[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 45, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 45CFR5.24]



[Page 20-21]

 

                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE

 

                    SUBTITLE A--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

                           AND HUMAN SERVICES

 

PART 5_FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REGULATIONS--Table of Contents

 

                      Subpart B_Obtaining a Record

 

Sec.  5.24  Responding to your request.



    (a) Retrieving records. The Department is required to furnish copies 

of records only when they are in our possession or we can retrieve them 

from storage. If we have stored the records



[[Page 21]]



you want in the National Archives or another storage center, we will 

retrieve and review them for possible disclosure. However, the Federal 

Government destroys many old records, so sometimes it is impossible to 

fill requests. Various laws, regulations, and manuals give the time 

periods for keeping records before they may be destroyed. For example, 

there is information about retention of records in the Records Disposal 

Act of 1944, 44 U.S.C. 3301 through 3314; the Federal Property 

Management Regulations, 41 CFR 101-11.4; the General Records Schedules 

of the National Archives and Records Administration; and in the HHS 

Handbook: Files Maintenance and Records Disposition.

    (b) Furnishing records. The requirement is that we furnish copies 

only of records that we have or can retrieve. We are not compelled to 

create new records. For example, we are not required to write a new 

program so that a computer will print information in the format you 

prefer. However, if the requested information is maintained in 

computerized form, but we can, with minimal computer instructions, 

produce the information on paper, we will do this if it is the only way 

to respond to a request. Nor are we required to perform research for 

you. On the other hand, we may decide to conserve government resources 

and at the same time supply the records you need by consolidating 

information from various records rather than copying them all. Moreover, 

we are required to furnish only one copy of a record and usually impose 

that limit. If information exists in different forms, we will provide 

the record in the form that best conserves government resources. For 

example, if it requires less time and expense to provide a computer 

record as a paper printout rather than in an electronic medium, we will 

provide the printout.