[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 194 (Monday, October 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58256-58259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23473]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5130-N-27]


Privacy Act; Notification of an Amendment to an Existing Privacy 
Act System of Records; Inventory Management System (IMS) (Formerly--The 
Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC))

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notification of an Amendment to a Privacy Act System of 
Records.

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[[Page 58257]]

SUMMARY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposes 
to amend one of its Privacy Act record systems subject to the Privacy 
Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. The amendment is to reflect 
changes in the system name, location, new system managers and current 
updates to the ``Purpose'' and ``Systems Security Measures'' 
statements. This system is managed and operated by HUD's Office of 
Public and Indian Housing. IMS replaces the former Public and Indian 
Housing Information Center (PIC) system. The notice for the PIC system 
was published at 67 FR 20986. This record system supports the 
administration of programs for families receiving housing assistance 
for those entities that administer HUD's Office of Public and Indian 
Housing rental assistance programs. The entities that administer PIH's 
rental assistance programs are the Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). 
Additionally, as part of HUD's oversight responsibility, the collected 
data maintained in IMS is used to calculate the amount of subsidy 
authorized and disbursed to PHAs and to monitor PHAs' overall 
performance and use of HUD funds. The existing scope, objectives, and 
business processes in place for this program remain unchanged.
    System Security Measures: The availability and data in IMS are 
important. Much of the data needs to be protected from unanticipated or 
unintentional modification. HUD restricts the use of the information to 
HUD's oversight responsibility, and access to the IMS is controlled by 
using the Web Access Security System (WASS) security module, which 
requires users to use the single sign-on security interface. WASS 
consists of a secure connection component and a secure systems 
component. WASS provides an overall security umbrella for thousands of 
HUD-wide system users. The secure connection component of WASS includes 
online registration forms that are accessible via the World Wide Web 
and are used by HUD's trusted Business Partners to submit requests for 
the authority to access secure systems that reside behind HUD's 
firewall. The data captured by the secure connection registration page 
is used to establish authorized user on the Lightweight Directory 
Access Protocol (LDAP) server. Secure connection provides system level 
security by validating users against the LDAP server prior to providing 
users access to HUD's Secure System environment from the internet by: 
(1) The WASS module controls a user's access, updates access, read-only 
access, and approval access based on the user's role and security 
access level; (2) unauthorized system access is reduced by restricting 
access by job function and by the use of user identifications (User 
IDs) and password and user IDs that are utilized to identify the 
transaction by users; (3) inaccurate and incomplete data are identified 
and eliminated with extensive edits; and (4) data corruption/
destruction is handled by limiting user IDs that have update rights to 
the production server/databases.
    Data Quality: PHAs enter management, building and unit inventory 
details, and family information into IMS. Family data includes the 
families' names, social security numbers (SSN), and dates of birth. The 
social security number search feature was established to help HUD 
maintain data quality and integrity and to support one of its strategic 
objectives to prevent fraud and abuse. This search feature: (1) Helps 
to confirm that those families entitled to benefits receive benefits; 
(2) assists in limiting the duplication of benefits; and (3) helps to 
prevent submission of false applications for benefits, thereby ensuring 
data quality.

DATES: Effective Date: This action shall be effective without further 
notice on November 5, 2008 unless comments are received that would 
result in a contrary determination.
    Comments Due Date: November 5, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel, Room 
10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20410. Communications should refer to the above 
docket number and title. A copy of each communication submitted will be 
available for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
weekdays at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Robinson-Staton, Departmental 
Privacy Act Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., Room 2256, Washington, DC 20410, Telephone Number 
(202) 402-8073. (This is not a toll-free number.) A telecommunication 
device for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals (TTY) is available 
at 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Information Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), as amended, this notice is HUD's notification of its 
intent to amend this system of records for IMS, HUD/PIH-4. Title 5 
U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11) provide that the public be afforded a 30-day 
period in which to comment on the amended system of records, and 
require published notice of the existence and character of the system 
of records.
    The system report was submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the 
House Committee on Government Reform pursuant to paragraph 4c of 
Appendix 1 to OMB Circular No. A-130, ``Federal Agency Responsibilities 
for Maintaining Records About Individuals,'' July 25, 1994; 59 FR 
37914.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a, 88 Stat. 1896; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: September 15, 2008.
Lisa Schlosser,
Chief Information Officer.
HUD/PIH-4

SYSTEM NAME:
    Inventory Management System (IMS) formerly known as the Public and 
Indian Housing (PIH) Information Center (PIC).

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    IMS system servers are located in Charleston, WV; and access is 
through the Internet. The servers are maintained by HUD Information 
Technology Services (HITS) contractor, and HUD's information technology 
partners: Electronic Data Services (EDS) and Lockheed Martin.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Families receiving rental housing assistance via programs 
administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, State 
Agencies, PHAs.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Categories of records in the system: Records consist of automated 
building and unit inventory details, family composition details, 
income, and rent data obtained from PHAs. More specifically, the system 
of records contains: Identification information such as names and 
social security numbers for individuals 6 years and older; alien 
registration information; address and tenant unit numbers; financial 
data such as income, adjustments to income, tenant family composition 
characteristics such as family size, sex of family members, information 
about the family that would qualify them for certain adjustments or for 
admission to a project limited to a special population (e.g., elderly,

[[Page 58258]]

handicapped, or disabled); relationships of members of the household to 
the head of household (e.g., spouse, child); preferences applicable to 
the family at admission; income status at admission; race and ethnicity 
of household members; unit characteristics such as number of bedrooms; 
geographic data obtained by the PHA.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
     The U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1437 
et seq;
     The Housing Community Development Act of 1981, Public Law 
97-35, 85 stat., 348,408 requires applicants and residents to provide 
the information collected; and
     The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, 42 
U.S.C. 3543, requires applicants and residents to provide the SSN(s) of 
household members at least six (6) years old.
     Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1962 (42 U.S.C. 
2000d), and by the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601-19).

PURPOSE:
    An applicant for public housing completes or a PHA representative 
assists in filling out an application that determines an applicant's 
eligibility for public housing assistance. The following information 
assists in the eligibility determination: (1) Names of all persons who 
will be living in the unit, their sex, race, date of birth, and 
relationship to the family head; (2) Present address and telephone 
number; (3) Family characteristics (e.g., veteran) or circumstances 
(e.g., living in substandard housing) that might qualify the family for 
tenant selection preferences) or disability; (4) Names and addresses of 
current and previous landlords for information concerning the family's 
suitability as a tenant; (5) An estimate of the family's anticipated 
income for the next twelve months and the sources of that income; (6) 
The names and addresses of employers, banks, and any other information 
the PHA would need to verify income and deductions, and to verify the 
family composition. A housing official may visit the present home to 
interview the applicant and applicant's family members to see how the 
present home is managed and maintained.
    IMS also allows PHAs to electronically submit information to HUD 
that is related to the administration of HUD's Public and Indian 
Housing programs. It collects data for PIH operations, including data 
submitted via the Internet from HUD's field offices and HUD's business 
partners, and accurately tracks activities and processes. IMS also 
helps to increase sharing of information throughout the Office of 
Public and Indian Housing, which improves staff awareness of activities 
related to the administration of HUD-subsidized housing programs. IMS 
is a flexible, scaleable, Internet-based integrated system, which 
enables PHA users and HUD personnel to access a common database of PHA 
information via their web browser. IMS aids HUD and entities that 
administer HUD's assisted housing programs in: (a) Increasing the 
effective distribution of rental assistance to individuals that meet 
the requirements of Federal rental assistance programs; (b) Detecting 
abuses in assisted housing programs; (c) Taking administrative or legal 
actions to resolve past abuses of assisted housing programs; (d) 
Deterring abuses by verifying the employment and income of applicants 
and tenants at the time of occupancy and at re-certification via the 
PIH-REAC Enterprise Income Verification (EIV); (e) evaluating the 
effectiveness of income discrepancy resolution actions taken by PHAs 
for HUD's rental assistance programs; (f) Evaluating program 
effectiveness; (g) Improving the reporting rate; (h) Forecasting 
budgets; (i) Controlling funds; and (j) Updating building and unit 
data. The Public and Indian Housing's IMSystem serves as a repository 
for automated information used when comparing family income data 
reported, by recipients of Federal rental assistance, to income data 
received from external sources.

Records in IMS are subject to use in authorized and approved computer 
matching programs regulated under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. 
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including Categories 
of Users and purposes of such uses:
    In addition to the uses cited in the section of this document 
titled ``Purposes'', other routine uses may include:
    1. To federal, state, and local agencies (e.g., state agencies 
administering the state's unemployment compensation laws, state welfare 
and food stamp agencies, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, U.S. 
Social Security Administration, and the Office of Child Support 
Enforcement Center's National Directory of New Hires database to verify 
the accuracy and completeness of the data provided, to verify 
eligibility or continued eligibility in HUD's rental assistance 
programs, and to aid in the identification of tenant errors, fraud, and 
abuse in assisted housing programs through HUD's tenant income computer 
matching program;
    2. To individuals under contract to HUD or under contract to 
another agency with funds provided by HUD for the preparation of 
studies and statistical reports directly related to the management of 
HUD's rental assistance programs, to support quality control for tenant 
eligibility efforts requiring a random sampling of tenant files to 
determine the extent of administrative errors in making rent 
calculations, eligibility determinations, etc., and for processing 
certifications/re-certifications;
    3. To Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to verify the accuracy and 
completeness of tenant data used in determining eligibility and 
continued eligibility and the amount of housing assistance received and 
to complete and submit Occupancy report, SEMAP certification, PHA 
contact information, and upload Form 50058. Any information shared back 
to the PHAs will pertain only to that PHA's operations, no other PHA's 
operations;
    4. To private owners of assisted housing to verify the accuracy and 
completeness of applicant and tenant data used in determining 
eligibility and continued eligibility and the amount of housing 
assistance received;
    5. To PHAs, owners and management agents, and contract 
administrators to identify and resolve discrepancies in tenant data;
    6. To the Social Security Administration and Immigration and 
Naturalization Service to verify alien status and continued eligibility 
in HUD's rental assistance programs; and
    7. To researchers affiliated with academic institutions, with not-
for-profit organizations, or with federal, state or local governments, 
or to policy researchers without individual identifiers (name, address, 
social security number) for the performance of research and statistical 
activities on housing and community development issues

Below are other routine uses of records maintained in the system and 
the purposes of such uses:
    1. PHA complete and submit Occupancy report, SEMAP certification, 
PHA contact information, upload Form 50058.
    2. Field Offices review SEMAP certifications, review, and approve 
or reject occupancy reports, resolve Form 50058 errors.
    3. Web Access SubSystem (WASS) authenticates user name and password 
before user can access Public Indian Housing (PIH)-IMS.
    4. Line of Credit Control System/Program Accounting System (LOCCS/
PAS) feeds funding data such as grant details to the public housing 
authorities.

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    5. PHA scoring data produced by Integrated Asset Subsystem (NASS) 
provides the data to PIH-IMS.
    6. HUD Central Accounting and (HUDCAPS) data mart provides 
financial management info to PIH, Housing Inventory, Management 
reports, and Module 50058.
    7. Voucher management System serves as the source of leased units 
for voucher funded assistance to PIH-IMS.
    8. PIH-IMS provides Form 50058 data on a monthly basis for the 
Enterprise Income Verification system (EIV) for the purpose of computer 
matching.
    9. PIH-IMS also shares census tract data with the Geo coding 
Service Center system.
    10. PIH-IMS provides information for performance reporting and data 
that assists in the budget formulation for the Capital Fund.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records are stored manually in family case files in the PHAs and 
electronically in office automation equipment. Records are stored on 
HUD computer servers for field office and public housing agencies' 
access via the Internet to: (1) Obtain social security and supplemental 
security income data that are not subject to provisions of 26 U.S.C. 
6103; and (2) update actions taken in resolving income discrepancies. 
Software in IMS precludes the transfer of any data subject to 26 U.S.C. 
6103 to unencrypted media. All of the IMS data is store on HUD's 
Servers. The disk and backup files are maintained by HUD's information 
technology partners--Electronic Data Services (EDS) and Lockheed 
Martin. The original (hard copy) files are stored in the originating 
PHA.

Irretrievability:
    Records are retrieved by an individual's SSN.

Safeguards:
    These are the measures used to protect the records from 
unauthorized access or disclosure:
    1. The REAC-IT Web Access Secure SubSystem (WASS) provides audit 
logging for all system access via WASS's authentication of all users. 
Audit logging in WASS includes a keystroke logger which covers every 
keystroke of any user with in WASS.
    2. WASS provides authentication methods that meet NIST 
requirements. Every user has a WASS ID and is authenticated via WASS.
    3. The IMS System maintains record of each user's logons, logoffs, 
and logoff exceptions if any.
    4. For each user, IMS system logs the number requests for web pages 
containing privacy data. The number of page view requests are tracked 
per page per session. The first and last timestamp of access for every 
privacy page is also recorded per session.
    5. IMS system archives the user privileges data when a user is 
removed from the system or when the unmasked privacy data viewing 
privileges are modified.
    6. Hard copy records are stored in lock file cabinets in rooms to 
which access is limited to those personnel who service the records.
    7. Background screening, limited authorization and access with 
access limited to authorize personnel.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Electronic records are maintained and destroyed according to the 
HUD Records Disposition Schedule 2225.6. Records are maintained for a 
period of three years.

SYSTEM MANAGERS(s) AND ADDRESSES:
    Gary Faeth, Acting IT Division Director for Public and Indian 
Housing Information Management, Potomac Center, 550 Twelfth Street, 
SW., First Floor, Washington, DC 20410, Telephone Number, (202) 475-
8730 or Hitesh Doshi, IMS Information Technology Manager, Potomac 
Center, 550 Twelfth Street, First Floor, SW., Washington, DC 20410, 
Telephone Number, (202) 475-8940.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    For information, assistance, or inquiry about the existence of 
records, contact the Privacy Act Officer at the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC. Written 
requests must include the full name, Social Security Number, date of 
birth, current address, and telephone number of the individual making 
the request.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Procedures for the amendment or correction of records and for 
applicants wanting to appeal initial agency determination appear in 24 
CFR part 16. If additional information is needed, contact:
    (i) In relation to contesting contents of records, the Departmental 
Privacy Act Officer at HUD, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 2256, 
Washington, DC 20410; and
    (ii) In relation to appeals of initial denials, HUD, Departmental 
Privacy Appeals Officer, Office of General Counsel, 451 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20410.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    IMS receives data from field office staff, federal government 
agencies, state and local agencies, private data sources, owners and 
management agencies. Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) routinely collect 
personal and income data from participants in and applicants for HUD's 
public and assisted housing programs. The data collected by PHAs is 
entered into IMS via the system itself by VPN, via PHA-owned software, 
or via HUD's Family Reporting software (FRS)

EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    None.

 [FR Doc. E8-23473 Filed 10-3-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P