[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31799-31801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15163]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Logistics Agency
Privacy Act of 1974; New Computer Matching Program Between the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Manpower Data Center of
the Department of Defense
AGENCY: Defense Manpower Data Center, Defense Logistics Agency,
Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice of a new computer matching program between the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD)
for public comment.
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SUMMARY: Subsection (e)(12) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (5
U.S.C. 552a) requires agencies to publish advance notice of any
proposed or revised computer matching program by the matching agency
for public comment. The DoD, as the matching agency under the Privacy
Act is hereby giving constructive notice in lieu of direct notice to
the record subjects of a computer matching program between VA and DoD
that their records are being matched by computer. The record subjects
are VA delinquent debtors who may be current or former Federal
employees receiving Federal salary or benefit payments and who are
delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the United States
Government under programs administered by VA so as to permit VA to
pursue and collect the debt by voluntary repayment or by administrative
or salary offset procedures under the provisions of the Debt Collection
Act of 1982.
DATES: This proposed action will become effective July 11, 1997, and
the computer matching will proceed accordingly without further notice,
unless comments are received which would result in a contrary
determination or if the Office of Management and Budget or Congress
objects thereto. Any public comment must be received before the
effective date.
ADDRESSES: Any interested party may submit written comments to the
Director, Defense Privacy Office, Crystal Mall 4, Room 920, 1941
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202-4502.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Aurelio Nepa, Jr. at telephone
(703) 607-2943.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to subsection (o) of the Privacy
Act of 1974, as amended, (5 U.S.C. 552a), the DoD and VA have concluded
an agreement to conduct a computer matching program between the
agencies.
[[Page 31800]]
The purpose of the match is to exchange personal data between the
agencies for debt collection. The match will yield the identity and
location of the debtors within the Federal government so that VA can
pursue recoupment of the debt by voluntary payment or by administrative
or salary offset procedures. Computer matching appeared to be the most
efficient and effective manner to accomplish this task with the least
amount of intrusion of personal privacy of the individuals concerned.
It was therefore concluded and agreed upon that computer matching would
be the best and least obtrusive manner and choice for accomplishing
this requirement.
A copy of the computer matching agreement between VA and DoD is
available upon request to the public. Requests should be submitted to
the address caption above or to the Department of Veterans Affairs,
Debt Management Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Bishop
Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN
55111.
Set forth below is the notice of the establishment of a computer
matching program required by paragraph 6.c. of the Office of Management
and Budget Guidelines on computer matching published in the Federal
Register at 54 FR 25818 on June 19, 1989.
The matching agreement, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the
Privacy Act, and an advance copy of this notice was submitted on May
22, 1997, to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the
House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the
Senate, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget pursuant to
paragraph 4d of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, `Federal Agency
Responsibilities for Maintaining Records about Individuals,' dated
February 8, 1996 (61 FR 6435, February 20, 1996). The matching program
is subject to review by OMB and Congress and shall not become effective
until that review period has elapsed.
Dated: June 5, 1997.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
NOTICE OF A COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION
A. Participating Agencies: Participants in this computer matching
program are the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Defense
Manpower Data Center (DMDC) of the Department of Defense (DoD). The VA
is the source agency, i.e., the activity disclosing the records for the
purpose of the match. The DMDC is the specific recipient activity or
matching agency, i.e., the agency that actually performs the computer
matching.
B. Purpose of the Match: Upon the execution of this agreement, VA
will provide and disclose debtor records to DMDC to identify and locate
any Federal personnel, employed or retired, who owe delinquent debts to
the Federal Government under certain programs administered by VA. VA
will use this information to initiate independent collection of those
debts under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 when
voluntary payment is not forthcoming. These collection efforts will
include requests by VA of the employing agency to apply administrative
and/or salary offset procedures until such time as the obligation is
paid in full.
C. Authority for Conducting the Match: The legal authority for
conducting the matching program is contained in the Debt Collection Act
of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365), 31 U.S.C. Chapter 37, Subchapter I (General)
and Subchapter II (Claims of the United States Government), 31 U.S.C.
3711 Collection and Compromise, 31 U.S.C. 3716 Administrative Offset, 5
U.S.C. 5514, as amended, Installment Deduction for Indebtedness (Salary
Offset); 10 U.S.C. 136, as amended, Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness; 10 U.S.C. 138, as amended, Assistant
Secretaries of Defense; section 101(1) of Executive Order 12731; 4 CFR
Chapter II, Federal Claims Collection Standards (General Accounting
Office - Department of Justice); 5 CFR 550.1101 - 550.1108, Collection
by Offset from Indebted Government Employees (OPM); 38 CFR 1.980 -
1.994 (VA).
D. Records to be Matched: The systems of records maintained by the
respective agencies under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C.
552a, from which records will be disclosed for the purpose of this
computer match are as follows:
Sections 5 and 10 of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (public Law
97-365) authorize agencies to disclose information about debtors in
order to effect salary or administrative offsets. Agencies must publish
routine uses pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of the Privacy Act for those
systems of records from which they intend to disclose this information.
Sections 5 and 10 of the Debt Collection Act will comprise the
necessary authority to meet the Privacy Act's `compatibility'
condition. The systems of records described below contain an
appropriate routine use disclosure between the agencies of the
information proposed in the match. The routine use provisions are
compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected.
VA will use personal data from the following Privacy Act record
systems for the match: Accounts Receivable-VA, 88VA20A6, published in
the Federal Register at 61 FR 60148 (Nov. 26, 1996).
DoD will use the record system identified as S322.11 DMDC, entitled
`Federal Creditor Agency Debt Collection Data Base' last published in
the Federal Register at 61 FR 32779 on June 25, 1996.
E. Description of Computer Matching Program: VA, as the source
agency, will provide DMDC with a electronic file which contains the
names of delinquent debtors in programs VA administers. Upon receipt of
the computer tape file of debtor accounts, DMDC will perform a computer
match using all nine digits of the SSN of the VA file against a DMDC
computer database. The DMDC database, established under an interagency
agreement between DoD, OPM, OMB and the Department of the Treasury,
consists of employment records of non-postal Federal employees and
military members, active and retired. Matching records ('hits'), based
on the SSN, will produce the member's name, service or agency, category
of employee, and current work or home address. The hits or matches will
be furnished to VA. VA is responsible for verifying and determining
that the data on the DMDC reply tape file are consistent with VA's
source file and for resolving any discrepancies or inconsistencies on
an individual basis. VA will also be responsible for making final
determinations as to positive identification, amount of indebtedness
and recovery efforts as a result of the match.
The electronic file provided by VA will contain data elements of
the debtor's name, SSN, internal account numbers and the total amount
owed for each debtor on approximately 300,000 delinquent debtors.
The DMDC computer database file contains approximately 8 million
records of active duty and retired military members, including the
Reserve and Guard, and the OPM government-wide, non-postal Federal
civilian records of current and retired Federal employees and Non-
appropriated Fund employees.
[[Page 31801]]
DMDC will match the SSNs on the VA tape by computer against the
DMDC database. Matching records, hits based on SSN's, will produce data
elements of the individual's name, SSN, service or agency, and current
work or home address.
F. Inclusive Dates of the Matching Program: This computer matching
program is subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget and
Congress. If no objections are raised by either, and the mandatory 30
day public notice period for comment has expired for this Federal
Register notice with no significant adverse public comments in receipt
resulting in a contrary determination, then this computer matching
program becomes effective and the respective agencies may begin the
exchange of data 30 days after the date of this published notice at a
mutually agreeable time and will be repeated semiannually. Under no
circumstances shall the matching program be implemented before the 30
day public notice period for comment has elapsed as this time period
cannot be waived. By agreement between VA and DoD, the matching program
will be in effect and continue for 18 months with an option to renew
for 12 additional months unless one of the parties to the agreement
advises the other by written request to terminate or modify the
agreement.
G. Address for Receipt of Public Comments or Inquiries: Director,
Defense Privacy Office, Crystal Mall 4, Room 920, 1941 Jefferson Davis
Highway, Arlington, VA 22202-4502. Telephone (703) 607-2943.
[FR Doc. 97-15163 Filed 6-10-97; 8:45 am]
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