[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 51301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21477]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program; Notice

AGENCY: Department of Education.

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

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act 
of 1988, Pub. L. 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 April 12, 1974 (58 FR 31587); the program became 
effective January 14, 1998. 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 July 14, 2000. 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 will continue the matching 
program.
    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, we provide the following information:

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 (TAR), 
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.

3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    The information contained in the IRS data base is referred to as 
TAR, and is authorized under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) sections 
6103 (m)(4) and (m)(5), Pub. L. 99-603.

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 Student Financial 
Assistance Collection System of records (18-11-07). The ED data will be 
matched against the IRS' system of records to collect most the recent 
address of each taxpayer who matches the SSN and first four letters of 
the last 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 40 days, this Matching Program becomes 
effective after both the 40-day OMB period and the 30-day 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 DB Mills, Management Analyst, Federal Family Student Loan 
Systems Division, Student Financial Assistance, Development Division, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, (Room 4613, ROB-
3), Washington, DC 20202, Telephone: 202-708-9768. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TTD) you may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with 
disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative 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 PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using 
PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office toll free at 1-888-293-
6498.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html


    Dated: August 18, 2000.
Greg Woods,
Chief Operating Officer, Student Financial Assistance.
[FR Doc. 00-21477 Filed 8-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P