Government Shutdown Affects FOIA Requests

nsaThe government shutdown is having an impact on every “nonessential” federal service, including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) requests under the NSA.

According to the NSA’s website, all FOIA and PA requests or inquiries submitted to the FOIA/PA office “will not be addressed until the office reopens.” The NSA’s homepage also cites the government shutdown as responsible for its inability to update the NSA website.

Many of the NSA’s other programs will continue to operate during the government shutdown. In a memo released last Friday from the Department of Defense,  the Deputy Secretary said that while a “large number of [] civilian employees [will] be temporarily furloughed[,]” the shutdown will not affect military personnel who will “continue in a normal duty status.”

Samantha Scheller is a 2L at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

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