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.

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 May 5, 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 DoD and VA 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 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, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1

Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN 55111-1930. Telephone (612) 725-3321.

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 March

14, 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 June 25, 1993 (58 FR

36075, July 2, 1993). The matching program is subject to review by OMB

and Congress and shall not become effective until that review period

has elapsed.

Dated: March 22, 1994.

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 may 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 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 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 Ch. 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 U.S.C. 3006; 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:

Privacy Act system of records identified as 58 VA 21/22,

`Compensation, Pension, Education and Rehabilitation Records-VA,'

appearing at page 967 of the publication entitled Privacy Act

Issuances, 1991 Comp., Volume II, and as amended at 57 FR 12374, April

9, 1992; and 57 FR 44007, September 23, 1992. The exchange of data

under this agreement is consistent with routine uses 9 and 12 of 58 VA

21/22.

Privacy Act system of records identified as 55 VA 26, `Loan

Guaranty Home, Condominium and Manufactured Home Loan Applicant

Records, Specially Adapted Housing Applicant Records and Vendee Loan

Applicant Records-VA,' appearing at page 962 of the publication

entitled Privacy Act Issuances, 1991 Comp., Volume II. The exchange of

data under this agreement is consistent with routine use 19 of 55 VA

26.

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 58 FR 10875 on February 22, 1993.

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: VA, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with a magnetic tape 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 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 magnetic computer tape provided by VA will contain data

elements of the debtor's name, SSN, internal account numbers and the

total amount owed by approximately 450,000 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 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 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 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. 94-7301 Filed 04-04-94; 8:45 am]

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