Privacy Act of 1974: Revisions to System of Records: Revised Systems

Federal RegisterJun 2, 1999

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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Privacy Act of 1974: Revisions to System of Records: Revised

Systems

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the

National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing notice of revisions to

two existing systems and the planned creation of one new system. The

revisions to current systems NSF-52 ``Office of Inspector General--

Investigative Files'' and NSF-59 ``Science and Technology Centers (STC)

Database'' are being made to more accurately reflect the current system

records and use. The new system, NSF-71 ``General Correspondence

Files,'' covers general correspondence with individuals that is filed

alphabetically rather than chronologically.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Sections 552a(e)(4) and (11) of Title 5 of the U.S.

Code require that the public have thirty days to comment on the routine

uses of systems of records. The new routine uses that are the subject

of this notice will take effect on July 2, 1999, unless modified by a

subsequent notice to incorporate comments received from the public.

COMMENTS: Written comments should be submitted to Leslie Crawford, NSF

Privacy Act Officer, National Science Foundation, Office of the General

Counsel, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 1265, Arlington, VA 22230.

Dated: May 27, 1999.

Leslie Crawford,

Privacy Act Officer.

NSF-52

System name:

Office of Inspector General--Investigative Files.

System location:

Office of Inspector General, National Science Foundation, 4201

Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

In connection with its investigative duties, the Office of

Inspector General (OIG) maintains records on the following categories

of individuals: (a) Individuals or entities who are or have been the

subject of inquiries or investigations conducted by OIG, including

current and former employees of NSF; and current and former contractors

(or applicants for contracts), subcontractors, consultants, or the

recipients of (or applicants for) NSF grants or cooperative agreements,

and their current or former employees, students, or collaborators; and

(b) Individuals who are witnesses; complainants; confidential or

nonconfidential informants; and parties who have been identified by OIG

(on the basis of information received or developed by OIG) as

potentially possessing information relevant to an investigation under

the jurisdiction by the OIG.

Categories of records in the system:

Information relating to investigations including: (a) Letters,

memoranda, and other documents citing complaints or alleged criminal,

civil, or administrative misconduct; (b) Investigative files, which

include: reports of investigations to resolve allegations of misconduct

or violations of law or administrative or ethical requirements;

exhibits, statements, affidavits, or other records obtained or

generated during investigations; prior criminal or noncriminal records

of individuals as they relate to the investigations; reports from or to

other law enforcement bodies; information obtained from informants and

identifying data with respect to such informants; nature of allegations

made against suspects and identifying data concerning such subjects;

and public source materials.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

Inspector General Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. app.

Purpose(s):

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the National Science

Foundation (NSF) maintains this system of records in order to conduct

its responsibilities pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as

amended, 5 U.S.C. app. section 4. The OIG is statutorily directed and

authorized to conduct and supervise investigations relating to programs

and operations of NSF, to promote economy, efficiency, and

effectiveness in the administration of such programs and operations,

and to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse in such programs and

operations. Accordingly, the records are used in investigations of

individuals and entities suspected of having committed illegal or

unethical acts, and in any resulting criminal prosecutions, civil

proceedings, or administrative actions.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories

of users and the purposes of such uses:

These records may be disclosed as follows:

1. In the event that records indicate a violation or potential

violation of a requirement, whether criminal, civil, regulatory,

administrative, contractual, or ethical in nature, whether arising by

statute, regulation, rule, order, contract (including a grant or

cooperative agreement), or ethical practices or norms, the relevant

records in the system of records may be disclosed, as a routine use, to

the appropriate entity, whether governmental (federal, foreign, state,

local, or international) or non-governmental, charged with the

responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or

potential violation, or charged with enforcing, implementing, or

complying with such statute, regulation, rule, order, contract, or

ethical practices or norms.

2. Disclosure may be made to appropriate entities, whether

governmental (federal, foreign, state, local or international) or non-

governmental, or to an individual, when necessary to elicit information

that will assist an investigation or audit.

3. Disclosure may be made to a federal, state, local, foreign, or

international entity maintaining civil, criminal, or other relevant

information if necessary to obtain information relevant to an OIG

decision concerning the assignment, hiring, or retention of an

individual and/or employee or disciplinary or other administrative

action concerning an employee, the issuance or revocation of a security

clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an individual and/or

employee, or the award of a contract (including a grant or cooperative

agreement).

4. Disclosure may be made to a federal, state, local, foreign, or

international entity in response to its request in connection with the

assignment, hiring, or retention of an individual and/or employee, or

disciplinary or other administrative action concerning an employee, the

issuance or revocation of a security clearance, the reporting of an

investigation of an individual and/or employee, or the award of a

contract

[[Page 29704]]

(including a grant or cooperative agreement) 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.

5. Disclosure may be made to the Office of Personnel Management or

the Merit Systems Protection Board (including the Office of the Special

Counsel) of information relevant and necessary to carrying out their

functions.

6. In the event OIG is aware of information about possible

misconduct in science and engineering, disclosure of relevant records

may be made by OIG to institutions or entities that have proposed or

received contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements so that they can

conduct inquiries and investigations into possible misconduct in

science and engineering pursuant to 45 CFR part 689.

7. Disclosure may also be made to independent auditors,

contractors, experts, and other individuals who perform a service to or

work on or under a contract, or other arrangement with or for the

federal government, as necessary to carry out their duties. Such

contractors will be required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards with

respect to such records.

8. Disclosure may be made to another federal agency, a court, or a

party in litigation before a court or in an administrative proceeding

being conducted by a federal agency when the government is a party to

the judicial or administrative proceeding.

9. In the event the OIG deems it desirable or necessary, in

processing a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request,

disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice or the Office of

Management and Budget for the purpose of obtaining its advice.

10. Disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice, to the

extent it is compatible with the purpose for which the record was

collected, and is relevant and necessary to litigation or anticipated

litigation, in which one of the following is a party or has an

interest: (a) NSF or any of its components; (b) an NSF employee in his

or her official capacity; (c) an NSF employee in his or her official

capacity when the Department of Justice is representing or considering

representing the employee; or (d) the United States, when NSF

determines that litigation is likely to affect NSF.

11. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the

record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the

congressional office made at the request of that individual.

12. Disclosure may be made to representatives of the General

Services Administration and the National Archives and Records

Administration who are conducting record management inspections under

44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,

and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

The OIG Investigative Files consist of automated data and paper

records. The paper records are stored in file cabinets and the

automated data are maintained in computers in OIG.

Retrievability:

The records are retrieved by the name of the subject of the

investigation or by a unique control number assigned to each

investigation.

Safeguards:

These records are kept in OIG offices within limited access areas

of the National Science Foundation during duty hours, and in locked

offices at all other times. Passwords are required to access the

automated data.

Retention and disposal:

The Investigative Files are kept indefinitely pending adoption of

an NSF-specific approved records retention schedule.

System manager(s) and address:

Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, National Science

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Notification procedure:

The Privacy Act Officer should be contacted in accordance with

procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Record access procedures:

The major part of this system is exempted from this requirement

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or (k)(2). To the extent that this

system of records is not subject to exemption, it is subject to access.

A determination as to exemption shall be made at the time a request for

access is received. Access requests must be sent to the Privacy Act

Officer in accordance with procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Contesting record procedures:

The major part of this system is exempted from this requirement

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or (k)(2). To the extent that this

system of records is not subject to exemption, it is subject to access

and contest. A determination as to exemption shall be made at the time

a request for contest is received. Requests must be sent to the Privacy

Act Officer in accordance with procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Record source categories:

The subjects of investigations; individuals with whom the subjects

of investigations are associated; current and former NSF employees;

federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement and non-law

enforcement agencies; private citizens; witnesses; confidential and

nonconfidential informants; and public source materials.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:

This system is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a except subsections (b);

(c)(1) and (2); (e)(4)(A) through (F); (e) (6), (7), (9), (10), and

(11); and (i) under 522a(j)(2) to the extent the system of records

pertains to enforcement of criminal laws; and is exempted from 5 U.S.C.

552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f) under 5

U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) to the extent the system of records consists of

investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes, other

than material within the scope of the exemption at 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2).

These exemptions are contained in 45 CFR 613.

NSF-59

System name:

Science and Technology Centers (STC) Database.

System location:

Office of Integrative Activities, National Science Foundation, 4201

Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Individuals participating in NSF funded Science and Technology

Center (STC) Activities.

Categories of records in the system:

Records vary by year. From FY90 until FY98, the records may include

name, institution, social security number, gender, ethnicity, year of

highest degree, citizenship, areas of research, type of financial

support and other related information. These STC databases may also

include the results of follow-up surveys of STC Center participants.

The records will be used to help evaluate the STC Center's achievement

of program goals. Evaluation may include follow-up surveys of STC

Center participants. The results of evaluations will be statistical and

will not identify individual participants.

[[Page 29705]]

Beginning with FY98, covered records include only faculty names

associated with type of financial support. Other program records from

FY98 forward are not part of this system of records because they

include no individual names or identifiers. These records report only

the number of STC participants by STC Center categorized as faculty,

postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students,

visiting scientists, support staff (scientific, technical, and

administrative), and precollege students and teachers. These records

include data on gender, disability status, citizenship, ethnicity/race,

areas of research, shared experimental facilities, type of financial

support, and other related information. Because these data are

collected without individual name or other identifier, it cannot be so

retrieved and are not part of this system.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

42 U.S.C. 3101; 42 U.S.C. 1870.

Purpose(s):

Information from this system may be used to enable NSF to identify

research areas under STC Center awards and determine the level of

support for STC Center personnel and STC Center research; to help

evaluate the STC Center's achievement of program goals, such as

enhancement of skills; to report periodically, in statistical form

only, on the participation of men and women by ethnicity, disability,

discipline, and citizenry; and to enable NSF to monitor the

effectiveness of NSF-sponsored STC Centers for management evaluation

and for reporting to the Administration and Congress, especially under

the Government Performance and Results Act, 5 U.S.C. 306 and 39 U.S.C.

2801-2805.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories

of users and the purposes of such uses:

1. An STC Center and its authorized personnel may have access to

data submitted by that Center for the purpose of administration and for

other uses consistent with the purpose above.

2. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record

of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional

office made at the request of that individual.

3. Information from the system may be disclosed to contractors,

grantees, volunteers, experts, advisors, and other individuals who

perform a service to or work on or under a contract, grant, cooperative

agreement, advisory committee, committee of visitors, or other

arrangement with or for the Federal government, as necessary to carry

out their duties in pursuit of the purposes described above. The

contractors are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act.

4. Information from the system may be merged with other computer

files in order to carry out statistical studies or assist with program

management, evaluation, and reporting. Disclosure may be made for this

purpose to NSF contractors and collaborating researchers, other

Government agencies, and qualified research institutions and their

staffs. The results of such studies, evaluations, or reports are

statistical in nature and do not identify individuals.

5. Information from the system may be disclosed to the Department

of Justice or the Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of

obtaining advice on the application of the Freedom of Information Act

or Privacy Act to the records.

6. Information from the system may be given to another Federal

agency, a court, or a party in litigation before a court or in an

administrative proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency when the

Government is a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding.

7. Information from the system may be given to the Department of

Justice, to the extent disclosure is compatible with the purpose for

which the record was collected and is relevant and necessary to

litigation or anticipated litigation, in which one of the following is

a party or has an interest: (a) NSF or any of its components; (b) an

NSF employee in his/her official capacity; (c) an NSF employee in his/

her individual capacity when the Department of Justice is representing

or considering representing the employee; or (d) the United States,

when NSF determines that litigation is likely to affect the Agency.

8. Records from this system may be disclosed to representatives of

the General Services Administration and the National Archives and

Records Administration who are conducting records management

inspections under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,

and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Some of the records are stored electronically and some are stored

in paper format in file folders.

Retrievability:

By the STC Center and then alphabetically by individual.

Safeguards:

Building is locked during non-business hours. Records at NSF are

kept in rooms that are locked during non-business hours. Records

maintained in electronic form are password protected.

Retention and disposal:

The file for each STC Center is cumulative and maintained

indefinitely pending adoption of an approved records retention

schedule.

System manager(s) and address:

Director, Office of Integrative Activities, National Science

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Notification procedure:

The NSF Privacy Act Officer should be contacted in accordance with

procedures set forth at 45 CFR part 613.

Record access procedures:

See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:

See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Record source categories:

Science and Technology Centers.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:

None.

NSF-71

System name:

General Correspondence Files.

System location:

Correspondence files maintained by name, rather than

chronologically, in some NSF offices or divisions at the National

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Most NSF general correspondence is filed chronologically. This

system covers only individuals who write to the NSF or its officers or

employees, or individuals whose letter has been referred to NSF by

other parts of the Federal government when such general correspondence

is filed by name of the sender rather than chronologically.

Categories of records in the system:

The system includes the original correspondence received as well as

any response, referral letters concerning the correspondence and copies

of any enclosures.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

These records are kept for administrative convenience pursuant to

44 U.S.C. 3101.

[[Page 29706]]

Purpose(s):

These records are kept for administrative convenience to document

responses to general correspondence.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories

of users and the purposes of such uses:

1. Information from the system may be provided to a referrer of the

original correspondence.

2. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record

of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional

office made at the request of that individual.

3. Information from the system may be disclosed to contractors,

volunteers, advisors, and other individuals who perform a service to or

work on or under a contract, or other arrangement with or for the

Federal government, as necessary to carry out their duties. The

contractors are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act.

4. Information from the system may be disclosed to the Department

of Justice or the Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of

obtaining advice on the application of the Freedom of Information Act

or Privacy Act to the records.

5. Information from the system may be given to another Federal

agency, a court, or a party in litigation before a court or in an

administrative proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency when the

Government is a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding.

6. Information from the system may be given to the Department of