CREW FILES APPEAL OF VA DECISION DENYING FEE WAIVER FOR FOIA REQUEST REGARDING PTSD DIAGNOSES

10 Jun 2008 // Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an administrative appeal of the initial decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denying CREW a fee waiver for its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to VA guidance on the diagnosis of PTSD in veterans.

The denial was based on the incredible claim of the VA that there is no longer any further public interest in the VA's under-diagnosis of PTSD in order to save costs.

The VA also claimed it could not respond to CREW's request because CREW failed to specify the specific offices and individuals that would have documents.

As CREW noted in its appeal, the VA's initial treatment of CREW's FOIA requst on an issue of great public importance "reflects a shockingly callous disregard for the agency's statutory responsibilities under the FOIA."

Moreover, the VA's patently defective justification for denying CREW a fee waiver leads to the conclusion that "the VA seeks to evade public accountability for its actions."