Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Management Service

Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; System of Records

AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of alteration of Privacy Act System of Records.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service

(FMS), gives notice of a proposed alteration to the system of records

entitled ``Payment Issue Records for Regular Recurring Benefit

Payments--Treasury/FMS .002,'' which is subject to the Privacy Act of

1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). The system notice was last published

in its entirety in the Federal Register Vol. 60, page 56770 on November

9, 1995.

DATES: Comments must be received, no later than March 17, 1997. The

proposed alteration of the system of records will be effective March

25, 1997, unless FMS receives comments which would result in a contrary

determination.

ADDRESS: Comments must be submitted to the Debt Management Services

Staff, Financial Management Service, 401 14th Street, SW, Room 151,

Washington, DC 20227. Comments received will be available for

inspection at the same address between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00

p.m. Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerry Isenberg, Debt Management

Services, (202) 874-6660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This alteration of system of records

Treasury/FMS .002 is being made for two reasons. First, the system was

last published in its entirety in the Federal Register Vol. 60, page

56770 on November 9, 1995, and that publication erroneously omitted an

amendment to the system published in the Federal Register Vol. 60, page

45212 on August 30, 1995. This alteration will restate the changes made

pursuant to the amendment published on August 30, 1995.

The August 30, 1995 amendment added two routine uses which

facilitate the collection of delinquent Federal debts and more

effectively apply certain debt collection tools established under

Federal law, specifically tax refund offset, administrative offset, and

Federal employee salary offset. These two new routine uses are

republished here as numbers (11) and (13). As noted in the August 30,

1995 amendment, since FMS has closed the Washington, DC Financial

Center, the system of records was altered to reflect this change. This

change to ``System Location'' is also restated here.

Secondly, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), Pub.

L. 104-134, enacted April 26, 1996, provides the Department of the

Treasury (Treasury) with specific legislative authority and

responsibility to collect and/or manage the collection of claims owed

to the Federal Government. The DCIA authorizes Treasury to collect

claims, or facilitate the collection of claims, owed to States,

Territories and Commonwealths of the United States, and the District of

Columbia by offsetting Federal payments. Executive Order 13019, signed

by the President on September 28, 1996, directs Treasury to promptly

take steps to facilitate offset of Federal payments to collect

delinquent child support debts being enforced by States. FMS is the

Treasury bureau responsible for the implementation of the DCIA and the

Executive Order. Accordingly, FMS is adding routine use (12) to comply

with the provisions of the DCIA and the Executive Order.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, FMS proposes to alter

system of records Treasury/FMS .002, ``Payment Issue Records for

Regular Recurring Benefit Payments--Treasury/Financial Management

Service,'' as follows:

Treasury/FMS .002

System name:

Payment Issue Records for Regular Recurring Benefit Payments--

Treasury/Financial Management Service.

System location:

Description of the change: Replace current text with the following

language:

The Financial Management Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury,

Washington, DC 20227. Records maintained at Financial Centers in six

regions: Austin, TX; Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, MO;

Philadelphia, PA; and San Francisco, CA.

* * * * *

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories

of users and the purposes of such uses:

* * * * *

Description of the changes: Remove ``and'' at end of routine use

(9); remove the period (.) at the end of routine use (10); add a

semicolon (;); and add routine uses (11), (12) and (13) to read as

follows:

(11) Disclose information concerning delinquent debtors to Federal

creditor agencies, their employees, or their agents for the purpose of

facilitating or conducting Federal administrative offset, Federal tax

refund offset, Federal salary offset, or for any other authorized debt

collection purpose;

(12) Disclose information to any State, Territory or Commonwealth

of the United States, or the District of Columbia to assist in the

collection of State, Commonwealth, Territory or District of Columbia

claims pursuant to a reciprocal agreement between FMS and the State,

Commonwealth, Territory or the District of Columbia; and

(13) Disclose to the Defense Manpower Data Center and the United

States Postal Service and other Federal agencies through authorized

computer matching programs for the purpose of identifying and locating

individuals who are delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the

Department or other Federal agencies in order to collect those debts

through salary offset and administrative offset, or by the use of other

debt collection tools.

* * * * *

Dated: February 3, 1997.

Alex Rodriguez,

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Administration).

[FR Doc. 97-3564 Filed 2-12-97; 8:45 am]

Billing Code: 4810-35-F