FOIA- Page 2 Evers, 18F113 Your appeal must be mailed within 90 days from the date of receipt of this letter, to: Kim Hutchinson Deputy Chief Agency chief FOIA Officer U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Room 729H 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 Please clearly mark both the envelope and your letter “HRSA Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process, you may contact HRSA’s FOIA Public Liaison for assistance at: Denise F. Wallace HRSA FOIA Public Liaison U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Freedom of Information Office 5600 Fishers Lane, 13N82 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-2865 E-mail: foia@hrsa.gov If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal FOIA Ombudsman’s office, offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The contact information for OGIS is: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road–OGIS College Park, MD 20740-6001 Telephone: 202-741-5770 Toll-Free: 1-877-684-6448 E-mail: ogis@nara.gov Fax: 202-741-5769 If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact my office at (301) 443-2865, or at FOIA@hrsa.gov. Sincerely, Thomas Flavin Freedom of Information Officer