January 20 2022 Thomas Blanton National Security Archive George Washington University tblanton@gwu edu Dear Mr Blanton This correspondence is in response to your email of January 20 2022 requesting an estimated completion date for a FOIA request you have filed with the George W Bush Library and Museum That estimate is listed below This estimate includes time for NARA to complete the necessary notification to the representatives of the former and incumbent Presidents in order to afford them an opportunity to conduct a privilege review as is required by the Presidential Records Act PRA As stated in our letter dated July 7 2021 request NW 64891 is in the classified Presidential Library holdings queue and there are 370 requests ahead of yours in this queue The classified records of the George W Bush Administration were recently transferred to the National Declassification Center NDC in College Park MD and the NDC is currently standing up operations for handling FOIA requests for George W Bush Presidential records Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget OMB NARA closed all of its facilities in March 2020 As part of that closure NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff As a result of this reprioritization of activities there has been a delay in completion of any FOIA requests agency-wide including yours NARA has entered a phased reopening of our facilities and we are slowly resuming FOIA processing with limited staff At the point NARA’s FOIA activity returns to pre-COVID-19 standards and the NDC has completed its work in standing up operations for handling FOIA requests for George W Bush Presidential records we estimate that your FOIA may be completed in 12 years We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience If you have any questions regarding your FOIA request please contact our staff at 214-346-1557 or gwbush library@nara gov Your FOIA case log number is NW 64891 Please have this number accessible for reference during any future contact concerning this case Sincerely Emily Robison Deputy Director George W Bush Library and Museum ER MAC