Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program Between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Defense Logistics Agency

Privacy Act of 1974; Notice of a Computer Matching Program

Between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Defense

Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense.

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 United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DoD that their records are being

matched by computer. The record subjects are USDA 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 USDA.

DATES: This proposed action will become effective April 22, 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 USDA have concluded

an agreement to conduct a computer matching program. The purpose of the

match is to exchange personal data between the agencies for debt

collection.

[[Page 13975]]

The match will yield the identity and location of the debtors within

the Federal government so that USDA 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 USDA and DMDC is

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

the address caption above or to Ms. Joyce Baumgartner, Debt Collection

Coordinator, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 3022, South Building, Washington, DC 20250. Telephone (202)

720-4958.

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 March

10, 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: March 17, 1999.

L. M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

COMPUTER MATCHING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR DEBT COLLECTION

A. Participating Agencies: Participants in this computer matching

program are the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the

Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) of the Department of Defense (DoD).

The USDA 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 this 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 the USDA. USDA 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 the USDA 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: Debt Collection Act of 1982

(Public Law 97-365), as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act

of 1996 (Public Law 104-134, 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); and 7

CFR Part 3, Debt Management (USDA).

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:

Record system identified as USDA/FSA-14, entitled 'Applicant/

Borrower,' last published in the Federal Register at 62 FR 5583 on

February 6, 1997.

Record system identified as USDA/FCIC-1, entitled 'Accounts

Receivable,' last published in the Federal Register at 53 FR 4047 on

February 11, 1988.

Record system identified as USDA/FSA-13, entitled 'Claims Data Base

(Automated),' last published in the Federal Register at 62 FR 5581 on

February 6, 1997.

Record system identified as USDA/OCFO-3, entitled 'Billings and

Collections Systems,' last published in the Federal Register at 62 FR

47622 on September 10, 1997.

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, June 25,

1996.

E. Description of Computer Matching Program: USDA, as the source

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

names of delinquent debtors in programs the USDA 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 USDA 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 employment records of non-postal Federal

civilian employees and military members, both active and retired. The

'hits' or matches will be furnished to USDA. USDA is responsible for

verifying and determining that the data on the DMDC electronic reply

file are consistent with the USDA's source file and for resolving any

discrepancies or inconsistencies on an individual basis. USDA will also

be responsible for making final determinations as to positive

identification, amount of indebtedness and recovery efforts as a result

of the match.

The electronic file provided by USDA will contain data elements of

the debtor's name, SSN, internal account numbers and the total amount

owed for each debtor on approximately 136,000 delinquent debtors.

The DMDC computer database file contains approximately 4.8 million

records of active duty and retired military members, including the

Reserve 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

[[Page 13976]]

becomes effective and the respective agencies may begin the exchange of

data at the mutually agreeable time on a annual basis. By agreement

between USDA 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. 99-7036 Filed 3-22-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000-04-F