[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61608-61609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21305]


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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 Department of Justice.

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SUMMARY: Section 421(a)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
862(a)(1)) includes provisions regarding the judicial denial of Federal 
benefits. Section 421 of the Controlled Substances Act, which was 
originally enacted as section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 
but amended and redesignated as section 421 of the Controlled 
Substances Act by section 1002(d) of the Crime Control Act of 1990, 
Public Law 101-647 (hereinafter referred to as ``Section 5301'') 
authorizes Federal and State judges to deny certain Federal benefits 
(including student financial assistance under Title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)) to individuals convicted of 
drug trafficking or possession.
    In order to ensure that HEA Title IV student financial assistance 
is not awarded to individuals subject to denial of benefits under court 
orders issued pursuant to section 5301, the Department of Justice and 
the Department of Education implemented a computer matching program. 
The 18-month computer matching agreement (CMA) was recertified for an 
additional 12 months on December 18, 2004. The 12-month recertification 
of the CMA will automatically expire on December 18, 2005.

[[Page 61609]]

    The Department of Education must continue to obtain from the 
Department of Justice identifying information regarding individuals who 
are the subject of section 5301 denial of benefits court orders. The 
purpose of this notice is to announce the continued operation of the 
computer matching program and to provide certain required information 
concerning the computer matching program.
    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), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on 
the Conduct of Matching Programs (see 54 FR 25818, June 19, 1989), and 
OMB Circular A-130, the following information is provided:
    1. Names of Participating Agencies. The Department of Education 
(ED) (recipient agency) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) (source 
agency).
    2. Purpose of the Match. This matching program is designed to 
assist ED in enforcing the sanctions imposed under section 5301.
    3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program. Under section 
5301, ED must deny Federal benefits to any individual upon whom a 
Federal or State court order has imposed a penalty denying eligibility 
for those benefits. Student financial assistance under Title IV of the 
HEA is a Federal benefit under section 5301 and ED must, in order to 
meet its obligations under the HEA, have access to information about 
individuals who have been declared ineligible under section 5301.
    The President's plan for immediate implementation of section 5301 
(Pub. L. 100-690), as transmitted to the Congress on August 30, 1989 in 
accordance with section 5301(g), directed DOJ to act as an information 
clearinghouse for Federal agencies. While DOJ provides information 
about section 5301 individuals who are ineligible for Federal benefits 
to the General Services Administration (GSA) for inclusion in GSA's 
List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurements and Nonprocurement 
Programs, DOJ and ED have determined that matching against the DOJ 
database is more efficient and effective than access to the GSA List. 
The DOJ database has specific information about the Title IV, HEA 
programs for which individuals are ineligible as well as the expiration 
of the debarment period, making the DOJ database more complete than the 
GSA List. Both of these elements are essential for a successful match.
    4. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered by the Match. ED 
will submit for verification, records from its Central Processing 
System files (Federal Student Aid Application File (18-11-01)), the 
social security number (SSN), and other identifying information for 
each applicant for HEA Title IV student financial assistance. ED will 
use the SSN, date of birth, and the first two letters of an applicant's 
last name for the match.
    The DOJ Denial of Federal Benefits Clearinghouse System (DEBAR) 
(OJP-0013) contains the names, social security numbers, dates of birth, 
and other identifying information regarding individuals convicted of 
Federal or State offenses involving drug trafficking or possession of a 
controlled substance who have been denied Federal benefits by Federal 
or State courts. This system of records also contains information 
concerning the specific program or programs for which benefits have 
been denied, as well as the duration of the period of ineligibility. 
DOJ will make available for the matching program the records of only 
those individuals who have been denied Federal benefits under one or 
more of the Title IV, HEA programs.
    5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program. The matching program 
will become effective on December 19, 2005; or 40 days after a report 
concerning the matching program has been transmitted to OMB and 
transmitted to the Congress along with a copy of the CMA; or 30 days 
after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, whichever 
date is last. The matching program will continue for 18 months after 
the effective date of the CMA and may be extended for an additional 12 
months thereafter, 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. Ms. Marya 
Dennis, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Education, 
Federal Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: (202) 377-3385. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal 
Relay Service (FRS) 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 view 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: 
www.ed.gov/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 862(a)(1); 5 U.S.C. 552a.

    Dated: October 18, 2005.
Theresa S. Shaw,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 05-21305 Filed 10-24-05; 8:45 am]
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