[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 61 (Monday, March 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18050-18053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07151]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5763-N-04]
Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program
Between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the
Social Security Administration (SSA): Matching Tenant Data in Assisted
Housing Programs
AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of a computer matching program between HUD and SSA.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
of 1988, as amended, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)
Guidance on the statute (5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended), HUD is notifying
the public of its intent to execute, in May 2014, a new computer
matching program with SSA, for a recurring matching program with HUD's
Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Office of Housing. The
most recent renewal of the current matching agreement expires on May 7,
2014. HUD will obtain SSA data and make the results available to 1)
program administrators such as public housing agencies (PHAs) and
private owners and management agents (O/As) (collectively referred to
as POAs) to enable them to verify the accuracy of income reported by
the tenants (participants) of HUD rental assistance programs and 2)
contract administrators (CAs) overseeing and monitoring O/A operations
as well as independent public auditors (IPAs) that audit both PHAs and
O/As.
DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of this agreement, and the
date the match may begin is the later of the following dates: 40 days
after HUD files a report of the subject matching program with the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB),
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; or 30 days after HUD
publishes notice of the computer matching program in the Federal
Register, unless changes to the matching program are required due to
public comments or by Congressional or by Office of Management and
Budget objections.
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Any public comment must be received before the effective comment due
date.
Comments Due Date: April 30, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this notice to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW.,
Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer to
the above docket number and title. Comments sent by facsimile are not
acceptable. A copy of each communication submitted will be available
for public inspection and copying between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
weekdays at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For Privacy Act inquires: Office of
the Chief Information Officer, contact Donna Robinson-Staton, Chief
Privacy Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
Seventh Street SW., CVB4, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202)
402-8073. For program information: Office of Public and Indian Housing:
Real Estate Assessment Center, contact Victoria Alston, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Room PCFL1,
Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202) 475-7993; Office of
Housing, contact Yvette Viviani, Director of the Housing Assistance
Policy Division, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
Seventh Street SW., Room 6138, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number
(202) 708-3000. (These are not toll free telephone numbers). A
telecommunications device for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals
(TTY) is available at (800) 877-8339 (Federal Information Relay
Service).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice supersedes a similar notice
published in the Federal Register (FR) on September 14, 2011, at 76 FR
56781. Administrators of HUD rental assistance programs rely upon the
accuracy of tenant-reported income to determine participant eligibility
for and level of, rental assistance. The computer matching program may
provide indicators of potential tenant unreported or under-reported
income, which will require additional verification to identify
inappropriate or inaccurate rental assistance, and may provide
indicators for potential administrative or legal actions. The matching
program will be carried out to detect inappropriate or inaccurate
rental assistance under sections 221(d)(3), 221(d)(5), and 236 of the
National Housing Act, the United States Housing Act of 1937, section
101 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1965, section 202
of the Housing Act of 1959, section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act, the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996, and the Quality Housing and Work
Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998. On March 11, 2009, Section 239 of
HUD's 2009 Appropriations Act modified Section 904 of the Stewart B.
McKinney Act of 1988, as amended, to include the Disaster Housing
Assistance program (DHAP) as a covered HUD rental assistance program in
HUD computer matching activities. The computer matching program will
also provide for the verification of social security numbers (SSNs) of
tenants participating in covered rental assistance programs. This
notice provides an overview of computer matching for HUD's rental
assistance programs. Specifically, the notice describes HUD's program
for computer matching of its tenant data to SSA's death data, Social
Security (SS) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits data.
The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (CMPPA) of 1988,
an amendment to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), OMB's guidance
on this statute entitled ``Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions
of Public Law 100-503, the CMPPA of 1988'' (OMB Guidance), and OMB
Circular No. A-130 requires publication of notices of computer matching
programs. Appendix I to OMB's Revision of Circular No. A-130,
``Transmittal Memorandum No. 4, Management of Federal Information
Resources,'' prescribes Federal agency responsibilities for maintaining
records about individuals. In compliance with the CMPPA and Appendix I
to OMB Circular No. A-130, copies of this notice are being provided to
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House of
Representatives, the Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, and OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs.
I. Authority
This matching program is being conducted pursuant to the Privacy
Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a); 542(b) of the 1998 Appropriations Act
(Pub. L. 105-65); section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544); section 165 of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3543); the
National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701-1750g); the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437-1437z); section 101 of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s); the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and the QHWRA Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(f)).
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 authorizes HUD to
require participants of HUD rental housing assistance programs to
disclose their social security numbers (SSNs) to HUD as a condition of
continuing (or initial) eligibility for participation in the programs.
The QHWRA of 1998, section 508(d), 42 U.S.C. 1437a(f) authorizes the
Secretary of HUD to require disclosure by the tenant to the PHA of
income information received by the tenant from HUD as part of the
income verification procedures of HUD. The QHWRA was amended by Public
Law 106-74, which extended the disclosure requirements to participants
in section 8, section 202, and section 811 assistance programs. The
participants are required to disclose the HUD-provided income
information to owners responsible for determining the participant's
eligibility or level of benefits.
The Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in
Public and Assisted Housing Programs: Implementation of the Enterprise
Income Verification (EIV) System--Amendments; Final Rule published at
74 FR 68924 on December 29, 2009, requires program administrators to
use HUD's EIV system to verify tenant income information during
mandatory reexaminations or recertifications of family composition and
income; and reduce administrative and subsidy payment errors in
accordance with HUD administrative guidance (24 CFR Sec. 5.233).
This computer matching program also assists HUD in complying with
the following federal laws, requirements, and guidance related to
identifying and reducing improper payments:
1. Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA)
(Pub. L. 111-204);
2. Presidential Memorandum on Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a
``Do Not Pay List'' (June 18, 2010);
3. Office of Management and Budget M-10-13, Issuance of Part III to
OMB Circular A-123, Appendix C;
4. Presidential Memorandum on Finding and Recapturing Improper
Payments (March 10, 2010);
5. Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal
Programs (Executive Order 13520, November 2009);
6. Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-300); and
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7. Office of Management and Budget M-03-13, Improper Payments
Information Act of 2002 Implementation Guide.
II. Covered Programs
This notice of computer matching program applies to the following
rental assistance programs:
A. Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP)
B. Public Housing
C. Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV)
D. Project-Based Voucher
E. Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation
F. Project-based Section 8
1. New Construction
2. State Agency Financed
3. Substantial Rehabilitation
4. Section 202/8
5. Rural Housing Services Section 515/8
6. Loan Management Set-Aside (LMSA)
7. Property Disposition Set-Aside (PDSA)
G. Section 101 Rent Supplement
H. Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC)
I. Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
J. Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
K. Section 236 Rental Assistance Program
L. Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR)
Note: This notice does not apply to the Low Income Housing Tax
Credit (LIHTC) or the Rural Housing Services Section 515 without
Section 8 programs.
III. Objectives To Be Met By the Matching Program
HUD's primary objective in implementing the computer matching
program is to verify the income of individuals participating in the
rental assistance programs identified in Section II above, to determine
the appropriate level of rental assistance, and to detect, deter,
reduce and correct fraud and abuse in rental housing assistance
programs. In meeting this objective, HUD also is carrying out its
responsibility under 42 U.S.C. 1437f(K) to ensure that income data
provided to POAs by household members is complete and accurate. HUD's
various assisted housing programs, administered through POAs, require
that participants meet certain income and other criteria to be eligible
for rental assistance. In addition, tenants generally are required to
report the amounts and sources of their income at least annually.
However, under the QHWRA of 1998, PHAs must offer public housing
tenants the option to pay a flat rent, or an income-based rent
annually. Those tenants who select a flat rent will be required to
recertify income at least every three years. In addition, the Changes
to the Admissions and Occupancy Final Rule (March 29, 2000; 65 FR
16692) specified that household composition must be recertified
annually for tenants who select a flat rent or income-based rent.
Other objectives of this computer matching program include: (1)
Increasing the availability of rental assistance to individuals who
meet the requirements of the rental assistance programs; (2) after
removal of personal identifiers, conducting analyses of the Social
Security death data and benefit information, and income reporting of
program participants; and (3) measure improper payments due to under-
reporting of income and/or overpayment of subsidy on behalf of deceased
program participants.
IV. Program Description
HUD will disclose to SSA only tenant personal identifiers, i.e.,
full name, Social Security number, and date of birth. SSA will match
the HUD-provided personal identifiers to personal identifiers included
in their various systems of records identified in Section IV of this
notice. SSA will validate HUD-provided personal identifiers and provide
income data to HUD only for individuals with matched personal
identifiers. SSA will also provide the date of death or indication of
death for any program participant whose HUD-supplied personal
identifiers are successfully matched against SSA databases. For any
individual whose personal identifiers do not match the personal
identifiers in the SSA database, SSA will provide HUD with an error
message, which will describe the reason(s) for no match (i.e.,
incorrect date of birth or surname, or invalid Social Security number).
The SSA-provided data will be made available to POAs in HUD's EIV
system.
A. Income Verification
Any match (i.e., a ``hit'') will be further reviewed by HUD, the
POAs, or the HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) to determine whether
the income reported by tenants to the program administrator is correct
and complies with HUD and program administrator requirements.
Specifically, current or prior SS and SSI benefit information and other
data will be sought directly from tenants. For public housing and
Section 8 tenant-based HCV programs, tenants will be required to
provide PHAs with original SSA benefit verification letters dated
within the last 60 days for comparison to computer matching results for
accuracy. For multifamily housing programs, tenants must provide O/As
with SSA benefit verification letters dated within the last 120 days.
For SS and SSI benefit information for prior years, the tenant may be
required to provide POAs with an original benefit history document from
SSA if there is a dispute regarding historical income information
obtained through the computer matching program.
B. Administrative or Legal Actions
Regarding all the matching described in this notice, POAs will take
appropriate action in consultation with tenants to: (1) Resolve income
disparities between tenant-reported and SSA-reported data; and (2) Use
correct income amounts in determining rental assistance.
POAs must compute the rent in full compliance with all applicable
statutes, regulations and administrator policies. POAs must ensure that
they use the correct income and correctly compute the rent. In order to
protect any individual whose records are used in this matching program,
POAs may not suspend, terminate, reduce, or make a final denial of any
rental assistance to any tenant, or take other adverse action against
the tenant as a result of information produced by this matching program
until: (a) The tenant has received notice from the POA of its findings
and has been informed of the opportunity to contest such findings; (b)
The POA has independently verified the information; and (c) either the
notice period provided in applicable regulations of the program, or 30
days, whichever is later, has expired. ``Independently verified'' in
item (b) means the specific information relating to the tenant that is
used as a basis for an adverse action has been investigated and
confirmed by the POA. (5 U.S.C. 552a) As such, POAs must resolve income
discrepancies in consultation with tenants. Additionally, serious
violations, which POAs, HUD Program staff, or the HUD OIG verify,
should be referred for full investigation and appropriate civil and/or
criminal proceedings.
With respect to SSA-provided error messages regarding HUD-provided
tenant, and matched personal identifiers, the POAs' administrator/agent
will confirm its file and system documentation to confirm accuracy of
data elements, and make any necessary corrections. If there is no error
in the documentation, the POAs'
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administrators/agents will notify the individual of the error and
request that the individual contact the SSA to correct any SSA data
errors. POAs administrators/agents cannot correct such errors.
V. Records To Be Matched
SSA will conduct the matching of tenant SSNs and additional
identifiers (surnames and dates of birth) to tenant data that HUD
supplies from its systems of records known as the Tenant Rental
Assistance Certification System (TRACS), a component of HUD's Tenant
Housing Assistance and Contract Verification Data System (HUD/H-11),
and the Inventory Management System (IMS), formerly known as the Public
and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) (HUD/PIH.01). The notice
for these systems was published at 62 FR 11909 on March 13, 1997, and
77 FR 22337 on April 13, 2012, respectively. Program administrators
utilize the form HUD-50058 module within the PIC system and the form
HUD-50059 module within the TRACS to provide HUD with the tenant data.
SSA will match the tenant records included in HUD/H-11 and HUD/PIH-
4 to their systems of records known as SSA's Master Files of Social
Security Number Holders, and SSN Applications (60-0058), published at
75 FR 82121 on December 29, 2010; Master Beneficiary Record (60-0090),
published at 71 FR 1826 on January 11, 2006; and Supplemental Security
Income Record and Special Veterans Benefits (60-0103), published at 71
FR 1830 on January 11, 2006. The notice for these systems was. HUD will
place the resulting matched data into its Enterprise Income
Verification (EIV) system (HUD/PIH-5). The notice for this system was
initially published at 70 FR 41780 on July 20, 2005, and last amended
on September 1, 2009 (74 FR 45235). The tenant records (one record for
each family member) include these data elements: Full name, SSN, and
date of birth.
HUD data will also be matched to the SSA's Master Files of Social
Security Number Holders, and SSN Applications (60-0058) for the purpose
of validating SSNs of participants of HUD rental assistance programs to
identify noncompliance with program eligibility requirements. HUD will
compare tenant SSNs provided by POAs to reveal duplicate SSNs and
potential duplicate rental assistance.
VI. Period of the Match
The computer matching program will become effective and the
matching may commence after the respective Data Integrity Boards (DIBs)
of both agencies approve and sign the computer matching agreement, and
after, the later of the following: (1) 40 days after report of the
matching program is sent to Congress and OMB; (2) at least 30 days
after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, unless
comments are received, which would result in a contrary determination.
The computer matching program will be conducted according to the
computer matching agreement between HUD and SSA. The computer matching
agreement for the planned matches will terminate either when the
purpose of the computer matching program is accomplished, or 18 months
from the effective date of the computer matching agreement. The
agreement may be renewed for one 12-month period, with the mutual
agreement of all involved parties, if the following conditions are met:
(1) Within three months of the expiration date, all DIBs review the
agreement, find that the program will be conducted without change, and
find a continued favorable examination of benefit/cost results; and (2)
All parties certify that the program has been conducted in compliance
with the computer matching agreement.
The agreement may be terminated, prior to accomplishment of the
computer matching purpose or 18 months from the effective date of the
computer matching agreement (whichever comes first), by the mutual
agreement of all involved parties within 30 days of written notice.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a, 88 Stat. 1896; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
Dated: March 25, 2014.
Kevin R. Cooke, Jr.,
Acting, Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-07151 Filed 3-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P