Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the United

States Department of Agriculture 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 United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 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 USDA and DoD

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

are USDA delinquent debtors who may be current or former Federal

employees receiving Federal salary or benefit payments and who are

indebted and or delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the

United States Government under programs administered by USDA so as to

permit USDA 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 1, 1995, 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 USDA 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 USDA 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 USDA and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to the Mr. Reynaldo Gonzalez, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Debt Collection Coordinator, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Room 3019, South Building, Washington, DC

20250. Telephone (202) 720-1168.

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

October 19, 1995, 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 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.

[[Page 55551]]

Dated: October 26, 1995.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

NOTICE OF A COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT

COLLECTION

A. Participating Agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the

Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) of the Department of Defense (DoD).

The USDA 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, the

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

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

delinquent debts to the Federal Government under certain programs

administered by the USDA. The USDA 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 USDA

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: 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), 31U.S.C.

section 3711 Collection and Compromise, 31 U.S.C. section 3716

Administrative Offset, 5 U.S.C. section 5514 Installment Deduction for

Indebtedness (Salary Offset); 10 U.S.C. section 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); and 7 CFR part 3, Debt Management (USDA).

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:

Record system identified as Applicant/Borrower or Grantee File

(USDA/FmHA-1), routine use number 2, last published in the Federal

Register at 53 FR 5205 on February 22, 1988.

Record system identified as Accounts Receivable (USDA/FCIC-1),

routine use number 9, last published in the Federal Register at 53 FR

4047 on February 11, 1988.

Record system identified as Claims Data Base (Automated) (USDA/

ASCS-28), routine use number 8, last published in the Federal Register

at 53 FR 2517 on January 28, 1988.

Record system identified as Administrative Billings and Collections

(USDA/OFM-3), routine use number 6, last published in the Federal

Register at 54 FR 25883 on June 20, 1989.

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 (Pub.L. 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 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: USDA, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with a magnetic tape which contains the names

of delinquent debtors in programs the USDA 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 USDA 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 USDA. The USDA is responsible for verifying and

determining that the data on the DMDC reply tape file are consistent

with the USDA's source file and for resolving any discrepancies or

inconsistencies on an individual basis. The USDA 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 USDA will contain data

elements of the debtor's name, Social Security Number, internal account

numbers and the total amount owed on approximately 121,000 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 non-postal Federal

civilian records of current and retired Federal employees.

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 USDA 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. 95-27114 Filed 10-31-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000-04-F