[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4598]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Logistics Agency

 

Privacy Act of 1974; New 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, 
Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of a new computer matching program between the United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Defense 
(DoD) for public comment.

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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 DoD, as the matching agency under the Privacy 
Act is hereby giving constructive notice in lieu of direct notice to 
the record subjects of a computer matching program between 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 
delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the United States 
Government under the Food Stamp Program administered by USDA so as to 
permit USDA to pursue and collect the debt by voluntary repayment or by 
administrative or salary offset procedures under the provisions of the 
Debt Collection Act of 1982.

DATES: This proposed action will become effective March 31, 1994, and 
the computer matching will proceed accordingly without further notice, 
unless comments are received which would result in a contrary 
determination or if the Office of Management and Budget or Congress 
objects thereto. Any public comment must be received before the 
effective date.

ADDRESSES: Any interested party may submit written comments to the 
Director, Defense Privacy Office, Crystal Mall 4, Room 920, 1941 
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202-4502.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Aurelio Nepa, Jr. at telephone 
(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 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 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 DoD is 
available upon request to the public. Requests should be submitted to 
the address caption above or to the USDA, 14th and Independence Avenue, 
S.W., Room 4094-S, Washington, DC 20250. Telephone (202) 720-1168.
    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 in the Federal 
Register at 54 FR 25818 on June 19, 1989.
    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 
February 15, 1994, to the Committee on Government Operations of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate, 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 June 
25, 1993 (58 FR 36075, July 2, 1993). The matching program is subject 
to review by OMB and Congress and shall not become effective until that 
review period has elapsed.
    Dated: February 24, 1994.

Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Notice of a 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: Upon the execution of this agreement, USDA 
will provide and disclose certain food stamp debtor records to DMDC so 
that DMDC can identify and locate any Federal personnel, employed or 
retired from service with the Federal Government, who may owe 
delinquent debts to the Federal Government for overissued Food Stamp 
Program benefits. USDA will use this information to initiate 
independent collection of those debts under the provisions of the Debt 
Collection Act when voluntary payment is not forthcoming. These 
collection efforts will include requests by USDA of the employing 
agency 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), 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); 
7 U.S.C. 2022 (Collection and Disposition of Claims); 10 U.S.C. 136, 
Assistant Secretaries of Defense; Section 206 of Executive Order No. 
11222; 4 CFR Ch. II, Federal Claims Collection Standards (General 
Accounting Office--Department of Justice); 5 CFR 550.1101-550.1108, 
Collection by Offset from Indebted Government Employees (OPM); 7 CFR 
part 3, Debt Management (Agriculture); 7 CFR 273.18 (Claims against 
households).

    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: USDA will use records from the system of 
records published as Claims Against Food Stamp Recipients--USDA FNS-3, 
last published at 56 FR 50552 on October 7, 1991, and amended at 58 FR 
48633 on September 17, 1993.
    DoD will use the record system identified as S322.11 DMDC, entitled 
`Federal Creditor Agency Debt Collection Data Base', last published in 
the Federal Register at 58 FR 10875 on February 22, 1993.

    E. Description of computer matching program: USDA, as the source, 
will provide DMDC with a magnetic tape of individuals delinquent in 
repayment of overissued food stamp benefits. The tape will contain data 
elements of name, SSN, and internal account number on a total of 
200,000 delinquent debtors. Upon receipt of the computer tape file of 
debtor accounts, DMDC as the recipient matching agency, will perform a 
computer match using all nine digits of the SSN of the file against a 
DMDC computer data base. The DMDC computer data base, established under 
an interagency agreement between DoD, OPM, OMB and the Treasury 
Department, consists of employment records of approximately 10 million 
Federal employees. Matching records, `hits' based on the SSN, will 
produce the member's name, service or agency, category of employee, 
salary or benefit amounts, and current work or home address. The hits 
will be furnished to USDA. USDA will be responsible for verifying and 
determining if the data of the DMDC reply tape file are consistent with 
USDA's source file and to resolve 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.

    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 no objections are raised by either, and the mandatory 30 
day public notice period for comment has expired for this Federal 
Register notice with no significant adverse public comments in receipt 
resulting in a contrary determination, then this computer matching 
program becomes effective and the respective agencies may begin the 
exchange of data 30 days after the date of this published notice at a 
mutually agreeable time and will be repeated annually. Under no 
circumstances shall the matching program be implemented before the 30 
day public notice period for comment has elapsed as this time period 
cannot be waived. By agreement between USDA and DoD, the matching 
program will be in effect and continue for 18 months with an option to 
renew 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, Crystal Mall 4, Room 920, 1941 Jefferson Davis 
Highway, Arlington, VA 22202-4502. Telephone (703) 607-2943.

[FR Doc. 94-4598 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5000-04-F