[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 125 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37039-37040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5786]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau

[Docket No. 060606154-6154-01]


Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of New Privacy System of Records: COMMERCE/CENSUS-10, 
American Community Survey.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 
U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11), the Department of Commerce is issuing 
notice of intent to establish a new system of records under COMMERCE/
CENSUS-10, American Community Survey.

DATES: To be considered, written comments must be submitted on or 
before July 31, 2006. Unless comments are received, the amendments to 
the system of records will become effective as proposed on the date of 
publication of a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Gerald W. Gates, Chief 
Privacy Officer, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233. Comments may 
be submitted electronically to the following electronic mail address: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald W. Gates, Chief Privacy 
Officer, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233, 301-763-2515.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces the Department's 
proposal for a new system of records under the Privacy Act. The system 
is entitled ``American Community Survey.'' The American Community 
Survey (ACS) testing (demonstration period) occurred between 1996-2004. 
During that time period, the survey was conducted under the authority 
of Title 13, Section 182 (Periodic Censuses and Surveys), and therefore 
is considered to

[[Page 37040]]

be covered under the Privacy Act system of records, CENSUS-3, 
Individual and Household Statistical Surveys and Special Studies 
Records. In 2004, the ACS was fully implemented as a Decennial Census 
production activity and as such, was conducted under the authority of 
Title 13, Section 141 (Decennial Census Activities). An amendment was 
issued to include the ACS in the existing Privacy Act system of 
records, CENSUS-5, Population and Housing Census Records of the 2000 
Census. Although the production version is being conducted under 
Decennial Census authority Title 13, Section 141, the Census Bureau has 
determined that the ACS should have a separate systems notice, CENSUS-
10, American Community Survey. The American Community Survey is an 
ongoing monthly survey of about 250,000 households and an annual sample 
of approximately 3 million residential addresses in the 50 states and 
District of Columbia; and another 36,000 residential addresses in 
Puerto Rico each year.
COMMERCE/CENSUS-10

System Name:
    COMMERCE/CENSUS-10, American Community Survey.

Security Classification:
    None.

System Location:
    U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233; 
Bureau of the Census, Bowie Computer Center, 17101 Melford Boulevard, 
Bowie, Maryland 20715.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    All persons counted during the American Community Survey. 
Participation in the American Community Survey is mandatory.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Name, address, telephone number, age, sex, relationships, race, 
Hispanic origin, housing tenure, marital status, income and employment 
(income; labor force status; industry; occupation, and class of worker; 
work status last year; and veteran status); education (school 
enrollment and educational attainment); origins and language (including 
ancestry; place of birth; citizenship, and year entry; and language 
spoken at home); residence five years ago; disability; grandparents as 
care-givers; place of work and journey to work. In addition, physical 
characteristics of housing may include the year built, units in 
structure, number of rooms, number of bedrooms, kitchen facilities, 
plumbing facilities, telephone service availability, heating fuel, year 
moved to unit, and farm residence; and vehicles available. Financial 
characteristics of housing may include home value, selected monthly 
owner costs, and rent.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    13 U.S.C. 141 and 193.

Purpose(s):
    The American Community Survey records are maintained to perform 
methodological evaluations and enhancements for data collection and 
quality control studies; and to undertake linkages with survey and 
administrative data for statistical projects as authorized by law and 
the U.S. Census Bureau.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    None. These records are maintained and used solely for statistical 
purposes and are confidential under Title 13 of the U.S.C. Sections 9 
and 214. Publications do not contain data that could identify any 
particular household or individual.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Magnetic tape, on-line disk storage, CD-ROMs/DVD, server, and hard 
disk.

Retrievability:
    Information may be retrieved by name and address. Name and address 
information are maintained separately from corresponding survey data 
for privacy and confidentiality purposes.

Safeguards:
    The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to respecting respondent 
privacy and protecting confidentiality. Though the Data Stewardship 
Program, we have implemented management, operational and technical 
controls and practices to ensure high-level data protection to 
respondents of our census and surveys: (1) All U.S. Census Bureau sworn 
individuals are subject to the restrictions, penalties, and 
prohibitions of Title 13 of the U.S.C., and all employees are annually 
certified through training concerning the confidentiality of data; (2) 
data sets released by the U.S. Census Bureau have been subjected to and 
have successfully met criteria established by an internal Disclosure 
Review Board to ensure no personally identifiable data is released; (3) 
an unauthorized browsing policy protects respondent information from 
casual or inappropriate use by any person with access to Title 13 
protected data; and (4) all computer systems that maintain sensitive 
information are in compliance with Common Criteria auditing, which 
monitors all read, write, create, and delete access to restricted data.

Retention and Disposal:
    American Community Survey respondent data, including personally 
identifying data, are captured as images suitable for computer 
processing. Original data sources are destroyed, according to the 
disposal procedures for Title 13 (``census confidential'') records, 
after confirmation of successful data capture and data transmission to 
U.S. Census Bureau headquarters. Personally identified data are 
scheduled for permanent retention.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Associate Director for Decennial Census, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 
Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233.

Notification Procedure:
    None.

Records Access Procedures:
    None.

Contesting Records Procedures:
    None.

Records Source Categories:
    U.S. Census Bureau surveys.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(4), this system of records is 
exempted from the notification, access and contest requirements of the 
agency procedures (under 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), 
(H) and (I), and (f)). This exemption is applicable as data are 
maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau solely as statistical records as 
required under Title 13 U.S.C. and are not used in whole or in part in 
making any determination about an identifiable individual. This 
exemption is made in accordance with the Department's rules, which 
appear in 15 CFR part 4b.

    Dated: June 16, 2006.
Brenda Dolan,
Departmental Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-5786 Filed 6-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P