[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62813-62817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19782]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7077-N-13A]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Multifamily Housing, Office of Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as 
amended, the Department of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 
Office of Multifamily Housing, is modifying system of records for the 
Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS). The modification 
will clarify the authority for maintenance of the system; routine uses 
of records in the system; practices for retrieval, policies and 
practices for retention and disposal of records, system location, 
system manager(s), and administrative updates to comply with the OMB 
Circular A-108 SORN template format.

DATES: Comments will be accepted on or before October 13, 2023. This 
proposed action will be effective immediately upon publication. Routine 
uses will become effective on the date following the end of the comment 
period unless comments are received which result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number or by 
one of the following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
    Fax: 202-619-8365.
    Email: [email protected].
    Mail: Attention: Privacy Office; LaDonne White, Chief Privacy 
Officer; Office of the Executive Secretariat; 451 Seventh Street SW, 
Room 10139; Washington, DC 20410-0001.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov. including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ladonne White; 451 Seventh Street SW, 
Room 10139; Washington, DC 20410-0001; telephone number (202) 708-3054 
(this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to 
receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well 
as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more 
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relayservice-trs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ``Notice of a Modified System of 
Records'' aligns the cited statutory authority with the broad purpose 
of the system, which has been and continues to be the collection of 
information for managing the Office of Multifamily Housing (MFH) 
Programs' rental assistance programs. With this change, the cited 
authority now includes express citations for: the Tenant Rental 
Assistance Certification System (TRACS) is being enhanced to comply 
with Presidential Executive Order 13985, released on January 20, 2021, 
``Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 
Underserved

[[Page 62814]]

Communities Through the Federal Government,'' that requires system 
modifications to collect ethnic and race data to evaluate whether HUD's 
policies produce racially inequitable results when implemented and to 
ensure underserved communities are properly supported; HUD to share 
data match capability to enable the ability to establish eligibility 
for the Lifeline, EBB and other FTB programs for families which also 
participate in a HUD rental assistance program. HUD must develop an 
application protocol interface (API) with the Universal Service 
Administrative Company (USAC), designated by the Federal Communications 
Commission (FCC) as the Federal administrator of the Universal Service 
Fund (USF or Fund) Lifeline Program (Lifeline), the Emergency Broadband 
Benefit (EBB) program and other Federal Telecommunications Benefit 
(FTB) programs. The USAC Routine Use #8 will enable FCC to use Lifeline 
eligibility criteria as specified by the Lifeline program establishing 
a matching program between HUD's TRACS and USAC's National Verifier. 47 
CFR 54.409; and lastly the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization 
Act of 2016 (HOTMA) was enacted on July 29, 2016. The HOTMA Final Rule 
will revise HUD regulations to put sections of HOTMA into effect. These 
sections make sweeping changes to the United States Housing Act of 
1937, particularly those affecting TRACS income calculation and reviews 
for assisted families, occupancy standards, and the financial records 
required for eligibility determinations. This includes: (a) Changes 
about income reviews for public housing and HUD's Section 8 programs. 
(b) Modifications to the continued occupancy standards of public 
housing residents whose income has grown above the threshold for 
initial eligibility, including setting maximum limits on the assets 
that families living in public housing and Section 8 assisted housing 
may have. (c) HUD must direct public housing agencies to require that 
all applicants for and recipients of assistance, through HUD's public 
housing or Section 8 programs, lets public housing agencies obtain 
financial records needed for eligibility determinations.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS)--HUD/HOU-11.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    The Department of Housing and Urban Development Headquarters, 451 
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001; and at HUD Field and 
Regional Office. TRACS is maintained at: the National Center for 
Critical Information Processing and Storage, 9325 Cypress Loop Road, 
Stennis, MS 39629.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Lanier M. Hylton, Senior Program Manager, Office of Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs, 451 7th Street 
SW, Room 6124 Washington, DC 20410, (202) 708-2495.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The United States Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 
653, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.; The Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1987, Public Law 100-242, 101 Stat. 1864, section 
165, 42 U.S.C 3543, Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 408; The Stewart B. 
McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988, Public Law 100-
628, 102 Stat. 3259, section 904 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 3544.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    TRACS performs edit checks and accepts tenant and voucher request 
data needed to verify data quality, and interfaces with other HUD 
systems to validate tenant income, verify contract funding, obligate, 
and commit contract funds, provide information to other HUD divisions, 
and submit voucher requests for payment to minimize improper payments, 
and detect subsidy fraud, waste, and abuse in multifamily housing 
rental housing assistance programs. TRACS automates and integrates 
critical modules for TRACS activities related to the Contract Business 
System, the Tenant Business System, and the Voucher/Payment Business 
System:
     Integrated Multifamily Access Exchange (iMAX) provides 
efficient access to authorized industry partners (i.e., Contract 
Administrators (CAs) and Owner/Agents (OAs)) to transmit tenant data 
and voucher data files to HUD and other authorized partners.
     Integrated Contracts (iCon) supports rental assistance 
contracts repository. Contracts are added (e.g., for the Rental 
Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 811 
demo programs) and maintained by internal MFH staff.
     Automated Renewal and Amendment Management Subsystem 
(ARAMS) Supports funding functions for contract renewals and 
amendments. Headquarters staff enter and update funding transactions 
which are then interfaced to Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS).

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals receiving project-based rental housing assistance; 
property owner, management agent, and contract administrator who 
administers or receives subsidies.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Full Name, SSN, Date of Birth, Employment Status/History/
Information, Address, Marital Status, Military Status or other 
information, Race/Ethnicity, Phone Number(s), Email Address(s), Salary, 
Sex, Taxpayer ID, User ID, Name of head of household member, Name of 
all household members, Name of Owners/management agent, Tenant/owners/
management agent, Identification number: Alien Registration Number and 
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), Spouse name, and financial 
transactions pertaining to the contracts.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Records in the system are obtained from owners/management agents/
Housing Authorities and/or Contract administrators on behalf of the 
assisted tenants. The TRACS system and contained subsystems may collect 
data and information from the following other systems: Geocode Service 
Center (GSC), Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS), HUD Central 
Accounting and Program System (HUDCAPS), Integrated Real Estate 
Management System (iREMS), Enterprise Income Verification (EIV), 
Multifamily Data Warehouse (MFH) Data Mart, and Web Access Security 
System (WASS).

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    (1) To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, Federal 
agencies, and non-Federal entities, including, but not limited to, 
State and local governments and other research institutions or their 
parties, and entities and their agents with whom HUD has a contract, 
service agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement for 
the purposes of statistical analysis and research in support of program 
operations, management, performance monitoring, evaluation, risk 
management, and policy development, to otherwise support the 
Department's mission, or for other research and statistical purposes 
not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation. Records under this 
routine use may not be used

[[Page 62815]]

in whole or in part to make decisions that affect the rights, benefits, 
or privileges of specific individuals. The results of the matched 
information may not be disclosed in identifiable form.
    (2) To Housing Authorities, (HAs) to verify the accuracy and 
completeness of tenant data used in determining eligibility and 
continued eligibility and the amount of housing assistance received.
    (3) To Private Owners of assisted housing to verify the accuracy 
and completeness of applicant and tenant data used in determining 
eligibility and continued eligibility and the amount of assistance 
received.
    (4) To HAs, owners, management agents and contract administrators 
to identify and resolve discrepancies in tenant data.
    (5) To the Internal Revenue Service to report income using IRS Form 
1099 and to disclose records to the Internal Revenue Service when HUD 
determines that the use of those records is relevant and necessary to 
report payments or discharge of indebtedness.
    (6) To Social Security Administration and Immigration and 
Naturalization Service to verify alien status and continued eligibility 
in HUD's rental assistance programs via Enterprise Income Verification 
(EIV).
    (7) To the congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    (8) To the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which 
is designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the 
Federal administrator of the Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund) 
Lifeline Program (Lifeline), the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) 
program and other Federal Telecommunications Benefit (FTB) programs 
that utilizes Lifeline eligibility criteria as specified by the 
Lifeline program, 47 CFR 54.409. The purpose of this routine use is to 
establish eligibility for the Lifeline, EBB and other FTB programs for 
families which also participate in a HUD rental assistance program.
    (9) To any Federal, State, or local agency (e.g., state agencies 
administering the state's unemployment compensation laws, Temporary 
Assistance to Needy Families, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program agencies, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and 
U.S. Social Security Administration): To verify the accuracy and 
completeness of the data provided, to verify eligibility or continued 
eligibility in HUD's rental assistance programs, to identify and 
recover improper payments under the Payment Integrity Information Act 
of 2019, Public Law 116-117., and to aid in the identification of 
tenant errors, fraud, and abuse in assisted housing programs.
    (10) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (1) HUD 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (2) HUD has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, HUD (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with HUD's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    (11) To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when HUD 
determines that information from this system of records is reasonably 
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to 
suspected or confirmed breach, or (2) preventing, minimizing, or 
remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or 
entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), 
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a 
suspected or confirmed breach.
    (12) To contractors, experts, and consultants with whom HUD has a 
contract, service agreement, or another assignment when HUD provides 
system access to HUD contractors to develop, maintain and troubleshoot 
application issues to support the Department's programs needed to meet 
its mission. Upgrades and migrations to this TRACS system are needed to 
meet the changes in technology and improve system performance. This is 
a corollary purpose that is appropriate and necessary for the efficient 
conduct of government and in the best interest of both the individual 
and the public.
    (13) To Federal agencies, non-Federal entities, their employees, 
and agents (including contractors, their agents or employees; employees 
or contractors of the agents or designated agents); or contractors, 
their employees or agents with whom HUD has a contract, service 
agreement, grant, cooperative agreement, or computer matching agreement 
for the purpose of: (1) detection, prevention, and recovery of improper 
payments; (2) detection and prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse in 
major Federal programs administered by a Federal agency or non-Federal 
entity; (3) detection of fraud, waste, and abuse by individuals in 
their operations and programs; (4) for the purpose of establishing or 
verifying the eligibility of, or continuing compliance with statutory 
and regulatory requirements by, applicants for, recipients or 
beneficiaries of, participants in, or providers of services with 
respect to, cash or in-kind assistance or payments under Federal 
benefits programs or recouping payments or delinquent debts under such 
Federal benefits programs. Records under this routine use may be 
disclosed only to the extent that the information shared is necessary 
and relevant to verify pre-award and prepayment requirements prior to 
the release of Federal funds or to prevent and recover improper 
payments for services rendered under programs of HUD or of those 
Federal agencies and non-Federal entities to which HUD provides 
information under this routine use.
    (14) To Appropriate Federal, State, and local governments, or 
persons when HUD discloses relevant information to protect the health 
or safety of individuals or data subjects. This is a corollary purpose 
that is appropriate and necessary for the efficient conduct of 
government and in the best interest of both the individual and the 
public. HUD OGC and Privacy Branch provide determination/authorization 
for any Health and Breach incidents disclosure prior to a HUD 
disclosure.
    (15) To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants and their 
agents, or others performing or working under a contract, service, 
grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement with HUD, when 
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to a system of 
records.
    (16) To any component of the Department of Justice or other Federal 
agency conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court, 
adjudicative, or administrative body, when HUD determines that the use 
of such records is relevant and necessary to the litigation and when 
any of the following is a party to the litigation or have an interest 
in such litigation: (1) HUD, or any component thereof; or (2) any HUD 
employee in his or her official capacity; or (3) any HUD employee in 
his or her individual capacity where the Department of Justice or 
agency conducting the litigation has agreed to represent the employee; 
or (4) the United States, or any agency thereof, where HUD determines 
that litigation is likely to affect HUD or any of its components.
    (17) To appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, or other 
governmental agencies or multilateral governmental

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organizations responsible for investigating or prosecuting the 
violations of, or for enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, 
regulation, order, or license, where HUD determines that the 
information would assist in the enforcement of civil or criminal laws 
and when such records, either alone or in conjunction with other 
information, indicate a violation or potential violation of law.
    (18) To a court, magistrate, administrative tribunal, or arbitrator 
in the course of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing 
counsel or witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, 
mediation, or settlement negotiations, or in connection with criminal 
law proceedings; when HUD determines that use of such records is 
relevant and necessary to the litigation and when any of the following 
is a party to the litigation or have an interest in such litigation: 
(1) HUD, or any component thereof; or (2) any HUD employee in his or 
her official capacity; or (3) any HUD employee in his or her individual 
capacity where HUD has agreed to represent the employee; or (4) the 
United States, or any agency thereof, where HUD determines that 
litigation is likely to affect HUD or any of its components.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Electronic and paper.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Name, SSN, Home Address.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    TRACS retention and disposal requirements are assessed at the 
module level:
    (a) ARAMS module (Contract Database) retention instruction is 
Temporary: Delete data twenty-five years after the contract expiration 
date. Tenant Module retention (Extract of TRACS Tenant Data (HUD 50059 
data)) instruction is Permanent: Voucher Module (Voucher Database) 
retention instruction is Temporary: Archive data to tape five (5) years 
after the last voucher date or any voucher from a contract that has 
been terminated five (5) years or longer. Delete data from the tape 
twenty-five (25) years after the last voucher date or any voucher from 
a contract that has been terminated twenty-five (25) years or longer. 
N1-207-06-2-Item 14 B a2(c).
    (b) iMAX Module retention is Temporary: Destroy upon verification 
of successful creation of the final document or file or when no longer 
needed for business use, whichever is later. DAA-GRS- 2017-0003-0002, 
which provides the legal authority to delete this information as 
required by law.
    (c) TRACS User Guides and Manuals retention instruction is 
Temporary: Destroy or delete when superseded or obsolete. N1-207-06-2, 
item 14.D(e)
    (d) iCon module (Contract Database) retention is Temporary: Delete 
data twenty-five years after the contract expiration date. Backup and 
Recovery of digital media will be destroyed or otherwise rendered 
irrecoverable per NIST SP 800[not]88 Revision 1 ``Guidelines for Media 
Sanitization'' N1-207-06-2-Item 14 B a2(b).
    (e) Tenant Database (HUD 50059 data) TEMPORARY. Archive data to 
tape three (3) years after the certification effective date. NARA Job 
No. N1- 207-06-2, item 14.B (a).
    (f) Tenant Archives Database. Sub-set of data derived from Tenant 
Database. TEMPORARY. Delete data twenty-five (25) years after the 
tenant move-out date or twenty-five (25) years after the termination 
date. NARA Job No. 1-207-06-2, item 14.B(a)(1).
    (g) System Documentation Data Administration Records GRS 3.1 Item 
50 & 51.
    a. Item 50-Documentation necessary for preservation of permanent 
electronic records. Permanent. Transfer to the National Archives with 
the permanent electronic records to which the documentation relates. 
DAA-GRS-2013-0005-0002.
    b. Item 51-All documentation for temporary electronic records and 
documentation not necessary for the preservation of permanent records 
Temporarily. Destroy 5 years after the project/activity/transaction is 
completed or superseded, or the associated system is terminated, or the 
associated data is migrated to a successor system, but longer retention 
is authorized if required for business use. DAA-GRS-2013-0005-0034.
    (h) System Development records. GRS 3.1 Item 10 & 11.
    a. Item 10-Infrastructure project records. Temporary. Destroy 5 
years after the project is terminated, but longer retention is 
authorized if required for business use.
    b. Item 11-System development records. Temporary. Destroy 5 years 
after the system is superseded by a new iteration, or is terminated, 
defunded, or no longer needed for agency/IT administrative purposes, 
but longer retention is authorized if required for business use. DAA-
GRS2013-0005-00075.
    (i) Systems and data security records GRS 3.2 Item 10.
    a. Item 10-Systems and data security records. Temporary. Destroy 1 
year after the system is superseded by a new iteration or when no 
longer needed for agency/IT administrative purposes to ensure a 
continuity of security controls throughout the life of the system. DAA-
GRS2013-0006-0001.
    (j) System Access Records GRS 3.2 Item 30 & 31.
    a. Item 30-Systems not requiring special accountability for access. 
Temporary. Destroy when business use ceases. DAA-GRS2013-0006-0003.
    b. Item 31-Systems requiring special accountability for access. 
Temporary. Destroy 6 years after the password is altered or the user 
account is terminated, but longer retention is authorized if required 
for business use. DAA-GRS-2013-0006-00047.
    (k) Input and Output Files GRS 5.2 Item 20.
    a. Item 20-Intermediary records. Temporary. Destroy upon 
verification of successful creation of the final document or file or 
when no longer needed for business use, whichever is later. DAA-GRS-
2017-0003-0002.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to TRACS is by password and user ID and is limited to 
authorized users. Role-based access levels or assignment roles are 
restricted to those with a need to know. When first gaining access to 
TRACS annually, all users must agree to the system's Rules of Behavior, 
which specify the handling of personal information and any physical 
records. Authorized users can download reports--the SSN is masked in 
both the system and reports during the download process. Access to 
facilities containing and storing physical copies of this data is 
controlled by security protocols designed to limit access to authorized 
individuals.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals requesting records of themselves should address written 
inquiries to the Department of Housing Urban and Development 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001. For verification, individuals 
should provide their full name, current address, and telephone number. 
In addition, the requester must provide either a notarized statement or 
an unsworn declaration made under 24 CFR 16.4.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The HUD rule for contesting the content of any record pertaining to 
the individual by the individual concerned

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is published in 24 CFR 16.8 or may be obtained from the system manager.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals requesting notification of records of themselves should 
address written inquiries to the Department of Housing Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001. For 
verification purposes, individuals should provide their full name, 
office or organization where assigned, if applicable, and current 
address and telephone number. In addition, the requester must provide 
either a notarized statement or an unsworn declaration made under 24 
CFR 16.4.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None

HISTORY:
    Docket No. FR-5921-N-13, 81 FR 56684, August 22, 2016.

LaDonne L. White,
Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-19782 Filed 9-12-23; 8:45 am]
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