[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 218 (Monday, November 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66654-66657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26689]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2008-0015]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security Biographies 
and Awards System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and as part of the 
Department of Homeland Security's ongoing effort to review and update 
legacy system of record notices, the Department of Homeland Security 
proposes to consolidate four legacy record systems: Treasury/CS.032 
Biographical Files (Headquarters), October 18, 2001, FEMA/EX-1 
Biographies, September 7, 1990, FEMA/EX-2 President's and Director's 
Award Nominees, September 7, 1990, and DOT/CG 671 Biographical 
Statement, April 11, 2000, into one Department-wide system of records. 
The Department of Homeland Security also proposes to partially 
consolidate Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs Record System, August 28, 
2001, into this new record system. This system will allow the 
Department of Homeland Security to collect and maintain the 
biographical information of Department of Homeland Security employees 
and other individuals, as well as Departmental award recipients who are 
not employed by the Department of Homeland Security. Departmental award 
recipients who are Department of Homeland Security employees are 
covered under OPM/GOVT-2 Performance File System Records. Categories of 
individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses of these 
legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and updated to 
better reflect the Department's biographies record systems. This 
consolidated system, titled Biographies and Awards, will be included in 
the Department's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 10, 
2008. This new system will be effective December 10, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2008-0015 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-866-466-5370.

[[Page 66655]]

     Mail: Hugo Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
     Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
     Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions and privacy 
issues please contact: Hugo Teufel III (703-235-0780), Chief Privacy 
Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, 
DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to the savings clause in the Homeland Security Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-296, Section 1512, 116 Stat. 2310 (November 25, 
2002), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components and 
offices have relied on preexisting Privacy Act system of records 
notices for the collection and maintenance of records that concern 
DHS's biographical and award records.
    As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its Privacy 
Act records systems, DHS is establishing a new agency-wide system of 
records under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for DHS biographical and 
award records. This will ensure that all components of DHS follow the 
same privacy rules for collecting and handling biographical and award 
records. The collection and maintenance of this information will assist 
DHS in managing Departmental biographies in order to ensure information 
is provided to the public in a usable, accurate format.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and as part of DHS's 
ongoing effort to review and update legacy system of record notices, 
DHS proposes to consolidate four legacy record systems: Treasury/CS.032 
Biographical Files (Headquarters) (66 FR 52984 October 18, 2001), FEMA/
EX-1 Biographies (55 FR 37182 September 7, 1990), FEMA/EX-2 President's 
and Director's Award Nominees (55 FR 37182 September 7, 1990), and DOT/
CG 671 Biographical Statement (65 FR 19475 April 11, 2000) into one 
DHS-wide system of records. DHS also proposes to partially consolidate 
Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs Record System (66 FR 45362 August 28, 
2001) into this new record system. This system will allow DHS to 
collect and maintain the biographical information of DHS employees and 
other individuals, as well as Departmental award recipients who are not 
employed by DHS. Departmental award recipients who are DHS employees 
are covered under OPM/GOVT-2 Performance File System Records. 
Categories of individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses 
of these legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and 
updated to better reflect the Department's biographies record systems. 
This consolidated system, titled Biographies and Awards, will be 
included in the Department's inventory of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory 
framework governing the means by which the United States Government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The 
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of 
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the 
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of 
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act, 
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and legal 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are 
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the 
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 
part 5.
    The Privacy Act requires that each agency publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent, 
to notify individuals about the use of their records, and to assist the 
individual to more easily find files within the agency. Below is a 
description of the Biographies and Awards System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget 
and to the Congress.
SYSTEM OF RECORDS:
    DHS/ALL-011.

System name:
    Department of Homeland Security Biographies and Awards.

Security classification:
    Unclassified.

System location:
    Records are maintained at several Headquarters locations and in 
component offices of DHS, in both Washington, DC and field locations.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Any individual including DHS senior leadership, past and present, 
whose biographical information is collected and distributed by DHS. 
This system includes President's, Secretary's, and Component 
Leadership's award recipients and nominees who are not DHS employees. 
Award recipients who are DHS employees are covered under OPM/GOVT-2 
Performance File System Records.

Categories of records in the system:
    Categories of records in this system include:
     Individual's name;
     Individual's date of birth;
     Individual's place of birth;
     Individual's photo;
     Individual's work history and experience;
     Individual's education;
     Individual's military experience, if applicable;
     Individual's civic duties and previous awards;
     Individual's hometown;
     Type of award received/nominated for (e.g., President's, 
Secretary's, or Component Leadership's);
     Name of the nominating official;
     Nomination materials including a summary of the 
individual's outstanding accomplishments, distinguished service, or 
extraordinary valor to make he/she eligible for an award and published 
factual account of the nominee's accomplishments;
     Individual's other relevant information that may be 
collected and distributed to the public.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    5 U.S.C. 301; The Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; The Homeland 
Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to collect biographical and award 
information of individuals, primarily

[[Page 66656]]

DHS senior leadership and President's, Secretary's, and Component 
Leadership's award recipients and nominees, in order to provide 
information to the media and the public.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside the DHS 
as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (including United States Attorney 
Offices) or other Federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body when 
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party 
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
    3. any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where 
Department of Justice or DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. the United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the 
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines 
that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and 
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS 
collected the records.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other 
Federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections 
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only 
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or 
oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected 
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the 
individual who relies upon the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To unions recognized as exclusive bargaining representatives 
under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 7111 and 7114, the 
Merit Systems Protection Board, arbitrators, the Federal Labor 
Relations Authority, and other parties responsible for the 
administration of the Federal labor-management program for the purpose 
of processing any corrective actions, or grievances, or conducting 
administrative hearings or appeals, or if needed in the performance of 
other authorized duties.
    H. To audiences attending a particular event when the biographies 
of speakers are used as background in introductions or other 
informational material.
    I. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Data may be retrieved by an individual's name and type of award.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permission.

Retention and disposal:
    Records at the executive level (e.g. Secretary, Deputy Secretary, 
and Chief of Staff) are permanent. These records are cut off when 
superseded or obsolete, and are transferred to the National Archives 
one year after cut off. Records at the non-executive level are 
temporary. These records are cut off when superseded or obsolete, and 
are destroyed or deleted upon cutoff or when no longer needed for 
administrative purposes. General award records, including 
recommendations, approved nominations, correspondence, reports, and 
related handbooks pertaining to agency-sponsored cash and non-cash 
awards are retained for two years and then destroyed. Lists of agency 
award nominees and winners are destroyed when superseded or obsolete.

System Manager and address:
    For Headquarters components of DHS, the System Manager is the 
Director of Departmental Disclosure, Department of Homeland Security, 
Washington, DC 20528. For components of DHS, the System Manager can be 
found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.''

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, 
may submit a request in writing to the Headquarters or

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the component's FOIA Officer, whose contact information can be found at 
http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes 
more than one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or 
her the individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer, 
Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, 
STOP-0550, Washington, DC 20528.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty 
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is 
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Director, 
Disclosure and FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition 
you should provide the following:
     An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you,
     Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you,
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created,
     Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records,
     If your request is seeking records pertaining to another 
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record Source Categories:
    Information in this system comes from the individual employee, 
personnel officers, and co-workers.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

    Dated: October 28, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-26689 Filed 11-7-08; 8:45 am]
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