Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Defense Manpower Data Center, Defense Logistics Agency, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of a computer matching program.

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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 Department of Defense (DoD), as the matching

agency under the Privacy Act, is hereby giving notice to the record

subjects of a computer matching program between the Department of

Education (ED) and the DoD that their records are being matched by

computer. The record

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subjects are ED delinquent debtors who may be current or former Federal

employees receiving Federal Salary or benefit payments and who are

indebted and or delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the

United States Government under programs administered by the ED.

DATES: This proposed action will become effective June 28, 1999, and

the matching may commence unless changes to the program are required

due to public comment or by Congressional or by the Office of

Management and budget objections. Any public comment must be received

before the effective date.

ADDRESSES: Any interested party may submit written comments to the

Director, Defense Privacy Office, 1941 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite

920, Arlington, VA 22202-4502.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Vahan Moushegian, Jr. At (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 ED has 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 debtors within the Federal Government so that ED 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 ED and DoD is

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

the address caption above or to the Department of Education Federal

Employee Salary Offset Coordinator, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, ROB 3 Room

5114, Washington, DC 20202-5320.

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 on June 19, 1989,

at 54 FR 25818.

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

11, 1999, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate

Committee on Governmental Affairs, 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 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427).

Dated: May 21, 1999.

L. M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND

THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION

A. Participating agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the Department of Education (ED) and the Defense Manpower

Data Center (DMDC) of the Department of Defense (DoD). The ED 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: The purpose of the match is to identify

and locate any matched Federal personnel, employed, serving or retired,

who owe delinquent debts to the Federal Government under certain

programs administered by ED. ED will use this information to initiate

independent collection of those debts under the provisions of the Debt

Collection Act of 1982, as amended, when voluntary payment is not

forthcoming. These collection efforts will include requests by ED of

the military service/employing agency in the case of military personnel

(either active, reserve or retired) and current non-postal civilian

employees, and to the Office of Personnel Management in the case of

retired non-postal civilian employees, 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. 103-134, 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, Installment Deduction for

Indebtedness (Salary Offset); 10 U.S.C. 135, Under Secretary of Defense

(Comptroller); section 101(1) of Executive Order 12731; 4 CFR 101.1-

105.5, Federal Claims Collection Standards; 5 CFR 550.1101 - 550.1108

Collection by Offset from Indebted Government Employees (OPM); 34 CFR

part 30 - Debt Collection and part 312 - Salary Offset for Federal

Employees who are Indebted to the United States Under Programs

Administered by the Secretary of Education. ED's authorization to

collect through salary offset is covered by the Higher Education Act of

1965, as amended (Pub. L. 89-329).

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:

ED will use personal data from record system identified as 18-40-

0024, entitled 'Title IV Program Files,' last published in the Federal

Register at 59 FR 17351 on April 12, 1994.

DOD will use personal data from 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: ED, as the source

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

names of delinquent debtors in programs ED administers. Upon receipt of

the electronic file of debtor accounts, DMDC will perform a computer

match using all nine digits of the SSN of the ED 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 personnel records of non-postal Federal civilian employees

and military members both active and retired. The 'hits' or matches

will be furnished to ED. ED is responsible for verifying and

determining that the data on the DMDC electronic reply file are

consistent with ED's source file and for resolving any discrepancies or

inconsistencies on an individual basis. ED will also be responsible for

making final determinations as to positive identification, amount of

indebtedness and recovery efforts as a result of the match.

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The electronic file provided by ED will contain data elements on

approximately 3.7 million delinquent debtors.

The DMDC computer data base contains approximately 4.8 million

records of active duty and retired military members including the

Reserves and Guard and approximately 3.1 million records of active and

retired non-postal Federal civilian 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 the mandatory 30 day period for public comment has expired

and if no objections are raised by either Congress or the Office of

Management and Budget within 40 days of being notified of the proposed

match, the computer matching program becomes effective and the

respective agencies may begin the exchange of data at a mutually

agreeable time on a six month basis. By agreement between ED and DoD,

the matching program will be in effect and continue for 18 months with

an option to extend 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, 1941 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 920,

Arlington, VA 22202-4502. Telephone (703) 607-2943.

[FR Doc. 99-13443 Filed 5-27-99; 8:45 am]

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