Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program Between the Railroad Retirement Board 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 Railroad Retirement Board and the Defense Manpower Data

Center of the Department of Defense

AGENCY: Defense Manpower Data Center, Defense Logistics Agency,

Defense.

ACTION: Notice of a computer matching program between the Railroad

Retirement Board (RRB) 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 RRB and DoD

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

are RRB 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 RRB so as to permit RRB 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 18, 1995,

and the computer matching may 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 RRB 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 RRB 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 RRB and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to the Debt

[[Page 57698]]

Collection Officer, Railroad Retirement Board, Bureau of Fiscal

Operations, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2092. Telephone (312)

751-4963.

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 a copy of this notice will be submitted for review 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. A130, `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 13, 1995.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

NOTICE OF A COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE RAILROAD

RETIREMENT BOARD AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION

A. Participating agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) and the Defense

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

the source agency, i.e., the activity disclosing the records for the

purpose of the match. 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

RRB 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. RRB 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 RRB 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, 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 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); and 20 CFR part 367, Recovery of Debts Owed

to the Railroad Retirement Board From Other Government Agencies.

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:

RRB will use personal data from the following Privacy Act record

system for the match: RRB-42, entitled 'Uncollectible Benefit

Overpayment Accounts' last published in the Federal Register at 49 FR

7900 on March 2, 1984 and amended as published in the Federal Register

at 56 FR 47502 on September 19, 1991.

DMDC will use personal data from the record system 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 RRB, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with a electronic file which contains the

names of delinquent debtors in programs the RRB 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 RRB 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 the RRB. The RRB is responsible

for verifying and determining that the data on the DMDC reply tape file

are consistent with the RRB source file and for resolving any

discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual basis. The RRB 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 the RRB will contain data

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

total amount owed for each debtor on approximately 5,000 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 SSN on the RRB tape 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

[[Page 57699]]

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 RRB 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. 95-28374 Filed 11-16-95; 8:45 am]

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