[Federal Register: November 17, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 221)] [Notices] [Page 61306-61307] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17no97-43] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Privacy Act of 1974; Computer Matching Program AGENCY: Department of Education. ACTION: Notice--computer matching between the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Treasury. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, Public Law 100-503, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of Matching Programs, notice is hereby given of the computer matching program between the Department of Education (ED) (the recipient agency), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of Treasury (the source agency). Notice of the matching program was originally published in the Federal Register on June 3, 1993 (58 FR 31587); the program became effective on May 8,1995. Duration was 18 months plus a one-year extension permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D)). The one-year extension expired on August 31, 1997. This document notifies the public of the approval of a new agreement between the Department of Treasury and Department of Education to continue the matching program. The Data Integrity Boards of both agencies have approved this new agreement. In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, and OMB guidance on the computer matching provision of the Privacy Act, the following is provided: 1. Name of Participating Agencies The U. S. Department of Education (ED) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the U. S. Department of Treasury. 2. Purpose of the Match This matching program, entitled Taxpayer Address Request , permits ED to have access to any taxpayer's mailing address who has defaulted on certain loans extended under the Higher Education Act for the purposes of locating the taxpayer to collect the loan. This Agreement further provides for redisclosure by the Secretary of Education of a taxpayer's mailing address to any lender, or State or nonprofit guarantee agency, also participating under the Higher Education Act, or any educational institution with which the Secretary of Education has an agreement under that Act. [[Page 61307]] 3. Authority for Conducting the Matching Program The information contained in the IRS data base is referred to TAR, and is authorized under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 6103 (m) (4), Public Law 99-603. ED seeks access to this data base under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended under section 3 (a) (1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962. 4. Categories of Records and Individuals Covered The records to be used in the match and the roles of the matching participants are described as follows: ED will provide the Social Security Number (ssn) and first four letters of the last name of each student who has defaulted under a loan program authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This information will be extracted from the Title IV Program File system of records (18-40-0024). The ED data will be matched against IRS'' system of records to collect the most recent address of each taxpayer who matches the SSN and first four letters provided by ED. 5. Effective Dates of the Matching Program The matching program will become effective 40-days after a copy of the agreement, as approved by the Data Integrity Board of each agency, is sent to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget, or 30-days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register, unless OMB disapproves the Matching Program within the 40-day review period. If OMB takes no action within the 40-days, this Matching Program becomes effective after both the 40-day OMB period and the 30-day Federal Register period have passed. The matching program will continue for 18 months after the effective date and may be extended for an additional 12 months, if the conditions specified in 5 U. S. C. 552a (o) (2) (D) have been met. 6. Address for Receipt of Public Comments or Inquiries The person to contact if there are any questions or inquiries is: Cynthia D.B. Mills, Management Analyst, Federal Family Student Loan Systems Division, Office of Postsecondary Education, Development Division, US Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, (Room 4613, ROB-3), Washington, DC 20202, Telephone: 202-708-9768. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TTD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding paragraph. Electronic Access to This Document Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the following sites: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm http://www.ed.gov/news.html To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using the pdf, call the U. S. Government Printing Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498. Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an electronic bulletin board of the Department . Telephone: (202) 219-1511 or toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option G--Files/Announcement, Bulletins and Press Releases. Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Dated: November 7, 1997. David A. Longanecker, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. [FR Doc. 97-30050 Filed 11-14-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P