[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78802-78804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31534]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Financial Management Service
Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; System of Records
AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed new system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the
Financial Management Service gives notice of a proposed new Privacy Act
system of records entitled ``Treasury/FMS .008-Mailing List Records.''
DATES: Comments must be received no later than January 18, 2011. The
proposed new system of records will become effective January 18, 2011
unless comments are received which would result in a contrary
determination.
ADDRESSES: You should send your comments to Peter Genova, Deputy Chief
Information Officer, Financial Management Service, 401 14th Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20227. Comments received will be available for
inspection at the same address between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday. You may send your comments by electronic mail to
[email protected] or regulations.gov. All comments, including
attachments and other supporting materials, received are subject to
public disclosure. You should submit only information that you wish to
make available publicly.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Genova, Deputy Chief Information
Officer, (202) 874-1736.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Financial Management Service (FMS) is
proposing to establish a new system of records entitled ``Mailing List
Records--Treasury/FMS .008.'' FMS proposes to obtain and use mailing
list records from commercial database providers for the purpose of
mailing information to low- to moderate-income individuals (individuals
with income under $35,000 annually), who are more likely to be unbanked
or underbanked, about options to receive Federal tax refund payments
electronically. The letters will include information about a debit card
account recommended by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)
to which Federal tax refund payments may be electronically deposited.
Commercial database providers obtain information from publicly
available records or through means that we understand to be compliant
with applicable privacy laws.
FMS, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury
(Treasury), is responsible for disbursing public money by paper check
and electronic funds transfer (EFT) on behalf of most Federal agencies.
Making payments by EFT, rather than by paper check, benefits both
recipients and the Government. Direct deposit and other EFT payments
are credited to recipients' accounts on the day payment is due, so the
funds generally are available sooner than with check payments.
Individuals receiving Federal payments electronically rarely have any
delays or problems with their payments. In contrast, based on payment
claims filed with FMS, nine out of ten problems with FMS-disbursed
payments are related to paper checks even though checks constitute only
18 percent of all FMS-disbursed payments made by the Government. For
example, in fiscal year 2010, FMS mailed more than 130 million Federal
benefit checks to approximately 11 million benefit recipients,
resulting in extra costs to taxpayers of more than $117 million that
would not have been incurred had those payments been made by EFT. In
the same fiscal year, only 63% of taxpayers received their tax refund
payment electronically, with approximately 45 million tax refund
payments being delivered by paper check, resulting in extra costs to
the tax payers of more than $40 million that would not have been
incurred had the payments been made by EFT. For individuals receiving
EFT instead of paper check they receive their refund more quickly, with
a much smaller chance of delay such as a lost or stolen check, and if
they have no bank account without the need to pay for private check
cashing service to get access quickly to the funds in their refund
check.
For the 2010 tax filing season, FMS will mail approximately 600,000
letters to low- and moderate-income individuals offering them the
opportunity to participate in a pilot program to establish a reloadable
debit card account to which their Federal tax refund payments could be
deposited electronically. For this purpose, FMS will purchase name and
address information for low- to moderate-income individuals from a
commercial database provider. In addition, the mailing list records may
also be used to study the effectiveness of mailing outreach designed to
streamline payment processes.
The records covered by the proposed system are necessary to allow
FMS to offer electronic payment options to a wide variety of potential
Federal payment recipients. The records may be received directly by
FMS, its fiscal or financial agents, and/or contractors. The records
include names and mailing addresses only as necessary to deliver
information to individuals about the benefits of electronic payments
and the availability of a Treasury-recommended debit card account that
can be used to receive payments electronically. Without such
information, FMS would have significant difficulty in reaching low- to
moderate-income individuals who may be receiving a tax refund payment
to inform them about the benefits of electronic payments and the
availability of the Treasury-recommended debit card account for this
purpose.
In addition to the purposes cited above, the information contained
in the covered records will be used to study the effectiveness to
evaluate how the group responded to account options, and whether they
utilized them. To study program efficacy, FMS may use its mailing list
records to collect aggregate statistical information on the success and
benefits of direct mail and the use of commercial database providers.
FMS recognizes the sensitive nature of the confidential information
it obtains when collecting individuals' names and addresses, and has
many safeguards in place to protect the information from theft or
inadvertent disclosure. When appropriate, FMS's arrangements with its
fiscal and financial agents and contractors include requirements that
preclude them from retaining, disclosing, and using the information for
any purpose other than mailing of information about the benefit of
electronic payments and account options and assessing the effectiveness
of the outreach. In addition to various procedural and physical
safeguards, access to computerized records is limited, through the use
of access codes, encryption techniques and/or other internal
mechanisms. Access to records is granted only as authorized by a
business line manager at FMS or FMS's fiscal or financial agent to
those whose official duties require access solely for the purposes
outlined in the proposed system.
The new system of records report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r)
of the Privacy Act, has been submitted to the Committee on Government
Reform of the House of Representatives, the
[[Page 78803]]
Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Office of
Management and Budget, pursuant to Appendix I to OMB Circular A-130,
``Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About
Individuals,'' dated November 30, 2000.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, FMS proposes a new
system of records Treasury/FMS .008-Mailing List Records, which is
published in its entirety below.
Dated: December 8, 2010.
Melissa Hartman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
Treasury/FMS .008
System name:
Mailing List Records--Treasury/Financial Management Service.
System location:
Records are located at the offices of Financial Management Service,
401 14th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20227, or its fiscal or financial
agents at various locations. The addresses of the fiscal or financial
agents may be obtained by contacting the System Manager below.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Low- to moderate-income individuals, who are more likely to be
unbanked or underbanked, who could potentially receive Federal tax
refund payments, and whose names and addresses are included on mailing
lists purchased from commercial providers.
Categories of records in the system:
The records may contain identifying information, such as an
individual's name(s) and address.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321; 31 U.S.C. chapter 33; 31 U.S.C. 3332;
Title XII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act (Pub. L. 111-203, Jul. 21, 2010).
Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to maintain limited records (names
and addresses) about low- to moderate income individuals, who are more
likely to be unbanked or underbanked, and who could potentially receive
Federal tax refund payments. The records are used to send letters to
individuals informing them of the benefits of electronic payments and
Treasury-recommended account options for receiving payments
electronically. Without the information, FMS, its fiscal or financial
agents and contractors, would not be able to directly notify
prospective payment recipients about the benefits of electronic
payments and the Treasury-recommended account options for the receipt
of Federal payments electronically.
The information will also be used to study the effectiveness of
offering account options to individuals for the purpose of receiving
Federal payments. To study program efficacy, FMS may use its mailing
list records to collect aggregate statistical information on the
success and benefits of direct mail and the use of commercial database
providers.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
These records may be used to disclose information to:
(1) The U.S. Department of Justice (``DOJ'') for its use in
providing legal advice to the Department or in representing the
Department in a proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, or other
administrative body before which the Department is authorized to
appear, where the use of such information by the DOJ is deemed by the
Department to be relevant and necessary to the litigation, and such
proceeding names as a party or interests: (a) The Department or any
component thereof; (b) Any employee of the Department in his or her
official capacity; (c) Any employee of the Department in his or her
individual capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or
(d) The United States, where the Department determines that litigation
is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.
(2) A congressional office in response to an inquiry made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
(3) Fiscal agents, financial agents, and contractors for the
purpose of mailing information to individuals about the benefits of
electronic Federal payments and Treasury-recommended account options
for receipt of federal payments electronically, including, but not
limited to, processing direct mail or performing other marketing
functions; and creating and reviewing statistics to improve the quality
of services provided.
(4) Federal agencies, their agents and contractors for the purposes
of implementing and studying options for encouraging current and
prospective Federal payment recipients to receive their Federal
payments electronically.
(5) Representatives of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) who are conducting records management inspections
under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
(6) Appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) FMS
suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of
information in the system of records has been compromised; (b) FMS 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 FMS or another agency
or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; and (c) the
disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably
necessary to assist in connection with FMS's efforts to respond to the
suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such
harm.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records are maintained in paper and electronic media.
Retrievability:
Records are retrieved by name, address, or other alpha/numeric
identifying information.
Safeguards:
All official access to the system of records is on a need-to-know
basis only, as authorized by a business line manager at FMS or FMS's
fiscal or financial agent. Procedural and physical safeguards, such as
personal accountability, audit logs, and specialized communications
security, are utilized. Each user of computer systems containing
records has individual passwords (as opposed to group passwords) for
which he or she is responsible. Thus, a security manager can identify
access to the records by user. Access to computerized records is
limited, through use of access codes, encryption techniques, and/or
other internal mechanisms, to those whose official duties require
access. Storage facilities are secured by various means such as
security guards, badge access, and locked doors with key entry.
Retention and disposal:
Electronic and paper records for mail operations based on the use
of the mailing list records will be retained in accordance with FMS's
record retention requirements or as otherwise required by statute or
court order. FMS disposes, or arranges for the disposal of records in
[[Page 78804]]
electronic media using industry-accepted techniques, and in accordance
with applicable FMS policies regarding the retention and disposal of
fiscal or financial agency records. Paper records are destroyed in
accordance with fiscal or financial agency archive and disposal
procedures and applicable FMS policies regarding the retention and
disposal of fiscal agency records.
System manager(s) and address:
Agency Enterprise Solutions Division, Payment Management, Financial
Management Service, 401 14th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20227.
Notification procedure:
Inquiries under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, shall be
addressed to the Disclosure Officer, Financial Management Service, 401
14th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20227. All individuals making
inquiries should provide with their request as much descriptive matter
as is possible to identify the particular record desired. The system
manager will advise as to whether FMS maintains the records requested
by the individual.
Record access procedures:
Individuals requesting information under the Privacy Act of 1974,
as amended, concerning procedures for gaining access to or contesting
records should write to the Disclosure Officer. All individuals are
urged to examine the rules of the U.S. Department of the Treasury
published in 31 CFR part 1, subpart C, and appendix G, concerning
requirements of this Department with respect to the Privacy Act of
1974, as amended.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Record access procedures'' above.
Record source categories:
Information in this system is provided by commercial database
providers based on publicly available information.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
[FR Doc. 2010-31534 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-35-P