Glossary / Classification
Freedom of Information ActFOIA
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, provides the public with a right of access to records held by federal executive-branch agencies, subject to nine statutory exemptions. Exemption 4 covers trade secrets and confidential commercial information, the category most relevant to contractors. Agencies generally process requests in the order received. By law, a proposal submitted in a competition cannot be released under FOIA unless it is set forth or incorporated by reference in the resulting contract (41 U.S.C. 4702, FAR 24.202). Under Executive Order 12600, agencies notify the submitter before releasing confidential commercial information, and the submitter can object.
Why it matters to your pipeline
Contractors use FOIA to get awarded contracts, task orders and their prices from past competitions, which helps when a re-compete comes around. It is also a risk to manage: mark confidential commercial information in every proposal as the solicitation instructs, and answer promptly when an agency says it has received a request for your records.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
Example
A firm files a FOIA request for the contract awarded in a recent re-compete, receives a redacted copy with the line-item prices months later, and uses the prices and the statement of work to plan for the next cycle.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.