[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29703-29706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13950]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Privacy Act of 1974: Revisions to System of Records: Revised 
Systems

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the 
National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing notice of revisions to 
two existing systems and the planned creation of one new system. The 
revisions to current systems NSF-52 ``Office of Inspector General--
Investigative Files'' and NSF-59 ``Science and Technology Centers (STC) 
Database'' are being made to more accurately reflect the current system 
records and use. The new system, NSF-71 ``General Correspondence 
Files,'' covers general correspondence with individuals that is filed 
alphabetically rather than chronologically.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Sections 552a(e)(4) and (11) of Title 5 of the U.S. 
Code require that the public have thirty days to comment on the routine 
uses of systems of records. The new routine uses that are the subject 
of this notice will take effect on July 2, 1999, unless modified by a 
subsequent notice to incorporate comments received from the public.

COMMENTS: Written comments should be submitted to Leslie Crawford, NSF 
Privacy Act Officer, National Science Foundation, Office of the General 
Counsel, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 1265, Arlington, VA 22230.

    Dated: May 27, 1999.
Leslie Crawford,
Privacy Act Officer.
NSF-52

System name:
    Office of Inspector General--Investigative Files.

System location:
    Office of Inspector General, National Science Foundation, 4201 
Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    In connection with its investigative duties, the Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) maintains records on the following categories 
of individuals: (a) Individuals or entities who are or have been the 
subject of inquiries or investigations conducted by OIG, including 
current and former employees of NSF; and current and former contractors 
(or applicants for contracts), subcontractors, consultants, or the 
recipients of (or applicants for) NSF grants or cooperative agreements, 
and their current or former employees, students, or collaborators; and 
(b) Individuals who are witnesses; complainants; confidential or 
nonconfidential informants; and parties who have been identified by OIG 
(on the basis of information received or developed by OIG) as 
potentially possessing information relevant to an investigation under 
the jurisdiction by the OIG.

Categories of records in the system:
    Information relating to investigations including: (a) Letters, 
memoranda, and other documents citing complaints or alleged criminal, 
civil, or administrative misconduct; (b) Investigative files, which 
include: reports of investigations to resolve allegations of misconduct 
or violations of law or administrative or ethical requirements; 
exhibits, statements, affidavits, or other records obtained or 
generated during investigations; prior criminal or noncriminal records 
of individuals as they relate to the investigations; reports from or to 
other law enforcement bodies; information obtained from informants and 
identifying data with respect to such informants; nature of allegations 
made against suspects and identifying data concerning such subjects; 
and public source materials.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Inspector General Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. app.

Purpose(s):
    The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) maintains this system of records in order to conduct 
its responsibilities pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 
amended, 5 U.S.C. app. section 4. The OIG is statutorily directed and 
authorized to conduct and supervise investigations relating to programs 
and operations of NSF, to promote economy, efficiency, and 
effectiveness in the administration of such programs and operations, 
and to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse in such programs and 
operations. Accordingly, the records are used in investigations of 
individuals and entities suspected of having committed illegal or 
unethical acts, and in any resulting criminal prosecutions, civil 
proceedings, or administrative actions.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    These records may be disclosed as follows:
    1. In the event that records indicate a violation or potential 
violation of a requirement, whether criminal, civil, regulatory, 
administrative, contractual, or ethical in nature, whether arising by 
statute, regulation, rule, order, contract (including a grant or 
cooperative agreement), or ethical practices or norms, the relevant 
records in the system of records may be disclosed, as a routine use, to 
the appropriate entity, whether governmental (federal, foreign, state, 
local, or international) or non-governmental, charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or 
potential violation, or charged with enforcing, implementing, or 
complying with such statute, regulation, rule, order, contract, or 
ethical practices or norms.
    2. Disclosure may be made to appropriate entities, whether 
governmental (federal, foreign, state, local or international) or non-
governmental, or to an individual, when necessary to elicit information 
that will assist an investigation or audit.
    3. Disclosure may be made to a federal, state, local, foreign, or 
international entity maintaining civil, criminal, or other relevant 
information if necessary to obtain information relevant to an OIG 
decision concerning the assignment, hiring, or retention of an 
individual and/or employee or disciplinary or other administrative 
action concerning an employee, the issuance or revocation of a security 
clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an individual and/or 
employee, or the award of a contract (including a grant or cooperative 
agreement).
    4. Disclosure may be made to a federal, state, local, foreign, or 
international entity in response to its request in connection with the 
assignment, hiring, or retention of an individual and/or employee, or 
disciplinary or other administrative action concerning an employee, the 
issuance or revocation of a security clearance, the reporting of an 
investigation of an individual and/or employee, or the award of a 
contract

[[Page 29704]]

(including a grant or cooperative agreement) 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.
    5. Disclosure may be made to the Office of Personnel Management or 
the Merit Systems Protection Board (including the Office of the Special 
Counsel) of information relevant and necessary to carrying out their 
functions.
    6. In the event OIG is aware of information about possible 
misconduct in science and engineering, disclosure of relevant records 
may be made by OIG to institutions or entities that have proposed or 
received contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements so that they can 
conduct inquiries and investigations into possible misconduct in 
science and engineering pursuant to 45 CFR part 689.
    7. Disclosure may also be made to independent auditors, 
contractors, experts, and other individuals who perform a service to or 
work on or under a contract, or other arrangement with or for the 
federal government, as necessary to carry out their duties. Such 
contractors will be required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards with 
respect to such records.
    8. Disclosure may be made to another federal agency, a court, or a 
party in litigation before a court or in an administrative proceeding 
being conducted by a federal agency when the government is a party to 
the judicial or administrative proceeding.
    9. In the event the OIG deems it desirable or necessary, in 
processing a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request, 
disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice or the Office of 
Management and Budget for the purpose of obtaining its advice.
    10. Disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice, to the 
extent it is compatible with the purpose for which the record was 
collected, and is relevant and necessary to litigation or anticipated 
litigation, in which one of the following is a party or has an 
interest: (a) NSF or any of its components; (b) an NSF employee in his 
or her official capacity; (c) an NSF employee in his or her official 
capacity when the Department of Justice is representing or considering 
representing the employee; or (d) the United States, when NSF 
determines that litigation is likely to affect NSF.
    11. 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 request of that individual.
    12. Disclosure may be made to representatives of the General 
Services Administration and the National Archives and Records 
Administration who are conducting record management inspections under 
44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    The OIG Investigative Files consist of automated data and paper 
records. The paper records are stored in file cabinets and the 
automated data are maintained in computers in OIG.

Retrievability:
    The records are retrieved by the name of the subject of the 
investigation or by a unique control number assigned to each 
investigation.

Safeguards:
    These records are kept in OIG offices within limited access areas 
of the National Science Foundation during duty hours, and in locked 
offices at all other times. Passwords are required to access the 
automated data.

Retention and disposal:
    The Investigative Files are kept indefinitely pending adoption of 
an NSF-specific approved records retention schedule.

System manager(s) and address:
    Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, National Science 
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Notification procedure:
    The Privacy Act Officer should be contacted in accordance with 
procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Record access procedures:
    The major part of this system is exempted from this requirement 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or (k)(2). To the extent that this 
system of records is not subject to exemption, it is subject to access. 
A determination as to exemption shall be made at the time a request for 
access is received. Access requests must be sent to the Privacy Act 
Officer in accordance with procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Contesting record procedures:
    The major part of this system is exempted from this requirement 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or (k)(2). To the extent that this 
system of records is not subject to exemption, it is subject to access 
and contest. A determination as to exemption shall be made at the time 
a request for contest is received. Requests must be sent to the Privacy 
Act Officer in accordance with procedures found at 45 CFR part 613.

Record source categories:
    The subjects of investigations; individuals with whom the subjects 
of investigations are associated; current and former NSF employees; 
federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement and non-law 
enforcement agencies; private citizens; witnesses; confidential and 
nonconfidential informants; and public source materials.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:
    This system is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a except subsections (b); 
(c)(1) and (2); (e)(4)(A) through (F); (e) (6), (7), (9), (10), and 
(11); and (i) under 522a(j)(2) to the extent the system of records 
pertains to enforcement of criminal laws; and is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 
552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f) under 5 
U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) to the extent the system of records consists of 
investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes, other 
than material within the scope of the exemption at 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). 
These exemptions are contained in 45 CFR 613.
NSF-59

System name:
    Science and Technology Centers (STC) Database.

System location:
    Office of Integrative Activities, National Science Foundation, 4201 
Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Individuals participating in NSF funded Science and Technology 
Center (STC) Activities.

Categories of records in the system:
    Records vary by year. From FY90 until FY98, the records may include 
name, institution, social security number, gender, ethnicity, year of 
highest degree, citizenship, areas of research, type of financial 
support and other related information. These STC databases may also 
include the results of follow-up surveys of STC Center participants. 
The records will be used to help evaluate the STC Center's achievement 
of program goals. Evaluation may include follow-up surveys of STC 
Center participants. The results of evaluations will be statistical and 
will not identify individual participants.

[[Page 29705]]

    Beginning with FY98, covered records include only faculty names 
associated with type of financial support. Other program records from 
FY98 forward are not part of this system of records because they 
include no individual names or identifiers. These records report only 
the number of STC participants by STC Center categorized as faculty, 
postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students, 
visiting scientists, support staff (scientific, technical, and 
administrative), and precollege students and teachers. These records 
include data on gender, disability status, citizenship, ethnicity/race, 
areas of research, shared experimental facilities, type of financial 
support, and other related information. Because these data are 
collected without individual name or other identifier, it cannot be so 
retrieved and are not part of this system.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    42 U.S.C. 3101; 42 U.S.C. 1870.

Purpose(s):
    Information from this system may be used to enable NSF to identify 
research areas under STC Center awards and determine the level of 
support for STC Center personnel and STC Center research; to help 
evaluate the STC Center's achievement of program goals, such as 
enhancement of skills; to report periodically, in statistical form 
only, on the participation of men and women by ethnicity, disability, 
discipline, and citizenry; and to enable NSF to monitor the 
effectiveness of NSF-sponsored STC Centers for management evaluation 
and for reporting to the Administration and Congress, especially under 
the Government Performance and Results Act, 5 U.S.C. 306 and 39 U.S.C. 
2801-2805.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    1. An STC Center and its authorized personnel may have access to 
data submitted by that Center for the purpose of administration and for 
other uses consistent with the purpose above.
    2. 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 request of that individual.
    3. Information from the system may be disclosed to contractors, 
grantees, volunteers, experts, advisors, and other individuals who 
perform a service to or work on or under a contract, grant, cooperative 
agreement, advisory committee, committee of visitors, or other 
arrangement with or for the Federal government, as necessary to carry 
out their duties in pursuit of the purposes described above. The 
contractors are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act.
    4. Information from the system may be merged with other computer 
files in order to carry out statistical studies or assist with program 
management, evaluation, and reporting. Disclosure may be made for this 
purpose to NSF contractors and collaborating researchers, other 
Government agencies, and qualified research institutions and their 
staffs. The results of such studies, evaluations, or reports are 
statistical in nature and do not identify individuals.
    5. Information from the system may be disclosed to the Department 
of Justice or the Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of 
obtaining advice on the application of the Freedom of Information Act 
or Privacy Act to the records.
    6. Information from the system may be given to another Federal 
agency, a court, or a party in litigation before a court or in an 
administrative proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency when the 
Government is a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding.
    7. Information from the system may be given to the Department of 
Justice, to the extent disclosure is compatible with the purpose for 
which the record was collected and is relevant and necessary to 
litigation or anticipated litigation, in which one of the following is 
a party or has an interest: (a) NSF or any of its components; (b) an 
NSF employee in his/her official capacity; (c) an NSF employee in his/
her individual capacity when the Department of Justice is representing 
or considering representing the employee; or (d) the United States, 
when NSF determines that litigation is likely to affect the Agency.
    8. Records from this system may be disclosed to representatives of 
the General Services Administration and the National Archives and 
Records Administration who are conducting records management 
inspections under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Some of the records are stored electronically and some are stored 
in paper format in file folders.

Retrievability:
    By the STC Center and then alphabetically by individual.

Safeguards:
    Building is locked during non-business hours. Records at NSF are 
kept in rooms that are locked during non-business hours. Records 
maintained in electronic form are password protected.

Retention and disposal:
    The file for each STC Center is cumulative and maintained 
indefinitely pending adoption of an approved records retention 
schedule.

System manager(s) and address:
    Director, Office of Integrative Activities, National Science 
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Notification procedure:
    The NSF Privacy Act Officer should be contacted in accordance with 
procedures set forth at 45 CFR part 613.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Science and Technology Centers.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:
    None.
NSF-71

System name:
    General Correspondence Files.

System location:
    Correspondence files maintained by name, rather than 
chronologically, in some NSF offices or divisions at the National 
Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Most NSF general correspondence is filed chronologically. This 
system covers only individuals who write to the NSF or its officers or 
employees, or individuals whose letter has been referred to NSF by 
other parts of the Federal government when such general correspondence 
is filed by name of the sender rather than chronologically.

Categories of records in the system:
    The system includes the original correspondence received as well as 
any response, referral letters concerning the correspondence and copies 
of any enclosures.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    These records are kept for administrative convenience pursuant to 
44 U.S.C. 3101.

[[Page 29706]]

Purpose(s):
    These records are kept for administrative convenience to document 
responses to general correspondence.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    1. Information from the system may be provided to a referrer of the 
original correspondence.
    2. 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 request of that individual.
    3. Information from the system may be disclosed to contractors, 
volunteers, advisors, and other individuals who perform a service to or 
work on or under a contract, or other arrangement with or for the 
Federal government, as necessary to carry out their duties. The 
contractors are subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act.
    4. Information from the system may be disclosed to the Department 
of Justice or the Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of 
obtaining advice on the application of the Freedom of Information Act 
or Privacy Act to the records.
    5. Information from the system may be given to another Federal 
agency, a court, or a party in litigation before a court or in an 
administrative proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency when the 
Government is a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding.
    6. Information from the system may be given to the Department of 
Justice, to the extent disclosure is compatible with the purpose for 
which the record was collected and is relevant and necessary to 
litigation or anticipated litigation, in which one of the following is 
a party or has an interest: (a) NSF or any of its components; (b) an 
NSF employee in his/her official capacity; (c) an NSF employee in his/
her individual capacity when the Department of Justice is representing 
or considering representing the employee; or (d) the United States, 
when NSF determines that litigation is likely to affect the Agency.
    7. Records from this system may be disclosed to representatives of 
the General Services Administration and the National Archives and 
Records Administration who are conducting records management 
inspections under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    The material is stored in file folders within file cabinets in 
individual Offices or Divisions of NSF.

Retrievability:
    The system covers correspondence maintained within individual 
Offices or Divisions that is arranged alphabetically by name of 
original correspondent.

Safeguards:
    Correspondence is maintained in rooms occupied by office personnel 
during the work day and locked during non-business hours.

Retention and disposal:
    Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with approved 
record retention plans, and are maintained for a minimum of three 
months.

System manager(s) and address:
    Director of Division or Office maintaining such records, National 
Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

Notification procedure:
    The NSF Privacy Act Officer should be contacted in accordance with 
procedures set forth at 45 CFR part 613.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification Procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Letters received from the original correspondent along with any 
referral letters, and the NSF office which wrote the response, along 
with any transmitted information or enclosures.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:
    None.

[FR Doc. 99-13950 Filed 6-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-U