[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37193-37194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15860]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Departmental Offices; Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of Alteration of Privacy Act System of Records for the 
Home Affordable Modification Program.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Treasury gives notice of a proposed 
alteration to the system of records entitled ``Treasury/DO .218--Home 
Affordable Modification Program.''

DATES: Comments should be received no later than July 25, 2011. The 
proposed routine use will be effective August 3, 2011 unless the 
Department receives comments that would result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
Fiscal Operations and Policy, Department of the Treasury, 1500 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. The Department will 
make such comments available for public inspection and copying in the 
Department's Library, Room 1428, Main Treasury Building, 1500 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220, on official business 
days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make 
an appointment to inspect comments by telephoning (202) 622-0990 (This 
is not a toll-free number). All comments, including attachments and 
other supporting materials, received are part of the public record and 
subject to public disclosure. You should submit only information that 
you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theodore R. Kowalsky, Manager, Data & 
Information Technology, Office of Financial Agents, Department of the 
Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220, 202-927-
9445 or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department established the Home 
Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), pursuant to the Emergency 
Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) (the ``EESA''), to 
enable eligible homeowners who have a record of making timely mortgage 
payments, but are experiencing hardships in doing so, to modify the 
principal amounts and interest rates of their mortgage loans. The 
system of records notice was last published in its entirety on April 
20, 2010, at 75 FR 20699. The Department subsequently amended routine 
use (13) on July 2, 2010, at 75 FR 38608.
    The purpose of this alteration to Routine Use (8) is to harmonize 
this Routine Use with Routine Use (13), such that it will enable the 
Financial Agent of the Department, its employees, agents, and 
contractors, or a contractor of the Department to assess the quality of 
services provided under HAMP, their efficient administration, and to 
report on the program's overall execution.
    The purpose of this alteration to Routine Use (13) is to allow 
broader disclosure of information to the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce''), which will provide technical analysis and support to 
the Department of the Treasury to assess the quality of services 
provided under HAMP and to report on the program's overall execution.
    Additionally, the Department proposes adding a new Routine Use 
(16), to read as follows:
    ``(16) Disclose information to an authorized recipient who has 
assured the Department or a Financial Agent of the Department in 
writing that the record will be used solely for research purposes 
designed to assess the quality of and efficient administration of HAMP, 
subject to the same or equivalent limitations applicable to the 
Department's officers and employees under the Privacy Act.''
    The report of an altered system of records, as required by 5 U.S.C. 
552a(r) of the Privacy Act, has been provided to the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
and the Office of Management and Budget.
    For the reasons set forth in this preamble, the Department proposes 
to alter system of records entitled ``Treasury/DO .218--Home Affordable 
Modification Program,'' as follows:
TREASURY/DO .218

System name:
    Home Affordable Modification Program Records--Treasury/DO.
* * * * *

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
* * * * * * *
    Description of changes:
    1. The phrase ``for the purpose of ensuring the efficient 
administration'' in Routine Use (8) is replaced with the phrase ``for 
the purpose of assessing the quality of and efficient administration'', 
such that Routine Use (8) is revised to read as follows: ``(8) Disclose 
information to a Financial Agent of the Department, its employees, 
agents, and contractors, or to a contractor of the Department, for the 
purpose of assessing the quality of and efficient administration of 
HAMP and compliance with relevant guidelines,

[[Page 37194]]

agreements, directives and requirements, and subject to the same or 
equivalent limitations applicable to Department's officers and 
employees under the Privacy Act;''
    2. The phrase ``the Department of Commerce (``Commerce''),'' is 
added to Routine Use (13) between the phrases ``Housing and Urban 
Development,'' and ``Federal financial regulators'', and the phrase 
``to improve the quality'' is replaced with the phrase ``to assess the 
quality and efficiency'', such that Routine Use (13) is revised to read 
as follows: ``(13) Disclose information and statistics to the 
Department of Housing & Urban Development, the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce''), Federal financial regulators, the U.S. Department of 
Justice (``DOJ''), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to assess the 
quality and efficiency of services provided under HAMP, to ensure 
compliance with HAMP and other laws, and to report on the program's 
overall execution and progress;''
    3. The period ``.'' at the end of Routine Use (15) is replaced with 
a semicolon ``;'' followed by the word ``and'', and the following new 
Routine Use is added at the end thereof: ``(16) Disclose information to 
an authorized recipient who has assured the Department or a Financial 
Agent of the Department in writing that the record will be used solely 
for research purposes designed to assess the quality of and efficient 
administration of HAMP, subject to the same or equivalent limitations 
applicable to the Department's officers and employees under the Privacy 
Act.''
* * * * *

    Dated: June 13, 2011.
Melissa Hartman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
[FR Doc. 2011-15860 Filed 6-23-11; 8:45 am]
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