[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 245 (Friday, December 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77771-77773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29804]
[[Page 77771]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2008-0149]
Privacy Act of 1974; United States Coast Guard--012 Request for
Remission of Indebtedness System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and as part of the
Department of Homeland Security's ongoing effort to review and update
legacy system of records notices, the Department of Homeland Security
is giving notice that it proposes to update and reissue the following
legacy record system DOT/CG 639 Request for Remission of Indebtedness
as a Department of Homeland Security system of records notice titled,
United States Coast Guard Request--012 for Remission of Indebtedness.
Categories of individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses
of this legacy system of records notice have been reviewed and updated
to better reflect the Department of Homeland Security and the United
States Coast Guard's Request for Remission of Indebtedness record
system. This new system will be included in the Department of Homeland
Security's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 20,
2009. This new system will be effective January 20, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2008-0149 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
Mail: Hugo Teufel III, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments
received will be posted without change and may be read at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket, to read background
documents, or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
David Roberts (202-475-3521), United States Coast Guard Privacy
Officer, United States Coast Guard. For privacy issues please contact:
Hugo Teufel III (703-235-0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office,
Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Pursuant to the savings clause in the Homeland Security Act of
2002, Public Law 107-296, Section 1512, 116 Stat. 2310 (November 25,
2002), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its components and
offices have relied on preexisting Privacy Act systems of records
notices for the collection and maintenance of records that concern
active duty enlisted United States Coast Guard (USCG) personnel who
request remission of indebtedness. Enlisted members serving on active
duty who owe the government money may request to have the indebtedness,
or a portion of the indebtedness remitted, which is to say cancelled.
Enlisted members must submit an application which shows that they have
just cause for remission in accordance with the standards for remission
as outlined in the law.
As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its record
systems, DHS is updating and reissuing a USCG system of records under
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) that deals with the remission of
indebtedness for entitled USCG personnel. This record system will allow
DHS/USCG to collect and preserve the records regarding the remission of
indebtedness. The collection and maintenance of this information will
assist DHS/USCG in meeting its obligation to address requests of
remission of indebtedness for active duty enlisted USCG personnel.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and as part of the
Department of Homeland Security's ongoing effort to review and update
legacy system of records notices, the Department of Homeland Security
is giving notice that it proposes to update and reissue the following
legacy record system DOT/CG 639 Request for Remission of Indebtedness
(65 FR 19476 April 11, 2000) as a Department of Homeland Security/
United States Coast Guard system of records notice titled, Request for
Remission of Indebtedness. Categories of individuals, categories of
records, and the routine uses of this legacy system of records notice
have been reviewed and updated to better reflect the Department of
Homeland Security and the United States Coast Guard's--012 Request for
Remission of Indebtedness record system. This new system will be
included in the Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record
systems.
II. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' information.
The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system
of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under
the control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name
of an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act,
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and lawful
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR
part 5.
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to
which their records are put, and to assist individuals to more easily
find such files within the agency. Below is the description of the
Request for Remission of Indebtedness Files System of Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this new system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and
to Congress.
System of Records: DHS/USCG-012
System name:
United States Coast Guard--012 Request for Remission of
Indebtedness.
Security classification:
Unclassified.
[[Page 77772]]
System location:
Records are maintained at the United States Coast Guard
Headquarters in Washington, DC and field offices.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Active duty enlisted USCG personnel.
Categories of records in the system:
Categories of records in this system include:
Individual's name; employee ID number (EMPLID), command
name, and command address.
Individual's Leave and Earning Statement (LES), including
home address.
Correspondence submitted to the USCG, such as leave and
earning statements, letters or notices of indebtedness, financial
worksheets, travel orders, or other documents related to the cause for
indebtedness;
Requests for endorsements;
Correspondence submitted by the enlisted member, as
appropriate;
Research material on the individual's file;
Paneling action;
Commandant's decision.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301; the Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 14 U.S.C.
461, 632.
Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to aid USCG in making determinations
whether an active duty enlisted member is eligible to have the
indebtedness to the U.S. Government forgiven, or a portion of the
indebtedness pursuant to 14 U.S.C. 461, based on the best interests of
the individual and the Government.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records of
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or
administrative body, when:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. The United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines
that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS
collected the records.
B. To a 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.
C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other
Federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or
oversight function.
E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the
individual that rely upon the compromised information; and
3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
G. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international,
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal,
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and
consistent with the official duties of the person making the
disclosure.
H. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers,
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent
it is determined that release of the specific information in the
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.
Retrievability:
Records may be retrieved alphabetically by name.
Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the
information for the performance of their official duties and who have
appropriate clearances or permissions.
Retention and disposal:
Records are retained for five years past the date of the final
adjudication.
System Manager and address:
Director, Personnel Management Directorate, G-WP, United States
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 2nd Street, SW., Washington, DC 20593-
0001.
Notification procedure:
Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record
contained in
[[Page 77773]]
this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may submit a
request in writing to USCG, Commandant (CG-611), 2100 2nd St., SW.,
Attn: FOIA Coordinator, Washington, DC 20593-0001.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other USCG system of records your request must conform with the
Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Director,
Disclosure and FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition
you should provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you,
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created,
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the USCG will not be able to
conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack
of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record source categories:
Individuals covered by this system of records and Coast Guard
Officials.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
Dated: December 10, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-29804 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]
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