[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14497-14500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7811]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Privacy Act of 1974, As Amended; Revisions to System of Records
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: System of records; proposed revisions.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend the notice describing the system of records (system) currently
entitled NRC-32, ``Office of the Controller Financial Transactions and
Debt Collection Management Records--NRC,'' by adding five new routine
uses and revising five existing routine uses in order to permit NRC to
comply with certain provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act
of 1996 (DCIA), Public Law 104-134. The system notice was last
published in the Federal Register on April 17, 1996.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The revised system of records will become effective
without further notice on May 4, 1998, unless comments received on or
before that date cause a contrary decision. If changes are made based
on NRC's review of comments received, a new final notice will be
published.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications staff. Hand deliver comments to 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Federal workdays. Copies of comments received may be examined, or
copied for a fee, at the NRC Public Document Room at 2120 L Street,
NW., Lower Level, Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jona L. Souder, Freedom of Information
Act/Privacy Act Section, Information Services Branch, Information
Management Division, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone:
301-415-7170.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The DCIA contains various provisions intended to maximize the
collection of delinquent debts, minimize the costs of debt collection,
reduce losses arising from debt management activities, rely on the
experience and expertise of private sector professionals to provide
debt collection services to Federal agencies, and ensure that the
public is fully informed of the Federal government's debt collection
policies and that debtors are cognizant of their financial obligations
to repay amounts owed to the government and have all appropriate due
process rights.
The proposed revisions to NRC-32 will permit NRC to implement
several new techniques for collecting debts and claims authorized or
required by the DCIA. New routine use I. will permit NRC to refer
nontax debts over 180 days delinquent to the Department of the Treasury
(Treasury) for administrative offset against payments due elsewhere in
the government under the mandatory, government-wide Treasury Offset
Program (TOP). TOP provides a single source for identifying delinquent
debtors receiving government funds and, to the extent legally allowed,
offsetting the delinquent debts using those same funds. New routine use
m. will enable NRC to publicly disseminate the names of certain
delinquent debtors and the existence of the debts for debt collection
purposes. New routine use n. will enable NRC to match certain debtor
records with the Department of Health and Human Services and the
Department of Labor to obtain Taxpayer Identification Numbers required
by the DCIA for each person doing business with Federal agencies. New
routine uses o. and p. will permit NRC to disclose information if it
decides or is required
[[Page 14498]]
to sell delinquent nontax debts and to report information on
collateralized debts to Congress pursuant to 37 U.S.C. 3711(i). Revised
routine use b. will permit NRC to participate in a required program to
annually match delinquent debt records due all agencies with records of
Federal employees to identify those employees delinquent in repayment
of certain nontax debts. Revised routine use d. will permit NRC to
report current (not delinquent) and delinquent commercial and consumer
nontax debt to credit bureaus for use in the administration of debt
collection and to report delinquent debt information to the Office of
Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response
System. Routine uses e., h., and k. are revised to enable NRC to
garnish non-Federal wages of certain delinquent debtors, to provide
certain information on discharged debts to Treasury for reporting to
the IRS, and to transfer to Treasury or approved Debt Collection
Centers certain nontax debts over 180 days delinquent for further
collection action. Current routine uses l., m., and n. are redesignated
q., r., and s., respectively.
Other minor changes to the system notice for NRC-32 are also being
made at this time and include renaming the system ``Office of the Chief
Financial Officer Financial Transactions and Debt Management Records--
NRC'' because of an agency reorganization, adding the DCIA and the
Federal Claims Collection Standards to the Authority section of the
notice, and updating the System Manager's title and the Notification
Procedures.
A report on the proposed revisions to NRC-32 is being sent to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the U.S. Senate, and the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight of the U.S. House of Representatives as required by the
Privacy Act and OMB Circular No. A-130, Appendix I, ``Federal Agency
Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals.''
Accordingly, NRC proposes to amend the system notice for NRC-32 in
its entirety to read as follows:
NRC-32
SYSTEM NAME:
Office of the Chief Financial Officer Financial Transactions and
Debt Collection Management Records--NRC.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Primary system--Office of the Chief Financial Officer, NRC, 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
Duplicate systems--Duplicate systems exist, in whole or in part, at
the locations listed in Addendum I, Parts 1 and 2. Other NRC systems of
records contain payment and/or collection transaction records and
background information that may duplicate some of the records in this
system. These other systems include, but are not limited to:
NRC-5, Contracts Records Files--NRC;
NRC-7, Telephone Call Detail Records--NRC;
NRC-10, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA)
Requests--NRC;
NRC-18, Office of the Inspector General Investigative Records--NRC;
NRC-19, Official Personnel Training Records Files--NRC;
NRC-20, Official Travel Records--NRC;
NRC-21, Payroll Accounting Records--NRC;
NRC-24, Government Property Accountability System--NRC; and
NRC-41, Tort Claims and Personal Property Claims--NRC.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals the NRC owes/owed money to or who receive/received a
payment from NRC and those who owe/owed money to the United States.
Individuals receiving payments include, but are not limited to, current
and former employees, contractors, consultants, vendors, and others who
travel or perform certain services for NRC. Individuals owing money
include, but are not limited to, those who have received goods or
services from NRC for which there is a charge or fee (NRC licensees,
applicants for NRC licenses, Freedom of Information Act requesters,
etc.) and those who have been overpaid and owe NRC a refund (current
and former employees, contractors, consultants, vendors, etc.).
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Information in the system includes, but is not limited to, names,
addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security Numbers (SSN), Taxpayer
Identification Numbers (TIN), Individual Taxpayer Identification
Numbers (ITIN), fee categories, application and license numbers,
contract numbers, vendor numbers, amounts owed, background and
supporting documentation, correspondence concerning claims and debts,
credit reports, and billing and payment histories. The overall agency
accounting system contains data and information integrating accounting
functions such as general ledger, funds control, travel, accounts
receivable, accounts payable, equipment, and appropriation of funds.
Although this system of records contains information on corporations
and other business entities, only those records that contain
information about individuals that is retrieved by the individual's
name or other personal identifier are subject to the Privacy Act.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12); 5 U.S.C. 5514; 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f); 26 U.S.C.
6103(m)(2); 31 U.S.C. 37, subchapters I and II; 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)
(1994); 31 U.S.C. 3711; 31 U.S.C. 3716; 31 U.S.C. 3717; 31 U.S.C. 3718;
31 U.S.C. 3720A (1994); 42 U.S.C. 2201; 42 U.S.C. 5841 (1994); Cash
Management Improvement Act Amendments of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-589); Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134); 4 CFR parts 101-
105; 10 CFR parts 15, 16, 170, 171 (1997); Executive Order 9397,
November 22, 1943; section 201 of Executive Order 11222.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
In addition to the disclosures permitted under subsection (b) of
the Privacy Act, the NRC may disclose information contained in this
system of records without the consent of the subject individual if the
disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the record was
collected under the following routine uses:
a. To debt collection contractors (31 U.S.C. 3718) or to other
Federal agencies such as the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for
the purpose of collecting and reporting on delinquent debts as
authorized by the Debt Collection Act of 1982 or the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996;
b. To Treasury; the Defense Manpower Data Center, Department of
Defense; the United States Postal Service; government corporations; or
any other Federal, State, or local agency to conduct an authorized
computer matching program in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974,
as amended, to identify and locate individuals, including Federal
employees, who are delinquent in their repayment of certain debts owed
to the U.S. Government, including those incurred under certain programs
or services administered by the NRC, in order to collect debts under
common law or under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982
or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 which include by
voluntary repayment, administrative or salary offset, and referral to
debt collection contractors.
c. To the Department of Justice, United States Attorney, Treasury,
or
[[Page 14499]]
other Federal agencies for further collection action on any delinquent
account when circumstances warrant.
d. To credit reporting agencies/credit bureaus for the purpose of
either adding to a credit history file or obtaining a credit history
file or comparable credit information for use in the administration of
debt collection. As authorized by the DCIA, NRC may report current (not
delinquent) as well as delinquent consumer and commercial debt to these
entities in order to aid in the collection of debts, typically by
providing an incentive to the person to repay the debt timely. Proposed
revisions to the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS) published
in the Federal Register on December 31, 1997, direct agencies to report
information on delinquent debts to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System (CAIVRS).
NRC will report this information to CAIVRS if this requirement is
contained in the final rule amending the FCCS.
e. To any Federal agency where the debtor is employed or receiving
some form of remuneration for the purpose of enabling that agency to
collect a debt owed the Federal government on NRC's behalf by
counseling the debtor for voluntary repayment or by initiating
administrative or salary offset procedures, or other authorized debt
collection methods under the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of
1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. Pursuant to the
DCIA, NRC may garnish non-Federal wages of certain delinquent debtors
so long as required due process procedures are followed. In these
instances, NRC's notice to the employer will disclose only the
information that may be necessary for the employer to comply with the
withholding order.
f. To the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by computer matching to
obtain the mailing address of a taxpayer for the purpose of locating
such taxpayer to collect or to compromise a Federal claim by NRC
against the taxpayer pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(2) and in accordance
with 31 U.S.C. 3711, 3717, and 3718 or common law. Redisclosure of a
mailing address obtained from the IRS may be made only for debt
collection purposes, including to a debt collection agent to facilitate
the collection or compromise of a Federal claim under the Debt
Collection Act of 1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996,
except that redisclosure of a mailing address to a reporting agency is
for the limited purpose of obtaining a credit report on the particular
taxpayer. Any mailing address information obtained from the IRS will
not be used or shared for any other NRC purpose or disclosed by NRC to
another Federal, State, or local agency which seeks to locate the same
taxpayer for its own debt collection purposes.
g. To refer legally enforceable debts to the IRS or to Treasury's
Debt Management Services to be offset against the debtor's tax refunds
under the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program.
h. To prepare W-2, 1099, or other forms or electronic submittals,
to forward to the IRS and applicable State and local governments for
tax reporting purposes. Under the provisions of the DCIA, NRC is
permitted to provide Treasury with Form 1099-C information on
discharged debts so that Treasury may file the form on NRC's behalf
with the IRS. W-2 and 1099 Forms contain information on items to be
considered as income to an individual, including certain travel related
payments to employees, payments made to persons not treated as
employees (e.g., fees to consultants and experts), and amounts written-
off as legally or administratively uncollectible, in whole or in part.
i. To banks enrolled in the Treasury Credit Card Network to collect
a payment or debt when the individual has given his or her credit card
number for this purpose.
j. To another Federal agency that has asked the NRC to effect an
administrative offset under common law or under 31 U.S.C. 3716 to help
collect a debt owed the United States. Disclosure under this routine
use is limited to name, address, SSN, TIN, ITIN, and other information
necessary to identify the individual; information about the money
payable to or held for the individual; and other information concerning
the administrative offset.
k. To Treasury or other Federal agencies with whom NRC has entered
into an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for debt
collection cross servicing operations on behalf of the NRC to satisfy,
in whole or in part, debts owed to the U.S. government. Cross servicing
includes the possible use of all debt collection tools such as
administrative offset, tax refund offset, referral to debt collection
contractors, and referral to the Department of Justice. The DCIA
requires agencies to transfer to Treasury or Treasury-designated Debt
Collection Centers for cross servicing certain nontax debt over 180
days delinquent. Treasury has the authority to act in the Federal
government's best interest to service, collect, compromise, suspend, or
terminate collection action in accordance with existing laws under
which the debts arise.
l. Information on past due, legally enforceable nontax debts more
than 180 days delinquent will be referred to Treasury for the purpose
of locating the debtor and/or effecting administrative offset against
monies payable by the government to the debtor, or held by the
government for the debtor under the DCIA's mandatory, government-wide
Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Under TOP, Treasury maintains a database
of all qualified delinquent nontax debts, and works with agencies to
match by computer their payments against the delinquent debtor database
in order to divert payments to pay the delinquent debt. Treasury has
the authority to waive the computer matching requirement for NRC and
other agencies upon written certification that administrative due
process notice requirements have been complied with.
m. For debt collection purposes, NRC may publish or otherwise
publicly disseminate information regarding the identity of delinquent
nontax debtors and the existence of the nontax debts under the
provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
n. To the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to conduct an authorized computer matching
program in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to
match NRC's debtor records with records of DOL and HHS to obtain names,
name controls, names of employers, addresses, dates of birth, and TINs.
The DCIA requires all Federal agencies to obtain taxpayer
identification numbers from each individual or entity doing business
with the agency, including applicants and recipients of licenses,
grants, or benefit payments; contractors; and entities and individuals
owing fines, fees, or penalties to the agency. NRC will use TINs in
collecting and reporting any delinquent amounts resulting from the
activity and in making payments.
o. If NRC decides or is required to sell a delinquent nontax debt
pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(i), information in this system of records
may be disclosed to purchasers, potential purchasers, and contractors
engaged to assist in the sale or to obtain information necessary for
potential purchasers to formulate bids and information necessary for
purchasers to pursue collection remedies.
p. If NRC has current and delinquent collateralized nontax debts
pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(i)(4)(A), certain information in this system
of records on its portfolio of loans, notes and guarantees, and other
collateralized debts will be reported to Congress based on standards
developed by the Office of
[[Page 14500]]
Management and Budget, in consultation with Treasury.
q. To Treasury in order to request a payment to individuals owed
money by the NRC.
r. To the National Archives and Records Administration or to the
General Services Administration for records management inspections
conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
s. For any of the routine uses specified in the Prefatory Statement
of General Routine Uses.
DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12): Disclosures of
information to a consumer reporting agency are not considered a routine
use of records. Disclosures may be made from this system to ``consumer
reporting agencies'' as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681(a)(f)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as
amended (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)).
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Information in this system is stored on paper and microfiche, and
in computer media.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Information is retrieved a number of ways, including by name, SSN,
TIN, license or application number, contract or purchase order number,
invoice number, voucher number, and vendor code.
SAFEGUARDS:
Records in the primary system are maintained in a building where
access is controlled by a security guard force. Records are kept in
lockable file rooms or at user's workstations in an area where access
is controlled by keycard and is limited to NRC and contractor personnel
who need the records to perform their official duties. The records are
under visual control during duty hours. Access to automated data
requires use of proper password and user identification codes by NRC or
contractor personnel.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Paper records are destroyed when six years and three months old in
accordance with GRS 6-1.a except that administrative claims files, for
which collection action is terminated without extension, are destroyed
when ten years and three months old in accordance with GRS 6-10.b.
Computer files are deleted after the expiration of the retention period
authorized under the GRS for the disposable hard copy file or when no
longer needed, whichever is later.
SYSTEM MANAGER(s) AND ADDRESS:
Director, Division of Accounting and Finance, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking to determine whether this system of records
contains information pertaining to themselves should write to the
Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Officer, Office of the Chief
Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, and comply with the procedures contained in NRC's Privacy
Act regulations, 10 CFR part 9.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Same as ``Notification Procedures.''
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Same as ``Notification Procedures.''
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Record source categories include, but are not limited to,
individuals covered by the system, their attorneys, or other
representatives; NRC; collection agencies or contractors; employing
agencies of debtors; and Federal, State and local agencies.
SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
None.
Dated at Rockville, MD, this 19th day of March 1998.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A.J. Galante,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-7811 Filed 3-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
