Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program Between the Small Business Administration 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 Small Business Administration 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 Small

Business

[[Page 55223]]

Administration (SBA) 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 SBA and DoD

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

are SBA 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 SBA so as to permit SBA 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 November 24, 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 DMDC and SBA 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 SBA 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 SBA and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to the Deputy Director, Office of Borrower

and Lending Service, Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street,

SW, Suite 8300, Washington, DC 20416. Telephone 202-205-6481.

Set forth below is a public notice of the establishment of the

computer matching program required by paragraph (e)(12) of the Privacy

Act.

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

October 7, 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

Febaruary 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 of 40 days has elapsed.

Dated: October 14, 1997

L. M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

NOTICE OF A COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE SMALL BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION

A. Participating Agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Defense

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

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, SBA

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

any matched Federal personnel, employed or retired, who owe delinquent

debts to the Federal Government under certain programs administered by

SBA. SBA 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 SBA 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), 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, 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(l) 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); [Note:

Insert Agency's CFR citation implementing 5 U.S.C. 5514(b)(1).]

D. Records to be matched: The systems of records described below

ontain 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.

The SBA will use personal data from the Privacy Act record system

identified as SBA 075, entitled, `Loan Case File', last published in

the Federal Register at 56 FR 8022 on February 26, 1991.

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 at 61 FR 32779, June 25,

1996.

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

[[Page 55224]]

Debt Collection Act will comprise the necessary authority to meet the

Privacy Act's 'compatibility' condition.

E. Description of Computer Matching Program: SBA, as the source

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

names of delinquent debtors in programs SBA 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 SBA 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 SBA. SBA is responsible for

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

consistent with SBA's source file and for resolving any discrepancies

or inconsistencies on an individual basis. SBA 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 tape provided by SBA will contain data elements

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

amount owed for eah debtor on approximately 10,000 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 non-postal 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 SBA 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 coments 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. 97-27643 Filed 10-22-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000-04-F