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

delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the United States

Government under the Food Stamp Program 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 January 6, 1997, 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 USDA has

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 DoD is

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

the address caption above or to the USDA, 14th and Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 143-West, 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

November 21, 1996, 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

February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). The matching program

is subject to review by OMB and Congress and shall not become effective

until that review period has elapsed.

Dated: December 1, 1996.

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. Partipating 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,

USDA will provide and disclose certain food stamp debtor records to

DMDC so that DMDC can identify and locate any Federal personnel,

employed or retired from service with the Federal Government, who may

owe delinquent debts to the Federal Government for overissued Food

Stamp Program benefits. USDA 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 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 computing the match: The legal authority for

conducting the matching program is contained in the Debt Collection Act

of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365), as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement

Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134, section 31001), 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); 7 U.S.C. 2022 (Collection and Disposition

of Claims); 10 U.S.C. 136, Assistant Secretaries of Defense; Section

101(l) of Executive Order No. 12674; 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); 7 CFR part 3, Debt Management

(Agriculture); 7 CFR 273.18 (Claims against households).

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

USDA will use records from the system of records published as

Claims Against Food Stamp Recipients--USDA FNS-3, last published at 56

FR 50552 on October 7, 1991, and amended at 58 FR 48633 on September

17, 1993.

DoD will use the record system identified as S322.11 DMDC, entitled

[[Page 64709]]

`Federal Creditor Agency Debt Collection Data Base', last published in

the Federal Register at 61 FR 32779 on June 25, 1996.

E. Description of computer matching program: USDA, as the source

agency, will provide DMDC with magnetic tapes which contain the names

of certain debtors who are delinquent in paying for overissued food

stamp benefits. Upon receipt of the computer tape files 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 Treasury Department, consists of employment records of

Federal employees and military members, active and retired. Matching

records ('hits'), based on the SSN, will produce the debtor's name,

service or agency, category, and current work and/or home address. The

hits or matches will be furnished to USDA. USDA is responsible for

verifying and determining that the data on the DMDC reply tape files

are consistent with USDA source files and for resolving any

discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual basis. USDA is also

responsible for making final determinations as to positive

identification, amount of indebtedness and recovery efforts as a result

of the match.

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 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. 96-31069 Filed 12-5-96; 8:45 am]

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