Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security Biographies and Awards System of Records, 66654-66657 [E8-26689]
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66654
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 218 / Monday, November 10, 2008 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Office of the Citizenship and
Immigration Services Ombudsman;
DHS CIS Ombudsman Case Problem
Submission
Office of the Citizenship and
Immigration Services Ombudsman,
DHS.
ACTION: 60-Day Notice and request for
comments; Extension of an existing
information collection 1601–0004, DHS
Form 7001.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland
Security, Office of the Citizenship and
Immigration Services Ombudsman,
submits this extension for the following
information collection request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and clearance in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13,
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The Office of the
Citizenship and Immigration Services
Ombudsman is soliciting comments
concerning an extension to an existing
information collection, DHS CIS
Ombudsman Case Problem Submission,
DHS Form 7001.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and
will be accepted until January 9, 2009.
This process is conducted in accordance
with 5 CFR 1320.1
ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or
suggestions regarding the item(s)
contained in this notice, especially
regarding the estimated public burden
and associated response time, should be
directed to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), Office of the CIS
Ombudsman, Director of
Communications, Mail Stop 1225,
Washington, DC 20528–1225.
Comments may also be submitted to
DHS via facsimile to 202–272–8352,
202–357–0042 or via e-mail at
rfs.regs@dhs.gov or
cisombudsman@dhs.gov.
If
additional information is required
contact: the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), Office of the CIS
Ombudsman, Director of
Communications, Mail Stop 1225,
Washington, DC 20528–1225, 202–357–
8100.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Department of Homeland Security,
Office of the Deputy Secretary, Office of
the Citizenship and Immigration
Services Ombudsman (CISOMB),
collects information to receive and
process correspondence received from
individuals, employers, and their
designated representatives to: (1) Assist
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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individuals and employers in resolving
problems during interactions with U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS); (2) identify areas in which
individuals and employers have
problems in dealing with USCIS; and (3)
and to the extent possible, propose
changes to mitigate problems as
mandated by the Homeland Security
Act of 2002, section 452.
The Office of Management and Budget
is particularly interested in comments
which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.
Analysis
Agency: Department of Homeland
Security, Office of the Citizenship and
Immigration Services Ombudsman.
Title: DHS CIS Ombudsman Case
Problem Submission.
OMB Number: 1601–0004.
Frequency: One-time response.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households. This information collection
is necessary for CISOMB to identify
problem areas, propose changes, and
assist individuals experiencing
problems during adjudication of an
immigrant benefit with USCIS.
Number of Respondents: 2,600
respondents.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 1
hour per response.
Total Burden Hours: 2,600 annual
burden hours.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup):
$0.00.
Total Burden Cost (operating/
maintaining): $0.00.
Richard Mangogna,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E8–26722 Filed 11–7–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–10–P
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS–2008–0015]
Privacy Act of 1974; Department of
Homeland Security Biographies and
Awards System of Records
Privacy Office; DHS.
Notice of Privacy Act system of
AGENCY:
ACTION:
records.
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 record notices, the
Department of Homeland Security
proposes to consolidate four legacy
record systems: Treasury/CS.032
Biographical Files (Headquarters),
October 18, 2001, FEMA/EX–1
Biographies, September 7, 1990, FEMA/
EX–2 President’s and Director’s Award
Nominees, September 7, 1990, and
DOT/CG 671 Biographical Statement,
April 11, 2000, into one Departmentwide system of records. The Department
of Homeland Security also proposes to
partially consolidate Treasury/
USSS.008 Public Affairs Record System,
August 28, 2001, into this new record
system. This system will allow the
Department of Homeland Security to
collect and maintain the biographical
information of Department of Homeland
Security employees and other
individuals, as well as Departmental
award recipients who are not employed
by the Department of Homeland
Security. Departmental award recipients
who are Department of Homeland
Security employees are covered under
OPM/GOVT–2 Performance File System
Records. Categories of individuals,
categories of records, and the routine
uses of these legacy system of records
notices have been consolidated and
updated to better reflect the
Department’s biographies record
systems. This consolidated system,
titled Biographies and Awards, will be
included in the Department’s inventory
of record systems.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before December 10,
2008. This new system will be effective
December 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number DHS–
2008–0015 by one of the following
methods:
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 1–866–466–5370.
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• 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 to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
• Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general questions and 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
system of records notices for the
collection and maintenance of records
that concern DHS’s biographical and
award records.
As part of its efforts to streamline and
consolidate its Privacy Act records
systems, DHS is establishing a new
agency-wide system of records under
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for DHS
biographical and award records. This
will ensure that all components of DHS
follow the same privacy rules for
collecting and handling biographical
and award records. The collection and
maintenance of this information will
assist DHS in managing Departmental
biographies in order to ensure
information is provided to the public in
a usable, accurate format.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of
1974 and as part of DHS’s ongoing effort
to review and update legacy system of
record notices, DHS proposes to
consolidate four legacy record systems:
Treasury/CS.032 Biographical Files
(Headquarters) (66 FR 52984 October 18,
2001), FEMA/EX–1 Biographies (55 FR
37182 September 7, 1990), FEMA/EX–2
President’s and Director’s Award
Nominees (55 FR 37182 September 7,
1990), and DOT/CG 671 Biographical
Statement (65 FR 19475 April 11, 2000)
into one DHS-wide system of records.
DHS also proposes to partially
consolidate Treasury/USSS.008 Public
Affairs Record System (66 FR 45362
August 28, 2001) into this new record
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system. This system will allow DHS to
collect and maintain the biographical
information of DHS employees and
other individuals, as well as
Departmental award recipients who are
not employed by DHS. Departmental
award recipients who are DHS
employees are covered under OPM/
GOVT–2 Performance File System
Records. Categories of individuals,
categories of records, and the routine
uses of these legacy system of records
notices have been consolidated and
updated to better reflect the
Department’s biographies record
systems. This consolidated system,
titled Biographies and Awards, will be
included in the Department’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’ 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
United States citizens and legal
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 that each
agency publish in the Federal Register
a description denoting the type and
character of each system of records in
order to make agency recordkeeping
practices transparent, to notify
individuals about the use of their
records, and to assist the individual to
more easily find files within the agency.
Below is a description of the
Biographies and Awards System of
Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r),
DHS has provided a report of this
revised system of records to the Office
of Management and Budget and to the
Congress.
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66655
SYSTEM OF RECORDS:
DHS/ALL–011.
SYSTEM NAME:
Department of Homeland Security
Biographies and Awards.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained at several
Headquarters locations and in
component offices of DHS, in both
Washington, DC and field locations.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
Any individual including DHS senior
leadership, past and present, whose
biographical information is collected
and distributed by DHS. This system
includes President’s, Secretary’s, and
Component Leadership’s award
recipients and nominees who are not
DHS employees. Award recipients who
are DHS employees are covered under
OPM/GOVT–2 Performance File System
Records.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Categories of records in this system
include:
• Individual’s name;
• Individual’s date of birth;
• Individual’s place of birth;
• Individual’s photo;
• Individual’s work history and
experience;
• Individual’s education;
• Individual’s military experience, if
applicable;
• Individual’s civic duties and
previous awards;
• Individual’s hometown;
• Type of award received/nominated
for (e.g., President’s, Secretary’s, or
Component Leadership’s);
• Name of the nominating official;
• Nomination materials including a
summary of the individual’s
outstanding accomplishments,
distinguished service, or extraordinary
valor to make he/she eligible for an
award and published factual account of
the nominee’s accomplishments;
• Individual’s other relevant
information that may be collected and
distributed to the public.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 301; The Federal Records
Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; The Homeland
Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107–
296.
PURPOSE(S):
The purpose of this system is to
collect biographical and award
information of individuals, primarily
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DHS senior leadership and President’s,
Secretary’s, and Component
Leadership’s award recipients and
nominees, in order to provide
information to the media and the public.
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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 the DHS as a routine
use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as
follows:
A. To the Department of Justice
(including United States 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;
3. any employee of DHS in his/her
individual capacity where Department
of Justice 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
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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 who
relies 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 unions recognized as exclusive
bargaining representatives under the
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5
U.S.C. 7111 and 7114, the Merit
Systems Protection Board, arbitrators,
the Federal Labor Relations Authority,
and other parties responsible for the
administration of the Federal labormanagement program for the purpose of
processing any corrective actions, or
grievances, or conducting
administrative hearings or appeals, or if
needed in the performance of other
authorized duties.
H. To audiences attending a particular
event when the biographies of speakers
are used as background in introductions
or other informational material.
I. 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.
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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:
Data may be retrieved by an
individual’s name and type of award.
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 permission.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records at the executive level (e.g.
Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Chief
of Staff) are permanent. These records
are cut off when superseded or obsolete,
and are transferred to the National
Archives one year after cut off. Records
at the non-executive level are
temporary. These records are cut off
when superseded or obsolete, and are
destroyed or deleted upon cutoff or
when no longer needed for
administrative purposes. General award
records, including recommendations,
approved nominations, correspondence,
reports, and related handbooks
pertaining to agency-sponsored cash
and non-cash awards are retained for
two years and then destroyed. Lists of
agency award nominees and winners are
destroyed when superseded or obsolete.
SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
For Headquarters components of DHS,
the System Manager is the Director of
Departmental Disclosure, Department of
Homeland Security, Washington, DC
20528. For components of DHS, the
System Manager can be found at
https://www.dhs.gov/foia under
‘‘contacts.’’
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
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 218 / Monday, November 10, 2008 / Notices
the component’s FOIA Officer, whose
contact information can be found at
https://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,
Department of Homeland Security, 245
Murray Drive, SW., Building 410,
STOP–0550, 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 Director, Disclosure and FOIA,
https://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,
• 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.
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RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in this system comes
from the individual employee,
personnel officers, and co-workers.
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
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Dated: October 28, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8–26689 Filed 11–7–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–10–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
[Docket No. DHS–2008–0023]
Privacy Act of 1974; Department of
Homeland Security Correspondence
Records System of Records
Privacy Office; DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of
records.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security is giving notice that
it proposes to consolidate two legacy
record systems: Treasury/CS.056
Congressional and Public
Correspondence File, October 18, 2001,
FEMA/ADM–1 Office Files, September
7, 1990, into a new record system, titled
Department of Homeland Security
Correspondence Records. The
Department of Homeland Security also
proposes to partially consolidate
Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs
Record System, August 28, 2001, into
this new record system. This system
will allow the Department of Homeland
Security to collect and maintain
incoming information and responses to
inquiries, comments, or complaints
made to the Department. Categories of
individuals, categories of records, and
the routine uses of these system of
records notices have been consolidated
and updated to better reflect the
Department’s correspondence record
systems. This consolidated system will
be included in the Department of
Homeland Security’s inventory of
record systems.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
December 10, 2008. This new system
will be effective December 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number DHS–
2008–0023 by one of the following
methods:
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://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
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and docket number for this rulemaking.
All comments received will be posted
without change and may be read at
https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
• Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
For
general questions and privacy issues
please contact: Hugo Teufel III (703–
235–0780), Chief Privacy Officer,
Privacy Office, Department of Homeland
Security, Washington, DC 20528.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of the Secretary
SUMMARY:
66657
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 correspondence records.
As part of its efforts to streamline and
consolidate its Privacy Act record
systems, DHS is establishing a new
agency-wide system of records under
the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for DHS
correspondence records. This will
ensure that all components of DHS
follow the same privacy rules for
collecting, maintaining, and distributing
correspondence records.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of
1974, DHS is giving notice that it
proposes to consolidate two legacy
record systems: Treasury/CS.056
Congressional and Public
Correspondence File (66 FR 52984
October 18, 2001), FEMA/ADM–1 Office
Files (55 FR 37182 September 7, 1990)
into a new record system, titled
Department of Homeland Security
Correspondence Records. DHS also
proposes to partially consolidate
Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs
Record System (66 FR 45362 August 28,
2001) into this new record system. This
system will allow DHS to collect and
maintain incoming information and
responses to inquiries, comments, or
complaints made to the Department.
Categories of individuals, categories of
records, and the routine uses of these
system of records notices have been
consolidated and updated to better
reflect the Department’s correspondence
record systems. This consolidated
system will be included in DHS’s
inventory of record systems.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 218 (Monday, November 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66654-66657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26689]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2008-0015]
Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security Biographies
and Awards System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office; DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 record notices, the Department of Homeland Security
proposes to consolidate four legacy record systems: Treasury/CS.032
Biographical Files (Headquarters), October 18, 2001, FEMA/EX-1
Biographies, September 7, 1990, FEMA/EX-2 President's and Director's
Award Nominees, September 7, 1990, and DOT/CG 671 Biographical
Statement, April 11, 2000, into one Department-wide system of records.
The Department of Homeland Security also proposes to partially
consolidate Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs Record System, August 28,
2001, into this new record system. This system will allow the
Department of Homeland Security to collect and maintain the
biographical information of Department of Homeland Security employees
and other individuals, as well as Departmental award recipients who are
not employed by the Department of Homeland Security. Departmental award
recipients who are Department of Homeland Security employees are
covered under OPM/GOVT-2 Performance File System Records. Categories of
individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses of these
legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and updated to
better reflect the Department's biographies record systems. This
consolidated system, titled Biographies and Awards, will be included in
the Department's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 10,
2008. This new system will be effective December 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2008-0015 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
[[Page 66655]]
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 to https://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received go to https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions and 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 system of records
notices for the collection and maintenance of records that concern
DHS's biographical and award records.
As part of its efforts to streamline and consolidate its Privacy
Act records systems, DHS is establishing a new agency-wide system of
records under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) for DHS biographical and
award records. This will ensure that all components of DHS follow the
same privacy rules for collecting and handling biographical and award
records. The collection and maintenance of this information will assist
DHS in managing Departmental biographies in order to ensure information
is provided to the public in a usable, accurate format.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and as part of DHS's
ongoing effort to review and update legacy system of record notices,
DHS proposes to consolidate four legacy record systems: Treasury/CS.032
Biographical Files (Headquarters) (66 FR 52984 October 18, 2001), FEMA/
EX-1 Biographies (55 FR 37182 September 7, 1990), FEMA/EX-2 President's
and Director's Award Nominees (55 FR 37182 September 7, 1990), and DOT/
CG 671 Biographical Statement (65 FR 19475 April 11, 2000) into one
DHS-wide system of records. DHS also proposes to partially consolidate
Treasury/USSS.008 Public Affairs Record System (66 FR 45362 August 28,
2001) into this new record system. This system will allow DHS to
collect and maintain the biographical information of DHS employees and
other individuals, as well as Departmental award recipients who are not
employed by DHS. Departmental award recipients who are DHS employees
are covered under OPM/GOVT-2 Performance File System Records.
Categories of individuals, categories of records, and the routine uses
of these legacy system of records notices have been consolidated and
updated to better reflect the Department's biographies record systems.
This consolidated system, titled Biographies and Awards, will be
included in the Department'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' 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 United States citizens and legal
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 that each agency publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent,
to notify individuals about the use of their records, and to assist the
individual to more easily find files within the agency. Below is a
description of the Biographies and Awards System of Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget
and to the Congress.
SYSTEM OF RECORDS:
DHS/ALL-011.
System name:
Department of Homeland Security Biographies and Awards.
Security classification:
Unclassified.
System location:
Records are maintained at several Headquarters locations and in
component offices of DHS, in both Washington, DC and field locations.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Any individual including DHS senior leadership, past and present,
whose biographical information is collected and distributed by DHS.
This system includes President's, Secretary's, and Component
Leadership's award recipients and nominees who are not DHS employees.
Award recipients who are DHS employees are covered under OPM/GOVT-2
Performance File System Records.
Categories of records in the system:
Categories of records in this system include:
Individual's name;
Individual's date of birth;
Individual's place of birth;
Individual's photo;
Individual's work history and experience;
Individual's education;
Individual's military experience, if applicable;
Individual's civic duties and previous awards;
Individual's hometown;
Type of award received/nominated for (e.g., President's,
Secretary's, or Component Leadership's);
Name of the nominating official;
Nomination materials including a summary of the
individual's outstanding accomplishments, distinguished service, or
extraordinary valor to make he/she eligible for an award and published
factual account of the nominee's accomplishments;
Individual's other relevant information that may be
collected and distributed to the public.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301; The Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; The Homeland
Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296.
Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to collect biographical and award
information of individuals, primarily
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DHS senior leadership and President's, Secretary's, and Component
Leadership's award recipients and nominees, in order to provide
information to the media and the public.
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 the DHS
as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice (including United States 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;
3. any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where
Department of Justice 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 who relies 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 unions recognized as exclusive bargaining representatives
under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 7111 and 7114, the
Merit Systems Protection Board, arbitrators, the Federal Labor
Relations Authority, and other parties responsible for the
administration of the Federal labor-management program for the purpose
of processing any corrective actions, or grievances, or conducting
administrative hearings or appeals, or if needed in the performance of
other authorized duties.
H. To audiences attending a particular event when the biographies
of speakers are used as background in introductions or other
informational material.
I. 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:
Data may be retrieved by an individual's name and type of award.
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 permission.
Retention and disposal:
Records at the executive level (e.g. Secretary, Deputy Secretary,
and Chief of Staff) are permanent. These records are cut off when
superseded or obsolete, and are transferred to the National Archives
one year after cut off. Records at the non-executive level are
temporary. These records are cut off when superseded or obsolete, and
are destroyed or deleted upon cutoff or when no longer needed for
administrative purposes. General award records, including
recommendations, approved nominations, correspondence, reports, and
related handbooks pertaining to agency-sponsored cash and non-cash
awards are retained for two years and then destroyed. Lists of agency
award nominees and winners are destroyed when superseded or obsolete.
System Manager and address:
For Headquarters components of DHS, the System Manager is the
Director of Departmental Disclosure, Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, DC 20528. For components of DHS, the System Manager can be
found at https://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.''
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
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the component's FOIA Officer, whose contact information can be found at
https://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,
Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410,
STOP-0550, 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 Director,
Disclosure and FOIA, https://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,
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:
Information in this system comes from the individual employee,
personnel officers, and co-workers.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
Dated: October 28, 2008.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-26689 Filed 11-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-P
