[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 233 (Thursday, December 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78127-78129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26478]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[ED-2020-FSA-0086]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new Computer Matching Agreement (CMA).

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of a new CMA between the 
Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The 
current 18-month CMA was recertified for an additional 12 months on 
January 2, 2020 and will automatically expire on January 1, 2021.

DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed CMA on or before January 4, 
2021.
    The CMA will be effective the later of: (1) January 2, 2021, or (2) 
January 4, 2021, unless comments have been received from interested 
members of the public requiring modification and republication of the 
notice. The CMA 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.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency

[[Page 78128]]

documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on 
the site under the ``help'' tab.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about this new CMA, address them to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Privacy Note: ED's policy is to make 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, 
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only 
information that they wish to make publicly available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerard Duffey, Management and Program 
Analyst, Wanamaker Building, U.S. Department of Education, Federal 
Student Aid, 100 Penn Square East, Suite 509.B10, Philadelphia, PA 
19107. Telephone: (215) 656-3249.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We provide 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) (CMPPA); the 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, Federal Agency Responsibilities for 
Review, Reporting, and Publication under the Privacy Act (81 FR 94424, 
December 23, 2016).

Participating Agencies

    The Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice 
(DOJ).

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    Under section 421 (hereinafter referred to as ``section 5301'') of 
the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 862), an individual convicted 
of a Federal or State drug trafficking or possession offense may be 
denied, at the discretion of the court, certain Federal benefits, 
including those under the Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs 
authorized by title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as 
amended (title IV, HEA student financial assistance). The Denial of 
Federal Benefits and Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment Clearinghouse 
Programs (DFB/DPFD) database (formerly known as DEBARS) collects 
information regarding those individuals for whom benefits are denied 
and forwards this information to the General Services Administration 
(GSA) for inclusion in the publication ``Lists of Parties Excluded from 
Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs,'' more commonly known 
as the ``Debarment List.'' Federal agencies are required by law to 
consult the Debarment List, prior to the provision of certain benefits. 
However, ED and DOJ have determined that, for purposes of verifying 
title IV, HEA student financial assistance eligibility, direct access 
to the DFB/DPFD database would be more useful than access to the GSA's 
Debarment List because the DFB/DPFD database contains information 
essential to the effective operation of the match that is not available 
in the GSA List.
    By matching the names, dates of birth, and SSNs in the DFB/DPFD 
database with ED's student financial aid records, ED is able to 
identify students who do not qualify for Federal student financial 
assistance pursuant to the provisions set forth in the Controlled 
Substances Act. DOJ's 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 CMA the records of only those 
individuals who have been denied Federal benefits under one or more of 
the title IV, HEA programs. Thus, ED avoids the cost of disbursing 
student financial assistance funds to individuals who do not qualify 
for Federal student financial assistance, but who would otherwise 
receive aid had the CMA not existed.
    DOJ is the lead contact agency for information related to 
violations of section 5301 and, as such, provides this data to ED. The 
18-month CMA was recertified for an additional 12 months on January 2, 
2020 and will automatically expire on January 1, 2021.

Purpose(s)

    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 re-designated 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 Denial of Federal Benefits and 
Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment Clearinghouse program (DFB/DPFD) 
database (formerly known as DEBARS) 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.

Categories of Individuals

    The individuals whose records are included in this matching program 
are individuals who are the subject of section 5301 denial of benefits 
court orders, and all students who complete a Free Application for 
Federal Student Aid. ED receives data from the DOJ DFB/DPFD 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).

Categories of Records

    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. These 
data elements are contained in ED's Central Processing System. The DOJ 
DFB/DPFD 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.

System(s) of Records

    DOJ system of records: DFB/DPFD (The most recent full DFB/DPFD 
system of records notice was published in the Federal Register on May 
10, 1999, 64 FR 25071). ED system of records: Federal Student Aid 
Application File (18-11-01). (The most recent ED system of records 
notice was published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2019, 84 FR 
57856). (Note: The ED Central Processing System (CPS) is the ED 
information system that processes data from the Federal Student Aid 
Application File.)
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) by

[[Page 78129]]

contacting the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. 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 Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
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    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
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www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Mark Brown,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2020-26478 Filed 12-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P