ADS 510 - Mandatory Declassification Review

Agency for International Development (USAID) through ADS Chapter 510. This chapter outlines the Agency's policy on processing requests from the public for MDR. The primary purpose of MDR is to determine whether classified documents should be declassified. The Director, Bureau for Management, Office of Administrative Services (M/AS), is responsible for releasing or withholding records under an MDR request. The Bureau for Management, Office of Administrative Services, Information and Records Division (M/AS/IRD) is responsible for processing MDR requests, which includes reviewing the request, coordinating with appropriate Agency Bureaus/Offices for input, responding to the request, taking necessary declassification action if necessary, and assisting the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Management with any appeal proceedings. The Agency must adhere to the Mandatory Declassification Review policies and procedures in Section 3.6 of Executive Order (EO) 12958, Classified National Security Information. Members of the public, departments, and other agencies must direct MDR requests to the Chief, Information and Records Division (M/AS/IRD) at the U.S. Agency for International Development, Ronald Reagan Building, 2.07-C, Washington, DC 20523-2701. The Chief, M/AS/IRD assigns MDR requests to a Declassification Officer for action. The Declassification Officer must coordinate the review of classified documents with the appropriate office, as necessary, and make a determination within 30 days of receipt of the MDR. When declassification is necessary, the Agency must adhere to the Mandatory Declassification policies in Section 3.6(c) of EO 12958. Declassified records must be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and are still subject to being withheld under one or more of the nine exemptions from disclosure permitted under the FOIA. Certain records, classified or not, will never be released to the public. If a member of the public, department, or other agency is denied an MDR request, they may appeal the decision to the Assistant Administrator for Bureau for Management (AA/M) at the U.S. Agency for International Development, Ronald Reagan Building, 6.09-036, Washington, DC 20523-6901. The AA/M may request the General Counsel, appropriate Assistant Administrators, Office Directors, and other USAID officers to review appeals of MDR request denials and submit written recommendations. The AA/M's decision on an appeal is the Agency's final decision on that MDR request.