Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
| Published date | 13 March 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 9195 |
| Record Number | 2019-04583 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Social Security Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9195-9197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04583]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2018-0071]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Social Security
Administration (SSA).
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act, we are issuing public
notice of our intent to establish a new system of records entitled,
Travel and Border Crossing Records (60-0389). This notice publishes
details of the new system as set forth under the caption, SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
DATES: The system of records notice (SORN) is applicable upon its
publication in today's Federal Register, with the exception of the
routine uses, which are effective April 12, 2019. We invite public
comment on the routine uses or other aspects of this SORN. In
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11), the public is given a
30-day period in which to submit comments. Therefore, please submit any
comments by April 12, 2019.
ADDRESSES: The public, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and
Congress may comment on this publication by writing to the Executive
Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the General
Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, or through the Federal e-Rulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, please reference docket number
SSA-2018-0071. All comments we receive will be available for public
inspection at the above address and we will post them to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Navdeep Sarai, Government Information
Specialist, Privacy Implementation Division, Office of Privacy and
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High
Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401,
[[Page 9196]]
telephone: (410) 965-2997, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In an effort to combat a cause of improper
payments, we are establishing the Travel and Border Crossing system to
collect information about applicants, beneficiaries, and recipients
under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII who have had absences from the United
States (U.S.). Currently, we rely on individuals to self-report their
foreign travel. Oftentimes, we do not receive these reports or we
receive them untimely, which results in improper payments. In general,
we suspend Title II benefits to aliens who remain outside of the U.S.
for more than six consecutive calendar months. We generally suspend
Title II benefits to both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens who
travel to a country where payment is restricted by the U.S.
Additionally, we suspend Title XVI payments to both citizen and non-
citizen recipients who are outside of the U.S. for a full calendar
month or 30 consecutive days or longer. SSA is not responsible for
making Title XVIII payment determinations on claims for services
submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However,
the information collected in this system will be used for two purposes
relating to Title XVIII. First, SSA will use this information to make
initial and reconsideration decisions in Medicare entitlement claims,
because the enrollment criteria requires residence in the U.S. Second,
SSA will use this information to make determinations on physical
presence in the U.S. and will update the Master Beneficiary Record
(MBR) system of records with those determinations. The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services may use information from the MBR in
making decisions on whether a Medicare claim can be paid.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), we provided a report to OMB
and Congress on this new system of records.
Mary Zimmerman,
Acting Executive Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of
the General Counsel.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Travel and Border Crossing Records, 60-0389
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner of Operations,
Office of Electronic Services and Technology, Division of Programmatic
Applications, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner of Operations,
Office of Electronic Services and Technology, Division of Programmatic
Applications, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235,
[email protected].
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Sections 202(n), (t), and (y), 1611(f), 1818 and 1836 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(n), (t), and (y), 1382(f), 1395i-2, and
1395o); 8 U.S.C. 1373(c).
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
We will use the information in this system to identify applicants,
beneficiaries, and recipients under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the
Social Security Act who have had absences from the U.S. to establish or
verify initial or ongoing entitlement to or eligibility for benefits or
payments under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the Social Security Act.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Applicants, recipients, and beneficiaries under Titles II, XVI, and
XVIII of the Social Security Act.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains information collected about applicants,
recipients, or beneficiaries under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the
Social Security Act who have had absences from the U.S. The information
may include name, Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, gender,
country of citizenship, country of travel, deportation information,
alien registration number, immigration document type and number, travel
mode, date and time of departure from the U.S., and date and time of
arrival into the U.S.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
We obtain information in this system from applicants, recipients,
and beneficiaries under Titles II, XVI and XVIII of the Social Security
Act, and from the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border
Protection's Arrival and Departure Information System under established
data exchange agreements.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
We will disclose records pursuant to the following routine uses,
however, we will not disclose any information defined as ``return or
return information'' under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code,
unless authorized by statute, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or
IRS regulations.
1. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that
office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of the
record or third party acting on the subject's behalf.
2. To the Office of the President in response to an inquiry from
that office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of
the record or a third party acting on the subject's behalf.
3. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under
44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
4. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
(a) SSA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of
the system of records;
(b) SSA has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed breach, there is a risk of harm to individuals, SSA
(including its information systems, programs, and operations), the
Federal Government, or national security; and
(c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connections with SSA's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
5. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when SSA determines
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to
assist the recipient agency or entity in:
(a) Responding to a suspected or confirmed breach; or
(b) 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.
6. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a court or other tribunal,
or another party before such court or tribunal, when:
(a) SSA, or any component thereof; or
(b) any SSA employee in his/her official capacity; or
(c) any SSA employee in his/her individual capacity where DOJ (or
SSA, where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the
employee; or
(d) the United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines
the litigation is likely to affect SSA or any of its components, is a
party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and SSA
determines that the use of such records by DOJ, a court or
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other tribunal, or another party before the tribunal is relevant and
necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the
agency determines that disclosures of the records to DOJ, court or
other tribunal, or another party is a use of the information contained
in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the
records were collected.
7. To Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and private
security contractors, as appropriate, information necessary:
(a) To enable them to protect the safety of SSA employees and
customers, the security of the SSA workplace, the operation of SSA
facilities, or
(b) to assist investigations or prosecutions with respect to
activities that affect such safety and security or activities that
disrupt the operations of SSA facilities.
8. To contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for the
purpose of assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its
programs. We disclose information under this routine use only in
situations in which SSA may enter into a contractual or similar
agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency
function relating to this system of records.
9. To student volunteers, individuals working under a personal
services contract, and other workers who technically do not have the
status of Federal employees when they are performing work for SSA, as
authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable
information (PII) in SSA records in order to perform their assigned
agency functions.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
We will maintain records in this system in paper and electronic
form.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
We will retrieve records by the names, SSN, and date of birth of
applicants, recipients, or beneficiaries under Titles II, XVI, and
XVIII of the Social Security Act.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
These records are currently unscheduled. We retain records in
accordance with NARA-approved records schedules. In accordance with
NARA rules codified at 36 CFR 1225.16, we maintain unscheduled records
until NARA approves an agency-specific records schedule or publishes a
corresponding General Records Schedule.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
We retain electronic and paper files with personal identifiers in
secure storage areas accessible only by our authorized employees and
contractors who have a need for the information when performing their
official duties. Security measures include the use of codes and
profiles, personal identification number and password, and personal
identification verification cards. We keep paper records in locked
cabinets within secure areas, with access limited to only those
employees who have an official need for access in order to perform
their duties.
We annually provide our employees and contractors with appropriate
security awareness training that includes reminders about the need to
protect PII and the criminal penalties that apply to unauthorized
access to, or disclosure of, PII (e.g., 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(1)).
Furthermore, employees and contractors with access to databases
maintaining PII must sign a sanctions document annually, acknowledging
their accountability for inappropriately accessing or disclosing such
information.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals may submit requests for information about whether this
system contains a record about them by submitting a written request to
the system manager at the above address, which includes their name,
SSN, or other information that may be in this system of records that
will identify them. Individuals requesting notification of, or access
to, a record by mail must include (1) a notarized statement to us to
verify their identity or (2) must certify in the request that they are
the individual they claim to be and that they understand that the
knowing and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining
to another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, records in
person must provide their name, SSN, or other information that may be
in this system of records that will identify them, as well as provide
an identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a driver's
license. Individuals lacking identification documents sufficient to
establish their identity must certify in writing that they are the
individual they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing
and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to
another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR
401.40 and 401.45.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Same as record access procedures. Individuals should also
reasonably identify the record, specify the information they are
contesting, and state the corrective action sought and the reasons for
the correction with supporting justification showing how the record is
incomplete, untimely, inaccurate, or irrelevant. These procedures are
in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.65(a).
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Same as record access procedures. These procedures are in
accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.40 and 401.45.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
None.
[FR Doc. 2019-04583 Filed 3-12-19; 8:45 am]
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