[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 220 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70768-70769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29170]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program Between the 
Department of Education and the Department of Justice

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of the continuation of a 
computer matching program between the Department of Education and the 
Department of Justice. The continuation is effective on the date in 
paragraph 5.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 421(a)(1) of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 862(a)(1)) includes provisions regarding the 
judicial denial of Federal benefits. Section 421 of the Controlled 
Substances Act, which was originally enacted as section 5301 of the 
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, and which was amended and redesignated as 
section 421 of the Controlled Substances Act by section 1002(d) of the 
Crime Control Act of 1990, Public Law 101-647 (hereinafter referred to 
as ``section 5301''), authorizes Federal and State judges to deny 
certain Federal benefits (including student financial assistance under 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)) to 
individuals convicted of drug trafficking or possession of a controlled 
substance.
    In order to ensure that HEA student financial assistance is not 
awarded to individuals subject to denial of benefits under court orders 
issued pursuant to section 5301, the Department of Justice and the 
Department of Education

[[Page 70769]]

implemented a computer matching program. The 18-month computer matching 
agreement (CMA) was recertified for an additional 12 months on December 
20, 2014. The 12-month recertification of the CMA will automatically 
expire on December 19, 2015.
    For the purpose of ensuring that HEA student financial assistance 
is not awarded to individuals denied benefits by court orders issued 
under the Denial of Federal Benefits Program, the Department of 
Education must continue to obtain from the Department of Justice 
identifying information regarding individuals who are the subject of 
section 5301 denial of benefits court orders. The purpose of this 
notice is to announce the continued operation of the computer matching 
program and to provide certain required information concerning the 
computer matching program.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as 
amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 
(Pub. L. 100-503), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines 
on the Conduct of Matching Programs (54 FR 25818, June 19, 1989), and 
OMB Circular A-130, the following information is provided:
    1. Names of Participating Agencies.
    The Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice 
(DOJ).
    2. Purpose of the Match.
    The purpose of this matching program is to ensure that the 
requirements of section 421 of the Controlled Substances Act 
(originally enacted as section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 
Pub. L. 100-690, 21 U.S.C. 853a, which was amended and redesignated as 
section 421 of the Controlled Substances Act by section 1002(d) of the 
Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-647) (hereinafter referred to as 
``section 5301'') are met.
    DOJ is the lead contact agency for information related to section 
5301 violations and, as such, provides this data to ED. ED seeks access 
to the information contained in the DOJ Denial of Federal Benefits 
Clearinghouse System (DEBARS) database that is authorized under section 
5301 for the purpose of ensuring that HEA student financial assistance 
is not awarded to individuals subject to denial of benefits under court 
orders issued pursuant to the Denial of Federal Benefits Program.
    3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program.
    Under section 5301, ED must deny Federal benefits to any individual 
upon whom a Federal or State court order has imposed a penalty denying 
eligibility for those benefits. Student financial assistance under the 
HEA is a Federal benefit and under section 5301, ED must, in order to 
meet its obligations under the HEA, have access to information about 
individuals who have been declared ineligible under section 5301.
    While DOJ provides information under section 5301 about individuals 
who are ineligible for Federal benefits to the General Services 
Administration (GSA) for inclusion in GSA's List of Parties Excluded 
from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs, DOJ and ED have 
determined that matching against the DOJ database is more efficient and 
effective than matching against the GSA List. The DOJ database has 
specific information about the HEA programs for which individuals are 
ineligible, as well as the expiration of the debarment period, making 
the DOJ database more complete than the GSA List. Both of these 
elements are essential for a successful match.
    4. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered by the Match.
    ED receives data from the DOJ DEBARS system that is used to match 
title IV, HEA applicant data in ED's Central Processing System (Federal 
Student Aid Application File (18-11-01)). ED will use the Social 
Security number (SSN), date of birth, and the first two letters of an 
applicant's last name for the match.
    The DOJ DEBARS system contains the names, SSNs, dates of birth, and 
other identifying information regarding individuals convicted of 
Federal or State offenses involving drug trafficking or possession of a 
controlled substance who have been denied Federal benefits by Federal 
or State courts. This system of records also contains information 
concerning the specific program or programs for which benefits have 
been denied, as well as the duration of the period of ineligibility. 
DOJ will make available for the matching program the records of only 
those individuals who have been denied Federal benefits under one or 
more of the title IV, HEA programs.
    5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program.
    The matching program will be effective on the latest of the 
following three dates: (A) December 20, 2015; (B) thirty (30) days 
after notice of the matching program has been published in the Federal 
Register; or (C) forty (40) days after a report concerning the matching 
program has been transmitted to OMB and transmitted to Congress along 
with a copy of this agreement, unless OMB waives 10 days of this 40-day 
period for compelling reasons, in which case, 30 days after 
transmission of the report to OMB and Congress.
    The matching program will continue for 18 months after the 
effective date of the CMA and may be extended for an additional 12 
months thereafter, if the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 
552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
    6. Address for Receipt of Public Comments or Inquiries.
    Individuals wishing to comment on this matching program or obtain 
additional information about the program, including requesting a copy 
of the computer matching agreement between ED and DOJ, may contact 
Marya Dennis, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of 
Education, Federal Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street 
NE., Washington, DC 20202-5454. Telephone: (202) 377-3385.
    Accessible Format: If you use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service, 
toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact 
disc) by contacting the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document 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.

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552a; 21 U.S.C. 862(a)(1).

James W. Runcie,
Chief Operating Officer Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2015-29170 Filed 11-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P