[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 97 (Thursday, May 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27558-27560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12541]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: General Services Administration.

ACTION: Notice of a revised system of records subject to the Privacy 
Act of 1974.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is providing notice 
of intent to revise the Credit Data on Individual Debtors (GSA/PPFM-7) 
system of records. The revision incorporates the provisions of the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 to aid in debt collection by 
including the collection of a new category of records, the individual 
debtor's Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and an expansion of the 
routine uses to include the dissemination of information about debtors 
to credit reporting agencies/credit bureaus, the Internal Revenue

[[Page 27559]]

Service, state and local governments, and banks enrolled in the 
Treasury Credit Card Network.

DATES: Comments on the proposed revisions must be provided by June 21, 
1999. The proposed revision will become effective without further 
notice on June 21, 1999, unless comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to: GSA Privacy Act Officer, 
General Services Administration, CAI, 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jinaita Kanarchuk by phone, 202-501-
1452, or e-mail [email protected].
GSA/PPFM-7

SYSTEM NAME:
    Credit Data on Individual Debtors.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are located at the following GSA Central Office and 
Regional addresses of the Office of Finance.

GS Building, 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405.
O'Neill Federal Office Building, 10 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02222.
Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10007.
Wannamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3396.
401 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30365-2550.
John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 South Dearborn Street, 
Chicago, IL 60604.
1500 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, MO 64131.
Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building, 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth, TX 
76102.
Denver Federal Center Complex, Building 41, Denver, CO 80225.
Phillip Burton Federal Building and US Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate 
Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3434.
400--15th Street, SW, Auburn, WA 98001.
GSA Regional Office Building, Seventh and D Streets, SW, Washington, DC 
20407.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals include employees, former employees, and other 
individuals who are indebted to the General Services Administration.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Types of personal data in the system may take the form of 
commercial and agency investigative reports showing debtors' assets, 
liabilities, income, and expenses; the individual debtor's Taxpayer 
Identification Numbers (TINS); and other information such as social 
security numbers and home addresses.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, Pub. L. 89-508, 80 Stat. 
309; Debt Collection Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-365, 96 Stat. 1749, as 
amended; the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1966, Pub. L. 104-134, 
110 Stat. 1321-358; Title 4 Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter II, 
part 105; Cash Management Improvement Act Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 
102-589.

PURPOSE(S):
    To assemble in one system information on individuals who are 
indebted to the General Services Administration for the purpose of 
effecting enforced collections from the debtors.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    In addition to the disclosures permitted under subsection (b) of 
the Privacy Act, GSA may disclose information contained in this system 
of records without the consent of the subject individual if the 
disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the record was 
collected under the following routine uses:
    a. A record may be used where pertinent in any legal proceeding to 
which GSA is a party before a court or administrative body.
    b. A record may be disclosed to the Department of Justice, United 
States Attorney, or Department of the Treasury in a proceeding when: 
(1) The United States, GSA, a component of GSA, or, when arising from 
his or her employment an employee of GSA, is a party to litigation or 
anticipated litigation or has an interest in such litigation; and (2) 
GSA determines that the disclosure is relevant or necessary to the 
litigation.
    c. Records may be disclosed to a Member of Congress or staff acting 
upon the Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests the 
information on behalf of and at the request of the individual who is 
the subject of the record.
    d. A record may be disclosed to any Federal agency where the debtor 
is employed or receiving some form of remuneration for the purpose of 
enabling that agency to collect a debt owed the Federal government on 
GSA's behalf. GSA may counsel the debtor for voluntary repayment or may 
initiate administrative or salary offset procedures or other authorized 
debt collection methods under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act 
of 1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
    e. In the event that a record indicates a violation or potential 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and 
whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by 
regulation, rule, or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant record 
may be referred to the appropriate Federal agency, and/or state or 
local agencies charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, or rule, regulation, or order.
    f. A record from this system may be disclosed to a Federal agency 
in response to its request in connection with the hiring or retention 
of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a 
license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the 
extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting 
agency's decision on the matter.
    g. A record from this system may be disclosed to debt collection 
contractors (31 U.S.C. 3718) or to other Federal agencies such as the 
Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for the purpose of collecting and 
reporting on delinquent debts as authorized by the Debt Collection Act 
of 1982, as amended, or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
    h. For debt collection purposes, GSA may publish or otherwise 
publicly disseminate information regarding the identity of delinquent 
non-tax debtors and the existence of the non-tax debts under the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
    i. Information contained in this system may be disclosed to credit 
reporting agencies/credit bureaus for the purpose of either adding to a 
credit history file or obtaining a credit history file or comparable 
credit information for use in the administration of debt collection. As 
authorized by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, GSA may 
report current (not delinquent) as well as delinquent consumer and 
commercial debt to these entities in order to aid in the collection of 
debts, typically by providing an incentive to the person to repay the 
debt in a timely manner. GSA may report on delinquent debts to the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert Interactive 
Voice Response System (CAIVRS).
    j. Information contained in the system of records may be disclosed 
to the Internal Revenue Service to obtain

[[Page 27560]]

mailing addresses for the purpose of locating the debtors to collect 
Federal claims.
    k. Information contained in the system of records may be disclosed 
to the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of offsetting a Federal 
claim against a debtor's income tax refund.
    l. Information in this system may be disclosed to the Internal 
Revenue Service and applicable state and local governments for tax 
reporting purposes. Under the provisions of the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996, GSA is permitted to provide Treasury with Form 
1099-C information on discharged debts so that Treasury may file the 
form on GSA's behalf with the IRS. W-2 and 1099 Forms contain 
information on items to be considered as income to an individual, 
including payments to persons not treated as employees (e.g., fees to 
consultants and experts), and amounts written-off as legally or 
administratively uncollectible, in whole or in part.
    m. A record from this system may be disclosed to banks enrolled in 
the Treasury Credit Card Network to collect a payment or debt when the 
individual has given his or her credit card number for this purpose.
    n. A record from this system may be disclosed to Treasury or other 
Federal agencies with whom GSA has entered into an agreement 
establishing the terms and conditions for debt collection cross 
servicing operations on behalf of GSA to satisfy, in whole or in part, 
debts owed to the U.S. Government. Cross servicing includes the 
possible use of all debt collection tools such as administrative 
offset, tax refund offset, referral to debt collection contractors, and 
referral to the Department of Justice.
    o. Records may be disclosed to Treasury, government corporations, 
state, or local agencies, or other Federal agencies to conduct computer 
matching programs for the purpose of identifying and locating 
individuals who are receiving Federal salaries or benefit payments and 
are delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to the U.S. Government 
under certain programs administered by the General Services 
Administration in order to collect the debts under the provisions of 
the Debt Collection Act of 1982, as amended, or the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996 by voluntary payment or by administrative or 
salary offset procedures.
    p. A record from this system may be disclosed to the National 
Archives and Records Administration for records management inspections 
conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) may be made from this 
system to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f), or the Federal Claims Collection Act 
of 1966, 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained in paper form in file folders stored in 
metal filing cabinets and in electronic form in computers.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Credit data is maintained by debtor name and claim number, cross 
referenced to social security number (when available) to verify name 
and address.

SAFEGUARDS:
    When not in use by personnel responsible for the collection of 
claims, records and stored in lockable filing cabinets. Personal 
computer files are protected by the use of passwords.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    The records are a part of the GAO site auditing collection files 
and are cut off at the end of the fiscal year, held 1 year, and then 
retired under Record Group 217 (GAO). Records created prior to July 2, 
1975, will be retained by GAO for 10 years and 3 months after the 
period of the account. Records created on or after July 2, 1975, will 
be retained by GAO for 6 years and 3 months after the period of the 
account.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Dave Hollar, Chief, Receivables and Collection Management Branch 
(BCDR), Financial Information Control Division, Office of Chief 
Financial Officer, General Services Administration, 1800 F Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20405.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Inquiries by individuals regarding claims pertaining to themselves 
should be addressed to the system management.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Requests from individuals for access to records should be addressed 
to the system manager and should include the individual's name and 
address.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:
    GSA rules for contesting the contents of the records and for 
appealing initial determinations are promulgated in 41 CFR part 105.64.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system is obtained from commercial credit 
reports, agency investigative reports, individual debtor's own 
financial statements, and from other GSA systems of records.

    Dated: May 13, 1999.
Daniel K. Cooper,
Director, Administrative Services Division.
[FR Doc. 99-12541 Filed 5-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-34-M