[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 89 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25613-25615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10400]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice (04-060)]


Privacy Act of 1974; Proposed Revisions to a Privacy Act System 
of Records

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed revisions to an existing Privacy Act system 
of records.

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SUMMARY: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration proposes to 
revise an existing system of records titled ``Inspector General 
Investigations Case Files'' (NASA 10IGIC), last published on December 
13, 1999 (64 FR 69561). This system of records is being revised to 
comply with requirements established by the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (Pub. L. 107-296, Nov. 25, 2002) and to update routine uses. The 
new routine uses allow the disclosure of information to authorized 
officials within the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency 
(PCIE), who are charged with the responsibility for conducting 
qualitative assessment reviews of OIG operations for the purpose of 
reporting to the President and Congress on the activities of the OIG; 
disclosure of information to the public under certain enumerated 
circumstances; and disclosure of information to the news media and the 
public when there is a genuine public interest or when necessary for 
protection from imminent threat to life or property. Minor changes are 
the addition of grantee employees to the categories of individuals 
covered by the system, addition of research misconduct and 
whistleblower protection investigations to the categories of records in 
the system, elimination of inapplicable authorities for maintenance of 
the system, a revision to routine use 1 to add the Office of Management 
and Budget and other organizations in the Executive Office of the 
President; removal of one subsystem manager because the position is no 
longer part of the Office of Inspector General as well as addition of 
new subsystem managers; and correcting the address for Location 16 in 
Appendix A.

DATES: This proposed action will be effective without further notice on 
July 6, 2004, unless comments are received which result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: Elizabeth Richardson, Associate Counsel to the Inspector 
General, Office of Inspector General, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration Headquarters, Washington, DC 20456-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Richardson, Associate 
Counsel to the Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters, Washington, 
DC 20546-0001, (202) 358-2548.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This publication is in accordance with the 
Privacy Act requirement that agencies publish their amended systems of 
records in the Federal Register when there is a revision, change, or 
addition. NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed its 
systems of records notices and has determined that its record system, 
Inspector General Investigations Case Files (NASA 10IGIC), must be 
revised to add a routine use in order to comply with the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002. Specifically, section 812, subsection (7) of that 
Act reads as follows: ``To ensure the proper exercise of the law 
enforcement powers authorized by this subsection, the Offices of 
Inspector General described under paragraph (3) shall, not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, collectively 
enter into a memorandum of understanding to establish an external 
review process for ensuring that adequate internal safeguards and 
management procedures continue to exist within each Office and within 
any Office that later receives an authorization under paragraph (2). 
The review process shall be established in consultation with the 
Attorney General, who shall be provided with a copy of the memorandum 
of understanding that establishes the review process. Under the review 
process, the exercise of the law enforcement powers by each Office of 
Inspector General shall be reviewed periodically by another Office of 
Inspector General or by a committee of Inspectors General. The results 
of each review shall be communicated in writing to the applicable 
Inspector General and to the Attorney General.'' The additional routine 
use would allow the disclosure of information to authorized officials 
within the PCIE, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, as necessary, for the purpose of conducting qualitative 
assessment reviews of the OIG's investigative operations to ensure that 
adequate internal safeguards and management procedures are maintained.

Patti F. Stockman,
NASA Privacy Act Officer.
NASA 10IGIC

System Name:
    Inspector General Investigations Case Files.

Security Classification:
    Some of the material contained in the system has been classified in 
the interests of national security pursuant to Executive Order 11652.

System Location:
    Locations 1 through 11, 14, 16 and 17 as set forth in Appendix A.

Categories of Individuals Covered By the System:
    Current and former employees of NASA, contractors, and 
subcontractors, and others whose actions have affected NASA.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Case files pertaining to matters including, but not limited to, the 
following classifications of cases: (1) Fraud against the Government, 
(2) theft of Government property, (3) bribery, (4) lost or stolen lunar 
samples, (5) misuse of Government property, (6) conflict of interest, 
(7) waiver of claim for overpayment of pay, (8) leaks of Source 
Evaluation Board information; (9) improper personal conduct, (10) 
irregularities in awarding contracts; (11) computer crimes; (12) 
research

[[Page 25614]]

misconduct; and (13) whistleblower protection under the Federal 
Acquisition Simplification Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    42 U.S.C. 2473; 44 U.S.C. 3101; 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3.

Purpose(s):
    Information in this system of records is collected in the course of 
investigating alleged crimes and other violations of law or regulation 
that affect NASA. The information is used by prosecutors, Agency 
managers, law enforcement agencies, Congress, NASA contractors, and 
others to address the crimes and other misconduct discovered during 
investigations.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    The following are routine uses: (1) Responding to the White House, 
the Office of Management and Budget, and other organizations in the 
Executive Office of the President regarding matters inquired of; (2) 
disclosure to a congressional office from the record of an individual 
in response to a written inquiry from the congressional office made at 
the request of that individual; (3) providing data to Federal 
intelligence elements; (4) providing data to any source from which 
information is requested in the course of an investigation, to the 
extent necessary to identify the individual, inform the source of the 
nature and purpose of the investigation, and to identify the type of 
information requested; (5) providing personal identifying data to 
Federal, State, local, or foreign law enforcement representative 
seeking confirmation of identity of persons under investigations; (6) 
disclosing, as necessary, to a contractor, subcontractor, or grantee 
firm or institution, to the extent that the disclosure is in NASA's 
interest and is relevant and necessary in order that the contractor, 
subcontractor, or grantee is able to take administrative or corrective 
action; (7) disclosing to any official (including members of the 
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency and staff and 
authorized officials of the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of 
Investigation) charged with the responsibility to conduct qualitative 
assessment reviews of internal safeguards and management procedures 
employed in OIG operations; (8) disclosing to members of the 
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency for the preparation of 
reports to the President and Congress on the activities of the 
Inspectors General; (9) disclosing to the public when: the matter under 
investigation has become public knowledge, or when the Inspector 
General determines that such disclosure is necessary to preserve 
confidence in the integrity of the OIG investigative process, or to 
demonstrate the accountability of NASA officers, or employees, or other 
individuals covered by this system, unless the Inspector General 
determines that disclosure of the specific information in the context 
of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy; (10) disclosing to the news media and public when 
there exists a legitimate public interest (e.g., to provide information 
on events in the criminal process, such as indictments), or when 
necessary for protection from imminent threat to life or property; (11) 
standard routine uses 1 through 4 inclusive as set forth in Appendix B.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Hard-copy documents and electronic media.

Retrievability:
    Information is retrieved by name of the individual.

Safeguards:
    Information is kept in locked cabinets and in secured vaults and 
computer rooms. Information stored on computers is on a restricted-
access server and is protected by an official password and user 
identification. Access is limited to Inspector General personnel with 
an official need to know.

Retention and Disposal:
    Records are maintained in Agency files and destroyed in accordance 
with NASA Procedures and Guidelines (NPR) 1441.1, NASA Records 
Retention Schedules, Schedule 9. Files containing information of an 
investigative nature but not related to a specific investigation are 
destroyed in accordance with NPR 1441.1. Significant case files are 
scheduled for disposition with the National Archives and Records 
Administration when closed. All other case files are destroyed 10 years 
after file is closed.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Location 1.
    Subsystem Managers: Special and Resident Agents in Charge, Location 
2, 4 through 11 inclusive, 14, 16, and 17 as set forth in Appendix A.

Notification Procedure:
    None. System is exempt (see below).

Record Access Procedures:
    None. System is exempt (see below).

Contesting Record Procedures:
    None. System is exempt (see below).

Record Source Categories:
    Exempt.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:
    (1) The Inspector General Investigations Case Files systems of 
records is exempt from any part of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), 
EXCEPT the following subsections: (b) relating to conditions of 
disclosure; (c)(1) and (2) relating to keeping and maintaining a 
disclosure accounting; (e)(4)(A)-(F) relating to publishing a system 
notice setting forth name, location, categories of individuals and 
records, routine uses, and policies regarding storage, retrievability, 
access controls, retention and disposal of the records; (e)(6), (7), 
(9), (10), and (11) relating to dissemination and maintenance of 
records; (i) relating to criminal penalties. This exemption applies to 
those records and information contained in the system of records 
pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws.
    (2) To the extent that there may exist noncriminal investigative 
files within this system of records, the Inspector General 
Investigations Case Files system of records is exempt from the 
following subsections of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a): (c)(3) 
relating to access to disclosure accounting, (d) relating to access to 
reports, (e)(1) relating to the type of information maintained in the 
records; (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I) relating to publishing the system 
notice information as to agency procedures for access and amendment and 
information as to the categories of sources of records, and (f) 
relating to developing agency rules for gaining access and making 
corrections.
    The determination to exempt this system of records has been made by 
the Administrator of NASA in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a (j) and (k) 
and subpart 5 of the NASA regulations appearing in 14 CFR part 1212, 
for the reason that a component of the Office of Inspector General, 
NASA, performs as its principal function activities pertaining to the 
enforcement of criminal laws, within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 
552a(j)(2). * * *

[[Page 25615]]

Appendix A--Location Numbers and Mailing Addresses of NASAInstallations 
at Which Records Are Located

Location 1

    NASA Headquarters, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration,Washington, DC 20546-0001.

Location 2

    Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000.

Location 3

    Dryden Flight Research Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, PO Box 273, Edwards, CA 93523-0273.

Location 4

    Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001.

Location 5

    Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Houston, TX 77058-3696.

Location 6

    John F. Kennedy Space Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899-0001.

Location 7

    Langley Research Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Hampton, VA 23681-2199.

Location 8

    John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, 
NationalAeronautics and Space Administration, 21000 Brookpark Road, 
Cleveland, OH 44135-3191.

Location 9

    George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics 
andSpace Administration, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812-
0001.

Location 10

    HQ NASA Management Office--JPL, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099.

Location 11

    John C. Stennis Space Center, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000.

Location 12

    JSC White Sands Test Facility, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, PO Drawer MM, Las Cruces, NM 88004-0020.

Location 13

    GRC Plum Brook Station, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, Sandusky, OH 44870.

Location 14

    MSFC Michoud Assembly Facility, National Aeronautics and 
SpaceAdministration, PO Box 29300, New Orleans, LA 70189.

Location 15

    NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility 
(NASAIV&V), 100 University Drive, Fairmont, WV 26554.

Location 16

    New Jersey Post of Duty, 402 E. State Street, Suite 3036, 
Trenton, NJ 08608.

Location 17

    Western Field Office, Glenn Anderson Federal Building, 501 
WestOcean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802-4222.

[FR Doc. 04-10400 Filed 5-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-13-P