[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1186-1188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00768]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. DHS-2018-0036]
Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: Notice of a new computer matching program.
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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of the establishment of a
computer matching program between the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The purpose of this
CMA is to ensure that eligible housing assistance applicants do not
receive a duplication of housing benefits from both DHS/FEMA and HUD,
as required by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, as amended.
DATES: The matching program will be effective for a period of 18 months
beginning either January 31, 2019, or 40 days after the publication of
this notice, whichever is later. The matching program may be extended
for up to an additional 12 months thereafter, if certain conditions are
met. Please submit comments on the proposal by March 4, 2019. A new or
revised matching notice will become effective 30 days from the date of
publication in the Federal Register, unless the agency determines that
significant changes to the matching notice are necessary, and as such,
the agency will publish a revised matching notice and provide an
additional 30-day public comment.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2018-0036 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
DHS Fax: 202-343-4010.
DHS Mail: Jonathan R. Cantor, Acting Chief Privacy
Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington,
DC 20528-0655.
HUD Mail: Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW,
Room 10110, Washington, DC 20410.
Instructions: All comments received from members of the public
available for public viewing in their entirety on the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
[[Page 1187]]
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only
information that they wish to make publicly available. Comments made by
fax or mail may be available for public inspection and copying between
8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays. If you want to schedule an
appointment to review comments made by fax or mail, please contact the
person listed under
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Individuals wishing to submit general
questions on this matching program, including requesting a copy of the
Computer Matching Agreement between DHS/FEMA and HUD, may contact
either John Bravacos, Departmental Privacy Officer, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Room 10226,
Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202) 402-6064, William
Holzerland, Senior Director for Information Management, DHS/FEMA, 500 C
Street SW, Washington, DC 20479, telephone number (202) 212-5100.
[These are not toll-free numbers.] A telecommunication device for
hearing- and speech-impaired individuals (TTY) is available at (800)
877-8339 (Federal Relay Service). For privacy questions, please
contact: Philip S. Kaplan, (202) 343-1717, Chief Privacy Officer,
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528-
0655.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA
provides this notice 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) and the Computer Matching and
Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508); Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions
of Public Law 100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
of 1988, 54 FR 25818 (June 19, 1989); and OMB Circular A-108, 81 FR
94424 (December 23, 2016).
Participating Agencies
The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are both the
source and the recipient agency under this matching program.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
A. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act
(Pub. L. 93-288), as amended at 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq., requires each
federal agency that administers any program that provides financial
assistance as a result of a major disaster or emergency, to assure that
no individual or entity receives duplicate financial assistance under
any program or insurance, or any other source. Furthermore, the Act
requires DHS/FEMA or HUD (whichever agency provided the duplicate
assistance) to recover all duplicative assistance from the recipient,
when the head of such agency considers it to be in the best interest of
the Federal Government, (42 U.S.C. 5155). Also, Section 408(i) of the
Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5174(i), as amended, directs and authorizes
DHS/FEMA, in carrying out Section 408 (Federal Assistance to
Individuals and Households), to ``develop a system, including an
electronic database,'' to include, for example, to help verify the
identity and address of recipients of assistance to provide reasonable
assurance that payments are made only to an individual or household
that is eligible for such assistance by sharing personally identifiable
information.
B. Fraud, waste, and abuse prevention efforts pursuant to the
aforementioned statutory authorities are also applicable to certain
FEMA-administered pilot programs designed to provide alternative or
additional federal disaster assistance programs (6 U.S.C. 776-777).
C. Section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance
Amendments Act of 1988 (the McKinney Act), 42 U.S.C. 3544, authorizes
HUD to require applicants or participants in any HUD program involving
review of an applicant's or participant's income to sign a consent form
authorizing HUD, the public housing agency, or the owner to verify
income information. Pursuant to section 239 of Public Law 111-8,
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, 123 Stat. 981, March 11, 2009, the
Disaster Housing Assistance Programs administered by HUD are considered
a HUD program under section 904 of the McKinney Act for the purpose of
income verification and matching.
D. The appropriations acts that authorize and appropriate
supplemental CDBG-DR assistance lay out specific requirements, some of
which may vary by appropriation. These appropriations acts impose
requirements related to the prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse,
order of assistance, and prevention of duplication of benefits on CDBG-
DR grantees. Legal authority for CDBG-DR assistance is derived from
title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5301, et seq.), subsequent appropriations acts making available CDBG-DR
assistance, the following prior appropriations acts--Public Laws 115-
72, 115-56, 115-31, 114-254, 114-223, 114-113, 113-2, 112-55, 111-212,
110-329, 110-252, 110-116, 109-234, 109-148, 108-324, 107-206, 107-117,
107-73, 107-38, 106-31, 105-277, 105-276, 105-174, 105-18, 104-134,
104-19, 103-327, 103-211, 103-75, and 103-50--and by the notices
published in the Federal Register that govern CDBG-DR grant assistance,
including the Clarification of Duplication of Benefits Requirements
Under the Stafford Act for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Disaster Recovery Grantees at 76 FR 71,060 (November 16, 2011).
E. HUD regulation at (24 CFR 982.352(c)) prohibits a family from
receiving the benefit of Section 8 tenant-based assistance under the
Housing Choice Voucher Program while also receiving the benefit of any
of the following forms of other housing subsidy, for the same unit or
for a different unit:
1. Public or Indian housing assistance;
2. Other Section 8 assistance (including other tenant-based
assistance);
3. Assistance under former Section 23 of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (before amendment by the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974);
4. Section 101 rent supplements;
5. Section 236 rental assistance payments;
6. Tenant-based assistance under the HOME program;
7. Rental assistance payments under Section 521 of the Housing Act
of 1949 (a program of the Rural Development Administration);
8. Any local or state rent subsidy;
9. Section 202 supportive housing for the elderly;
10. Section 811 supportive housing for persons with disabilities;
11. Section 202 projects for non-elderly persons with disabilities
(Section 162 assistance); or
12. Any other duplicative federal, state, or local housing subsidy,
as determined by HUD. For this purpose, ``housing subsidy'' does not
include the housing component of a welfare payment, a social security
payment received by the family, or a rent reduction because of a tax
credit.
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Purpose(s)
The purpose of this matching program is to establish or verify
initial or continuing eligibility for DHS/FEMA disaster assistance;
prevent duplicative disaster assistance payments; or recoup duplicative
payments and delinquent debts under the programs referenced in this
Agreement, which will result in individuals being quickly and
effectively transitioned from temporary relief programs administered by
DHS/FEMA into long-term relief programs administered by HUD.
This program also enables HUD's Community Development Block Grant
Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees, including states, local
governments, and Indian tribes (as directed by the applicable
appropriations act), to use FEMA data to determine the correct award
amount for eligible program beneficiaries by identifying unmet needs of
FEMA applicants; prevent the duplication of benefits; implement the
statutory requirement that CDBG-DR funds may not be used for activities
reimbursable by or for which funds are made available by FEMA; and
implement the statutory requirement to establish procedures to detect
and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds. To accomplish this
purpose, this program permits HUD to provide data to CDBG-DR allocatees
before the grant agreement is signed, so long as the state, local
government, or Indian tribe that is awarded the CDBG-DR allocation has
entered an information sharing agreement with HUD. For purposes of this
program, the term ``CDBG-DR grantee(s)'' includes CDBG-DR allocatees.
In sum, the following programs are covered under this computer
matching agreement:
1. DHS/FEMA housing assistance provided through its Individuals and
Households Program (IHP) under Section 408(f) of the Stafford Act, 42
U.S.C. 5174(f)(2)
2. HUD rental assistance programs identified at 24 CFR 5.233 and
the Disaster Housing Assistance Program.
3. CDBG-DR assistance authorized and appropriated from time to time
under various appropriations acts.
Categories of Individuals
Categories of individuals covered under this matching agreement
include individuals seeking federal disaster relief assistance.
Categories of Records
Data elements disclosed in this matching program include the
following:
FEMA Registration ID.
Disaster Number.
Social Security Number (SSN)--the head of household SSN.
First and Last Name and Middle Initial of the head of
household.
DOB--date of birth of head of household.
Damaged Address Street Address--the head of household's
damaged street address.
Current Address and Phone Number--contact information for
the head of household.
Damaged Unit Information--information on the type and
level of damage sustained.
Assistance Received--information on the type and amount of
assistance the household has received.
Data elements, along with the category of information (e.g.
identification, damages, contact information, assistance, household
characteristics), specifically shared between FEMA and HUD, and how
they are matched between them, is outlined in Appendix A of the
Computer Matching Agreement.
System(s) of Records
DHS/FEMA
The DHS/FEMA records reside in the National Emergency Management
Information System--Individual Assistance System (NEMIS-IA System) and
are covered by DHS/FEMA--008 Disaster Recovery Assistance Files System
of Records, 78 FR 25,282 (April 30, 2013).
HUD
HUD records reside in HUD's Tenant Rental Assistance Certification
System (TRACS) (HSNG/MF.HTS.02), 81 FR 56,684 (August 22, 2016); the
Inventory Management System (IMS), also known as the Public and Indian
Housing (PIH) Information Center (PIC) (HUD/PIH.01) 77 FR 22,337 (April
13, 2012); and the Enterprise Income Verification System (EIV) (HUD/
PIH-5) 71 FR 45,066 (August 8, 2006), which was updated by 74 FR 45,235
(September 1, 2009). The results of the information comparison are
maintained within the IMS/PIC system (HUD/PIH.01).
Philip S. Kaplan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2019-00768 Filed 1-31-19; 8:45 am]
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