[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11321-11323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05763]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No: FR-6146-N-01]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Office of Administration, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act 
of 1988, as amended, HUD is providing notice of its intent to execute a 
new computer matching agreement with Social Security Administration for 
a recurring matching program with HUD's Office of Public and Indian 
Housing (PIH) and Office of Housing, involving comparisons of SSN's and 
benefit information provided by participants in any authorized HUD 
rental housing assistance program. HUD will obtain SSA data and make 
the results available to: (1) Program administrators such as public 
housing agencies (PHAs) and private owners and management agents (O/As) 
(collectively referred to as POAs) to enable them to verify the 
accuracy of income reported by the tenants (participants) of HUD rental 
assistance programs and (2) contract administrators (CAs) overseeing 
and monitoring O/A operations as well as independent public auditors 
(IPAs) that audit both PHAs and O/As.
    The most recent renewal of the current matching agreement will 
expire on May 7, 2019.

DATES: The computer matching agreement (CMA) will become applicable at 
the later of the following two dates: May 8, 2019 or 30 days after the 
publication of this notice, unless comments have been received from 
interested members of the public requiring modification and 
republication of the notice. The matching program will continue for 18 
months after the applicable date and may be extended for an additional 
12 months, if the respective agency Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) 
determine that the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have 
been met.

[[Page 11322]]


ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice at www.regulations.gov or to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office 
of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, Room 10110, SW, Washington, DC 20410. Communications 
should refer to the above docket number. A copy of each communication 
submitted will be available for public inspection and copying between 
8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Relay service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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. This is not a toll-free number. A telecommunication device 
for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals (TTY) is available at 
(800) 877-8339 (Federal Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice supersedes a similar notice 
published in the Federal Register on October 3, 2016, at 81 FR 68026. 
Administrators of HUD rental assistance programs rely upon the accuracy 
of tenant-reported income to determine participant eligibility for and 
level of, rental assistance. The computer matching program may provide 
indicators of potential tenant unreported or under-reported income, 
which will require additional verification to identify inappropriate or 
inaccurate rental assistance and may provide indicators for potential 
administrative or legal actions. The matching program will be carried 
out to detect inappropriate or inaccurate rental assistance under 
sections 221(d)(3), 221(d)(5), and 236 of the National Housing Act, the 
United States Housing Act of 1937, section 101 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1965, section 202 of the Housing Act of 
1959, section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
Act, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996, and the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 
1998. On March 11, 2009, Section 239 of HUD's 2009 Appropriations Act 
modified Section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Act of 1988, as 
amended, to include the Disaster Housing Assistance program (DHAP) as a 
covered HUD rental assistance program in HUD computer matching 
activities. Specifically, the computer matching program will match 
HUD's tenant data to SSA's death data, Social Security (SS) and 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits data.
    Participating Agencies: Department of Housing and Urban Development 
and the Social Security Administration.
    Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: This matching 
program is being conducted pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C 
552a); 542(b) of the 1998 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 105-65); section 
904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 
1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544); section 165 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3543); the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1701-1750g); the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437-1437z); section 101 of the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s); the Native American Housing Assistance and 
Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and the QHWRA 
Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(f)). The Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1987 authorizes HUD to require participants of HUD rental 
housing assistance programs to disclose their social security numbers 
(SSNs) to HUD as a condition of continuing (or initial) eligibility for 
participation in the programs. The QHWRA of 1998, section 508(d), 42 
U.S.C. 1437a(f) authorizes the Secretary of HUD to require disclosure 
by the tenant to the PHA of income information received by the tenant 
from HUD as part of the income verification procedures of HUD. The 
QHWRA was amended by Public Law 106-74, which extended the disclosure 
requirements to participants in section 8, section 202, and section 811 
assistance programs. The participants are required to disclose the HUD-
provided income information to owners responsible for determining the 
participant's eligibility or level of benefits.
    The Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in 
Public and Assisted Housing Programs: Implementation of the Enterprise 
Income Verification (EIV) System--Amendments; Final Rule published at 
74 FR 68924 on December 29, 2009, requires program administrators to 
use HUD's EIV system to verify tenant income information during 
mandatory reexaminations or recertifications of family composition and 
income; and reduce administrative and subsidy payment errors in 
accordance with HUD administrative guidance (24 CFR 5.233).
    This computer matching program also assists HUD in complying with 
the following federal laws, requirements, and guidance related to 
identifying and reducing improper payments:
    1. Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA) 
(Pub. L. 111-204);
    2. Presidential Memorandum on Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a 
``Do Not Pay List'' (June 18, 2010);
    3. Office of Management and Budget M-10-13, Issuance of Part III to 
OMB Circular A-123, Appendix C;
    4. Presidential Memorandum on Finding and Recapturing Improper 
Payments (March 10, 2010);
    5. Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal 
Programs (Executive Order 13520, November 2009);
    6. Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-300); and
    7. Office of Management and Budget M-03-13, Improper Payments 
Information Act of 2002 Implementation Guide.
    Purpose(s): HUD's primary objective of the computer matching 
program is to verify the income of participants in certain rental 
assistance programs to determine the appropriate level of rental 
assistance, and to detect, deter and correct fraud, waste, and abuse in 
rental housing assistance programs. In meeting these objectives, HUD 
also is carrying out a responsibility under 42 U.S.C. 1437f(K) to 
ensure that income data provided to PHAs, and O/As, by household 
members is complete and accurate. HUD's various rental housing 
assistance programs require that participants meet certain income and 
other criteria to be eligible for rental assistance. In addition, 
tenants generally are required to report and recertify the amounts and 
sources of their income at least annually. However, under the Quality 
Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998, PHAs operating 
Public Housing programs may offer tenants the option to pay a flat 
rent, or an income-based rent. Those tenants who select a flat rent 
will be required to recertify income at least every three years. In 
addition, the changes to the Admissions and Occupancy final rule (March 
29, 2000 (65 FR 16692)) specified that household composition must be 
recertified annually for tenants who select a flat rent or income-based 
rent.
    Other objectives of this computer matching program include: (1) 
Increasing the availability of rental assistance to individuals who 
meet the requirements of the rental assistance programs; (2) after 
removal of personal identifiers, conducting analyses of the Social 
Security death data and benefit information, and income reporting of

[[Page 11323]]

program participants; and (3) measure improper payments due to under-
reporting of income and/or overpayment of subsidy on behalf of deceased 
program participants.

Categories of Individuals

Covered Programs

    This notice of computer matching program applies to individuals 
receiving assistance from the following rental assistance programs:
A. Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP)
B. Public Housing
C. Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)
D. Project-Based Vouchers
E. Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation
F. Project-Based Section 8
    1. New Construction
    2. State Agency Financed
    3. Substantial Rehabilitation
    4. Sections 202/8
    5. Rural Housing Services Section 515/8
    6. Loan Management Set-Aside (LMSA)
    7. Property Disposition Set-Aside (PDSA)
G. Section 101 Rent Supplement
H. Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC)
I. Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
J. Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
K. Section 236 Rental Assistance Program
L. Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR)

    Note: This notice does not apply to the Low-Income Housing Tax 
Credit (LIHTC) or the Rural Housing Services Section 515 without 
Section 8 programs.

    Categories of Records: The following are the categories of record 
in this matching agreement:
    HUD will provide SSA with the following information for each 
individual for whom HUD requests information:

 First name
 Last name
 SSN
 DOB

    SSA will provide HUD with the following information for each 
individual for whom HUD requests information:

 The amount of monthly benefits for each recipient of Title II, 
Title XVI, and Title VIII benefits
 SSN match/no match response
 In the case of a ``no match'', the reason for the no match 
response in the form of an error code.

    System(s) of Records: SSA will conduct the matching of tenant SSNs 
and additional identifiers (surnames and dates of birth) to tenant data 
that HUD supplies from its systems of records known as the Tenant 
Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS), a component of HUD's 
Tenant Housing Assistance and Contract Verification Data System (HUD/H-
11), and the Inventory Management System (IMS), formerly known as the 
Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) (HUD/PIH.01). The 
notice for these systems was published at 81 FR 56684 on August 22, 
2016, and 77 FR 22337 on April 13, 2012, respectively. Program 
administrators utilize the form HUD-50058 module within the PIC system 
and the form HUD-50059 module within the TRACS to provide HUD with the 
tenant data.
    SSA will match the tenant records included in HUD/H-11 and HUD/PIH-
4 to their systems of records known as SSA's Master Files of Social 
Security Number Holders, and SSN Applications (60-0058), published at 
75 FR 82121 on December 29, 2010; Master Beneficiary Record (60-0090), 
published at 71 FR 1826 on January 11, 2006; and Supplemental Security 
Income Record and Special Veterans Benefits (60-0103), published at 71 
FR 1830 on January 11, 2006. HUD will place the resulting matched data 
into its Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) system (HUD/PIH-5). The 
notice for this system was initially published at 70 FR 41780 on July 
20, 2005, and last amended on September 1, 2009 (74 FR 45235). The 
tenant records (one record for each family member) include these data 
elements: Full name, SSN, and date of birth.
    HUD data will also be matched to the SSA's Master Files of Social 
Security Number Holders, and SSN Applications (60-0058) for the purpose 
of validating SSNs of participants of HUD rental assistance programs to 
identify noncompliance with program eligibility requirements. HUD will 
compare tenant SSNs provided by POAs to reveal duplicate SSNs and 
potential duplicate rental assistance.

    Dated: March 21, 2019.
John Bravacos,
Senior Agency Official for Privacy.
[FR Doc. 2019-05763 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P