Content created by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Division
System name: Congressional Grants Notification Unit, HHS/OS/ASL.
Security classification: None.
System location: Room 417, H Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201.
Categories of individuals covered by the system: Members of Congress.
Categories of records in the system: Notification form of grants or contract awards made by HHS. The form contains the name and address of the project director, the purpose of the grant or contract, and the HHS program involved.
Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. 301.
Purpose(s):
To provide timely notification to members of Congress of HHS grants and contract awards being made in their Districts.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that individual. In the event of litigation where the defendant is (a) the Department, any component of the Department, or any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity, (b) the United States where the Department determines that the claim, if successful, is likely to directly affect the operations of the Department or any of its components, or (c) any Department employee in his or her individual capacity where the Justice Department has agreed to represent such employee, the Department may disclose such records as it deems desirable or necessary to the Department of Justice to enable that Department to present an effective defense, provided such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
Records may be disclosed to student volunteers, individuals working under a personal services contract, and other individuals performing functions for the Department but technically not having the status of agency employees, if they need access to the records in order to perform their assigned agency functions.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:
Storage: Paper files are maintained in standard file cabinets.
Retrievability: Files are indexed by States Congressional Districts with the name of the Congressional Representative of that District on the file. Records are retrieved by name. The staff uses this system for the following purposes: (1) To answer questions in the short term about amounts of HHS grant funds going into areas of the country according to congressional districts. (2) To verify that actual notification to members offices of awards has been made.
Safeguards: These records are public information and available on request.
Retention and disposal: Grant notification files are discarded after two calendar years.
System manager(s) and address: Director, Congressional Liaison, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Room 417H, HHH Bldg., 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201.
Notification procedure: Same as above. The Congressional District or name of the Congressional Representative of that district and the approximate date of the award must be provided.
Record access procedures: Address same as above.
Contesting record procedures: Address same as above.
Record source categories: Agencies within the Department making the grant/contract awards.
Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act: None.