Privacy Act of 1974; Amendment of System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Privacy Act of 1974; Amendment of System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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Notice is hereby given that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

is adding new routine uses to the system of records entitled

``Personnel and Accounting Pay System--VA'' (27VA047) as set forth in

the Federal Register 40 FR 38095 (8/26/75) and amended in 48 FR 16372

(4/15/83), 50 FR 23009 (5/30/85), 51 FR 6858 (2/26/86), 51 FR 25968 (7/

17/86), 55 FR 42534 (10/19/90), 56 FR 23952 (5/24/91), 58 FR 39088 (7/

21/93), 58 FR 40852 (7/30/93), 60 FR 35448 (7/7/95), and 62 FR 41483

(8/1/97). This system of records contains information on current

salaried VA employees.

Pursuant to Pub. L. 104-193, the ``Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,'' VA is required to disclose

data from 27VA047 to the Office of Child Support Enforcement,

Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and

Human Services for use in its Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) and

Federal Tax Offset System, DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074. Information on

this system was last published at 62 FR 41483, August 1, 1997.

FPLS is a computerized network through which States may request

location information from Federal and State agencies to find non-

custodial parents and/or their employers for purposes of establishing

paternity and securing support. Effective October 1, 1997, the FPLS

will be enlarged to include the National Directory of New Hires, a

database containing information on employees commencing employment,

quarterly wage data on

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private and public sector employees, and information on unemployment

compensation benefits. Effective October 1, 1998, the FPLS will be

expanded to include a Federal Case Registry. The Federal Case Registry

will contain abstracts on all participants involved in child support

enforcement cases. When the Federal Case Registry is instituted, its

files will be matched on an ongoing basis against the files in the

National Directory of New Hires to determine if an employee is a

participant in a child support case anywhere in the country. If the

FPLS identifies a person as being a participant in a State child

support case, that State will be notified of the participant's current

employer. State requests to the FPLS for location information will also

continue to be processed after October 1, 1998.

When individuals are hired by VA, we may disclose to the FPLS their

names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, dates

of hire, and information identifying us as the employer. We also may

disclose to FPLS names, social security numbers, and quarterly earnings

of each VA employee, within one month of the end of the quarterly

reporting period.

In addition, names and social security numbers submitted by VA to

the FPLS will also be disclosed by the Office of Child Support

Enforcement to the Social Security Administration for verification to

ensure that the social security number provided is correct. The data

disclosed by VA to FPLS will also be disclosed by the Office of Child

Support Enforcement to the Secretary of the Treasury for use in

verifying claims for the advance payment of the earned income tax

credit or to verify a claim for employment on a tax return.

We are proposing these routine uses in accordance with the Privacy

Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3)). The Privacy Act permits the disclosure of

information about individuals without their consent for a routine use

where the information will be used for a purpose which is compatible

with the purpose for which the information was originally collected.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has indicated that a

``compatible'' use is a use which is necessary and proper. See OMB

Guidelines, 51 FR 18982, 18985 (1986). Since the proposed uses of the

data are required by Pub. L. 104-193, they are clearly necessary and

proper uses, and therefore ``compatible'' uses which meet Privacy Act

requirements.

An altered system of records report and a copy of the revised

system notice have been sent to the House of Representatives Committee

on Government Reform and Oversight, the Senate Committee on

Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as

required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) and guidelines issued by OMB (59 FR 37906,

37916-18 (7/25/94)).

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments,

suggestions, or objections regarding the proposed changes to the system

of records of the Director, Office of Regulations Management (02D),

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Room 1154,

Washington, DC 20420. All relevant material received before January 30,

1998. All written comments received will be available for public

inspection at the above address in the Office of Regulations

Management, Room 1158, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except holidays.

If no public comment is received during the 30-day review period

allowed for public comment, or unless otherwise published in the

Federal Register by VA, the new routine uses are effective January 30,

1998.

Approved: December 22, 1997.

Hershel Gober,

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Notice of Amendment To System of Records

In the system of records identified as 27VA047, ``Personnel and

Accounting Pay System--VA,'' as set forth in the Federal Register 40 FR

38095 (8/26/75) and amended in 49 FR 16372 (4/15/83), 50 FR 23009 (5/

30/85), 51 FR 6858 (2/26/86), 51 FR 25968 (7/17/86), 55 FR 42534 (10/

19/90), 56 FR 23952 (5/24/91), 58 FR 39088 (7/21/93), 58 FR 40852 (7/

30/93) 60 FR 35448 (7/7/95), and 62 FR 41483 (8/1/97), the system is

revised as follows:

* * * * *

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including

categories of users and the purpose of such uses:

* * * * *

30. The names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of

birth, dates of hire, quarterly earnings, employer identifying

information, and State of hire of employees may be disclosed to the

Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and

Families, Department of Health and Human Services Federal Parent

Locator System (FPLS) for the purpose of locating individuals to

establish paternity, establishing and modifying orders of child

support, identifying sources of income, and for other child support

enforcement actions as required by the Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Welfare Reform Law, Pub. L. 104-193).

31. Information from this system of records may be released to the

Social Security Administration for verifying social security numbers in

connection with the operation of the Federal Parent Locator System

(FPLS) by the Office of Child Support Enforcement.

32. Information from this system of records may be released to the

Department of the Treasury for purposes of administering the Earned

Income Tax Credit Program (Section 32, Internal Revenue Code of 1986)

and verifying a claim with respect to employment in a tax return.

[FR Doc. 97-34125 Filed 12-30-97; 8:45 am]

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