[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 245 (Friday, December 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77771-77773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29804]



[[Page 77771]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2008-0149]


Privacy Act of 1974; United States Coast Guard--012 Request for 
Remission of Indebtedness 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 records notices, the Department of Homeland Security 
is giving notice that it proposes to update and reissue the following 
legacy record system DOT/CG 639 Request for Remission of Indebtedness 
as a Department of Homeland Security system of records notice titled, 
United States Coast Guard Request--012 for Remission of Indebtedness. 
Categories of individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses 
of this legacy system of records notice have been reviewed and updated 
to better reflect the Department of Homeland Security and the United 
States Coast Guard's Request for Remission of Indebtedness record 
system. This new system will be included in the Department of Homeland 
Security's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 20, 
2009. This new system will be effective January 20, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2008-0149 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.
     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 and may be read at 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 please contact: 
David Roberts (202-475-3521), United States Coast Guard Privacy 
Officer, United States Coast Guard. For 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 systems of records 
notices for the collection and maintenance of records that concern 
active duty enlisted United States Coast Guard (USCG) personnel who 
request remission of indebtedness. Enlisted members serving on active 
duty who owe the government money may request to have the indebtedness, 
or a portion of the indebtedness remitted, which is to say cancelled. 
Enlisted members must submit an application which shows that they have 
just cause for remission in accordance with the standards for remission 
as outlined in the law.
    As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its record 
systems, DHS is updating and reissuing a USCG system of records under 
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) that deals with the remission of 
indebtedness for entitled USCG personnel. This record system will allow 
DHS/USCG to collect and preserve the records regarding the remission of 
indebtedness. The collection and maintenance of this information will 
assist DHS/USCG in meeting its obligation to address requests of 
remission of indebtedness for active duty enlisted USCG personnel.
    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 records notices, the Department of Homeland Security 
is giving notice that it proposes to update and reissue the following 
legacy record system DOT/CG 639 Request for Remission of Indebtedness 
(65 FR 19476 April 11, 2000) as a Department of Homeland Security/
United States Coast Guard system of records notice titled, Request for 
Remission of Indebtedness. Categories of individuals, categories of 
records, and the routine uses of this legacy system of records notice 
have been reviewed and updated to better reflect the Department of 
Homeland Security and the United States Coast Guard's--012 Request for 
Remission of Indebtedness record system. This new system will be 
included in the Department of Homeland Security'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' information. 
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 lawful 
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 each agency to publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are 
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping 
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to 
which their records are put, and to assist individuals to more easily 
find such files within the agency. Below is the description of the 
Request for Remission of Indebtedness Files System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this new system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and 
to Congress.
System of Records: DHS/USCG-012

System name:
    United States Coast Guard--012 Request for Remission of 
Indebtedness.

Security classification:
    Unclassified.

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System location:
    Records are maintained at the United States Coast Guard 
Headquarters in Washington, DC and field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Active duty enlisted USCG personnel.

Categories of records in the system:
    Categories of records in this system include:
     Individual's name; employee ID number (EMPLID), command 
name, and command address.
     Individual's Leave and Earning Statement (LES), including 
home address.
     Correspondence submitted to the USCG, such as leave and 
earning statements, letters or notices of indebtedness, financial 
worksheets, travel orders, or other documents related to the cause for 
indebtedness;
     Requests for endorsements;
     Correspondence submitted by the enlisted member, as 
appropriate;
     Research material on the individual's file;
     Paneling action;
     Commandant's decision.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    5 U.S.C. 301; the Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 14 U.S.C. 
461, 632.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to aid USCG in making determinations 
whether an active duty enlisted member is eligible to have the 
indebtedness to the U.S. Government forgiven, or a portion of the 
indebtedness pursuant to 14 U.S.C. 461, based on the best interests of 
the individual and the Government.

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 of 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting 
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or 
administrative body, when:
    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 DOJ 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 that rely 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 an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international, 
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority 
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or 
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either 
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and 
consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. 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:
    Records may be retrieved alphabetically by name.

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 permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    Records are retained for five years past the date of the final 
adjudication.

System Manager and address:
    Director, Personnel Management Directorate, G-WP, United States 
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 2nd Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-
0001.

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in

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this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may submit a 
request in writing to USCG, Commandant (CG-611), 2100 2nd St., SW., 
Attn: FOIA Coordinator, Washington, DC 20593-0001.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other USCG 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,
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created,
     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 USCG will 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:
    Individuals covered by this system of records and Coast Guard 
Officials.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

    Dated: December 10, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-29804 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]
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