FOIA b(3) Exemptions

Dept. of Veterans Affairs FOIA Exemptions

33.3
Use Rate 		8,331
Total claims 		24,987
Denials

Dept. of Veterans Affairs Annual Reports: '08 | '09
The Dept. of Veterans Affairs used b(3) exemptions to withhold information from FOIA requesters 24,987 times in 2008-2009.

Category

  • All
  • Patents
  • Public Contracts
  • Veterans' Benefits
Statute Description Claims
38 USC 5701 Names and addresses of present and former members of the Armed Forces and their dependents. 4,437
38 USC 7332 Medical records relating to drug abuse, alcoholism, or alcohol abuse, infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or sickle cell anemia 3,742
38 USC 5705 Records created as part of a medical quality assurance program 99
41 USC 253b(m) Proposals submitted by unsuccessful contract bidders 38
35 USC 205 Patent records 15

About This Project

This project uses data compiled by the Sunshine in Government initiative, a coalition of journalism and transparency groups. SGI compiled data from federal agency annual FOIA reports to track how often b(3) exemptions were used. SGI also standardized the exemptions since some agencies used slightly different citations of the same laws. In some cases, agencies listed general laws without specifying a section under which information was withheld. This project does not include information from agencies that use no b(3) exemptions in 2008 or 2009. ProPublica compiled information about FOIA denials.

FOIA Resources