[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 921-924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-169]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 2953]
Privacy Act of 1974; Altered System of Records and Creation of a
New System of Records
Notice is hereby given that the Department of State proposes to
alter an existing system of records, STATE-47; and also proposes to
create a new system of records, STATE-34, pursuant to the provisions of
the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 522a (r)), and the Office
of Management and Budget Circular No. A-130, Appendix I. The
Department's report was filed with the Office of Management and Budget
on December 23, 1998.
It is intended that the current system STATE-47 will retain the
name ``Senior Personnel Appointments Records.'' However, due to the
expanded scope of the current system, the altered system description
will include revisions and/or additions to each section except the
location. The Department also proposes to implement a new system of
records entitled ``Records of the Office of White House Liaison.''
Changes to the existing system description and the creation of a new
system of records are proposed in order to reflect more accurately the
Bureau of Personnel's and the Office of White House Liaison's record-
keeping systems for individuals who are pursuing non-career employment
through the White House Liaison Office, and Presidential appointments
through the Department of State.
Any persons interested in commenting on the altered system of
records or on the creation of the new system of records may do so by
submitting comments in writing to Rosemary Melendy; Acting Chief;
Programs and Policies Division; Office of IRM Programs and Services;
Room 1512; Department of State; 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, DC
20520-1512. These systems of records will be effective 40 days from the
date of publication, unless we receive comments that will result in a
contrary determination.
The altered system description, ``Senior Personnel Appointments
Records, STATE-47'' and the newly created system of records ``Records
of the Office of White House Liaison, STATE-34'' will read as set forth
below.
Dated: December 23, 1998.
Jerome F. Tolson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Administration.
STATE-47
System name:
Senior Personnel Appointments Records.
Security classification:
Unclassified.
System location:
Department of State; 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, DC 20520.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Individuals--career members of the Foreign Service and non-career
persons from outside the Department of State--who have been selected
for a Presidential appointment or title. Appointments/titles include:
Chiefs of mission, ranks and personal ranks of ambassador, principal
officers of the Department of State, representatives and alternate
representatives to the annual United Nations (UN) General Assembly and
to the annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy
Agency. In addition, selectees who serve in Presidential appointed
positions as representatives or alternate representatives on various UN
boards and commissions such as the UN Human Rights Commission, the UN
Commission on the Status of Women and UNICEF, and commissioners of the
various international fisheries commissions are covered.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
22 U.S.C. 2651a (Organization of the Department of State); 22
U.S.C. 3921 (Management of the Foreign Service); and 5 U.S.C. 301
(Management of the Department of State).
Categories of records in the system:
Appointment documents are maintained first in a working file and,
once appointed, the individual's material is moved to a country or
position file. At the completion of the appointment, the documents are
moved to a name-retrievable file.
The files contain documents pertaining to an individual's
Presidential appointment. Specifically, they include: Director General
welcome/congratulatory letter; Candidate Information Summary; security
clearance forms; a White House Personal Data Statement; Questionnaire
for Sensitive Positions; Consumer Credit Check form; Financial
Disclosure Report; Office of the Legal Adviser's certification of
financial disclosure report; Congressional forms (Senate Foreign
Relations Committee form, Federal Campaign Contribution Report);
biographic summary; White House press release; agreement telegrams (if
bilateral ambassadorial positions); memoranda to the Office of
Legislative Affairs transmitting Congressional documents; copies of
letters to home State Senators and to members of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee; nomination papers for the White House (transmittal
memorandum, biographic summary, nomination, and a competence statement
required under section 304(a)(4) of the Foreign Service Act);
correspondence and/or e-mail exchanges with the individual regarding
appointment processing; memoranda to the regional bureaus concerning
selection and nomination; memoranda and appointment documents
concerning federal employment for non-career selectees; resignation
letters and responses from the President; official appointment notice
prepared following Presidential attestation of an appointment; copies
of memoranda, if applicable, concerning recall to the Foreign Service,
waiver of the mandatory Foreign Service retirement age requirement, and
termination of Chief of Mission services pursuant to section 401(b) of
the Foreign Service Act.
Accreditation documents are maintained in the country files for
bilateral and multilateral chiefs of mission. These documents consist
of: A Presidential letter of responsibility, a Secretary of State
administrative letter of instruction; copies of the Letters of Credence
and Recall which are presented to the host government or secretariat of
a multilateral organization.
[[Page 922]]
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
The documents noted above that are contained in the appointment
files are used for the clearance and appointment of an individual to a
Presidential position/title. Specifically,
--The original of the White House Personal Data Statement is sent
to the White House Counsel's office for processing. Originals of a Tax
Check Waiver, Acknowledgment/Consent memorandum, a FBI name check form
and a FBI full field security form when the appointment is at the
Assistant Secretary-level or above, are also sent to the White House
Counsel's office. (Copies of these security release forms are not
maintained in the files of Presidential appointments requiring Senate
confirmation). A copy of the Candidate Information Summary is sent to
the White House Presidential Personnel Office and to the Department's
White House Liaison Office.
--Security forms--Questionnaire for Sensitive Positions, and the
Consumer Credit Check forms are sent to the Bureau of Diplomatic
Security under cover of a memorandum requesting a security clearance.
Original fingerprint charts (if appropriate) are also sent to the
Bureau of Diplomatic Security where they are retained.
--The Ethics Division of the Office of the Legal Adviser reviews
and certifies the financial disclosure documents to ensure that there
is no conflict of interest. As part of the review and certification,
that office also receives copies of the Personal Data Statement; the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee form; and, if a chief of mission
position, the Federal Campaign Contribution Report. In addition, it may
be necessary to share this information with the Office of Government
Ethics.
--Agreement telegrams document the initial request for a host
government approval of a bilateral chief of mission and subsequent
responses from overseas posts.
--Biographic summaries, cleared by appointees, are sent to the
White House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
--Nomination papers, including accreditation documents for
bilateral chiefs of mission, are sent to the Office of the Executive
Clerk in the White House who reviews the documents and obtains
Presidential signature at the appropriate time. The nomination paper
and the competence statement for chiefs of mission are sent to the U.S.
Senate once White House final clearance is forthcoming.
--Congressional documentation is prepared and transmitted to the
Office of Legislative Affairs and that office then submits the material
to the U.S. Senate at the appropriate time.
--Memoranda sent to the regional bureaus serve as notification
documents of the status of an appointment and transmit any needed
appointment briefing materials.
--Official notification memoranda of an appointment are addressed
to the appropriate Bureau Executive Director, with copies to various
administrative and personnel offices in order to advise such offices of
a Presidential appointment.
--The original letter of resignation of a Presidential appointee is
sent under cover of a transmittal memorandum to the Office of White
House Correspondence. That office sends back a Presidential response
which is forwarded to the appointee.
--The original accreditation documents for a bilateral chief of
mission are hand-carried to post by the chief of mission for
presentation to the host government.
--Employment documents for non-career selectees are processed and
forwarded to the appropriate offices in the Bureau of Personnel.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Computer media and hard copy.
Retrievability:
By individual name, country or position title.
Safeguards:
All employees of the Department of State have undergone a thorough
security background investigation. Access to the Department and its
annexes is controlled by security guards and admission is limited to
those individuals possessing a valid identification card or individuals
under proper escort. All records containing personal information are
maintained in secured file cabinets or in restricted areas, access to
which is limited to authorized personnel. Access to computerized files
is password-protected and under the direct supervision of the system
manager. The system manager has the capability of printing audit trails
of access from the computer media, thereby permitting regular and ad
hoc monitoring of computer usage.
Retention and disposal:
These records will be maintained until they become inactive at
which time they will be retired or destroyed in accordance with
published record schedules of the Department of State and as approved
by the National Archives and Records Administration. More specified
information may be obtained by writing to the Director, Office of IRM
Programs and Services; Room 1512; Department of State; 2201 C Street,
NW; Washington, DC 20520-1512.
System manager(s) and address:
The Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of
Personnel; Department of State; 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, DC
20520.
Notification procedures:
Individuals who have reason to believe that the Bureau of
Personnel's Presidential Appointments Staff Office might have records
pertaining to themselves should write to the Director, Office of IRM
Programs and Services (address above). The individual must specify that
he/she wishes the Senior Personnel Appointments Records to be checked.
At a minimum, the individuals must include: Name; date and place of
birth; Social Security number; approximate dates of employment with the
Department of State particularly the time during which the individual
held a Presidential appointment or was in process for a Presidential
appointment; current mailing address and zip code; and signature.
Record access and amendment procedures:
Individuals who wish to gain access to or amend records pertaining
to themselves should write to the Director, Office of IRM Programs and
Services (address above).
Record source categories:
These records contain information obtained directly from the
individual who is the subject of these records, the Bureau of
Personnel, Office of the Legal Adviser, the Bureau of Diplomatic
Security, U.S. embassies (in the case of agreement telegrams), and/or
the White House.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5), certain records in this system
contain confidential source information and are exempted from 5 U.S.C.
522a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f). See
Department of State Rules published in the Federal Register.
STATE-34
System name:
Records of the Office of White House Liaison.
[[Page 923]]
Security classification:
Classified and unclassified.
System location:
Department of State; 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, DC 20520.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Candidates who are being or would like to be considered for non-
career appointments within the Department of State including
Presidential appointments requiring Senate confirmation, non-career
Senior Executive Service, Schedule C and limited term non-career
appointments. Individuals who have been selected for non-career
appointments within the Department and who are at various stages of the
employment approval and confirmation clearance processes. Individuals
who currently hold a non-career position within the Department and some
career ambassadors.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
22 U.S.C. 2651a (Organization of the Department of State); 22
U.S.C. 3921 (Management of the Foreign Service); 5 U.S.C. 301
(Management of the Department of State).
Categories of records in the system:
The files contain documents pertaining to an individual's
prospective and/or confirmed Presidential appointment. Specifically,
they include: Candidate Information Summary; Acknowledgement and
Consent Regarding Intent to Appoint form; Declaration for Federal
Employment (OF-306); Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-
612); and Public Financial Disclosure Report (SF-278), Confidential
Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450); Office of the Legal Adviser's
Certification of Financial Disclosure Report; security clearance forms
including Consent to FBI Investigation form, FBI Name Check Waiver
form; White House Personal Data Statement; Questionnaire for Sensitive
Positions (SF-86); Disclosure and Authorization pertaining to Consumer
Reports pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act form; IRS Tax Check
Waiver form; Congressional forms (Senate Foreign Relations Committee
questionnaire, competence statements for the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Federal Campaign Contribution Report); memoranda to the
Office of Legislative Affairs transmitting Congressional documents;
letters of recommendation; biographic summary; White House draft press
release; agrement telegrams (if bilateral ambassadorial positions);
employment documents for non-career selectees; correspondence,
memoranda and/or e-mail exchanges relative to appointment processing,
selection and nomination; transmittal correspondence from the private
sector, other government agencies, and the Executive and Legislative
branches of Federal government; official appointment notice prepared
following Presidential attestation of an appointment; documents related
to accretion of duties requests including requests for approval
submitted to the White House and internal Department processing of the
accretion of duties; position description; Foreign Service Residence
and Dependency Report, Race and National Origin Identification, and
resignation letters and responses from the President.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
The information in the Records of the White House Liaison Office
(WHLO) is used for the consideration, review, clearance and appointment
of an individual to a Presidential position/title. Specifically,
--Background information such as resumes, applications, letters of
recommendation and Congressional Committee documents are reviewed by
WHLO, the Bureau of Personnel, and the Bureau of Legislative Affairs
for consideration of an appointment; released to or discussed in
consultation with Bureaus that have vacancies for which the individual
is being considered, and when appropriate released to the White House
Office of Presidential Personnel for approval/disapproval.
--Responses to letters of recommendation are sent to the individual
offering the recommendation and correspondence are forwarded to the
Bureau of Legislative Affairs for tracking purposes.
--Background information is also used by WHLO to draft
documentation related to the appointment and in discussions with the
candidate; it may be provided to the Bureau of Personnel to determine
salary levels and to the appropriate Bureau Executive Office for
assignment processing.
--Competency statements for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
are drafted by WHLO using the individual's resume and biographical
information and once approved by the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, the
statement is forwarded to the White House Office of Presidential
Personnel.
--Security forms are provided to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security
for appropriate processing.
--The Public Financial Disclosure Report and the Confidential
Financial Disclosure Report are provided to the Department's Office of
the Legal Adviser and to the Office of Government Ethics for a conflict
of interest analysis.
--Information regarding the accretion of duties is given to the
White House Office of Presidential Personnel for approval and to the
Bureau of Personnel for processing.
--Press releases drafted by WHLO are forwarded to the White House
Office of Presidential Personnel to be released to the press by the
White House Press Office when appropriate.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Computer media and hard copy.
Retrievability:
By individual name, country or position title.
Safeguards:
All employees of the Department of State have undergone a thorough
security background investigation. Access to the Department and its
annexes is controlled by security guards and admission is limited to
those individuals possessing a valid identification card or individuals
under proper escort. All records containing personal information are
maintained in secured file cabinets or in restricted areas, access to
which is limited to authorized personnel. Access to computerized files
is password-protected and under the direct supervision of the system
manager. The system manager has the capability of printing audit trails
of access from the computer media, thereby permitting regular and ad
hoc monitoring of computer usage.
Retention and disposal:
These records will be maintained until they become inactive at
which time they will be retired or destroyed in accordance with
published record schedules of the Department of State and as approved
by the National Archives and Records Administration. More specified
information may be obtained by writing to the Director, Office of IRM
Programs and Services; Room 1512; Department of State; 2201 C Street,
NW; Washington, D.C. 20520-1512.
[[Page 924]]
System manager(s) and address:
Senior Adviser to the Secretary and White House Liaison; Room 6311;
Department of State; 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, DC 20520.
Notification procedures:
Individuals who have reason to believe that the Office of the White
House Liaison might have records pertaining to themselves should write
to the Director, Office of IRM Programs and Services (address above).
The individual must specify that he/she wishes the Records of the White
House Liaison Office to be checked. At a minimum, the individuals must
include: name; date and place of birth; Social Security number;
approximate dates of employment with the Department of State
particularly the time during which the individual was a candidate or
held a non-career Presidential appointment; current mailing address and
zip code; and signature.
Record access and amendment procedures:
Individuals who wish to gain access to or amend records pertaining
to themselves should write to the Director, Office of IRM Programs and
Services (address above).
Record source categories:
These records contain information obtained directly from the
individual who is the subject of these records; Office of the Legal
Adviser; Bureau of Diplomatic Security; Bureau of Personnel; Bureau of
Legislative Affairs; the White House Office of Presidential Personnel;
and/or individuals who know or worked with the subject and may offer
recommendations.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(5), certain records in this system
contain confidential source information and are exempted from 5 U.S.C.
522a(c)(3), (d), (e)(l), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f). See
Department of State Rules published in the Federal Register.
[FR Doc. 99-169 Filed 1-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-05-P