[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36299-36302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14928]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of an altered system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(Privacy Act), the Chief Operating Officer for Federal Student Aid 
(FSA) of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice to revise the system of records previously maintained by the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) entitled ``Health 
Education Assistance On-Line Processing System (HOPS)'' (09-15-0044) 
because of the statutory transfer of the underlying loan program to the 
Department. As revised, the Department is retitling and renumbering the 
system of records as the ``Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) 
program'' (18-11-20).
    The revisions are consistent with the amendments made by the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, which permanently transferred 
the authority to administer the HEAL program from the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to the Secretary of Education.

DATES: Submit your comments on this notice of an altered system of 
records on or before July 28, 2014.
    Because Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, 
Appendix I, indicates that minor changes to systems of records need not 
be reported, such as the minor changes made to the HEAL program system 
of records by this notice as explained in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section, the Department is not required to file, and has not filed, a 
report describing the altered system of records covered by this notice 
with the Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, the Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, or the Administrator of the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB. This altered system of records will become 
effective July 28, 2014, unless the system of records needs to be 
changed as a result of public comment.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this notice of an altered system 
of records to: Director, Systems Integration Division, Systems 
Operations and Aid Delivery Management Services, Federal Student Aid, 
U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza (UCP), 830 First 
Street NE., Room 44F1, Washington, DC 20202-5454. If you prefer to send 
comments by email, use the following address: [email protected]. You must 
include the term ``HEAL program comments'' in the subject line of your 
electronic message.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice in room 64D1, UCP, 830 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern 
Standard Time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will provide an appropriate accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who needs assistance 
to review the comments or other documents in the public rulemaking 
record for this notice. If you want to schedule an appointment for this 
type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Systems Integration 
Division, Systems Operations and Aid Delivery Management Services, 
Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Union Center Plaza 
(UCP), 830 First Street NE., Room 44F1, Washington, DC 20202-5454. 
Telephone: 202-377-3547.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text 
telephone (TTY), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll 
free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    Under division H, title V, section 525 of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2014 (Pub. L. 113-76) and title VII, part A, 
subpart I of the Public Health Service Act, the authority to administer 
the HEAL program, including servicing, collecting, and enforcing any 
loans made under the program that remain outstanding, is transferred 
from the Secretary of HHS to the Secretary of Education no later than 
the end of the first fiscal quarter that begins after January 17, 
2014--the date of the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2014.
    The HEAL program system of records covers records for all 
activities that the Department carries out with regard to servicing, 
collecting, and enforcing Federal student loans made under title VII, 
part A, subpart I of the Public Health Service Act that remain 
outstanding. The HEAL system also contains records of transactions 
performed by the Department to carry out the purposes of this system of 
records.
    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11)) requires Federal 
agencies to publish in the Federal Register this notice of an altered 
system of records. The Department's regulations implementing the 
Privacy Act are

[[Page 36300]]

contained in part 5b of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    The Privacy Act applies to records about individuals that contain 
individually identifying information and that are retrieved by a unique 
identifier associated with each individual, such as a name or Social 
Security number. The information about each individual is called a 
``record,'' and the system, whether manual or computer-based, is called 
a ``system of records.''
    The revisions to this system of records relate to the transfer of 
the system from HHS to the Department in accordance with the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014. The system is being renamed and 
renumbered from Health Education Assistance On-Line Processing System 
(HOPS) (09-15-0044) to Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) program 
(18-11-20). These changes are being made so that the system of records 
reflects that the HEAL program is now administered by the Department.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to 
the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: 
www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as 
all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: June 20, 2014.
James W. Runcie,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Chief Operating 
Officer, Federal Student Aid, of the U.S. Department of Education 
(Department or ED), publishes a notice of an altered system of records 
to read as follows:
SYSTEM NUMBER: 18-11-20

SYSTEM NAME:
    Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) program.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Moderate.

SYSTEM LOCATION(S):
     Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and 
Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 9-105, Rockville, MD 20857.
     Records are located at additional contractor sites. A list 
of contractor sites where individually identifiable data are currently 
located is available upon request to the System Manager.
     Washington National Records Center, 4205 Suitland Road, 
Suitland, MD 20409.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THIS SYSTEM:
    Recipients of HEAL program loans that remain outstanding.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Each HEAL recipient record contains the borrower's name, Social 
Security number (SSN) or other identifying number, birth date, 
demographic background, educational status, loan location and status, 
and financial information about the individual for whom the record is 
maintained. Each loan record contains lender and school identification 
information.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The authority for maintenance of the system includes Sections 701 
and 702 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (PHS Act) (42 
U.S.C. 292 and 292a), which authorize the establishment of a Federal 
program of student loan insurance; Section 715 of the PHS Act (42 
U.S.C. 292n), which directs the Secretary of Education to require 
institutions to provide information for each student who has a loan; 
Section 709 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 292h), which authorizes 
disclosure and publication of HEAL defaulters; the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act (31 U.S.C. 3701 and 3711-3720E); and the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2014, Div. H, title V, section 525 of Pub. L. 113-
76, which transfers the authority to administer the HEAL program from 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Secretary of 
Education.

PURPOSE(S):
    The purposes of this system are:
    1. To identify borrowers participating in the HEAL program;
    2. To monitor the loan status of HEAL recipients, which includes 
the collection of overdue debts owed under the HEAL program; and
    3. To compile and generate managerial and statistical reports.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Disclosure may be made to Federal, State, or local agencies, to 
private parties such as relatives, present and former employers, 
business and personal associates, educational and financial 
institutions, and collection agencies. The purposes of such disclosures 
are to verify the identity of the loan applicant, to determine program 
eligibility and benefits, to enforce the conditions or terms of the 
loan, to counsel the borrower in repayment efforts, to investigate 
possible fraud and abuse, to verify compliance with program 
regulations, and to locate delinquent borrowers through pre-claims 
assistance. Information may be disclosed to educational or financial 
institutions to assist them in loan management.
    2. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record 
of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional 
office made at the request of that individual.
    3. ED may disclose information from this system of records to the 
Department of Justice, or to a court or other tribunal, when: (a) ED or 
any component thereof; or (b) any ED employee in his or her official 
capacity; or (c) any ED employee in his or her individual capacity 
where the Department of Justice (or ED, where it is authorized to do 
so) has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the United States or 
any agency thereof determines that the litigation is likely to affect 
ED or any of its components, is a party to litigation or has an 
interest in such litigation, and ED determines that the use of such 
records by the Department of Justice or the court or other tribunal is 
relevant and necessary to the litigation and would help in the 
effective representation of the governmental party, provided, however, 
that in each case, ED determines that such disclosure is compatible 
with the purpose for which the records were collected.
    4. In the event that a system of records maintained by this agency 
to carry out its functions indicates a violation or potential violation 
of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and whether 
arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by 
regulation, rule, or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant 
records in

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the system of records may be referred to the appropriate agency, 
whether Federal, State, or local, charged with enforcing or 
implementing the statute or any rule, regulation, or order issued 
pursuant thereto.
    5. ED may disclose from this system of records a delinquent 
debtor's name, address, SSN, and other information necessary to 
identify him/her; the amount, status, and history of the claim, and the 
agency or program under which the claim arose, as follows: (a) To 
another Federal agency so that agency can effect a salary offset for 
debts owed by Federal employees; if the claim arose under the Social 
Security Act, the employee must have agreed in writing to the salary 
offset. (b) To another Federal agency so that agency can effect an 
authorized administrative offset, i.e., withhold money payable to, or 
held on behalf of, debtors other than Federal employees. (c) To the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Department of the Treasury 
(Treasury Department), to request a debtor's current mailing address to 
locate him/her for purposes of either collecting or compromising a debt 
or to have a commercial credit report prepared.
    6. Records may be disclosed to the Office of Management and Budget 
for auditing financial obligations to determine compliance with 
programmatic, statutory, and regulatory provisions.
    7. ED may disclose information from this system of records to a 
consumer reporting agency (credit bureau) to obtain a commercial credit 
report for the following purposes: (a) To establish creditworthiness of 
a loan applicant; and (b) To assess and verify the ability of a debtor 
to repay debts owed to the Federal Government. Disclosures are limited 
to the individual's name, address, SSN, and other information necessary 
to identify him/her; the funding being sought or amount and status of 
the debt; and the program under which the application or claim is being 
processed.
    8. ED may disclose to the IRS, Treasury Department, information 
about an individual applying for a loan under any loan program 
authorized by the PHS Act to find out whether the loan applicant has a 
delinquent tax account. This disclosure is for the sole purpose of 
determining the applicant's creditworthiness and is limited to the 
individual's name, address, SSN, other information necessary to 
identify him/her, and the program for which the information is being 
obtained.
    9. ED may report to the IRS, Treasury Department, as taxable 
income, the written-off amount of a debt owed by an individual to the 
Federal Government when a debt becomes partly or wholly uncollectible--
either because the time period for collection under the statute of 
limitations has expired, or because the Government agrees with the 
individual to forgive or compromise the debt.
    10. ED may disclose to debt collection agents, other Federal 
agencies, and other third parties who are authorized to collect a 
Federal debt, information necessary to identify a delinquent debtor. 
Disclosure will be limited to the debtor's name, address, SSN, and 
other information necessary to identify him/her; the amount, status, 
and history of the claim, and the agency or program under which the 
claim arose.
    11. ED may disclose information from this system of records to any 
third party that may have information about a delinquent debtor's 
current address, such as the U.S. Postal Service, a consumer reporting 
agency (credit bureau), a State motor vehicle administration, a 
professional organization, an alumni association, etc., for the purpose 
of obtaining the debtor's current address. This disclosure will be 
limited to information necessary to identify the individual 
(defaulter's name, latest known City and State of residence, total 
amount of the HEAL debt).
    12. Records may be disclosed to Department contractors and 
subcontractors for the purpose of assisting HEAL program managers in 
collating, compiling, aggregating, or analyzing records used in 
administering the HEAL program. Contractors maintain, and are also 
required to ensure that subcontractors maintain, Privacy Act safeguards 
with respect to the records.
    13. ED may disclose from this system of records to the IRS, 
Treasury Department: (a) A delinquent debtor's name, address, SSN, and 
other necessary information to identify the debtor; (b) The amount of 
the debt; and (c) The program under which the debt arose, so that the 
IRS can offset against the debt any income tax refunds which may be due 
to the debtor.
    14. ED may disclose the complete loan file of defaulted HEAL 
recipients to potential purchasers of HEAL loans to enable them to 
value and price the loans, and to actual purchasers to enable them to 
collect the defaulted loans. The purpose of this disclosure will be to 
facilitate the sale and collection of defaulted HEAL loans. Potential 
purchasers are required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards with respect 
to the records.
    15. In accordance with the directive in 42 U.S.C. 292h(c)(1), the 
names of HEAL borrowers who are in default may be published on a 
Defaulted Borrowers Web site, should ED reestablish one, by city and 
State along with the amounts of their HEAL debts. An individual's 
address also may be published if the address is a matter of public 
record as a result of legal proceedings having been filed concerning 
the individual's HEAL debt.
    16. In accordance with the directive in 42 U.S.C. 292h(c)(2), 
disclosure may be made to relevant Federal agencies, schools, school 
associations, professional and specialty associations, State licensing 
boards, hospitals with which a HEAL defaulter may be associated, and 
other similar organizations.
    17. To appropriate Federal agencies and Department contractors and 
subcontractors that have a need to know the information for the purpose 
of assisting the Department's efforts to respond to a suspected or 
confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality of information 
maintained in this system of records, and the information disclosed is 
relevant and necessary for that assistance.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) (as set forth in 31 
U.S.C. 3711(e)): Disclosures may be made from this system to ``consumer 
reporting agencies,'' as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Debt Collection Improvement Act (31 U.S.C. 
3701(a)(3)). The purposes of these disclosures are:
    1. To provide an incentive for debtors to repay delinquent Federal 
Government debts by making these debts part of their credit records; 
and
    2. To enable ED to improve the quality of loan and scholarship 
decisions by taking into account the financial reliability of 
applicants.
    Disclosure of records will be limited to the individual's name, 
SSN, and other information necessary to establish the identity of the 
individual; the amount, status, and history of the claim, and the 
agency or program under which the claim arose.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained in database servers, file folders, CDs, 
DVDs, and magnetic tapes.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are retrieved by SSN or other identifying number.

[[Page 36302]]

SAFEGUARDS:
    Authorized users: Access is limited to authorized HEAL program 
personnel and contractors responsible for administering the HEAL 
program. Authorized personnel include ED employees and officials, 
financial and fiscal management personnel, computer personnel and 
program managers who have responsibilities for implementing the HEAL 
program. Read-only users: Read-only access is given to servicers, 
holders, and financial/fiscal management personnel.
    Physical safeguards: Magnetic tapes, disc packs, computer 
equipment, and other forms of personal data are stored in areas where 
fire and life safety codes are strictly enforced. All documents are 
protected during lunch hours and non-working hours in locked file 
cabinets or locked storage areas. Security guards are staffed 24 hours 
a day, seven days a week, to perform random checks on the physical 
security of the records storage areas.
    Procedural safeguards: A password is required to access the 
terminal and a data set name controls the release of data to only 
authorized users. All users of personal information in connection with 
the performance of their jobs protect information from public view and 
from unauthorized personnel entering an unsupervised office. In 
addition, all sensitive data is encrypted using Oracle Transparent Data 
Encryption functionality. Access to records is strictly limited to 
those staff members trained in accordance with the Privacy Act and 
automatic data processing (ADP) security procedures. Contractors are 
required to maintain, and are also required to ensure that 
subcontractors maintain, confidentiality safeguards with respect to 
these records. Contractors and subcontractors are instructed to make no 
further disclosure of the records except as authorized by the System 
Manager and permitted by the Privacy Act. All individuals who have 
access to these records receive the appropriate ADP security 
clearances. ED personnel make site visits to ADP facilities for the 
purpose of ensuring that ADP security procedures continue to be met. 
Privacy Act and ADP system security requirements are specifically 
included in contracts. The HEAL program project directors, project 
officers, and the System Manager oversee compliance with these 
requirements.
    Implementing guidelines: The safeguards described above were 
established in accordance with DHHS Chapter 45-13 and supplementary 
Chapter PHS.hf: 45-13 of HHS' General Administration Manual.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    ED is working with its Records Officer and the National Archives 
and Records Administration to obtain the appropriate record retention 
schedule.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
    Director, Systems Integration Division, Systems Operations and Aid 
Delivery Management Services, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of 
Education, Union Center Plaza (UCP), 830 First Street NE., Room 44F1, 
Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: 202-377-3547.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    To find out if the system contains records about you contact the 
System Manager.
    Requests in person: Written requests for information and/or access 
to records received by mail must contain information providing the 
identity of the writer and a reasonable description of the record 
desired. Written requests must contain the name and address of the 
requester, his/her date of birth and at least one piece of information 
which is also contained in the subject record, and his/her signature 
for comparison purposes.
    Requests by mail: To request information and/or access to records 
by mail, you must provide your name, address, date of birth, a 
reasonable description of the record desired, at least one piece of 
information that is also contained in the subject record, and your 
signature for comparison purposes.
    Requests by telephone: Since positive identification of the caller 
cannot be established, telephone requests are not accepted.

RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also provide a 
reasonable description of the record being sought. Requesters may also 
request an accounting of disclosures that have been made of their 
records, if any.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Contact the System Manager, provide a reasonable description of the 
record, specify the information being contested, the corrective action 
sought, and the reasons for requesting the correction, along with 
supporting information to show how the record is inaccurate, 
incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individual loan recipients, HEAL schools, lenders, holders of HEAL 
loans and their agents, HHS, and other Federal agencies.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2014-14928 Filed 6-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P