[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49456-49457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21037]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program

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, Public Law 100-503, as amended, and the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) Final Guidance 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 last published in the Federal 
Register on August 23, 2000 (65 FR 51301); the program became effective 
February 14, 2001. The 18-month Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) was 
recertified for an additional 12 months on August 13, 2002. The 12 
month recertification will expire on August 13, 2003. This computer 
matching program between the IRS and ED will become effective as 
explained below.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as 
amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 
(Pub. L. 100-503), the OMB Final Guidance on the Conduct of Matching 
Programs (54 FR 25818 (June 19, 1989)), and OMB Circular A-130, 
Appendix I, we provide the following information:
    1. Names 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 the mailing address 
of any taxpayer who has defaulted on certain loans or owes on a grant 
overpayment under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a et seq.) for the purposes of locating the taxpayer to 
collect the loan or grant overpayment. In accordance with the 
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(4)(B), 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), 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(2) and (4).

[[Page 49457]]

    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 individual who has 
defaulted under a loan program or owes a grant overpayment under Title 
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This information will be 
extracted from the Student Financial Assistance Collection Files system 
of records (18-11-07), most recently published at 64 FR 30166-69 (June 
4, 1999), as amended, 64 FR 72384, 72407 (December 27, 1999). The ED 
data will be matched against the IRS' system of records, CADE 
Individual Master File (IMF), Treasury/IRS 24.030, last published at 66 
FR 63783, 63800-01 (December 10, 2001), in order to collect the most 
recent address of each taxpayer who matches the SSN and first four 
letters of the last name (or surname) provided by ED.
    5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program. The matching program 
will become effective at the latest of the following three dates: (1) 
40-days after the signing of the transmittal letter sending the 
computer matching program notification to Congress and the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), unless OMB disapproves the matching 
program within the 40-day review period; (2) 30 days after publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register; or (3) August 13, 2003. 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: Gregory Plenty, 
IT Specialist, Federal Student Aid, Student Credit Management, U.S. 
Department of Education, 830 First Street, NE., Cubicle 44C3, 
Washington, DC 20202, Telephone: 202-377-3253. 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

    You may review this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    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.


    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a; Pub. L. No. 100-503.

    Dated: July 7, 2003.
Theresa S. Shaw,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 03-21037 Filed 8-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U