[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 59 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14894-14896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8104]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Privacy Act: Revision of an Existing System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of revision of an existing system of records.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving notice of a 
revision to its Privacy Act System of Records entitled Claims Against 
Food Stamp Recipients-USDA/FNS-3.

DATES: This revision will become effective on May 11, 1998, unless 
modified by a subsequent notice to incorporate comments received from 
the public. To be assured of consideration, comments must be received 
by the contact person listed below on or before April 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to James I. Porter, Assistant 
Branch Chief, State Administration Branch, Program Accountability 
Division, Food Stamp Program, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 905, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22302.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph M. Scordato, Food and Nutrition 
Service Privacy Act Officer, Room 308, 3101 Park Center Drive, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22302. Telephone (703) 305-2244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Privacy Act requires FNS to publish this 
Privacy Act Systems of Records Notice to inform the public that certain 
changes are being made to a system of records containing information on 
individuals against whom fiscal claims have been established under the 
Food Stamp Program and to request public comment.
    Monetary claims are established against food stamp recipients and 
former recipients who owe debts due to certain errors or infractions of 
Food Stamp Program rules. State and Federal Government offices seek 
collections for these debts through recoupment of benefits for 
recipients still receiving benefits, direct billing to non-recipients 
and other means. Debt collection and tracking systems necessarily were 
established to accomplish these collections, and the establishment of 
and certain changes to such systems require notification to the public 
under the Privacy Act.
    This notice announces changes to implement the Treasury Offset 
Program (TOP). TOP is a mandatory government-wide delinquent debt 
matching and payment offset system, centralized in the Department of 
Treasury. The Debt Collection Act of 1982, as amended, (Pub.L. 97-365) 
provides statutory authority for Federal agencies to collect debts 
through administrative offset. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 
1996 (Pub.L.104-134) expands the statutory authority for TOP by 
requiring agencies to transfer delinquent non-tax debt to Treasury for 
the purpose of offsetting Federal payments to collect delinquent debts 
owed to the Federal Government. TOP operates in accordance with 
statutory and regulatory authorities, including those contained in 31 
U.S.C. 3716 and 4 CFR part 102. Further, this notice announces our 
intent for the Department of Treasury and other debt collection centers 
designated as such by Treasury, to be among those with whom data may be 
shared.
    FNS has been participating in the Federal Tax Refund Offset (FTROP) 
and Federal Salary Offset (FSOP) Programs. FNS published notices to 
test FTROP in 1991 and FSOP in 1994. Final regulations were published 
in 1995. Under these programs food stamp debts that occurred due to 
overissuance of program benefits, as a result of an intentional program 
violation or an inadvertent household error, are offset from Federal 
Tax Refunds and the salaries of Federal employees, respectively. The 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 
removed some limits on collection methods for State agency error 
claims. As a result the scope of referable debts was broadened to 
include State agency error claims.
    This Notice modifies the system of records entitled, Claims against 
Food Stamp Recipients--USDA/FNS--3 so that FNS can fully comply with 
the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) requirements for various debt 
collection actions. This Notice modifies the systems of records as 
follows. The current routine use (1) was changed to list Treasury and 
its designated collection centers as the referral points and to include 
Federal administrative payments as an additional routine use and record 
source category. The current routine use (2) was modified to eliminate 
the requirement that Federal employee claims be deleted from the tax 
refund claims, as there is no longer a separate FTROP, since both are 
subsumed under TOP.
    FNS has included some technical changes that do not affect the 
operation of the system. The notice is modified to reflect that the 
system manager and system location are now in the FNS Grants Management 
Division rather than

[[Page 14895]]

in Accounting Division as a result of an internal reorganization.
    The Privacy Act requires that any changes in the types of data 
entered into or extracted from systems of records, or changes in the 
entities with whom the data is shared be announced to the public in a 
notice. In this case, there are no changes in the types of data 
collected about individuals; however, more individuals will be affected 
by the notice with the addition of State agency error claims now being 
eligible for offset. Additional entities with whom the data may be 
shared are identified. The Department of the Treasury and other debt 
collection centers, as defined by Treasury are new entities with whom 
data will be shared.
    Data will continue to be shared with the following entities: the 
Department of Defense (DOD); the United States Postal Service (USPS); 
other Federal agencies that employ debtors; State agencies for such 
purposes as updating claims files, collecting claims, and fiscal 
reporting; and Congressional offices in response to an inquiry from the 
Congressional office made at the request of the individual against whom 
the claim has been established.

    Dated: March 20, 1998.

    Signed at Washington, DC.
Dan Glickman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
USDA/FNS-3

SYSTEM NAME:
    Claims Against Food Stamp Recipients--USDA/FNS-3.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Grants Management Division, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), 
United States Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
415, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, and FNS Regional Offices located in: 
Atlanta, Georgia, which covers the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee; 
Boston, Massachusetts, which covers the States of Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and 
Vermont; Chicago, Illinois, which covers the States of Illinois, 
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Dallas, Texas, which 
covers the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and 
Texas; Denver, Colorado, which covers the States of Colorado, Iowa, 
Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, 
and Wyoming; Trenton, New Jersey, which covers the State of Delaware, 
District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, 
Virginia, Virgin Islands, and West Virginia; and San Francisco, 
California, which covers the State of Alaska, Arizona, California, 
Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, American Samoa, Trust Territories 
of the Pacific, and Washington. The address of each regional office is 
listed in the telephone directory of the respective cities listed above 
under the heading of ``United States Government, Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.''

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals who have received food stamp benefits to which they are 
not entitled.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The information in the system consists of individuals' names, 
addresses, Social Security Numbers and amounts of claims and amounts of 
any collections. The information in the system also includes 
identification of individuals' Federal and/or United States Postal 
Service (USPS) employing agencies and other sources of Federal 
payments, if any. The system also may include limited information about 
claims such as age, reasons for the overissuance of benefits, and State 
agency collection efforts.

 AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    7 U.S.C. 2011-2031.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    (1) Referral to the Department of Treasury (Treasury) or other 
designated debt collection centers for debt collection actions 
including administrative offset. (2) Referral to the Department of 
Defense (DOD) and the USPS to identify Federal and USPS employees owing 
claims. (3) Referral may be made to State agencies for such purposes as 
updating claims files, collecting claims, and for fiscal reporting. 
Referral may also be made to Federal agencies and the USPS for 
additional collection action. (4) Disclosure may be made to a 
Congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an 
inquiry from the Congressional office made at the written request of 
the individual.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained by automated data storage methods such as 
magnetic tape and disk. Some records may also be maintained on paper.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are retrievable by name and Social Security Number.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to records is limited to those persons who process the 
records for the specific routine uses stated above. Records in such 
forms as magnetic tape are kept in physically secured rooms and/or 
cabinets. Various methods of computer security limit access to records 
in automated databases. Paper records will be segregated and physically 
secured in locked cabinets.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    The Food and Nutrition Service retains records for no longer than 
two years. All records are either returned to State agencies or 
destroyed.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Director, Grants Management Division, Food and Nutrition Service, 
United States Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 
415, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals may request from the system manager identified in the 
preceding paragraph information regarding this system of records or 
whether the system contains records pertaining to them. Individuals 
requesting such information must provide their name, address and Social 
Security Number.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals may obtain information about records in the system 
which pertain to them by written or oral requests to the system 
manager. To assure confidentiality and prompt routing, written requests 
should be marked ``Privacy Act Request.''

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals desiring to contest or amend information maintained in 
the system should direct requests to the system manager, state the 
reasons for contesting the information and provide any available 
documentation to support the requested action.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system comes from State agency files concerning 
food stamp recipient claims, from IRS files of addresses of individuals 
who have filed income tax returns, Information in this system also 
comes from DoD and USPS files of individuals who are currently employed 
by or who are receiving pensions and other payments from Federal 
agencies and the USPS, and

[[Page 14896]]

from all other sources of Federal payments.

[FR Doc. 98-8104 Filed 3-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-U