(a) Contracting officers must follow instructions in Army Regulation (AR) 25-55 for the release of acquisition information.
(b) (i) If the contracting officer concludes that some or all information requested should be denied, he/she must prepare the proposed response in accordance with AR 25-55. The letter must conclude wording substantially as follows:
“You may appeal, in whole or part, this denial to the Secretary of the Army. In the event you decide to appeal, your letter of appeal should be sent within 60 days of the date of this denial letter through (Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) address) to: Freedom of Information Act Appeal, Attn: SAGC, General Counsel, 104 Army Pentagon, Washington DC 20310-0104. This denial is made on behalf of the Initial Denial Authority, (name), the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) by (name and rank), Head of the Contracting Activity (office). (Substitute Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) for HCA if the PARC is the HCA’s designee).”
Include copies of the records recommended for denial. Contracting officers in the Army Materiel Command (AMC) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) must then follow the procedures specified by their headquarters. Contracting officers in all other contracting activities must send the proposed response to the HCA or designee. The authority granted to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) (ASA(ALT)) to act on requests for procurement records under the Freedom of Information Act, except those under the purview of the Chief of Engineers and the Commander, AMC, is redelegated to the Executive Director, Army Contracting Command for Contracting and is further redelegated to the HCAs. The HCAs may redelegate this authority only to the PARCs.
(ii) After coordination with counsel, the HCA or designee must release the proposed response, modified as necessary.
(iii) Within three working days of receipt of appeals, HCAs must send the documents required by AR 25-55 to the address in 5124.203(b)(i).
