Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 17888-17891 [2021-07023]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17888-17891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07023]



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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health 
Administration.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy Act of 1974 notice is hereby given 
that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending the system of 
records entitled, ``Employee Incentive Scholarship Program-VA'' 
(110VA10) as set forth in the Federal Register. VA is amending the 
system of records by revising the System Location; System Manager; 
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System and Policies; Policies 
and Practices for Retrievability of Records; Policies and Practices for 
Retention and Disposal of Records; Administrative, Technical, and 
Physical Safeguards; Record Access Procedure; and Notification 
Procedure. VA is republishing the system notice in its entirety.

DATES: Comments on the amendment of this system of records must be 
received no later than May 6, 2021. If no public comment is received 
during the period allowed for comment or unless otherwise published in 
the Federal Register by VA, the amended system will become effective 
May 6, 2021.

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 ``Employee Incentive Scholarship Program-VA (110VA10)''. 
Comments received will be available at regulations.gov for public 
viewing, inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephania Griffin, Veterans Health 
Administration (VHA) Privacy Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420; telephone (704) 245-2492 
(Note: not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The System Location is being amended to 
change Health Care Staff Development and Retention Office (HCSDRO/
10A2D) 1555 Poydras Street, Suite 1971, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 to 
Scholarships and Clinical Education (SCE/106A) 1250 Poydras Street, 
Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70113; the Austin Automation Center is 
being changed to the Austin Information Technology Center (AITC). This 
section will include the Little Rock Data Center, 2200 Fort Roots 
Drive, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114, Southeast Louisiana Veterans 
Healthcare System Storage Warehouse, 4301 Poche Court West, New 
Orleans, Louisiana 70129.
    The System Manager, Record Access Procedure, and Notification 
Procedure are being amended to replace Director, Health Care Staff 
Development and Retention Office (HCSDRO/10A2D) 1555 Poydras Street, 
Suite 1971, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 to Nicole Nedd, Director, 
Scholarships and Clinical Education (SCE/106A) 1250 Poydras Street, 
Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70113.
    The Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System is amending 
Routine Use #6 to remove General Services Administration (GSA).
    Routine Use #11 language is being amended which states that 
disclosure of the records to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is a 
use of the information contained in the records that is compatible with 
the purpose for which VA collected the records. VA 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. This routine use will now state that release 
of the records to DoJ is limited to circumstances where relevant and 
necessary to the litigation.
    Routine Use #15 is being amended by clarifying the language to 
state, ``VA may disclose any information or records 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 to individuals, VA (including its information systems, 
programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national 
security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, or 
persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with VA efforts 
to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, 
minimize, or remedy such harm.''
    Routine Use #16 is being added to state, ``VA may disclose 
information from this system of records 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. VA needs this 
routine use for the data breach response and remedial efforts with 
another Federal agency.''
    The Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records is 
being amended to replace, ``Records will be maintained and disposed of 
in accordance with records disposition authority approved by the 
Archivist of the United States.'' with, Records are maintained 
according to RCS 10-1; 3075.9. Incentive package records. Records of 
recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives; Federal Student Loan 
repayment; and supervisory differentials offered under the Federal 
Employees Pay Comparability Act. Temporary; destroy 3 years after date 
of approval, completion of service agreement, or termination of 
incentive or differential payment, whichever is later, but longer 
retention is authorized if required for business use. (GRS 2.4 item 
090, DAA-GRS-2016-0015-0011).
    The Policies and Practices for Retrievability of Records and the 
Administrative, Technical, and Physical Safeguards are being amended to 
replace Health Care Staff Development and Retention Office (HCSDRO) 
with Scholarships and Clinical Education (SCE). This section will 
include the Little Rock Data Center, 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North 
Little Rock, Arkansas 72114.
    The Report of Intent to Amend a System of Records Notice and an 
advance copy of the system notice have been sent to the appropriate 
Congressional committees and to the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) as required by the Privacy Act and 
guidelines issued by OMB, December 12, 2000.

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. Dominic A. 
Cussatt, Acting Assistant Secretary of Information and Technology and 
Chief Information Officer, approved this document on February 24, 2021 
for publication.


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    Dated: April 1, 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:
    Employee Incentive Scholarship Program-VA (110VA10).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Active records will be maintained at the Scholarships and Clinical 
Education (SCE/106A), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans 
Health Administration (VHA),1250 Poydras Street, Suite 1000, New 
Orleans, LA 70113; the Austin Information Technology Center (AITC), 
Department of Veterans Affairs, 1615 East Woodward Street, Austin, 
Texas 78772; Little Rock Data Center, 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North 
Little Rock, Arkansas 72114, Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare 
System Storage Warehouse, 4301 Poche Court West, New Orleans, Louisiana 
70129 and the VA health care facilities and VISN offices where 
scholarship recipients are employed. Address locations for VA health 
care facilities are listed in Appendix 1 of the Biennial Publication of 
Privacy Act Issuances. Complete records will be maintained only at the 
SCE address.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Nicole Nedd, Director, Scholarships and Clinical Education (SCE/
106A), VHA, 1250 Poydras Street, Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70113. The 
telephone number is 504-589-5267. (This is not a toll-free number.)

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Title 38 U.S.C. 501, 503, 7451, 7452, and 7431-7440.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The records and information may be used for determining and 
documenting individual applicant eligibility for scholarship awards, 
calculating the service commitments for scholarship recipients, 
ensuring program financial accountability, monitoring individual 
applicant educational progress, monitoring the employment status of 
scholarship recipients during their periods of obligated service, 
terminating the employee from the program, and evaluating and reporting 
program results and effectiveness. The information would be used to 
determine the financial liability of individuals who breach their 
Employee Incentive Scholarship Program (EISP) contracts.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    VA employees who apply for and are denied or granted educational 
assistance awards under the provisions of VA EISP in a field leading to 
appointment or retention in a position listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records (or information contained in records) in this system may 
include personal identification information related to the application 
material, to award processes, to employment, to obligated service, and 
to requests for waivers or suspensions of obligated service or 
financial indebtedness to VA such as (1) name, (2) employing facility 
number, (3) telephone number(s), (4) Social Security number, (5) award 
amount, (6) obligated service incurred, and (7) name and address of the 
educational institution; or any amount if indebtedness (accounts 
receivable) arising from the scholarship and owed to VA. The 
application for an EISP award includes the applicant's full name, 
employing facility number, home and work telephone numbers, Social 
Security number, job title, current education level, degree sought, 
description of the academic program covered by the scholarship, the 
starting and completion dates of the employee's academic program, the 
name and address of the academic institution, the number of credits in 
the student's academic program plan and the cost of the education 
covered by the academic program plan. Records may include memoranda 
submitted by the employees, calculations for the service obligations, 
copies of letters and memoranda from employees making the requests and 
in correspondence to employees and appropriate local program officials 
delineating the decisions on such requests.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information contained in the records is obtained from the 
individual, references given in application material, educational 
institutions, VA medical facilities, the VA AITC, other Federal 
agencies, state agencies and consumer reporting agencies.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    To the extent that records contained in the system include 
information protected by 45 CFR parts 160 and 164, i.e., individually 
identifiable health information, and 38 U.S.C. 7332, i.e., medical 
treatment information related to drug abuse, alcoholism or alcohol 
abuse, sickle cell anemia, or infection with the Human Immunodeficiency 
Virus, that information may not be disclosed under a routine use unless 
there is also specific statutory authority in 38 U.S.C. 7332 and 
regulatory authority in 45 CFR parts 160 and 164 permitting disclosure.
    1. Disclosure of any information in this system that is necessary 
to verify authenticity and completeness of the application may be made 
to educational institutions and other relevant organizations or 
individuals.
    2. Disclosure of any information in this system may be made to a 
Federal agency in order to determine if an applicant has an obligation 
for service under another Federal program, thus rendering the applicant 
ineligible for a VA Employee Incentive Scholarship Program Award.
    3. Disclosure of an information in this system may be made to the 
local supervisory officials and program coordinators to ensure that 
individual data in the system of records is up to date and that award 
recipients are in compliance with the terms of the scholarship program 
contract.
    4. Any information in this system may be used to evaluate and 
report program results and effectiveness to appropriate officials 
including members of Congress on a routine and ad hoc basis.
    5. Disclosure may be made to a Congressional office from the record 
or an individual in response to an inquiry from the Congressional 
office made at the request of that individual.
    6. Disclosure may be made to National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) in records management inspections conducted under 
authority of Title 44, Chapter 29, of the U.S.C.
    7. Disclosure of information to the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority (FLRA) (including its General Counsel) when requested in 
connection with the investigation and resolution of allegations of 
unfair labor practices, in connection with matters before the Federal 
Service Impasses Panel, and to investigate representation petitions and 
conduct or supervise representation elections.
    8. Disclosure may be made to officials of labor organizations 
recognized under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant and necessary to 
their duties of exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, 
practices, and matters affecting working conditions.
    9. Disclosure may be made to officials of the Merit Systems 
Protection Board (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

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alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices, and such other 
functions promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as may be 
authorized by law.
    10. VA may disclose information from this system to the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission (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.
    11. VA may disclose information in this system of records to the 
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 limited to 
circumstances where relevant and necessary to the litigation. VA may 
disclose records in this system of records in legal proceedings before 
a court or administrative body after determining that release of the 
records to the DoJ is limited to circumstances where relevant and 
necessary to the litigation.
    12. Disclosure may be made 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 an agreement or contract to 
perform the services of the contract or agreement.
    13. VA may 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. 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.
    14. Disclosure to other Federal agencies may be made to assist such 
agencies in preventing and detecting possible fraud or abuse by 
individuals in their operations and programs.
    15. VA may disclose any information or records 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 to individuals, VA (including its information systems, 
programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national 
security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, or 
persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with VA efforts 
to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, 
minimize, or remedy such harm.
    16. VA may disclose information from this system of records 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. VA needs this routine use for the data breach 
response and remedial efforts with another Federal agency.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(2), VA may disclose records from this 
system to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f) or the Federal Claims Collection Act 
of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records are maintained on paper (i.e., computer printouts), and 
electronic media.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVABILITY OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by use of the award number or an equivalent 
participant account number assigned by SCE, Social Security number and 
the name of the individual.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are maintained according to RCS 10-1; 3075.9. Incentive 
package records. Records of recruitment, relocation, and retention 
incentives; Federal Student Loan repayment; and supervisory 
differentials offered under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability 
Act.
    Temporary; destroy 3 years after date of approval, completion of 
service agreement, or termination of incentive or differential payment, 
whichever is later, but longer retention is authorized if required for 
business use. (GRS 2.4 item 090, DAA-GRS-2016-0015-0011)

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to the basic file in SCE is restricted to authorized VA 
employees and vendors. Access to the office spaces where electronic 
media is maintained within SCE is further restricted to specifically 
authorized employees and is protected by contracted building security 
services. Records (typically computer printouts) at SCE will be kept in 
locked files and made available only to authorized personnel on a need-
to-know basis. During non-working hours the file is locked, and the 
building is protected by contracted building security services. Records 
stored on electronic media are maintained on a VA-approved and managed, 
password protected, secure local area network (LAN) located within SCE 
office spaces, the Little Rock Data Center, 2200 Fort Roots Drive, 
North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114, and safeguarded as described above. 
Records stored on electronic media at Veterans Integrated Service 
Network (VISN) Offices, VA health care facilities, and the AITC in 
Austin, TX are provided equivalent safeguards subject to local policies 
mandating protection of information subject to Federal safeguards.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    Individuals seeking information regarding access to and contesting 
of VA records in this system may write, call, or visit the Director, 
Scholarships and Clinical Education (SCE/106A), VHA, 1250 Poydras 
Street, Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70113. The telephone number is 504-
589-5267. (This is not a toll-free number.)

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See Record Access Procedures).

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Any individual who wishes to determine whether a record is being 
maintained in this system under his or her name or other personal 
identifier, or

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wants to determine the contents of such record should submit a written 
request or apply in person to the Director, Scholarships and Clinical 
Education (SCE/106A), VHA, 1250 Poydras Street, Suite 1000, New 
Orleans, LA 70113.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    Last full publication provided in 81 FR 45597 dated July 14, 2016.

[FR Doc. 2021-07023 Filed 4-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P