Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: General Services Administration.

ACTION: Notice of a revised system of records subject to the Privacy

Act of 1974.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is providing notice

of intent to revise the Credit Data on Individual Debtors (GSA/PPFM-7)

system of records. The revision incorporates the provisions of the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996 to aid in debt collection by

including the collection of a new category of records, the individual

debtor's Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and an expansion of the

routine uses to include the dissemination of information about debtors

to credit reporting agencies/credit bureaus, the Internal Revenue

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Service, state and local governments, and banks enrolled in the

Treasury Credit Card Network.

DATES: Comments on the proposed revisions must be provided by June 21,

1999. The proposed revision will become effective without further

notice on June 21, 1999, unless comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to: GSA Privacy Act Officer,

General Services Administration, CAI, 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC

20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jinaita Kanarchuk by phone, 202-501-

1452, or e-mail [email protected].

GSA/PPFM-7

SYSTEM NAME:

Credit Data on Individual Debtors.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Records are located at the following GSA Central Office and

Regional addresses of the Office of Finance.

GS Building, 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405.

O'Neill Federal Office Building, 10 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02222.

Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10007.

Wannamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3396.

401 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30365-2550.

John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 South Dearborn Street,

Chicago, IL 60604.

1500 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, MO 64131.

Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building, 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX

76102.

Denver Federal Center Complex, Building 41, Denver, CO 80225.

Phillip Burton Federal Building and US Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate

Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3434.

400--15th Street, SW, Auburn, WA 98001.

GSA Regional Office Building, Seventh and D Streets, SW, Washington, DC

20407.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals include employees, former employees, and other

individuals who are indebted to the General Services Administration.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Types of personal data in the system may take the form of

commercial and agency investigative reports showing debtors' assets,

liabilities, income, and expenses; the individual debtor's Taxpayer

Identification Numbers (TINS); and other information such as social

security numbers and home addresses.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, Pub. L. 89-508, 80 Stat.

309; Debt Collection Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-365, 96 Stat. 1749, as

amended; the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1966, Pub. L. 104-134,

110 Stat. 1321-358; Title 4 Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter II,

part 105; Cash Management Improvement Act Amendments of 1992, Pub. L.

102-589.

PURPOSE(S):

To assemble in one system information on individuals who are

indebted to the General Services Administration for the purpose of

effecting enforced collections from the debtors.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES

OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to the disclosures permitted under subsection (b) of

the Privacy Act, GSA may disclose information contained in this system

of records without the consent of the subject individual if the

disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the record was

collected under the following routine uses:

a. A record may be used where pertinent in any legal proceeding to

which GSA is a party before a court or administrative body.

b. A record may be disclosed to the Department of Justice, United

States Attorney, or Department of the Treasury in a proceeding when:

(1) The United States, GSA, a component of GSA, or, when arising from

his or her employment an employee of GSA, is a party to litigation or

anticipated litigation or has an interest in such litigation; and (2)

GSA determines that the disclosure is relevant or necessary to the

litigation.

c. Records may be disclosed to a Member of Congress or staff acting

upon the Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests the

information on behalf of and at the request of the individual who is

the subject of the record.

d. A record may be disclosed to any Federal agency where the debtor

is employed or receiving some form of remuneration for the purpose of

enabling that agency to collect a debt owed the Federal government on

GSA's behalf. GSA may counsel the debtor for voluntary repayment or may

initiate administrative or salary offset procedures or other authorized

debt collection methods under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act

of 1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

e. In the event that a record indicates a violation or potential

violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and

whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by

regulation, rule, or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant record

may be referred to the appropriate Federal agency, and/or state or

local agencies charged with the responsibility of investigating or

prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing

the statute, or rule, regulation, or order.

f. A record from this system may be disclosed to a Federal agency

in response to its request in connection with the hiring or retention

of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a

license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the

extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting

agency's decision on the matter.

g. A record from this system may be disclosed to debt collection

contractors (31 U.S.C. 3718) or to other Federal agencies such as the

Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for the purpose of collecting and

reporting on delinquent debts as authorized by the Debt Collection Act

of 1982, as amended, or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

h. For debt collection purposes, GSA may publish or otherwise

publicly disseminate information regarding the identity of delinquent

non-tax debtors and the existence of the non-tax debts under the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

i. Information contained in this system may be disclosed to credit

reporting agencies/credit bureaus for the purpose of either adding to a

credit history file or obtaining a credit history file or comparable

credit information for use in the administration of debt collection. As

authorized by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, GSA may

report current (not delinquent) as well as delinquent consumer and

commercial debt to these entities in order to aid in the collection of

debts, typically by providing an incentive to the person to repay the

debt in a timely manner. GSA may report on delinquent debts to the

Department of Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert Interactive

Voice Response System (CAIVRS).

j. Information contained in the system of records may be disclosed

to the Internal Revenue Service to obtain

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mailing addresses for the purpose of locating the debtors to collect

Federal claims.

k. Information contained in the system of records may be disclosed

to the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of offsetting a Federal

claim against a debtor's income tax refund.

l. Information in this system may be disclosed to the Internal

Revenue Service and applicable state and local governments for tax

reporting purposes. Under the provisions of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996, GSA is permitted to provide Treasury with Form

1099-C information on discharged debts so that Treasury may file the

form on GSA's behalf with the IRS. W-2 and 1099 Forms contain

information on items to be considered as income to an individual,

including payments to persons not treated as employees (e.g., fees to

consultants and experts), and amounts written-off as legally or

administratively uncollectible, in whole or in part.

m. A record from this system may be disclosed to banks enrolled in

the Treasury Credit Card Network to collect a payment or debt when the

individual has given his or her credit card number for this purpose.

n. A record from this system may be disclosed to Treasury or other

Federal agencies with whom GSA has entered into an agreement

establishing the terms and conditions for debt collection cross

servicing operations on behalf of GSA to satisfy, in whole or in part,

debts owed to the U.S. Government. Cross servicing includes the

possible use of all debt collection tools such as administrative

offset, tax refund offset, referral to debt collection contractors, and

referral to the Department of Justice.

o. Records may be disclosed to Treasury, government corporations,

state, or local agencies, or other Federal agencies to conduct computer

matching programs for the purpose of identifying and locating

individuals who are receiving Federal salaries or benefit payments and

are delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the U.S. Government

under certain programs administered by the General Services

Administration in order to collect the debts under the provisions of

the Debt Collection Act of 1982, as amended, or the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 by voluntary payment or by administrative or

salary offset procedures.

p. A record from this system may be disclosed to the National

Archives and Records Administration for records management inspections

conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) may be made from this

system to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit

Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f), or the Federal Claims Collection Act

of 1966, 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,

AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Records are maintained in paper form in file folders stored in

metal filing cabinets and in electronic form in computers.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Credit data is maintained by debtor name and claim number, cross

referenced to social security number (when available) to verify name

and address.

SAFEGUARDS:

When not in use by personnel responsible for the collection of

claims, records and stored in lockable filing cabinets. Personal

computer files are protected by the use of passwords.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

The records are a part of the GAO site auditing collection files

and are cut off at the end of the fiscal year, held 1 year, and then

retired under Record Group 217 (GAO). Records created prior to July 2,

1975, will be retained by GAO for 10 years and 3 months after the

period of the account. Records created on or after July 2, 1975, will

be retained by GAO for 6 years and 3 months after the period of the

account.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Dave Hollar, Chief, Receivables and Collection Management Branch

(BCDR), Financial Information Control Division, Office of Chief

Financial Officer, General Services Administration, 1800 F Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20405.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Inquiries by individuals regarding claims pertaining to themselves

should be addressed to the system management.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Requests from individuals for access to records should be addressed

to the system manager and should include the individual's name and

address.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:

GSA rules for contesting the contents of the records and for

appealing initial determinations are promulgated in 41 CFR part 105.64.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information in this system is obtained from commercial credit

reports, agency investigative reports, individual debtor's own

financial statements, and from other GSA systems of records.

Dated: May 13, 1999.

Daniel K. Cooper,

Director, Administrative Services Division.

[FR Doc. 99-12541 Filed 5-19-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820-34-M