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Re: The Broadest FOIA Request Ever: A Records Horror Story



This requester was an amateur.  Our broadest was one we received several
years ago for:

"Copies of all the historic documents of Canada, dealing with New France, the
Conquest, the Loyalists, the War of 1812, the rebellions of 1837, the
American Civil War, Confederation, the Fenian Raids, the Red River Rebellion,
the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, the Boer War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War,
Peacekeeping, and the October Crisis of 1970."

Daniel German
ATIP Analyst
National Archives of Canada
(613) 996-3125
dgerman@archives.ca

NB:  The above comments and opinions are the author's own and do not reflect
those of his employers
---------- Original Text ----------

From: "Michael Ravnitzky" <mikerav@IX.NETCOM.COM>, on 2000-09-12 1:57 AM:

THE BROADEST FOIA REQUEST EVER:  A RECORDS HORROR STORY
by Michael Ravnitzky

NOTE:  Please read this carefully.

Not long ago, a requester, A PUBLIC OFFICIAL, filed a Freedom of Information
Act request with the Office of the Secretary at the Department of the
Interior for records on the following subjects:

"A copy of all documents containing information on the following subjects .
. .:  * the current and potential application of the federal immigration
laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the Mariana
Islands (the Commonwealth); * the current and potential application and
 enforcement of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, including its minimum
wage provisions, to the Commonwealth; * the current and potential
application and enforcement of the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Act In the Commonwealth: * the current and potential application and
enforcement of the federal Internal Revenue Code in the Commonwealth;  * the
current and future duty free treatment of products of the Commonwealth under
General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States; * the Commonwealth's apparel and garment industry; * the use of
alien labor in the Commonwealth; * human rights in the Commonwealth; *
relations between the Federal Government and the Commonwealth; * the impact
of migration by citizens of the freely associated states of the
Commonwealth; * the decision of the Clinton Administration to recommend that
Congress make federal immigration, naturalization, and minimum wage laws
applicable to the Commonwealth; * Governor Froilan C. Tenorio; and
 * the Government of the Commonwealth.   Without limiting my request for
documents from other offices within the Department, I am specifically
interested in documents related to the above-listed subjects that
originated, or were prepared or received, in the following offices : Office
of the Secretary, including documents originating, prepared, or received by
or at the direction of Secretary Bruce Babbitt or Under Secretary John
Garamendi; Office of Insular Affairs including documents originating,
prepared, or received by or at the direction of Allen Stayman, Ferdinand
(Danny) Aranza, or Jeff Schorr; Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs; Office of Policy Analysis; and Office of the Solicitor.

Again without limiting my request  for all documents related to the
above-listed subjects, I am specifically interested in documents that were
sent to, or were received from, in the following individuals or entities;
Federal Executive Branch: Department of Justice, including U.S. Attorneys in
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and, particularly, Mr. Fred Black and
his staff; Federal Bureau of investigation; Immigration and Naturalization
Service, including Johnny Hair (local representative on Saipan)
and Mr. Gisser (of the Guam and/or Honolulu offices); Department of State,
including the U.S. Embassies in the Republic of the Philippines and the
Peoples Republic of China; Department of Labor, including
Mr. Trotter and Steven DeSmith; U.S. Customs Service; Jeffrey Farrow;
Commission on Immigration Reform, including Executive Director Susan Martin
and member Richard Estrada; Congress: Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate: Members and staff; Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives: Members and staff, including Manase Mansur;
Senator Daniel Akaka and staff, including Esther Kiaaina, Representative
George Miller and staff; Labor: The AFL-CIO and its affiliates; National
apparel, garment, and textile unions; Hawaii Local 5 of the Hotel and
Restaurant Workers union; Victor Perez (labor union representative in the
Norther Mariana Islands); Media: reporters, editors, and managers of: Inside
Edition (nationally syndicated TV newsmagazine); Los Angeles Times; Reader's
Digest, including Henry Hurt, reporter; national media in the United States;
national media in the Republic of the Phillippines; local media In Guam
 and the Northern Mariana Islands: Commonwealth Legislature members and
staff, including the President of the Senate Jesus R. Sablan and Speaker of
the House of Representatives Diego T. Benavente; Resident Representative to
the United States for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Juan
N. Babauta and staff, including consultant Adam Turner.  Republic of the
 Phillippines: Executive branch departments and officials, including the
Department of Labor; Members of the Philippine Congress, including Senator
Gloria M. Arroyo and congressional staff; Jesus Varela (Philippine labor
attaché in the Northern Mariana Islands) ; Human rights groups; Guam:
Government of Guam, including Governor Carl Gutierrez; Commission on
Self-Determination, including Executive Director Leland Bettis; Others:
Filipino human rights groups In Hawaii; national Filipino human rights
groups; Sebastian Aioots attorney, Boboy Doromol (quote human rights
activist unquote); Wendy Doromol (human rights activist); Eric Gregolre
(human rights activist); Phil Kaplan ("human rights activist"); Robert
Rudolph; and Lorl Sonken.

This request was granted case number 98-C-0009.

If you wish to obtain a copy of the request letter, suitable for framing, as
well as the response letters, the administrative file materials or even the
responsive records, you can contact:

Sue Ellen Sloca, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior,
MS 1414 MIB, Washington, D.C.  20240.  Telephone:  202-208-3552 or 6045.
Fax:  202-208-5048.  Email:  osfoia@nbc.gov

I'm certain that Ms. Sloca and her colleagues recall this request vividly
and would be able to fill in the details.

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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>