Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program Between the Department of Energy and the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency

Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program

Between the Department of Energy 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 computer matching program between the Department of

Energy (DOE) 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 DOE and DoD

that their records are being matched by computer. The record subjects

are DOE 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 DOE so as to permit DOE 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 December 22, 1994,

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 DMDC and DOE have

concluded an agreement to conduct a computer matching program between

the agencies. 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 DOE 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 DOE and DMDC is

available upon request to the public. Requests should be submitted to

the address caption above or to the Department of Energy, Office of

Financial Policy, 1000 Independence Agency, SW, Washington, DC 20585.

Telephone (202) 856-4860.

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

November 9, 1994, to the Committee on Government Operations 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 July

15, 1994 (59 FR 37906, July 25, 1994). The matching program is subject

to review by OMB and Congress and shall not become effective until that

review period has elapsed.

Dated: November 15, 1994.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Notice of a Computer Matching Program between the Department of

Energy and the Department of Defense for Debt Collection

A. Participating agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Defense Manpower

Data Center (DMDC) of the Department of Defense (DoD). The DOE 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 an agreement, the

DOE will provide and disclose debtor records to DMDC to identify and

locate any matched Federal personnel, employed or retired, who may owe

delinquent debts to the Federal Government under certain programs

administered by the DOD. The DOE 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 the DOE of any employing

Federal 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 Installment Deduction for Indebtedness (Salary Offset); 10

U.S.C. 136, Assistant Secretaries of Defense, Appointment Powers and

Duties; Section 206 of Executive Order 11222; 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); 10 CFR part 1015, Collection of Claims Owed

the United States (DOE); and 10 CFR part 1018, Referral of Debts to the

IRS for Tax Refund Offset (DOE).

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:

The DOE will use personal data from the record system identified as

DOE-19, entitled, `Accounts Receivable Financial System' last published

in the Federal Register at 58 FR 39536 on July 23, 1993.

DMDC will use personal data from the record systems identified as

S322.11 DMDC, entitled `Federal Creditor Agency Debt Collection Data

Base,' last published in the Federal Register on February 22, 1993, at

58 FR 10875.

Sections 5 and 10 of the Debt Collection Act 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 above 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.

E. Description of computer matching program: The DOE, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with a diskette which contains the names of

delinquent debtors in programs the DOE administers. Upon receipt of the

diskette file of debtor accounts, DMDC will perform a computer match

using all nine digits of the SSN of the DOE 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 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 the DOE. The DOE is responsible for verifying and

determining that the data on the DMDC reply diskette file are

consistent with the DOE source file and for resolving any discrepancies

or inconsistencies on an individual basis. The DOE 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 diskette provided by DOE will contain data elements of the

debtor's name, Social Security Number, debtor status and debt balance,

internal account numbers and the total amount owed on approximately 64

delinquent debtors.

The DMDC computer database file contains approximately 10 million

records of active duty and retired military members, including the

Reserve and Guard, and the OPM government wide Federal civilian records

of current and retired Federal employees.

DMDC will match the SSN on the DOE diskette by computer against the

DMDC database. Matching records, hits based on SSN, will produce data

elements of the member'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 annually. 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 DOE and DMDC, 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. 94-28658 Filed 11-21-94; 8:45 am]

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