[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 115 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30009-30012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15027]



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ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT AGENCY

22 CFR Part 603


Privacy Act Policy and Procedures

AGENCY: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) 
proposes to revise and restate in their entirety its rules that govern 
the means by which individuals can examine and request correction of 
ACDA records containing personal information. By clarifying these 
rules, this proposal will help the public interact better with ACDA and 
is part of ACDA's effort to update and streamline its regulations. ACDA 
invites comments from interested groups and members of the public on 
the proposed regulations.

DATES: To be considered, comments must be delivered by mail or in 
person to the address, or faxed to the telephone number, listed below 
by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 19, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to the Office of the General 
Counsel, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Room 5635, 
320 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20451; FAX (202) 647-0024. 
Comments will be available for inspection between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
 Frederick Smith, Jr., United States Arms Control and Disarmament 
Agency, Room 5635, 320 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20451, 
telephone (202) 647-3596.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ACDA proposes to update, clarify, 
reorganize, and streamline its rules implementing the Privacy Act, as 
amended. In addition to containing internal policies and procedures, 
these regulations set forth procedures whereby an individual can 
determine if a system of records maintained by ACDA contains records 
pertaining to the individual and can request disclosure and amendment 
of such records. These regulations also set forth the bases for denying 
amendment requests and the procedures for appealing such denials. ACDA 
does not intend the proposed rules to materially affect current ACDA 
standards, policies, or practices.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    It is hereby certified that the proposed rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.

Executive Order 12866 Determination

    ACDA has determined that the proposed rule is not a significant 
regulatory action within the meaning of section 3(f) of that Executive 
Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    The proposed rule is not subject to the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act because it does not contain any information collection 
requirements within the meaning of that Act.

Unfunded Mandates Act Determination

    ACDA has determined that the proposed rule will not result in 
expenditures by state, local, and tribal governments, or by the private 
sector, of more than $100 million in any one year. Accordingly, a 
budgetary impact statement is not required under section 202 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1532.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 603

    Privacy Act.

The Proposed Regulations

    ACDA proposes to revise 22 CFR part 603 to read as follows:

PART 603--PRIVACY ACT POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Sec.
603.1  Purpose and scope.
603.2  Definitions.
603.3  Policy.
603.4  Requests for determination of existence of records.
603.5  Requests for disclosure to an individual of records 
pertaining to the individual.
603.6  Requests for amendment of records.
603.7  Appeals from denials of requests.
603.8  Exemptions.
603.9  New and amended systems of records.
603.10  Fees.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a; 22 U.S.C. 2581; and 31 U.S.C. 9701.


Sec. 603.1  Purpose and scope.

    This part 603 contains the regulations of the U.S. Arms Control and 
Disarmament Agency implementing the provisions of the Privacy Act of 
1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a. In addition to containing internal policies and 
procedures, these regulations set forth procedures whereby an 
individual can determine if a system of records maintained by the 
Agency contains records pertaining to the individual and can request 
disclosure and amendment of such records. These regulations also set 
forth the bases for denying amendment requests and the procedures for 
appealing such denials.


Sec. 603.2  Definitions.

    As used in this part:
    (a) Act means the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a.
    (b) ACDA and Agency mean the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament 
Agency.
    (c) Privacy Act Officer means the Agency official who receives and 
acts upon inquiries, requests for access and requests for amendment.
    (d) Deputy Director means the Deputy Director of the Agency.
    (e) Individual means a citizen of the United States or an alien 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
    (f) Maintain includes maintain, collect, use, or disseminate;
    (g) Record means any item, collection, or grouping of information 
about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not 
limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and 
criminal or employment history and that contains the name of, or the 
identifying number, symbol, or other identification particularly 
assigned to, the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a 
photograph;
    (h) System of records means a group of any records under the 
control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name 
of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identification particularly assigned to the individual;
    (i) Statistical record means a record in a system of records 
maintained for statistical research or reporting purposes only and not 
used in whole or in part in making any determination about an 
identifiable individual, except as provided by section 8 of title 13 
U.S.C.; and
    (j) Routine use means, with respect to the disclosure of a record, 
the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the 
purpose for which it was collected.

[[Page 30010]]

Sec. 603.3   Policy.

    (a) It is the policy of the Agency that only such information about 
an individual as is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of 
the Agency required to be accomplished by statute or by executive order 
of the President shall be maintained in an Agency record. No 
information about the political or religious beliefs and activities of 
an individual will be maintained within such records unless 
specifically authorized by statute or by the subject individual, or 
unless pertinent to and within the scope of a law enforcement activity.
    (b) The Agency will not disclose any record that is contained in a 
system of records to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant 
to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the 
individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record 
is:
    (1) To those officers and employees of the Agency who have a need 
for the record in the performance of their duties;
    (2) Required under the Freedom of Information Act, as amended (5 
U.S.C. 552);
    (3) For a routine use, notice of which has been published in 
accordance with the Act;
    (4) To the Bureau of the Census for purposes of planning or 
carrying out a census or survey or related activity pursuant to the 
provisions of title 13 U.S.C.;
    (5) To a recipient who has provided the Agency with advance 
adequate written assurance that the record will be used solely as a 
statistical research or reporting record, and the record is to be 
transferred in a form that is not individually identifiable;
    (6) To the National Archives of the United States as a record that 
has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued 
preservation by the United States Government, or for evaluation by the 
Administrator of General Services or his/her designee to determine 
whether the record has such value;
    (7) To another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental 
jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a 
civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is 
authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has 
made a written request to the Agency that maintains the record 
specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement 
activity for which the record is sought;
    (8) To a person pursuant to a showing of compelling circumstances 
affecting the health or safety of an individual if upon such disclosure 
notification is transmitted to the last known address of such 
individual;
    (9) To either House of Congress, or, to the extent of matter within 
its jurisdiction, any committee or subcommittee thereof, any joint 
committee of Congress or subcommittee of any such joint committee;
    (10) To the Comptroller General, or any authorized representatives, 
in the course of the performance of the duties of the General 
Accounting Office; or
    (11) Pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (c) Except for disclosures of information to Agency employees 
having need for the information in the official performance of their 
duties or required under the provisions of the Freedom of Information 
Act, an accurate accounting of each disclosure will be made and 
retained for five years after the disclosure or for the life of the 
record, whichever is longer. The accounting will include the date, 
nature, and purpose of each disclosure and the name and address of the 
person or agency to whom the disclosure is made. Each such disclosure, 
unless made to agencies engaged in law enforcement activities in 
accordance with paragraph (b)(7) of this section, will be made 
available to the individual upon request.
    (d) To the greatest extent practicable, information that may result 
in an adverse determination about an individual shall be collected from 
that individual, and the individual will be informed of the purposes 
for which the information will be used and any rights, benefits, and 
obligations with respect to supplying the data.
    (e) The Agency shall ensure that all records that are used by the 
Agency to make a determination about any individual are maintained with 
such accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness as is reasonably 
necessary to assure fairness to the individual. Whenever information 
about an individual contained in an Agency record is used or disclosed, 
the custodian of the system of records in which the record is located 
will make every effort to ensure that it is accurate, relevant, timely 
and complete.
    (f) The Agency shall establish appropriate administrative, 
technical, and physical safeguards to ensure that records are disclosed 
only to those who are authorized to have access to them and to protect 
against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or 
integrity that would result in substantial harm, embarrassment, 
inconvenience, or unfairness to any individual on whom information is 
maintained.
    (g) Agency records pertaining to an individual shall be made 
available to that individual to the greatest extent possible.
    (h) No lists of names and addresses will be rented or sold unless 
such action is specifically authorized by law, provided that names and 
addresses otherwise permitted to be made public will not necessarily be 
withheld when requested.
    (i) All requests for information under the Privacy Act received by 
the Agency will be acted upon as promptly as possible.


Sec. 603.4   Requests for determination of existence of records.

    Any individual desiring to know whether any system of records 
maintained by the Agency contains a record pertaining to the individual 
shall send a written request to the Privacy Act Officer, U.S. Arms 
Control and Disarmament Agency, 320 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20451. All requests for determination of the existence of records 
should include sufficient information to identify the system of 
records, such as its name or Federal Register identifier number if 
known, in addition to such identifying information as the individual's 
name and date of birth.


Sec. 603.5   Requests for disclosure to an individual of records 
pertaining to the individual.

    (a) An individual desiring access to or copies of records 
maintained by the Agency shall send a written request to the Privacy 
Act Officer, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 320 21st Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20451. All requests for disclosure to an individual 
of records pertaining to that individual should include sufficient 
information to identify the record or system of records such as its 
name or Federal Register identifier number if known, in addition to 
such identifying information as the individual's name and date of 
birth.
    (b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section:
    (i) If the individual making a written request is not personally 
known to the Privacy Act Officer or to other Agency personnel 
processing the request, the written request must include satisfactory 
evidence that the requester is in fact the individual to whom the 
requested records pertain. For this purpose, the Agency normally will 
be satisfied by the receipt of the requester's statement of identity 
made under penalty of perjury.
    (ii) If the individual making a request in person is not personally 
known to the

[[Page 30011]]

Privacy Act Officer or to other Agency personnel processing the 
request, the requester must present two identification documents (at 
least one of which must bear the requester's picture) containing the 
individual's signature and other suitable evidence of identity. 
Examples of acceptable evidence are a driver's license, passport, 
employee identification card, or military identification card.
    (2) Evidence that the requester is in fact the individual to whom 
the requested records pertain is not required for information that 
would be required to be made available to a third party under the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
    (c)(1) Access to or copies of records requested pursuant to this 
section shall be furnished except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of 
this section:
    (i) To an individual making a request in person, upon verification 
of personal identity as required in paragraph (b) of this section, to 
that individual, and if the individual is accompanied by any other 
person, upon the individual's request, to that person, except that the 
Agency may require the individual to furnish a written statement 
authorizing disclosure of the individual's record in the presence of 
the accompanying person.
    (ii) To an authorized representative or designee of an individual, 
if the individual has provided verification of personal identity as 
required in paragraph (b) of this section, and submits a signed, 
notarized statement authorizing and consenting to access or disclosure 
to the representative or designee.
    (iii) To a physician authorized by a signed, notarized statement 
made by the individual making the request, in the event that the 
records requested are medical records of such a nature that the Privacy 
Act Officer has determined that the release of such medical information 
directly to the requester could have an adverse effect on the 
requester. The individual making the request must also provide 
verification of personal identity as required in paragraph (b) of this 
section.
    (2) Access to records or copies of records requested shall be 
furnished as promptly as possible.
    (3) Access to or copies of records requested pursuant to this 
section shall not be granted if:
    (i) The individual making the request does not comply with the 
requirements for verification of personal identity as required in 
paragraph (b) of this section; or
    (ii) The records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Sec. 603.8.


Sec. 603.6   Requests for amendment of records.

    (a) An individual may request amendment of a record pertaining to 
that individual by sending a written request to the Privacy Act 
Officer, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 320 21st Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20451. The request should identify the record 
sought to be amended, specify the precise nature of the requested 
amendment, and state why the requester believes that the record is not 
accurate, relevant, timely or complete.
    (b) Not later than ten (10) days after receipt of such request 
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays), the Privacy Act 
Officer will promptly:
    (1) Make any correction of any portion of the record pertaining to 
the individual which the Agency considers appropriate; and
    (2) Inform the requester in writing of the action taken by the 
Agency, of the reasons for refusing to comply with any portion of the 
request, and of the procedures established by the Agency to consider 
requests for review of such refusals.
    (c) The Privacy Act Officer will refuse to amend a record if the 
information therein is deemed by the Agency:
    (1) To be relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the 
Agency required to be accomplished by statute or by executive order of 
the President; and
    (2) To be maintained with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness and 
completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the 
individual in making any determination about the individual; and
    (3) Not to describe how the individual exercises rights guaranteed 
by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the 
individual about whom the record is maintained.
    (d) When the Privacy Act Officer agrees to amend a record, written 
notice that the record has been amended and the substance of the 
amendment will be sent to the last known address of all previous 
recipients of that record shown in Agency's Privacy Act Requests File.


Sec. 603.7   Appeals from denials of requests.

    (a) An individual who disagrees with the refusal of the Privacy Act 
Officer to disclose or amend a record may request a review of such 
refusal within 30 days of receipt of notice of the refusal. Such 
request should be addressed to the Deputy Director, U.S. Arms Control 
and Disarmament Agency, 320 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20451, and 
should include a copy of the written request that was refused, a copy 
of the denial complained of, and reasons for appeal from the denial.
    (b) Review shall be made by the Deputy Director on the submitted 
record. No personal appearance, oral argument, or hearing shall be 
permitted.
    (c) Review will be completed and a final determination made not 
later than 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) 
from the date on which the request for such review is received. This 
30-day limitation may be extended, at the discretion of the Agency for 
good cause shown. The requester will be notified in writing of the 
Agency's final determination.
    (d) If, after completion of the review, the Deputy Director also 
refuses to disclose or amend the record as requested, the notice to the 
individual will advise the individual of the right to file with the 
Agency a concise statement setting forth the reasons for disagreement 
with this refusal.
    (e) When an individual has filed with the Agency a statement of 
disagreement following a refusal to amend the record as requested, the 
Agency will clearly note that portion of the record that is disputed 
and will send copies of the statement of disagreement to the last known 
address of all previous recipients of the disputed record shown in the 
Agency's Privacy Act Requests File.


Sec. 603.8   Exemptions.

    (a) As authorized by the Act, the following categories of records 
are hereby exempted from the requirements of sections (c)(3), (d), 
(e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f) of 5 U.S.C. 552a, and will not be 
disclosed to the individuals to which they pertain:
    (1) System of Records of ACDA-4--Statements by Principals during 
the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Mutual Balanced Force Reduction 
negotiations, and the Standing Consultative Committee. This system 
contains information classified pursuant to Executive Order 12958 that 
is exempt from disclosure by the Act (5 U.S.C. 522a(k)(1)) in that 
disclosure could damage national security.
    (2) System of Records ACDA-3--Security Records. This system 
contains investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes 
which is exempt from disclosure by the Act (5 U.S.C. 522a(k)(2)): 
Provided, however, that if any individual is denied any right, 
privilege, or benefit to which the individual would otherwise be 
entitled by Federal law, or for which the individual would otherwise be 
eligible, as a result of the maintenance of such material, such 
material will be provided to such individual, except to the extent that 
disclosure of such material would

[[Page 30012]]

reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the 
Government under an express promise that the identity of the source 
would be held in confidence, or, if furnished to the Government prior 
to September 27, 1975, under an implied promise that the identity of 
the source would be held in confidence.
    (3) Systems of Records ACDA-3--Security Records. This system 
contains investigatory materials compiled solely for the purpose of 
determining suitability, eligibility, or qualifications for Federal 
civilian employment, military service, Federal contracts, or access to 
classified information which is exempt from disclosure by the Act (5 
U.S.C. 552a(k)(5)), but only to the extent that disclosure of such 
material would reveal the identity of a source who furnished 
information to the Government under an express promise that the 
identity of the source would be held in confidence, or, if furnished to 
the Government prior to September 27, 1975, under an implied promise 
that the identity of the source would be held in confidence.
    (b) Nothing in these regulations shall be construed to allow an 
individual access to:
    (1) Any information compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil 
action or proceeding; or
    (2) Testing or examination material used solely to determine 
individual qualification for appointment or promotion in the Federal 
Service, the disclosure of which would compromise the objectivity or 
fairness of the testing or examination process.


Sec. 603.9  New and amended systems of records.

    (a) The Agency shall provide adequate advance notice to Congress 
and to the Office of Management and Budget of any proposal to establish 
or alter any system of records. Such notice shall be in a form 
consistent with guidance on content, format and timing issued by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    (b) The Agency shall publish by August 31 of each year in the 
Federal Register a notice of the existence and character of each system 
of records maintained by the Agency. Such notice shall be consistent 
with guidance on format contained in the Act and issued by the General 
Services Administration. At least 30 days before any new or changed 
routine use of records contained within a system of records can be 
made, the Agency shall publish notice of such new or changed use in the 
Federal Register.


Sec. 603.10  Fees.

    Fees to be charged in responding to requests under the Privacy Act 
shall be, to the extent permitted by paragraph (f)(5) of the Act, the 
rates established in title 22 CFR 602.20 for responding to requests 
under the Freedom of Information Act.

    Dated: May 30, 1996.
Mary Elizabeth Hoinkes,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-15027 Filed 6-12-96; 8:45 am]
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