(a) In general. In determining which records are responsive to a request, the Foundation ordinarily will include only those records in its possession as of the date the Foundation begins its search for them. If any other date is used, the Foundation will inform the requester of that date.

(b) Authority to grant or deny requests. The Foundation's General Counsel, or his/her designee, is authorized to grant or deny any request for access to a record of the Foundation.

(c) Consultations and referrals. When the Foundation receives a request for access to a record in its possession, it will determine whether another agency of the Federal Government is better able to determine whether the record is exempt from access under the Privacy Act. If the Foundation determines that it is best able to process the record in response to the request, then it will do so. If the Foundation determines that it is not best able to process the record, then it will either:

(1) Respond to the request regarding that record, after consulting with the agency best able to determine whether the record is exempt from access and with any other agency that has a substantial interest in it; or (2) Refer the responsibility for responding to the request regarding that record to another agency that originated the record (but only if that agency is subject to the Privacy Act). Ordinarily, the agency that originated a record will be presumed to be best able to determine whether it is exempt from access.

(d) Notice of referral. Whenever the Foundation refers all or any part of the responsibility for responding to your request to another agency, it ordinarily will notify you of the referral and inform you of the name of each agency to which the request has been referred and of the part of the request that has been referred.

(e) Timing of responses to consultations and referrals. All consultations and referrals shall be handled according to the date the Privacy Act access request was initially received by the Foundation, not any later date.