Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 7923-7926 [2021-01647]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7923-7926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01647]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: VA personnel will access the system to find resources 
available to veteran entrepreneurs and to register those resources that 
they provide. They may also utilize the database to counsel and assist 
veteran entrepreneurs in starting a small business or expanding an 
existing small business. The Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business 
Utilization (OSDBU) will use the records and reports derived from the 
database to manage their responsibilities under the Veterans 
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999. Federal, 
State, and local government personnel will access the system to find 
resources available to veteran entrepreneurs and to register those 
resources that they provide. They may also utilize the database to 
counsel and assist veteran entrepreneurs in starting a small business 
or expanding an existing small business. The general public, including 
private sector companies and corporate entities, will access the 
system, via internet, to review the information, register those 
resources that they provide, and to locate potential resources for 
Veteran entrepreneurs.

DATES: Comments on this modified system of records must be received no 
later than 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. 
If no public comment is received during the period allowed for comment 
or unless otherwise published in the Federal Register by VA, the 
modified

[[Page 7924]]

system of records will become effective a minimum of 30 days after date 
of publication in the Federal Register. If VA receives public comments, 
VA shall review the comments to determine whether any changes to the 
notice are necessary.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through www.Regulations.gov or 
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005R1A), 
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted 
in response to VA VetBiz Assistance Program Pages-132VAOSDBU. Comments 
received will be available at regulations.gov for public viewing, 
inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions about the system 
contact Carol Cleveland, Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business 
Utilization at 1-866-584-2344 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSDBU provides numerous services for 
veterans and service-disabled veterans who seek to open or expand a 
business. The OSDBU staff coordinates the tasks required of the U.S. 
Department of Veterans Affairs by several Federal laws, including:
     Public Law 108-183 (December 2003), the Veterans Benefits 
Act of 2003, Sections 301, 305, 308.
     Public Law 106-554 (December 2000), Sections 803 and 808.
     Public Law 106-50 (August 1999), the Veterans 
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999.
     Public Law 105-135 (December 1997), Title VII, Service-
Disabled Veterans Program.
     Public Law 93-237 (January 1974), ``Special Consideration 
for Veterans''.

    Public Law 106-50, Section 302, Entrepreneurial Assistance, 
subsection (5) requires VA to support the ``establishment of an 
information clearinghouse to collect and distribute information, 
including electronic means, on the assistance programs of Federal, 
state, and local governments, and of the private sector, including 
information on office locations, key personnel, telephone numbers, 
mailing and email addresses, and contracting and sub-contracting 
opportunities.''
    The parts of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-183) 
that pertain to veteran entrepreneurship are contained in Title III--
Education Benefits, Employment Provisions, and Related Matters. They 
are as follows:
    [cir] Section 301--Expand the Montgomery GI Bill program by 
authorizing educational assistance for on-job training in certain self-
employment training programs.
    [cir] Section 305--Authorize the use of VA education benefits to 
pay for nondegree/non-credit entrepreneurship courses at approved 
institutions:
     Small Business Development Centers, and
     National Veterans Business Development Corporation (also 
known as Veterans Corporation).
    [cir] Section 308--Furnish Federal agencies discretionary authority 
to:
     Restrict certain contracts to disabled veteran-owned small 
businesses if at least two such concerns are qualified to bid on the 
contract, and
     Create ``sole-source'' contracts for disabled veteran-
owned small businesses--up to $5 million for manufacturing contract 
awards and up to $3 million for nonmanufacturing contract awards.
    A Web-based application is used to allow Governmental and support 
sector organizations to ``register'' their services. This clearinghouse 
allows any user to search for business support services at the Federal, 
State, and local government levels and private providers in their 
respective category of business development, management, financial, 
technical or procurement assistance.
    The site allows support organizations to update their business 
information as well as give the Department the ability to upload data 
from other sources to populate the proposed database. Contact 
information is also kept and a means to extract this information to 
satisfy the Department's need to send out information is available.
    This modified system of records, known as the VA VetBiz Assistance 
Program Pages (APP)--VA, is used to maintain and access an automated 
database containing the information on veteran owned businesses 
resources set forth in the law (section 302, paragraph (5) and section 
604, paragraph (b)). Because some information may be retrieved by the 
name or other personal identifiers of individuals acting in an 
entrepreneurial capacity, such as a sole proprietor of a small 
business, VA is using this system of records.
    The information in this system is maintained in electronic form. 
The information in these records are available to government agencies, 
companies, and the general public via the internet.
    The name of this SORN has been changed from 132VA00VE, with ``VE'' 
representing Veteran Experience, to 132VAOSDBU, with ``OSDBU'' 
representing the Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 
to reflect the office that is responsible for this SORN.

Signing Authority

    The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. James P. 
Gfrerer, Assistant Secretary of Information and Technology and Chief 
Information Officer, approved this document on September 14, 2020 for 
publication.

    Dated: January 21, 2021.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security, 
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    VA VetBiz Assistance Program Pages-132VAOSDBU.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Information in this SORN is not classified information.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    The system is hosted on the Veterans Affairs (VA) Enterprise Cloud 
(EC), Microsoft Azure Government (MAG). The VAEC MAG is located in 
Azure Government Region 1 (USGOV VIRGINIA) and 2 (USGOV TEXAS) and is 
designed to allow U.S. government agencies, contractors and customers 
to move sensitive workloads into the cloud for addressing specific 
regulatory and compliance requirements.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Ray Dockery, Director, Information Technology Systems Integration, 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Small & Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization (OSDBU), 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, 
Washington, DC 20420. 1-866-584-2344.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Public Law 106-50, as amended.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    1. VA personnel will access the system to find resources available 
to Veteran entrepreneurs and to register those resources that they 
provide. They may also utilize the database to counsel and assist 
Veteran entrepreneurs in starting a small business or expanding an 
existing small business.
    2. The Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization will 
use the records and reports derived from the database to manage their

[[Page 7925]]

responsibilities under the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business 
Development Act of 1999.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The system of records will cover programs of Federal, State, and 
local governments, and private sector organizations and companies 
offering business or business assistance services to Veteran 
entrepreneurs that wish to be a part of the information clearinghouse.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The records will contain data on the assistance programs of 
Federal, state, and local governments, and of the private sector, 
including information on office locations, key personnel, telephone 
numbers, mailing and email addresses, and contracting and 
subcontracting opportunities available to Veteran entrepreneurs. The 
data will come from both governments and private sector organizations 
who have contacted the Center for Veterans Enterprise, registered their 
products or services online in the database, or have been extracted 
from e-government databases to which the companies have voluntarily 
submitted the data. The records may include business addresses and 
other contact information, information concerning products or services 
offered, and information pertaining to the business, such as federal 
contracts, and certifications.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The information in this system of records is obtained from the 
following sources:
    a. Information voluntarily submitted by Federal, State, and local 
governments;
    b. Information voluntarily submitted by the private sector; and
    c. Information extracted from other business and resource 
databases.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Congress: VA may disclose information from the record of an 
individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made 
at the request of that individual.
    2. Data breach response and remedial efforts: VA may disclose 
information from this system to appropriate agencies, entities, and 
persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a 
breach of the system of records; (2) VA has determined that as a result 
of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to 
individuals, VA (including its information systems, programs, and 
operations), and (3) the Federal Government, or national security; and 
the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with VA's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    3. Data breach response and remedial efforts with another Federal 
agency: VA may disclose information from this system to another Federal 
agency or Federal entity, when VA determines that information from this 
system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient 
agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach 
or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to 
individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information 
systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national 
security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
    4. Law Enforcement: VA may, on its own initiative, disclose 
information in this system, except the names and home addresses of 
Veterans and their dependents, which is relevant to a suspected or 
reasonably imminent violation of law, whether civil, criminal or 
regulatory in nature and whether arising by general or program statute 
or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, to a Federal, 
state, local, tribal, or foreign agency charged with the responsibility 
of investigating or prosecuting such violation, or charged with 
enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule or order. On 
its own initiative, VA may also disclose the names and addresses of 
Veterans and their dependents to a Federal agency charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting civil, criminal or 
regulatory violations of law, or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto.
    5. Litigation: VA may disclose information from this system of 
records to the Department of Justice (DoJ), either on VA's initiative 
or in response to DoJ's request for the information, after either VA or 
DoJ determines that such information is relevant to DoJ's 
representation of the United States or any of its components in legal 
proceedings before a court or adjudicative body, provided that, in each 
case, the agency also determines prior to disclosure that release of 
the records to the DoJ is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records. VA, on its own initiative, may disclose records in this system 
of records in legal proceedings before a court or administrative body 
after determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or 
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records.
    6. Contractors: VA may disclose information from this system of 
records to individuals, organizations, private or public agencies, or 
other entities or individuals with whom VA has a contract or agreement 
to perform such services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of 
laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor, subcontractor, 
public or private agency, or other entity or individual with whom VA 
has a contract or agreement to perform services under the contract or 
agreement.
    7. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the EEOC when requested in connection 
with investigations of alleged or possible discriminatory practices, 
examination of Federal affirmative employment programs, or other 
functions of the Commission as authorized by law or regulation.
    8. Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the FLRA, including its General 
Counsel, information related to the establishment of jurisdiction, 
investigation, and resolution of allegations of unfair labor practices, 
or in connection with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration 
awards when a question of material fact is raised; for it to address 
matters properly before the Federal Service Impasses Panel, investigate 
representation petitions, and conduct or supervise representation 
elections.
    9. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the MSPB, or the Office of the Special 
Counsel, when requested in connection with appeals, special studies of 
the civil service and other merit systems, review of rules and 
regulations, investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel 
practices, and such other functions promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 
1206, or as authorized by law.
    10. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and General 
Services Administration (GSA): VA may disclose information from this 
system to NARA and GSA in records management inspections conducted 
under title 44, U.S.C.
    11. Federal, State, and local government personnel will access the 
system to find resources available to Veteran entrepreneurs and to 
register

[[Page 7926]]

those resources that they provide. They may also utilize the database 
to counsel and assist Veteran entrepreneurs in starting a small 
business or expanding an existing small business.
    12. The general public, including private sector companies and 
corporate entities, will access the system, via internet, to review the 
information register those resources that they provide, and to locate 
potential resources for Veteran entrepreneurs.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    The VetBiz APP is stored in an automated, computerized database. 
The system operates on servers located on the VAEC. Data backups reside 
on appropriate media according to normal system backup plans. The 
system is managed by the Center for Veterans Enterprise in VA 
Headquarters, Washington, DC.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Automated records may be retrieved by:
    1. Organization Name.
    2. Contact Name.
    3. Email Address.
    4. Web Address.
    5. Area Code and Phone Number.
    6. Zip Code.
    7. County Code (NaCO).
    8. State(s).
    9. Type of Organization: Government (Federal; State; County; 
Municipal; Other); Nongovernmental Organization; Commercial.
    10. Type of Assistance: (Paperwork packaging; grants/loans; 
procurement assistance; management/technical assistance; mentoring/
incubator; contract opportunities; other).
    11. Service Area Limits (if any).
    12. Service limited to Veterans.
    13. Fees.
    14. Organization Funding Limits: (None; term--funding expires on a 
specific date).
    15. Year Established.
    16. Full-time/part-time.
    17. Days and Hours of Service.
    18. Other Professional Staff Available.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records will be maintained and disposed of in accordance with the 
records disposal authority approved by the Archivist of the United 
States, the National Archives and Records Administration, and published 
in Agency Records Control Schedule No. 20, Electronic Records.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Read access to the system is via internet access. VA Information 
Service Center and CVE personnel will have access to the system via VA 
Intranet and local connections for management and maintenance purposes 
and tasks.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in 
this system of records may access the records via the internet or 
submit a written request to the system manager.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    An individual who wishes to contest records maintained under his or 
her name or other personal identifier may write or call the system 
manager. VA's rules for accessing records and contesting contents and 
appealing initial agency determinations are published in regulations 
set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 38 CFR 1.577, 1.578.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to inquire whether this system of records 
contains information about themselves should contact the Deputy 
Director, IT Systems Integration (00SB), 810 Vermont Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20420.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    There are no exemptions for the system.

HISTORY:
    VA VetBiz Assistance Program Pages--VA (132VA00VE), published as 69 
FR 62936, 10/28/2004, was the last full publication of OSDBU's SORN 
132VA00VE which provided updated information regarding OSDBU's records.

[FR Doc. 2021-01647 Filed 2-1-21; 8:45 am]
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