[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49118-49119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23817]



[[Page 49118]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Defense Logistics Agency


Privacy Act of 1974; New Computer Matching Program Between the 
Department of Education 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 
Department of Education (ED) 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 ED and DoD 
that their records are being matched by computer. The record subjects 
are ED delinquent debtors who may be current or former Federal 
employees or military members receiving Federal salary or benefit 
payments and indebted and delinquent in their repayment of debts owed 
to the United States Government under certain programs administered by 
ED so as to permit ED 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 October 18, 1996, 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. 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 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 under the Debt Collection Act of 1982. 
The match will yield the identity and location of the 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 Federal Employee Salary Offset 
Coordinator, 600 Independence 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 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 
September 3, 1996, to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
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 
February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427). The matching program 
is subject to review by OMB and Congress and shall not become effective 
until that review period has elapsed.
    Dated: September 12, 1996.

L. M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Notice of a Computer Matching Program betweem 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 a match: The purpose of the match is to identify and 
locate any matched Federal personnel, employed 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 when voluntary payment is not forthcoming. These 
collection efforts will include requests by ED 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, as amended, Installment Deduction for Indebtedness 
(Salary Offset); 10 U.S.C. 136, as amended, Under Secretary of Defense 
for Personnel and Readiness; 10 U.S.C. 138, as amended, Assistant 
Secretaries of Defense; section 101(l) of Executive Order 12731; 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); 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 as 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

[[Page 49119]]

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: ED, as the source 
agency, will provide DMDC with a magnetic tape which contains the names 
of delinquent debtors in programs ED administers. Upon receipt of the 
computer tape 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 employment records of non-postal Federal employees and 
military members, active, and retired. Matching records ('hits'), based 
on the SSN, will produce the member's name, service or agency, category 
of employee, and current work or home address. The hits or matches will 
be furnished to ED. ED is responsible for verifying and determining 
that the data on the DMDC reply tape 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.

    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 on a six month basis. 
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 ED 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. 96-23817 Filed 09-17-96:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5000-04-F