USDA United States Department of Agriculture Office of the General Counsel 1400 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20250-1400 November 12, 2019 Delivered via Electronic Mail Katherine Anthony American Oversight 1030 15th St. NW, Suite B255 Washington, DC 20005 foia@americanoversight.org RE: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request 2019-OSEC-06595-F Final Response Dear Ms. Anthony: This is the Departmental FOIA Office’s (DFO) final response to the above-referenced FOIA request, seeking the following: Any secretarial orders or other records signed by the Secretary of Agriculture appointing Brandon Lipps to any position—on an acting or permanent basis—in USDA, including any of its sub-agencies or offices. Please provide all responsive records from April 25, 2017, through the date a search is conducted. Your request has been processed under the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552. A search for responsive records was conducted by the Office of the Executive Secretariat (OES). The OES serves the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture by managing the official correspondence of the Immediate Office of the Secretary, maintaining the official records of the Office of the Secretary, and assisting the Office of the Secretary with special projects. The OES receives and analyzes all correspondence addressed to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary, refers it to the appropriate agencies or staff offices for preparation of a response, as appropriate, and coordinates and tracks the preparation, review, clearance, signature, dispatch, and archival filing of responses. The OES works with USDA agencies to ensure prompt delivery of reports and other documents requested or legislatively mandated by Congress or the White House and provides editorial assistance as necessary to ensure optimal quality. No responsive records were located from the OES search. An additional search for responsive records was conducted by the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), the repository of personnel records for USDA employees. The OHRM located two (2) pages of responsive records. Following a review of the responsive records, the DFO has determined that certain information contained therein should be withheld pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(6) (FOIA Exemption 6). Below is an explanation of the information that has been withheld. FOIA Exemption 6 Exemption 6 generally is referred to as the “personal privacy” exemption. It provides that the disclosure requirements of FOIA do not apply to “personnel and medical files and similar files the Katherine Anthony OGC FOIA Case No. 2019-OSEC-06595-F Page 2 disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” Application of the exemption involves balancing the public’s interest in disclosure against individuals’ privacy interests. The information withheld under Exemption 6 consists of direct office numbers. This information qualifies as “similar files” because it is information in which individuals have a privacy interest. Releasing the direct office numbers could subject the individuals to unwarranted or unsolicited communications. Because there is a viable privacy interest that would be threatened by disclosure, Exemption 6 authorizes this office to withhold the information. Accordingly, the DFO has determined that the public interest in the information’s release does not outweigh the overriding privacy interests in keeping it confidential. You may appeal this response by email at USDAFOIA@usda.gov, or by mail to Inga BumbaryLangston, Deputy General Counsel, Room 101-W, Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-0103. Your appeal must be in writing, and it must be received no later than 90 calendar days form the date of this letter. The OGC will not consider appeals received after the 90 calendar-day limit. Appeals received after 5:00 p.m. EST will be considered received the next business day. The appeal letter should include the FOIA tracking number listed above, a copy of the original request, the DFO’s response to your original request, and a statement explaining the basis of your appeal. For quickest possible handling, the subject line of your email, the appeal letter, and its envelope, if applicable, should be marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” You may seek dispute resolution services from the DFO’s FOIA Public Liaison, Ms. Camille Aponte. Ms. Aponte may be contacted by telephone at 202-690-5260, or electronically at Camille.Aponte@usda.gov or USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about its FOIA mediation services. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; email at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll-free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact 202-694-5982 or USDAFOIA@usda.gov. Sincerely, ALEXIS GRAVES Digitally signed by ALEXIS GRAVES Date: 2019.11.12 11:31:37 -05'00' Alexis Graves Departmental FOIA Officer Office of the General Counsel Enclosure: Responsive Records (2 pages) 2019-DA-06595-F Requestfor SeniorExecutiveServiceAppointingAuthority Agency Name:DEPARTMENT OFAGRICULTURE POC:CANDICEJONES Phone:(202) RequestNo: DA170165 Print Date:06/13/2017 Fax:(202) 720-2774 260-8128 RequestType: APPOINTMENT AppointmentAuthority: NONCAREER Extension: No Duration: ESPay Level: $179,700 Temporary Allocation : No Candidate:BRANDON LIPPS Position No:DAES98021 Title: ADMINISTRATOR OrganizationName:OFFICEOFTHEUNDERSECRETARY FORFOOD,NUTRITION ANDCONSUMER SERVICES RecruitedFrom:OUTSIDE FED.GOVT.(NOT GEOLocation: DISTRICTOF COLUMBIA Current Title : ProposedTitle: SESEndorsementStatement I endorse the above request made to the Office of Personnel Management. I certify that the position is a General position and certify that the candidate meets the professional/technical, executive and managerial qualifications for the position. Agency/Dept. H ~ AgencyWhite House Liaison Name:_.!,..; H~~~ /l,/"-- -+/£A/i""':....: vt .;... e:....:... / _ ...,~IS'--L.c.;;; ,/.--:: ~rl'-= ..... ~µ, .__,__ ______ , I~ ~./ Signature: ~ . _ ~------- Phone: ______ _ /7 OPM USEONLY Check the appropriate Box(es) 0 Your request for a new noncareer appointment authority, reassignmentor pay level changeis: 0 Your request for a limited term emergencyappointmentauthority for the duration of__ _ ___ is: 0 Yourrequestfor temporaryspaceallocation Numberof non-career allocations_·_ _ _ _ ___ _ ~roved O Disapproved O Return without Action Percent of SESspace allocation:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ OPMApproving Official:_.,;.~!:JE:~:....e::::_~/t~'--:~I,,,..:::::::.~:::::::=-- -== EMAIL:SERS@opm.gov Source: Office of Personnel Management O O Approvedwith Modification• J" ~~'+'-....,""'~~'?c;_ __ =--:_ DateSigned: ATTENTION:Senior Executive Resource Services Report 1652, Version November 2008 1 of 2 USDA-19-1157-A-000001 2019-DA-06595-F Request for Senior Executive Service Appointing Authority Agency Name: DEPARTMENTOF AGRICULTURE Print Date: 07/17/2019 POC: LISA FLORES Fax: Phone:- Request No: DA190176 Request Type: REASSIGNMENT Appointment Authority: NONCAREER Extension: No Duration: ES Pay Level: $183, 100 Temporary Allocation: No Candidate: BRANDONLIPPS Position No: DAES01709 Title: DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY,FOOD, NUTRITION AND CONSUMERSERVICES Organization Name:OFFICE OF THE UNDERSECRETARYFOR FOOD, NUTRITIONAND CONSUMERSERVICES GEO Location: Recruited From: SAMEBUREAU, SAMEAGENCY WASHINGTON Current Title: Proposed Title: SESEndorsement Statement As the agency official authorized to make this request, I endorse the above request made to the Office of Personnel Management. I certify that the position is a General position and the candidate meets the professional/technical, executive and managerial qualifications for the position. I certify that the rate of pay requested for this position is based on the executive ·s performance and/or contribution to mission (as reflected in the executive's annual summary rating for the most recently-completed performance appraisal period), pursuan t to 5 U.S.C. 5382(a) and 5 CFR 534.401, and the requirements of section 749 of division D of the Consolidated Appropr iati ons Act, 2019, have been met. A ency White House Liaison ]t~CH,._.._..½ _____ _ Name: _k _ a_._; _........, \{ .......... L ..__ . Signature: il"""""-1}+-'-'-4 ½-t+~- -- -- ----P¥""