Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, DoD.

ACTION:

Notice to Alter a System of Records.

SUMMARY:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is proposing to alter a systems of records notice in its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

DATES:

This proposed action will be effective without further notice on September 8, 2009 unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to the Privacy Act Officer, Freedom of Information Directorate, Washington Headquarters Services, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mrs. Cindy Allard at (703) 588-6830.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the Federal Register and are available from the address above.

The proposed system report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, was submitted on July 17, 2009, to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. A-130, “Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,” dated February 8, 1996 (February 20, 1996, 61 FR 6427).

DMDC 02 DoD

SYSTEM NAME:

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) (April 22, 2009)

CHANGES:

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Delete entry and replace with “5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. Chapter 53, Miscellaneous Rights and Benefits, Chapter 54, Commissary and Exchange Benefits, Chapter 55 Medical and Dental Care, Chapter 58 Benefits and Services for Members being Separated or Recently Separated, and Chapter 75 Deceased Personnel; 10 U.S.C. 136 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Readiness; 20 U.S.C. 1070a (f)(4), Higher Education Opportunity Act; 31 U.S.C. 3512(c) Executive Agency Accounting and Other Financial Management; 50 U.S.C. Chapter 23, Internal Security; DoD Directive 1341.1, Defense Enrollment/Eligibility Reporting System; DoD Instruction 1341.2, DEERS Procedures; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 (Pub. L. 95-452, as amended Inspector General Act of 1978; Pub. L. 106-265, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance; and 10 U.S.C. 2358, Research and Development Projects; 42 U.S.C., Chapter 20, Subchapter I-G, Registration and Voting by Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters in Elections for Federal Office, Sec. 1973ff, Federal responsibilities and DoD Directive 1000.4, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP); Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Policy for a common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; 38 CFR part 9.20, Traumatic injury protection, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance; and E.O. 9397 (SSN) as amended.”

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

Delete entry and replace with “In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act of 1974, these records may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

1. To the Social Security Administration (SSA) to perform computer data matching against the SSA Wage and Earnings Record file for the purpose of identifying employers of Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries eligible for health care. This employer data will in turn be used to identify those employed beneficiaries who have employment-related group health insurance, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by the other insurance. This information will also be used to perform computer data matching against the SSA Master Beneficiary Record file for the purpose of identifying DoD beneficiaries eligible for health care who are enrolled in the Medicare Program, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by Medicare.

2. To the Office of Disability and Insurance Security Programs, for the purpose of expediting disability processing of wounded military service members and veterans.

3. To other Federal agencies and State, local and territorial governments to identify fraud and abuse of the Federal agency's programs and to identify debtors and collect debts and overpayment in the DoD health care programs.

4. To each of the fifty States and the District of Columbia for the purpose of conducting an on going computer matching program with State Medicaid agencies to determine the extent to which State Medicaid beneficiaries may be eligible for Uniformed Services health care benefits, including CHAMPUS, TRICARE, and to recover Medicaid monies from the CHAMPUS program.

5. To provide dental care providers assurance of treatment eligibility.

6. To Federal agencies and/or their contractors, in response to their requests, for purposes of authenticating the identity of individuals who, incident to the conduct of official business, present the Common Access Card or similar identification as proof of identity to gain physical or logical access to government and contractor facilities, locations, networks, or systems.

7. To State and local child support enforcement agencies for purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 29 U.S.C. 1169(a), 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19), and E.O. 12953 and in response to a National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) (or equivalent notice if based upon the statutory authority for the NMSN), regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD health care coverage. Note: Information requested by the States is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)).

8. To the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

a. For purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 653 and in response to an HHS request, regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD healthcare coverage. Note: Information requested by HHS is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)).

b. For purposes of providing information so that specified Medicare determinations, specifically late enrollment and waiver of penalty, can be made for eligible (1) DoD military retirees and (2) spouses (or former spouses) and/or dependents of either military retirees or active duty military personnel, pursuant to section 625 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2002 (as codified at 42 U.S.C. 1395p and 1395r).

c. To the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Federal Parent Locator Service, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653 and 653a; to assist in locating individuals for the purpose of establishing parentage; establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; or enforcing child custody or visitation orders; the relationship to a child receiving benefits provided by a third party and the name and SSN of those third party providers who have a legal responsibility. Identifying delinquent obligors will allow State Child Support Enforcement agencies to commence wage withholding or other enforcement actions against the obligors.

d. For purposes of providing information to the Centers for Medicare and MEDICAID Services (CMS) to account for the impact of DoD healthcare on local reimbursement rates for the Medicare Advantage program as required in 42 CFR 422.306.

9. To the American Red Cross for purposes of providing emergency notification and assistance to members of the Armed Forces, retirees, family members or survivors.

10. To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA):

a. To provide military personnel, pay and wounded, ill and injured identification data for present and former military personnel for the purpose of evaluating use of veterans' benefits, validating benefit eligibility and maintaining the health and well being of veterans and their family members.

b. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA and its insurance program contractor for the purpose of notifying separating eligible Reservists of their right to apply for Veteran's Group Life Insurance coverage under the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 1968) and for DVA to administer the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) (Traumatic Injury Protection Rider to Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI), 38 CFR part 9.20).

c. To register eligible veterans and their dependents for DVA programs.

d. Providing identification of former military personnel and survivor's financial benefit data to DVA for the purpose of identifying military retired pay and survivor benefit payments for use in the administration of the DVA's Compensation and Pension Program (38 U.S.C. 5106). The information is to be used to process all DVA award actions more efficiently, reduce subsequent overpayment collection actions, and minimize erroneous payments.

e. To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purposes of:

(1) Providing full identification of active duty military personnel, including full time National Guard/Reserve support personnel, for use in the administration of DVA's Compensation and Pension benefit program. The information is used to determine continued eligibility for DVA disability compensation to recipients who have returned to active duty so that benefits can be adjusted or terminated as required and steps taken by DVA to collect any resulting overpayment (38 U.S.C. 5304(c)).

(2) Providing military personnel and financial data to the Veterans Benefits Administration, DVA for the purpose of determining initial eligibility and any changes in eligibility status to insure proper payment of benefits for GI Bill education and training benefits by the DVA under the Montgomery GI Bill (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1606—Selected Reserve and Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 30—Active Duty), the REAP educational benefit (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1607), and the National Call to Service enlistment educational benefit (Title 10, Chapter 510). The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 33) and The Transferability of education assistance to family members. The administrative responsibilities designated to both agencies by the law require that data be exchanged in administering the programs.

(3) Providing identification of reserve duty, including full time support National Guard/Reserve military personnel, to the DVA, for the purpose of deducting reserve time served from any DVA disability compensation paid or waiver of VA benefit. The law (10 U.S.C. 12316) prohibits receipt of reserve pay and DVA compensation for the same time period, however, it does permit waiver of DVA compensation to draw reserve pay.

(4) Providing identification of former active duty military personnel who received separation payments to the DVA for the purpose of deducting such repayment from any DVA disability compensation paid. The law requires recoupment of severance payments before DVA disability compensation can be paid (10 U.S.C. 1174).

f. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA for the purpose of notifying such personnel of information relating to educational assistance as required by the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (38 U.S.C. 3011 and 3034).

11. To DoD Civilian Contractors and grantees for the purpose of performing research on manpower problems for statistical analyses.

12. To consumer reporting agencies to obtain current addresses of separated military personnel to notify them of potential benefits eligibility.

13. To Defense contractors to monitor the employment of former DoD employees and military members subject to the provisions of 41 U.S.C. 423.

14. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, State, and local governments to support personnel functions requiring data on prior military service credit for their employees or for job applications. To determine continued eligibility and help eliminate fraud and abuse in benefit programs and to collect debts and overpayments owed to these programs. Information released includes name, Social Security Number, and military or civilian address of individuals. To detect fraud, waste and abuse pursuant to the authority contained in the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-452) for the purpose of determining eligibility for, and/or continued compliance with, any Federal benefit program requirements.

15. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, State and local governments, and contractors and grantees for the purpose of supporting research studies concerned with the health and well-being of active duty, reserve, and retired personnel or veterans, to include family members. DMDC will disclose information from this system of records for research purposes when DMDC:

a. Has determined that the use or disclosure does not violate legal or policy limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained;

b. Has determined that the research purpose (1) cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form, and (2) warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring;

c. Has required the recipient to (1) establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and (2) remove or destroy the information that identifies the individual at the earliest time at which removal or destruction can be accomplished consistent with the purpose of the research project, unless the recipient has presented adequate justification of a research or health nature for retaining such information, and (3) make no further use or disclosure of the record except (A) in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual, (B) for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with written authorization of the Department, (C) for disclosure to a properly identified person for the purpose of an audit related to the research project, if information that would enable research subjects to be identified is removed or destroyed at the earliest opportunity consistent with the purpose of the audit, or (D) when required by law;

d. Has secured a written statement attesting to the recipients' understanding of, and willingness to abide by these provisions.

16. To Federal and State agencies for purposes of obtaining socioeconomic information on Armed Forces personnel so that analytical studies can be conducted with a view to assessing the present needs and future requirements of such personnel.

17. To Federal and State agencies to validate demographic data (e.g., Social Security Number, citizenship status, date and place of birth, etc.) for individuals in DoD personnel and pay files so that accurate information is available in support of DoD requirements.

18. To the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, for purposes of facilitating the verification of individuals who may be eligible for expedited naturalization (Pub. L. 108-136, Section 1701, and E.O. 13269, Expedited Naturalization).

19. To the Federal voting program to provide unit and e-mail addresses for the purpose of notifying the military members where to obtain absentee ballots.

20. To the Department of Homeland Security for the conduct of studies related to the health and well-being of Coast Guard members and to authenticate and identify Coast Guard personnel.

21. To Coast Guard recruiters in the performance of their assigned duties.

22. To Federal Agencies, to include OPM, Postal Service, Executive Office of the President and Administrative Office of the Courts; to conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purpose of:

a. Providing all reserve military members eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) to be matched against the Federal agencies for providing those reserve military members that are also Federal civil service employees. This disclosure by the Federal agencies will provide the DoD with the FEHB eligibility and Federal employment information necessary to determine continuing eligibility for the TRS program. Only those reservists not eligible for FEHB are eligible for TRS (Section 1076d of title 10).

b. Providing all reserve military members to be matched against the Federal agencies for the purpose of identifying the Reserve Forces who are also employed by the Federal Government in a civilian position, so that reserve status can be terminated if necessary. To accomplish an emergency mobilization, individuals occupying critical civilian positions cannot be mobilized as Reservists.

c. To the Department of Education for the purpose of identifying dependent children of those military members killed in Operation Iraq Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF), Afghanistan Only, for possible benefits.”

DMDC 02 DoD

SYSTEM NAME:

Defense Enrollment Eligibility Recording System (DEERS)

SYSTEM LOCATION:

EDS—Service Management Center, 1075 West Entrance Drive, Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2723.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Active duty members and other Uniformed Servicemembers, i.e., Department of Defense (DoD), Coast Guard, NOAA and USPHS; Reserve Members; National Guard members; State National Guard Employees; Presidential Appointees of all Federal Government agencies; DoD and Uniformed Service civil service employees, except Presidential appointees; Disabled American veterans; DoD and Uniformed Service contract employees; Former members (Reserve service, discharged RR or SR following notification of retirement eligibility); Medal of Honor recipients; Non-DoD civil service employees; U.S. Military Academy Students; Non-appropriated fund DoD and Uniformed Service employees (NAF); Non-Federal Agency Civilian associates, i.e. American Red Cross Emergency Services paid employees, Non-DoD contract employees; Reserve retirees not yet eligible for retired pay; Retired military members eligible for retired pay; Foreign Affiliates; DoD OCONUS Hires; DoD Beneficiaries; Civilian Retirees; Dependents; Members of the general public treated for a medical emergency in a DoD Medical Facility; Emergency Contact Person; Care Givers; Prior Military Eligible for VA benefits.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Computer files containing beneficiary's name; Service or Social Security Number; enrollment number; relationship of beneficiary to sponsor; residence address of beneficiary or sponsor; date of birth of beneficiary; sex of beneficiary; branch of Service of sponsor; dates of beginning and ending eligibility; number of family members of sponsor; primary unit duty location of sponsor; race and ethnic origin of beneficiary; occupation of sponsor; rank/pay grade of sponsor; disability documentation; wounded, ill and injured identification information; Medicare eligibility and enrollment data; primary and secondary fingerprints and photographs of beneficiaries; blood test results; Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA); dental care eligibility codes and dental x-rays.

Catastrophic Cap and Deductible (CCD) transactions, including monetary amounts; CHAMPUS/TRICARE claim records containing enrollee, participant and health care facility, provider data such as cause of treatment, amount of payment, name and Social Security or tax identification number of providers or potential providers of care; citizenship data/country of birth; civil service employee employment information (agency and bureau, pay plan and grade, nature of action code and nature of action effective date, occupation series, dates of promotion and expected return from overseas, service computation date); claims data; compensation data; contractor fee payment data; date of separation of former enlisted and officer personnel; demographic data (kept on others beyond beneficiaries) date of birth, home of record State, sex, race, education level; Department of Veterans Affairs disability payment records; digital signatures where appropriate to assert validity of data; e-mail (home/work); emergency contact information; immunization data; Information Assurance (IA) Workforce information; language data; military personnel information (rank, assignment/deployment, length of service, military occupation, education, and benefit usage); pharmacy benefits; reason leaving military service or DoD civilian service; Reserve member's civilian occupation and employment information; education benefit eligibility and usage; special military pay information; SGLI/FGLI; stored documents for proving identity and association; workforce information (e.g. Acquisition, First Responders); Privacy Act audit logs.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. Chapters 53, Miscellaneous Rights and Benefits, Chapter 54, Commissary and Exchange Benefits, Chapter 55 Medical and Dental Care, Chapter 58 Benefits and Services for Members being Separated or Recently Separated, and Chapter 75 Deceased Personnel; 10 U.S.C. 136 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Readiness; 20 U.S.C. 1070a(f)(4), Higher Education Opportunity Act; 31 U.S.C. 3512(c) Executive Agency Accounting and Other Financial Management; 50 U.S.C. Chapter 23, Internal Security; DoD Directive 1341.1, Defense Enrollment/Eligibility Reporting System; DoD Instruction 1341.2, DEERS Procedures; 5 U.S.C. App. 3 (Pub. L. 95-452, as amended Inspector General Act of 1978; Pub. L. 106-265, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance; and 10 U.S.C. 2358, Research and Development Projects; 42 U.S.C., Chapter 20, Subchapter I-G, Registration and Voting by Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters in Elections for Federal Office, Sec. 1973ff, Federal responsibilities and DoD Directive 1000.4, Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP); Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, Policy for a common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors; 38 CFR part 9.20, Traumatic injury protection, Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance and Veterans' Group Life Insurance; and E.O. 9397 (SSN), as amended.

PURPOSE(S):

The purpose of the system is to provide a database for determining eligibility to DoD entitlements and privileges; to support DoD health care management programs; to provide identification of deceased members; to record the issuance of DoD badges and identification cards, i.e., Common Access Cards (CAC) or beneficiary cards; and to detect fraud and abuse of the benefit programs by claimants and providers to include appropriate collection actions arising out of any debts incurred as a consequence of such programs.

To authenticate and identify DoD affiliated personnel (e.g., contractors); to assess manpower, support personnel and readiness functions; to perform statistical analyses; identify current DoD civilian and military personnel for purposes of detecting fraud and abuse of benefit programs; to register current DoD civilian and military personnel and their authorized dependents for purposes of obtaining medical examination, treatment or other benefits to which they are entitled; to ensure benefit eligibility is retained after separation from the military; information will be used by agency officials and employees, or authorized contractors, and other DoD Components for personnel and manpower studies; and to assist in recruiting prior-service personnel.

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 of 1974, these records may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

1. To the Social Security Administration (SSA) to perform computer data matching against the SSA Wage and Earnings Record file for the purpose of identifying employers of Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries eligible for health care. This employer data will in turn be used to identify those employed beneficiaries who have employment-related group health insurance, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by the other insurance. This information will also be used to perform computer data matching against the SSA Master Beneficiary Record file for the purpose of identifying DoD beneficiaries eligible for health care who are enrolled in the Medicare Program, to coordinate insurance benefits provided by DoD with those provided by Medicare.

2. To the Office of Disability and Insurance Security Programs, for the purpose of expediting disability processing of wounded military service members and veterans.

3. To other Federal agencies and State, local and territorial governments to identify fraud and abuse of the Federal agency's programs and to identify debtors and collect debts and overpayment in the DoD health care programs.

4. To each of the fifty States and the District of Columbia for the purpose of conducting an on going computer matching program with State Medicaid agencies to determine the extent to which State Medicaid beneficiaries may be eligible for Uniformed Services health care benefits, including CHAMPUS, TRICARE, and to recover Medicaid monies from the CHAMPUS program.

5. To provide dental care providers assurance of treatment.

6. To Federal agencies and/or their contractors, in response to their requests, for purposes of authenticating the identity of individuals who, incident to the conduct of official business, present the Common Access Card or similar identification as proof of identity to gain physical or logical access to government and contractor facilities, locations, networks, or systems.

7. To State and local child support enforcement agencies for purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 29 U.S.C. 1169(a), 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19), and E.O. 12953 and in response to a National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) (or equivalent notice if based upon the statutory authority for the NMSN), regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD health care coverage. Note: Information requested by the States is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)).

8. To the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

a. For purposes of providing information, consistent with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 653 and in response to an HHS request, regarding the military status of identified individuals and whether, and for what period of time, the children of such individuals are or were eligible for DoD healthcare coverage. Note: Information requested by HHS is not disclosed when it would contravene U.S. national policy or security interests (42 U.S.C. 653(e)).

b. For purposes of providing information so that specified Medicare determinations, specifically late enrollment and waiver of penalty, can be made for eligible (1) DoD military retirees and (2) spouses (or former spouses) and/or dependents of either military retirees or active duty military personnel, pursuant to section 625 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2002 (as codified at 42 U.S.C. 1395p and 1395r).

c. To the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Federal Parent Locator Service, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 653 and 653a; to assist in locating individuals for the purpose of establishing parentage; establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; or enforcing child custody or visitation orders; the relationship to a child receiving benefits provided by a third party and the name and SSN of those third party providers who have a legal responsibility. Identifying delinquent obligors will allow State Child Support Enforcement agencies to commence wage withholding or other enforcement actions against the obligors.

d. For purposes of providing information to the Centers for Medicare and MEDICAID Services (CMS) to account for the impact of DoD healthcare on local reimbursement rates for the Medicare Advantage program as required in 42 CFR 422.306.

9. To the American Red Cross for purposes of providing emergency notification and assistance to members of the Armed Forces, retirees, family members or survivors.

10. To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA):

a. To provide military personnel, pay and wounded, ill and injured identification data for present and former military personnel for the purpose of evaluating use of veterans' benefits, validating benefit eligibility and maintaining the health and well being of veterans and their family members.

b. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA and its insurance program contractor for the purpose of notifying separating eligible Reservists of their right to apply for Veteran's Group Life Insurance coverage under the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 (38 U.S.C. 1968) and for DVA to administer the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) (Traumatic Injury Protection Rider to Servicemember's Group Life Insurance (TSGLI), 38 CFR part 9.20).

c. To register eligible veterans and their dependents for DVA programs.

d. Providing identification of former military personnel and survivor's financial benefit data to DVA for the purpose of identifying military retired pay and survivor benefit payments for use in the administration of the DVA's Compensation and Pension Program (38 U.S.C. 5106). The information is to be used to process all DVA award actions more efficiently, reduce subsequent overpayment collection actions, and minimize erroneous payments.

e. To conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purposes of:

(1) Providing full identification of active duty military personnel, including full time National Guard/Reserve support personnel, for use in the administration of DVA's Compensation and Pension benefit program. The information is used to determine continued eligibility for DVA disability compensation to recipients who have returned to active duty so that benefits can be adjusted or terminated as required and steps taken by DVA to collect any resulting over payment (38 U.S.C. 5304(c)).

(2) Providing military personnel and financial data to the Veterans Benefits Administration, DVA for the purpose of determining initial eligibility and any changes in eligibility status to insure proper payment of benefits for GI Bill education and training benefits by the DVA under the Montgomery GI Bill (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1606—Selected Reserve and Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 30—Active Duty), the REAP educational benefit (Title 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1607), and the National Call to Service enlistment educational benefit (Title 10, Chapter 510). The Post 9/11 GI Bill (Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 33) and The Transferability of education assistance to family members. The administrative responsibilities designated to both agencies by the law require that data be exchanged in administering the programs.

(3) Providing identification of reserve duty, including full time support National Guard/Reserve military personnel, to the DVA, for the purpose of deducting reserve time served from any DVA disability compensation paid or waiver of VA benefit. The law (10 U.S.C. 12316) prohibits receipt of reserve pay and DVA compensation for the same time period, however, it does permit waiver of DVA compensation to draw reserve pay.

(4) Providing identification of former active duty military personnel who received separation payments to the DVA for the purpose of deducting such repayment from any DVA disability compensation paid. The law requires recoupment of severance payments before DVA disability compensation can be paid (10 U.S.C. 1174).

f. To provide identifying military personnel data to the DVA for the purpose of notifying such personnel of information relating to educational assistance as required by the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (38 U.S.C. 3011 and 3034).

11. To DoD Civilian Contractors and grantees for the purpose of performing research on manpower problems for statistical analyses.

12. To consumer reporting agencies to obtain current addresses of separated military personnel to notify them of potential benefits eligibility.

13. To Defense contractors to monitor the employment of former DoD employees and military members subject to the provisions of 41 U.S.C. 423.

14. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, State, and local governments to support personnel functions requiring data on prior military service credit for their employees or for job applications. To determine continued eligibility and help eliminate fraud and abuse in benefit programs and to collect debts and over payments owed to these programs. Information released includes name, Social Security Number, and military or civilian address of individuals. To detect fraud, waste and abuse pursuant to the authority contained in the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-452) for the purpose of determining eligibility for, and/or continued compliance with, any Federal benefit program requirements.

15. To Federal and Quasi Federal agencies, territorial, State and local governments, and contractors and grantees for the purpose of supporting research studies concerned with the health and well being of active duty, reserve, and retired personnel or veterans, to include family members. DMDC will disclose information from this system of records for research purposes when DMDC:

a. Has determined that the use or disclosure does not violate legal or policy limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained;

b. Has determined that the research purpose (1) cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form, and (2) warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring;

c. Has required the recipient to (1) establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and (2) remove or destroy the information that identifies the individual at the earliest time at which removal or destruction can be accomplished consistent with the purpose of the research project, unless the recipient has presented adequate justification of a research or health nature for retaining such information, and (3) make no further use or disclosure of the record except (A) in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual, (B) for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with written authorization of the Department, (C) for disclosure to a properly identified person for the purpose of an audit related to the research project, if information that would enable research subjects to be identified is removed or destroyed at the earliest opportunity consistent with the purpose of the audit, or (D) when required by law;

d. Has secured a written statement attesting to the recipients' understanding of, and willingness to abide by these provisions.

16. To Federal and State agencies for purposes of obtaining socioeconomic information on Armed Forces personnel so that analytical studies can be conducted with a view to assessing the present needs and future requirements of such personnel.

17. To Federal and State agencies to validate demographic data (e.g., Social Security Number, citizenship status, date and place of birth, etc.) for individuals in DoD personnel and pay files so that accurate information is available in support of DoD requirements.

18. To the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, for purposes of facilitating the verification of individuals who may be eligible for expedited naturalization (Pub. L. 108-136, Section 1701, and E.O. 13269, Expedited Naturalization).

19. To the Federal voting program to provide unit and e-mail addresses for the purpose of notifying the military members where to obtain absentee ballots.

20. To the Department of Homeland Security for the conduct of studies related to the health and well-being of Coast Guard members and to authenticate and identify Coast Guard personnel.

21. To Coast Guard recruiters in the performance of their assigned duties.

22. To Federal Agencies, to include OPM, Postal Service, Executive Office of the President and Administrative Office of the Courts; to conduct computer matching programs regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), for the purpose of:

a. Providing all reserve military members eligible for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) to be matched against the Federal agencies for providing those reserve military members that are also Federal civil service employees. This disclosure by the Federal agencies will provide the DoD with the FEHB eligibility and Federal employment information necessary to determine continuing eligibility for the TRS program. Only those reservists not eligible for FEHB are eligible for TRS (Section 1076d of title 10).

b. Providing all reserve military members to be matched against the Federal agencies for the purpose of identifying the Reserve Forces who are also employed by the Federal Government in a civilian position, so that reserve status can be terminated if necessary. To accomplish an emergency mobilization, individuals occupying critical civilian positions cannot be mobilized as Reservists.

c. To the Department of Education for the purpose of identifying dependent children of those military members killed in Operation Iraq Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF), Afghanistan Only, for possible benefits.

The DoD “Blanket Routine Uses” published at the beginning of OSD's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Records are maintained on magnetic tapes and disks, and are housed in a controlled computer media library.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Records about individuals are retrieved by an algorithm which uses name, Social Security Number, date of birth, rank, and duty location as possible inputs. Retrievals are made on summary basis by geographic characteristics and location and demographic characteristics. Information about individuals will not be distinguishable in summary retrievals. Retrievals for the purposes of generating address lists for direct mail distribution may be made using selection criteria based on geographic and demographic keys.

SAFEGUARDS:

Computerized records are maintained in a controlled area accessible only to authorized personnel. Entry to these areas is restricted to those personnel with a valid requirement and authorization to enter. Physical entry is restricted by the use of locks, guards, and administrative procedures (e.g., fire protection regulations).

Access to personal information is restricted to those who require the records in the performance of their official duties, and to the individuals who are the subjects of the record or their authorized representatives. Access to personal information is further restricted by the use of passwords, which are changed periodically. All individuals granted access to this system of records are to have received Information Assurance and Privacy Act training.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Data is destroyed when superseded or when no longer needed for operational purposes, whichever is later.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Deputy Director, Defense Manpower Data Center, DoD Center Monterey Bay, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Deputy Director, Defense Manpower Data Center, DoD Center Monterey Bay, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771.

Written requests should contain the full name, Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, and current address and telephone number of the individual.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the OSD/JS FOIA Requester Service Center, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

Written requests should contain the name and number of this system of records notice along with the full name, Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, and current address and telephone number of the individual and be signed.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

The OSD rules for accessing records, for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in OSD Administrative Instruction 81; 32 CFR part 311; or may be obtained from the system manager.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individuals, personnel, pay, and benefit systems of the military and civilian departments and agencies of the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and other Federal agencies.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.