Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the General Services Administration and the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense

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 GSA and DoD

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

are GSA 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 GSA so as to permit GSA 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 22, 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 GSA 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 GSA 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 GSA and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to the Chief Financial Officer, General

Services Administration, 18th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20405.

Telephone (202) 501-1721.

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 April

6, 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.

Dated: April 13, 1995.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Notice of a Computer Matching Program Between the General Services

Administration and the Department of Defense for Debt Collection

A. Participating agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Defense

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

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

GSA 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 GSA 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 GSA 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); 41 CFR part 105-56 (GSA).

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 GSA will use personal data from the Privacy Act record system

identified as GSA/PPFM-7, entitled, `Credit Data on Individual

Debtors', last published in the Federal Register at 58 FR 64587 on

December 8, 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 (Pub.L. 97-365)

[[Page 19738]] 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 GSA, as the source

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

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

disk file of debtor accounts, DMDC will perform a computer match using

all nine digits of the SSN of the GSA 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 GSA.

The GSA is responsible for verifying and determining that the data on

the DMDC reply disk file are consistent with the GSA source file and

for resolving any discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual

basis. The GSA 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 disk provided by GSA 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 1,870

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 semi-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 GSA 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. 95-9648 Filed 04-19-95; 8:45 am]

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