Freedom 250 Backlog Challenge

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Veterans Benefits Administration Washington, D.C. 20420 FOIA Request 26-20149-F July 14, 2026 Wesley McCauley United Veteran's Disability, LLC 100 North Patterson Street Valdosta, , 3160 jwojnarowski@ad-vance.com Dear Wojnarowski: This letter is the initial agency decision to your May 8, 2026, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration Central Office (VBACO), FOIA Office. In summary, you requested the following: • Copies of all records relating to the below listed items. The requested search period is from January 1, 2025, to the date the VA fulfills this request. Any documents, data, e-mails, memorandums, etc., that relate to the "Freedom 250 Backlog Challenge." (Date Range for Record Search: From 1/1/2025 To 5/8/2026). Request Procedural History The VBA FOIA office received your FOIA request on May 8, 2026. The VBACO FOIA Office requested a search for the responsive records, maintained by VA Office of Field Operations with a search date of January 1, 2025, to May 8, 2026. The search for responsive records was conducted utilizing Microsoft Office, and OFO Corporate mailbox. The key search terms utilized were the keywords “Freedom 250 backlog challenge” The Program Analyst from OFO retrieved 53 pages of records that were deemed responsive to your request. The records were provided to the VBACO FOIA office for further processing.

VBACO B6 IAD Letter July 14, 2026 FOIA 26-20149-F Upon completion of my review, I have determined that the document contains information which falls within the disclosure protections of FOIA Exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Therefore, I am partially releasing 53 pages of responsive records to you. FOIA Exemption 6 permits the VA to withhold a document or information contained within a document if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of a living individual/s personal privacy. Stated another way, VA may withhold information under FOIA Exemption 6 where disclosure of the information, either by itself or in conjunction with other information available to either the public or the FOIA requester, would result in an unwarranted invasion of an individual’s personal privacy without contributing significantly to the public’s understanding of the activities of the federal government. Specifically, the information we are withholding in part or in full , under FOIA Exemption 6 consists of names, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal Identifying Information (PII) of a VA employees and their superiors in their administrative or decision-making capacities, as the individuals associated with this information have a personal privacy interest in it. . Release of this information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the individuals’ privacy interests by exposing them to unwanted contact, potential harassment, or other misuse of their personal information. After careful consideration, the agency has determined that no countervailing public interest outweighs the substantial privacy interests at stake. Therefore, disclosure would foreseeably harm the protected personal privacy interests that Exemption (b)(6) is designed to safeguard. The coverage of FOIA Exemption 6 is absolute unless the FOIA requester can demonstrate a countervailing public interest in the requested information by demonstrating that the individual is in a position to provide the requested information to members of the general public and that the information requested contributes significantly to the public’s understanding of the activities of the Federal government. Additionally, the requester must demonstrate how the public’s need to understand the information significantly outweighs the privacy interest of the person to whom the information pertains. Upon consideration of the materials provided, we have not been able to identify a countervailing public interest of sufficient magnitude to outweigh the privacy interest in this case. The individuals associated with this information have a personal privacy interest in information that outweighs any public interest served by disclosure of their identities under FOIA. Consequently, we are denying your request for this information under FOIA Exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(6). If you disagree with our decision to withhold the information under FOIA Exemption 6, please be advised that you may appeal to:

VBACO B6 IAD Letter July 14, 2026 FOIA 26-20149-F Office of the General Counsel (024) Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20420 ogcfoiaappeals@va.gov If you should choose to file an appeal, your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted no later than ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this letter. Please include a copy of this letter with your written appeal and clearly state why you disagree with the determinations set forth in this response. You may also seek assistance and/or dispute resolution services for any other aspect of your FOIA request, excluding the release determination, from VBA’s FOIA Public Liaison and/or Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) as provided below: VBA FOIA Public Liaison Email Address: FOIA.VBACO@va.gov Fax: (202) 495-5567 VBA FOIA Office (20M3) 810 Vermont Avenue Washington D.C. 20420 Office of Government Information Services Email: ogis@nara.gov Mailing Address: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road (OGIS) College Park, MD 20740-6001 Thank you for your interest in VA. If you have any further questions, please contact me at (202) 374-7826 or email the FOIA Public Liaison at FOIA.VBACO@va.gov, and reference your FOIA number 26-20149-F. Sincerely, Abraham Olaiseh VBACO FOIA Officer Enclosed: 53 pages