[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 32711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12306]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974: Computer Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides notice that 
it intends to conduct a recurring computer-matching program matching 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Federal tax information with VA pension 
and parents' dependency and indemnity compensation records. The purpose 
of this match is to identify applicants and beneficiaries who have 
applied for or who are receiving VA benefits and received unearned 
income, and to adjust or terminate VA benefits, if appropriate.

DATES: The match will start no sooner than 30 days after publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register, or 40 days after copies of this 
notice and the agreement of the agencies are submitted to Congress and 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), whichever is later, and end 
not more than 18 months after the agreement is properly implemented by 
the agencies. The agencies' Data Integrity Boards (DIB) may extend this 
agreement for 12 months provided the agencies certify to their DIBs, 
within 3 months of the ending date of the original agreement, that the 
matching program will be conducted without change and that the matching 
program has been conducted in compliance with the original agreement.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through 
www.regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to the Director, 
Regulations Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave. NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026. Copies of comments received will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 
1063B, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an 
appointment. In addition, during the comment period, comments may be 
viewed online through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) at 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Nicely, Pension Analyst, 
Pension and Fiduciary Service (21PF), Department of Veterans Affairs, 
810 Vermont Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 632-8863.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA plans to match records of applicants and 
beneficiaries who have applied for or who are receiving needs-based VA 
benefits, with unearned income information maintained by IRS. VA will 
use this information to verify income information submitted by 
applicants and beneficiaries and deny or adjust VA benefit payments as 
prescribed by law. The matching program will enable VA to ensure 
accurate reporting of income and employment status.
    The legal authority to conduct this match is 38 U.S.C. 5106, which 
requires any Federal department or agency to provide VA information 
upon request for the purposes of determining eligibility for benefits 
or verifying other information that affects payment of benefits. In 
addition, 26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7) authorizes IRS to disclose Federal tax 
information to VA.
    VA records involved in the match are in ``Compensation, Pension, 
Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records--VA 
(58VA21/22/28),'' a system of records that was first published at 41 FR 
9294 (March 3, 1976), amended and republished in its entirety at 77 FR 
42593 (July 19, 2012). The IRS records are from the system of records 
identified as the Information Return Master File (IRMF)/IRS 22.061, as 
published at 73 FR 13302 (March 12, 2008), through the Disclosure of 
Information to Federal, State and Local Agencies (DIFSLA) program.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2) and (r), VA 
is providing copies of the agreement to both Houses of Congress and to 
OMB. VA is publishing this Federal Register notice in accordance with 5 
U.S.C. 552a(e)(12).
    Signing Authority: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, 
approved this document and authorized the undersigned to sign and 
submit the document to the Office of the Federal Register for 
publication electronically as an official document of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. Jose D. Riojas, Interim Chief of Staff, Department of 
Veterans Affairs, approved this document on May 20, 2013 for 
publication.

    Dated: May 20, 2013.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director of Regulation Policy and Management, Office of General 
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013-12306 Filed 5-30-13; 8:45 am]
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