[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61306-61307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30050]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice--computer matching between the Department of Education 
and the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Treasury.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act 
of 1988, Public Law 100-503, and the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of Matching Programs, notice is hereby 
given of the computer matching program between the Department of 
Education (ED) (the recipient agency), and the Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS), Department of Treasury (the source agency).
    Notice of the matching program was originally published in the 
Federal Register on June 3, 1993 (58 FR 31587); the program became 
effective on May 8,1995. Duration was 18 months plus a one-year 
extension permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the 
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (5 U.S.C. 
552a(o)(2)(D)). The one-year extension expired on August 31, 1997. This 
document notifies the public of the approval of a new agreement between 
the Department of Treasury and Department of Education to continue the 
matching program. The Data Integrity Boards of both agencies have 
approved this new agreement.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as 
amended, and OMB guidance on the computer matching provision of the 
Privacy Act, the following is provided:

1. Name of Participating Agencies

    The U. S. Department of Education (ED) and the Internal Revenue 
Service (IRS) of the U. S. Department of Treasury.

2. Purpose of the Match

    This matching program, entitled Taxpayer Address Request , permits 
ED to have access to any taxpayer's mailing address who has defaulted 
on certain loans extended under the Higher Education Act for the 
purposes of locating the taxpayer to collect the loan. This Agreement 
further provides for redisclosure by the Secretary of Education of a 
taxpayer's mailing address to any lender, or State or nonprofit 
guarantee agency, also participating under the Higher Education Act, or 
any educational institution with which the Secretary of Education has 
an agreement under that Act.

[[Page 61307]]

3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    The information contained in the IRS data base is referred to TAR, 
and is authorized under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 6103 (m) (4), 
Public Law 99-603. ED seeks access to this data base under the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended under section 3 (a) (1) of the 
Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962.

4. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered

    The records to be used in the match and the roles of the matching 
participants are described as follows:
    ED will provide the Social Security Number (ssn) and first four 
letters of the last name of each student who has defaulted under a loan 
program authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
This information will be extracted from the Title IV Program File 
system of records (18-40-0024). The ED data will be matched against 
IRS'' system of records to collect the most recent address of each 
taxpayer who matches the SSN and first four letters provided by ED.

5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program

    The matching program will become effective 40-days after a copy of 
the agreement, as approved by the Data Integrity Board of each agency, 
is sent to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget, or 30-days 
after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, unless OMB 
disapproves the Matching Program within the 40-day review period. If 
OMB takes no action within the 40-days, this Matching Program becomes 
effective after both the 40-day OMB period and the 30-day Federal 
Register period have passed. The matching program will continue for 18 
months after the effective date and may be extended for an additional 
12 months, if the conditions specified in 5 U. S. C. 552a (o) (2) (D) 
have been met.

6. Address for Receipt of Public Comments or Inquiries

    The person to contact if there are any questions or inquiries is:
    Cynthia D.B. Mills, Management Analyst, Federal Family Student Loan 
Systems Division, Office of Postsecondary Education, Development 
Division, US Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, 
(Room 4613, ROB-3), Washington, DC 20202, Telephone: 202-708-9768. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TTD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

    To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the pdf, call the U. S. Government Printing 
Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department . Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcement, Bulletins and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: November 7, 1997.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 97-30050 Filed 11-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P