Privacy Act of 1974; New Computer Matching Program Between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency

Privacy Act of 1974; New Computer Matching Program Between the

Department of Veterans Affairs 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 new computer matching program between the

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 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 VA and DoD

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

are VA 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 VA so as to permit VA 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 July 11, 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 VA have concluded

an agreement to conduct a computer matching program between the

agencies.

[[Page 31800]]

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 VA 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 VA and DoD is

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

the address caption above or to the Department of Veterans Affairs,

Debt Management Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Bishop

Henry Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN

55111.

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 May

22, 1997, 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 (61 FR 6435, February 20, 1996). The matching program

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

until that review period has elapsed.

Dated: June 5, 1997.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

NOTICE OF A COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF

VETERANS AFFAIRS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION

A. Participating Agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Defense

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

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, VA

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

any Federal personnel, employed or retired, who owe delinquent debts to

the Federal Government under certain programs administered by VA. VA

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 VA 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: 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, as amended, 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

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); 38 CFR 1.980 -

1.994 (VA).

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:

Sections 5 and 10 of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (public Law

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 below 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.

VA will use personal data from the following Privacy Act record

systems for the match: Accounts Receivable-VA, 88VA20A6, published in

the Federal Register at 61 FR 60148 (Nov. 26, 1996).

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

`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: VA, as the source

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

names of delinquent debtors in programs VA 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 VA 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 VA. VA is responsible for verifying and determining

that the data on the DMDC reply tape file are consistent with VA's

source file and for resolving any discrepancies or inconsistencies on

an individual basis. VA 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 electronic file provided by VA will contain data elements of

the debtor's name, SSN, internal account numbers and the total amount

owed for each debtor on approximately 300,000 delinquent debtors.

The DMDC computer database file contains approximately 8 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 and Non-

appropriated Fund employees.

[[Page 31801]]

DMDC will match the SSNs on the VA tape by computer against the

DMDC database. Matching records, hits based on SSN's, will produce data

elements of the individual'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

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 VA 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. 97-15163 Filed 6-10-97; 8:45 am]

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