Federal Register, Volume 76 Issue 31 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8755-8758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3450]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2010-0090]

Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/ALL--032
Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records 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, the Department of
Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department of Homeland
Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland Security/
ALL--032 Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records System
of Records.'' This system of records will allow the Department of
Homeland Security to collect and maintain a copy of an official
passport application or maintenance record on Department of Homeland
Security employees and former employees, including political
appointees, civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family
members that accompany military members assigned outside the
continental United States) assigned or detailed to the Department,
individuals who are formally or informally associated with the
Department, including advisory committee members, employees of other
agencies and departments in the federal government, and other
individuals in the private and public sector who are on official
business with the Department, who in their official capacity, are
applying for an official passport or updating their official passport
records where a copy is maintained by the Department. Passport
applications and updated passport records are transmitted to the
Department of State for passport issuance. Official passport
application and maintenance records maintained by the Department of
State are covered by Department of State--26 Passport Records, January
9, 2008, found at http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c25533.htm. This newly
established system will be included in the Department of Homeland
Security's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 17, 2011. This new system
will be effective March 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2010-0090 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 703-483-2999.
Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, 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 to 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 or privacy
issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703-235-0780), Chief
Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to establish a new DHS
system of records titled, ``DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport Application
and Maintenance Records System of Records.''
This system of records will allow DHS to collect and maintain a
copy of an official passport application or maintenance record on DHS
employees and former employees, including political appointees,
civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family members
that accompany military members assigned outside the continental United
States) assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are
formally or informally associated with the Department, including
advisory committee members, employees of other agencies and departments
in the federal government, and other individuals in the private and
public sector who are on official business with the Department, who in
their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by
the Department. Passport applications and updated passport records are
transmitted to the Department of State for passport issuance. Official
passport application and maintenance records maintained by the
Department of State are covered by Department of State--26 Passport
Records, January 9, 2008, found at http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c25533.htm. This newly established system will be included in the
Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
DHS is authorized to implement this program primarily through 5
U.S.C. 301; 44 U.S.C. 3101; and 6 U.S.C. 112. This system has an affect
on individual privacy that is balanced by the need to collect and
maintain official passport records. Routine uses contained in this
notice include sharing with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal
advice and representation; to a congressional office at the request of
an individual; to the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) for records management; to contractors in support of their
contract assignment to DHS; to agencies, organizations or individuals
for the purpose of audit; to agencies, entities, or persons during a
security or information compromise or breach; to an agency,
organization, or individual when there could potentially

[[Page 8756]]

be a risk of harm to an individual; 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; to appropriate international authorities for administrative
purposes relating to international travel where such disclosure is
proper and consistent with the official duties of the traveling DHS
individual; to the Department of State (DOS) when DHS individuals who,
in their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by
DHS; to a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement
negotiations or in connection with criminal law proceedings or in
response to a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction; and to
the news media in the interest of the public. A review of this system
is being conducted to determine if the system of records collects
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
This newly established system will be included in DHS's inventory
of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a
statutory framework governing the means by which the U.S. Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. 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 U.S. 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.
Below is the description of the DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport
Application and Maintenance Records System of Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to
Congress.

System of Records

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ALL--032

System name:
DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records
System of Records.

Security classification:
Sensitive but Unclassified and Unclassified.

System location:
Records are maintained at DHS and Component Headquarters in
Washington, DC and field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
DHS employees and former employees, including political appointees,
civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family members
that accompany military members assigned outside the continental United
States) assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are
formally or informally associated with the Department, including
advisory committee members, employees of other agencies and departments
in the federal government, and other individuals in the private and
public sector who are on official business with the Department, who in
their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by
the Department.

Categories of records in the system:
Official passport books and passport cards, applications
for official passport books and official passport cards, maintenance
records in support of official passport books and official passport
cards, and applications for additional visa pages, amendments,
extensions, replacements, and/or renewals of official passport books or
cards (including all information and materials submitted as part of or
with all such applications) including, but not limited to:
[cir] Name, date of birth, social security number, contact
information, and address;
Applications for registration at American Diplomatic and
Consular Posts as U.S. citizens or for issuance of Cards of Identity
and Registration as U.S. Citizens;
Consular Reports of Birth Abroad of United States
citizens;
Certificates of Witness to Marriage;
Certificates of Loss of United States Nationality;
Oaths of Repatriation;
Consular Certificates of Repatriation;
Reports of Death of an American Citizen Abroad;
Cards of Identity and Registration as U.S. citizens; and
Miscellaneous materials, which are documents and/or
records maintained separately, if not in the application, including but
not limited to the following types of documents:
[cir] Birth and baptismal certificates;
[cir] Medical, personal, and financial reports; and/or
[cir] Records of lost and stolen passports.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301; 44 U.S.C. 3101; and 6 U.S.C. 112.

Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to collect and maintain a copy of an
official passport application or maintenance record on DHS employees
and former employees, including political appointees, civilian, and
military personnel (and dependents and family members that accompany
military members assigned outside the continental United States)
assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are formally or
informally associated with the Department, including advisory committee
members, employees of other agencies and departments in the federal
government, and other individuals in the private and public sector who
are on official business with the Department, who in their official
capacity, are applying for an official passport or updating their
official passport records where a copy is maintained by the Department.

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 or
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 (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney
Offices, or other federal agency conducting litigation or in
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;

[[Page 8757]]

3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. The U.S. 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 (NARA) 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. DHS 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 appropriate foreign government authorities for administrative
purposes relating to foreign travel in order to facilitate official
travel for the individual traveling.
I. To the Department of State when employees and former employees,
including political appointees, civilian, and military personnel (and
dependents and family members that accompany military members assigned
outside the continental United States) assigned or detailed to the
Department, individuals who are formally or informally associated with
the Department, including advisory committee members, employees of
other agencies and departments in the federal government, and other
individuals in the private and public sector who are on official
business with the Department, who in their official capacity, are
applying for an official passport or updating their official passport
records where a copy is maintained by DHS in order to receive an
official passport.
J. To a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement
negotiations or in connection with criminal law proceedings or in
response to a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction.
K. 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 by any of the Category of Records Listed
above.

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 within this system of records are maintained and disposed
of in accordance with NARA approved General Records Schedule (GRS) 9
Item 5, Sections a-c. Application files including documents relating to
the issuance of official passports, including requests for passports,
transmittal letters, receipts, and copies of travel authorizations
should be destroyed when 3 years old or upon separation of the
employee, whichever is sooner in accordance with N1-GRS-91-1, item 5a.
Annual reports concerning official passports including reports to the
DOS concerning the number of official passports issued and related
matters should be destroyed when 1 year old in accordance with N1-GRS-
91-1, item 5b. Passport registers including registers and lists of
agency personnel who have official passports should be destroyed when
superseded or obsolete in accordance with N1-GRS-98-2, item 9. Official
passports should be returned to the DOS upon expiration or upon the
separation of the employee.

System Manager and address:
Program Manager for Passport Processing (202-282-8020), Service
Center, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Department of
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

[[Page 8758]]

Notification procedure:
Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content,
may submit a request in writing to the headquarters or component FOIA
Officer, whose contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes more than one
component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her the
individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland
Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, STOP-0655, Washington,
DC 20528.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental 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 Chief Privacy
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, 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;
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe
may have the information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created;
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records;
and
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 component(s) may 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:
Records are obtained from Department employees and contractors.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.

Dated: January 21, 2011.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-3450 Filed 2-14-11; 8:45 am]
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