[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 208 (Monday, October 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74162-74163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23855]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2023-FSA-0135]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.

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SUMMARY: This matching program will assist the U.S. Department of 
Education (Department or ED) in its obligation to ensure that borrowers 
who either owe balances on or who have had any of loans made under 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) written 
off due to default for the Federal Perkins Loan Program, the William D. 
Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, the Federal Family Education Loan 
(FFEL) Program, or the Federal Insured Student Loan (FISL) Program or 
with Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education 
(TEACH) Grant service obligations (referred to collectively herein as 
``title IV loans'') more efficiently and effectively are able to obtain 
Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharges of their title IV 
loans.

DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed re-establishment of the 
matching program on or before November 29, 2023.
    The matching program will become effective on the later of the 
following two dates: (1) December 1, 2023, or (2) 30 days after the 
publication of this notice, on October 30, 2023, 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 effective date and may be renewed for 
up to an additional 12 months if, within 3 months prior to the 
expiration of the 18 months, the respective Data Integrity Boards of ED 
and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determine that the 
conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation or 
cannot otherwise submit your

[[Page 74163]]

comments via regulations.gov, please contact the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email, or comments submitted 
after the comment period. To ensure that the Department does 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 documents, submitting 
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the 
``FAQ'' tab.
    Privacy Note: The Department'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: Brenda Vigna, Division Chief, Program 
Contract Management Group, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of 
Education, 830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5320. Telephone: 
(202) 567-1931.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-
free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 
as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a); 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, 
published in the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818); and 
OMB Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby provided of the re-
establishment of the matching program between the Department and VA.

Participating Agencies

    The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    The Department's legal authority to enter into the matching program 
and to disclose information thereunder is sections 420N(c), 437(a)(1), 
455(a)(1), and 464(c)(1)(F)(ii & iii) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(c), 
1087(a)(1), 1087e(a)(1), and 1087dd(c)(1)(F)(ii & iii)). VA's legal 
authority to enter into this matching program is 38 U.S. Code Sec.  
5106.

Purpose(s)

    This matching program will assist the Department in its obligation 
to ensure that borrowers of title IV loans more efficiently and 
effectively are able to obtain TPD discharge of their title IV loans. 
The Department will proactively send notices to borrowers with title IV 
loans who VA has designated as (1) having a service-connected 
disability rating that is 100 percent disabling, or (2) being totally 
disabled based on an individual unemployability rating, informing them 
that the Department will discharge the borrower's title IV loans no 
earlier than 61 days after the date that the Department sends the 
notification to the borrower, unless the borrower chooses to have their 
title IV loans discharged earlier by contacting ED or chooses to opt 
out of the TPD discharge within 60 days from the date that the 
Department sends the notification to the borrower. The Department's 
notices also will inform these borrowers that the Department has 
accepted information obtained from the VA in lieu of the borrower's 
submission of a VA Statement and the borrower's TPD loan discharge 
application, thereby simplifying the TPD discharge process for 
borrowers.

Categories of Individuals

    This matching program covers veterans whom VA has designated as 
having a service-connected disability rating that is 100 percent 
disabling or being totally disabled based on an individual 
unemployability rating, as described in 38 CFR 3.4(b) and 3.340, and 
who have title IV loans (as defined above).

Categories of Records

    This matching program covers the following records on the 
aforementioned individuals: the name (first, middle, and last), date of 
birth (DOB), and Social Security number (SSN), the 100% disabling 
service-connected disability rating or the individuals unemployability 
rating, and the disability determination date.

System(s) of Records

    VA will use the VA system of records entitled ``Compensation, 
Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment 
Records--VA'' (58VA21/22/28), last published in full in the Federal 
Register on November 8, 2021 (86 FR 61858). VA has determined that 
routine use 39 in the foregoing system of records is compatible with 
the purpose for which the information is collected and contains 
appropriate Privacy Act disclosure authority.
    The Department will match information obtained from the VA with 
Department records maintained in the Department's system of records 
entitled ``National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)'' (18-11-06). The 
NSLDS system of records notice was last published in full in the 
Federal Register on June 28, 2023 (88 FR 41934).
    The Department will also maintain matched information obtained from 
VA in the Department's system of records entitled ``Common Services for 
Borrowers (CSB) (18-11-16).'' The CSB system of records notice was last 
published in full in the Federal Register on July 27, 2023 (88 FR 
48449).
    Accessible Format: By request to Lisa Tessitore, Program Operations 
Specialist, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, 830 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20202-5320, telephone: (202) 377-3249, 
individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible 
format. The Department will provide the requestor with an accessible 
format that may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a 
thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, compact 
disc, or other accessible format.
    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 
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.

Richard Cordray,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2023-23855 Filed 10-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P