Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the Department of Transportation 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

Department of Transportation 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

Transportation (DOT) 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 DOT and DoD

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

are DOT 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 DOT so as to permit DOT 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 March 20, 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 DOT 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 DOT 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 DOT and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to the Chief, Financial Asset Management

Staff, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW, Room 9130,

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone (202) 366-6100.

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

February 1, 1995, 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. [[Page 9023]]

Dated: February 8, 1995.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Notice of a Computer Program Between the Department of

Transportation and the Department of Defense for Debt Collection

A. Participating agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Defense

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

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

DOT 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 DOT 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 DOT 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 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); 49 CFR part 92, Recovering Debt to the

United States by Salary Offset (DOT).

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 DOT will use personal data from the Privacy Act record system

identified as DOT/ALL 10, entitled, `Debt Collection File', last

published in the Federal Register at 59 FR 54941 on November 2, 1994.

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: The DOT, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with a magnetic computer tape which contains

the names of delinquent debtors in programs the DOT administers. Upon

receipt of the magnetic computer tape file of debtor accounts, DMDC

will perform a computer match using all nine digits of the SSN of the

DOT 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 DOT. The DOT is

responsible for verifying and determining that the data on the DMDC

reply tape file are consistent with the DOT source file and for

resolving any discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual basis.

The DOT 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 DOT 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 2,100 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.

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 DOT 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. 95-3920 Filed 2-15-95; 8:45 am]

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