Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

Citation86 FR 40610
Record Number2021-16098
Published date28 July 2021
SectionNotices
CourtHousing And Urban Development Department
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 142 (Wednesday, July 28, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 28, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 40610-40612]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-16098]
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                DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
                [Docket Number: FR-7046-N-02]
                Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
                AGENCY: Office of Administration, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
                ACTION: Notice of a re-established matching program.
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                SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
                of 1988, as amended, HUD is providing notice of its intent to execute a
                new computer matching agreement with HHS for a recurring matching
                program with HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and Office
                of Housing, involving comparisons of information provided by
                participants in any authorized HUD rental housing assistance program
                with the independent sources of income information available through
                the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) maintained by HHS. HUD will
                obtain HHS data and make the results available to: Program
                administrators such as public housing agencies (PHAs) and private
                owners and management agents (O/As) (collectively referred to as POAs)
                to enable them to verify the accuracy of income reported by the tenants
                (participants) of HUD rental assistance programs and contract
                administrators (CAs) overseeing and monitoring O/A operations as well
                as independent public auditors (IPAs) that audit both PHAs and O/As.
                The most recent renewal of the current matching agreement expires on
                July 27, 2021.
                DATES:
                 Comments Due Date: August 27, 2021.
                 Applicability Date: The applicability date of this matching program
                shall be July 27, 2021, or 30 days from the date that the Computer
                Matching Agreement, signed by HUD and HHS Date Integrity Boards, are
                sent to OMB and Congress, whichever is later, provided no comments that
                would cause a contrary determination are received. The matching program
                will continue for 18 months after the applicable date and may be
                extended for an additional 12 months, if the respective agency Data
                Integrity Boards (DIBs) determine that the conditions specified in 5
                U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
                ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
                this notice at www.regulations.gov or to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office
                of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
                Seventh Street SW, Room 10110, Washington, DC 20410. Communications
                should refer to the above docket number. A copy of each communication
                submitted will be available for public inspection and copying between
                8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Persons with
                hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by
                calling the toll-free Federal Relay service at (800) 877-8339.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the Recipient Agency Nancy
                Corsiglia, Senior Agency Official for Privacy, Department of Housing
                and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Room 6204, Washington, DC
                20410, telephone number (202) 402-4025. [This is not a toll-free
                number.] A telecommunication device for hearing- and speech-impaired
                individuals (TTY) is available at (800) 877-8339 (Federal Relay
                Service).
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Computer Matching and
                Privacy Protection Act (CMPPA) of 1988, as amended; OMB's guidance on
                this statute entitled, ``Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of
                Public Law 100-503''; OMB Circular No. A-108, ``Federal Agency
                Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, and Publication under the
                Privacy Act;'' and OMB Circular No. A-130, ``Managing Information as a
                Strategic Resource''; HUD is providing the public with notice of a new
                computer matching agreement with HHS (previous notice of a computer
                matching program between HUD and HHS was previously published at 83 FR
                67334 on December 28, 2018). The first HUD-HHS computer matching
                program was conducted in September 2005, with HUD's Office of Public
                and Indian Housing. The scope of the HUD-HHS computer matching program
                was extended to include HUD's Office of Housing in December 2007, and
                the participants of HUD's DHAP in January 2011.
                 The matching program will be carried out only to the extent
                necessary to: (1) Verify the employment and income of participants in
                certain rental assistance programs to correctly determine the amount of
                their rent and assistance, (2) identify, prevent, and recover improper
                payments made on behalf of tenants, and (3) after removal of personal
                identifiers, to conduct analyses of the employment and income reporting
                of individuals participating in any HUD authorized rental housing
                assistance program.
                 HUD will make the results of the computer matching program
                available to public housing agencies (PHAs), private housing owners and
                management agents (O/As) administering HUD rental assistance programs
                to enable them to verify employment and income and correctly determine
                the rent and assistance levels for individuals participating in those
                programs, and contract administrators (CAs) overseeing and monitoring
                O/A operations. This information also may be disclosed to the HUD
                Office of Inspector General (HUD/OIG) and the United States Attorney
                [[Page 40611]]
                General in detecting and investigating potential cases of fraud, waste,
                and abuse within HUD rental assistance programs.
                 In addition to the above noted information disclosures, limited
                redisclosure of reports containing NDNH information may be redisclosed
                to the following persons and/or entities: (1) Independent auditors for
                the sole purpose of performing an audit of whether these HUD authorized
                entities verified tenants' employment and/or income and calculated the
                subsidy and rent correctly; and (2) entities and/or individuals
                associated with grievance procedures and judicial proceedings (i.e.,
                lawyers, court personnel, agency personnel, grievance hearing officers,
                etc.) relating to independently verified unreported income identified
                through this matching program.
                 HUD and its third-party administrators (PHAs, O/As, and CAs) will
                use this matching authority to identify, reduce or eliminate improper
                payments in HUD's rental housing assistance programs, while continuing
                to ensure that HUD rental housing assistance programs serve and are
                accessible by its intended program beneficiaries.
                Participating Agencies
                 Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of
                Health and Human Services.
                Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
                 This matching program is being conducted pursuant to Section 217 of
                the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-199, Approved
                January 23, 2004), which amended Section 453(j) of the Social Security
                Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)), Sections 3003 and 13403 of the Omnibus Budget
                Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66, approved August 10, 1993);
                Section 542(b) of the 1998 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 105-65); Section
                904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of
                1988, as amended by Section 239 of HUD's 2009 Appropriations, effective
                March 11, 2009 (42 U.S.C. 3544); Section 165 of the Housing and
                Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3543); the National
                Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701-1750g); the United States Housing Act of
                1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437-1437z); Section 101 of the Housing and Community
                Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s); the Native American Housing
                Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.);
                and the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C.
                1437a(f)).
                 The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 authorizes HUD to
                require applicants and participants (as well as members of their
                household 6 years of age and older) in HUD-administered programs
                involving rental housing assistance to disclose to HUD their Social
                Security Numbers (SSNs) as a condition of initial or continuing
                eligibility for participation in the programs. Effective January 31,
                2010, all applicants and participants under the age of 6, are required
                to disclose their SSN to HUD, in accordance with regulatory revisions
                made to 24 CFR 5.216, as published at 74 FR 68924, on December 29,
                2009.
                 Section 217 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L.
                108-199, approved January 23, 2004) authorizes HUD to provide to HHS
                information on persons participating in any programs authorized by:
                 (i) The United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
                 (ii) Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
                 (iii) Section 221(d)(3), 221(d)(5) or 236 of the National Housing
                Act (12 U.S.C. 17151(d) and 1715z-1); (iv) Section 811 of the Cranston-
                Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); or (v)
                Section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C.
                1701s);
                 The Refinement of Income and Rent Determination Requirements in
                Public and Assisted Housing Programs: Implementation of the Enterprise
                Income Verification (EIV) System--Amendments; Final rule published at
                74 FR 68924 on December 29, 2009, requires program administrators to
                use HUD's EIV system to verify tenant employment and income information
                during mandatory re-examinations or recertifications of family
                composition and income and reduce administrative and subsidy payment
                errors in accordance with HUD administrative guidance (HUD regulation
                at 24 CFR 5.233).
                 This matching program also assists HUD in complying with the
                following Federal laws, requirements, and guidance related to
                identifying and reducing improper payments:
                 1. Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA)
                (Pub. L. 111-204) (July 22, 2010);
                 2. Presidential Memorandum on Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a
                ``Do Not Pay List'' (June 18, 2010);
                 3. Office of Management and Budget M-18-20, Transmittal of Appendix
                C to OMB Circular A-123, Requirements for Payment Integrity
                Improvement'' (June 26, 2018);
                 4. Presidential Memorandum on Finding and Recapturing Improper
                Payments (March 10, 2010);
                 5. Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal
                Programs (Executive Order 13520, November 2009);
                 6. Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-300);
                 7. Office of Management and Budget M-03-13, Improper Payments
                Information Act of 2002;
                 8. Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act
                (IPERIA) of 2012, (Pub. L. 112-248) (January 10, 2013); and
                 9. Office of Management and Budget M-13-20, Protecting Privacy
                while Reducing Improper Payments with the Do Not Pay Initiative (August
                16, 2013).
                 This matching program is also authorized by subsections
                453(j)(7)(A), (C)(i), and (D)(i) of the Social Security Act (as amended
                and authorized by Section 217 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of
                2004 (Pub. L. 108-199)). Specifically, the aforementioned law
                authorizes HHS to compare information provided by HUD with data
                contained in the NDNH and report the results of the data match to HUD.
                The Social Security Act gives HUD the authority to disclose this
                information to CAs, O/As, and PHAs for the purpose of verifying the
                employment and income of individuals receiving benefits in the above
                programs. HUD shall not seek, use or disclose information relating to
                an individual without the prior written consent of that individual, and
                HUD has the authority to require consent as a condition of
                participating in HUD rental housing assistance programs.
                 The NDNH contains new hire, quarterly wage, and unemployment
                insurance information furnished by state and Federal agencies and is
                maintained by HHS' Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in its
                system of records ``OCSE National Directory of New Hires,'' No. 09-80-
                0381, published in the Federal Register at 80 FR 17894 (specifically
                pages 17906-17909) on April 2, 2015. The aforementioned published
                system of records notice authorizes disclosure of NDNH information to
                HUD pursuant to Routine Use (12) ``for the purpose of verifying the
                employment and income of the individuals and, after removal of personal
                identifiers, for the purpose of conducting analyses of the employment
                and income reporting of such individuals.''
                 The HUD records used in the information comparison are retrieved
                [[Page 40612]]
                from the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS) covered
                under HUD's Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (HSNG/
                MF.HTS.02), published on August 22, 2016 (81 FR 56684); and the
                Inventory Management System (IMS), also known as the Public and Indian
                Housing (PIH) Information Center (PIC) (HUD/PIH.01), published on April
                13, 2012 (77 FR 22337). The results of the information comparison are
                maintained within, the HUD system of records, Enterprise Income
                Verification System (EIV), No. HUD/PIH-5, last published in the Federal
                Register at 71 FR 45066 on August 8, 2006, and updated on September 1,
                2009, at 74 FR 45235. Routine use (1) of the system of records
                authorizes disclosure of HUD records to HHS.
                Purpose(s)
                 HUD's primary objective of the computer matching program is to
                verify the employment and income of participants in certain rental
                assistance programs to determine the appropriate level of rental
                assistance, and to detect, deter and correct fraud, waste, and abuse in
                rental housing assistance programs. In meeting these objectives, HUD
                also is carrying out a responsibility under 42 U.S.C. 1437f(K) to
                ensure that income data provided to PHAs, and O/As, by household
                members is complete and accurate. HUD's various rental housing
                assistance programs require that participants meet certain income and
                other criteria to be eligible for rental assistance. In addition,
                tenants generally are required to report and recertify the amounts and
                sources of their income at least annually. However, under the Quality
                Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998, PHAs operating
                Public Housing programs may offer tenants the option to pay a flat
                rent, or an income-based rent. Those tenants who select a flat rent
                will be required to recertify income at least every three years. In
                addition, the changes to the Admissions and Occupancy final rule (March
                29, 2000 (65 FR 16692)) specified that household composition must be
                recertified annually for tenants who select a flat rent or income-based
                rent.
                Categories of Individuals
                Covered Programs
                 This notice of computer matching program applies to individuals
                receiving services from the following rental assistance programs:
                A. Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP)
                B. Public Housing
                C. Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)
                D. Project-Based Vouchers
                E. Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation
                F. Project-Based Section 8
                 1. New Construction
                 2. State Agency Financed
                 3. Substantial Rehabilitation
                 4. Sections 202/8
                 5. Rural Housing Services Section 515/8
                 6. Loan Management Set-Aside (LMSA)
                 7. Property Disposition Set-Aside (PDSA)
                G. Section 101 Rent Supplement
                H. Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC)
                I. Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
                J. Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC)
                K. Section 236 Rental Assistance Program
                L. Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR)
                 Note: This notice does not apply to the Low-Income Housing Tax
                Credit (LIHTC) or the Rural Housing Services Section 515 without
                Section 8 programs.
                Categories of Records
                 The following are the categories of record in this matching
                agreement:
                HUD Input File
                 First name
                 Last name
                 Date of birth
                 Social Security number
                HHS New Hire File
                 New hire processed date
                 Employee name
                 Employee address
                 Employee date of hire
                 Employee state of hire
                 Federal Employer Identification Number
                 State Employer Identification Number
                 Department of Defense status code
                 Employer name
                 Employer address
                 Transmitter agency code
                 Transmitter state code
                 Transmitter state or agency name
                HHS Quarterly Wage File
                 Quarterly wage processed date
                 Employee name
                 Federal Employer Identification Number
                 State Employer Identification Number
                 Department of Defense code
                 Employer name
                 Employer address
                 Employee wage amount
                 Quarterly wage reporting period
                 Transmitter agency code
                 Transmitter state code
                 Transmitter state or agency name
                HHS Unemployment Insurance File
                 Unemployment insurance processed date
                 Claimant name
                 Claimant address
                 Claimant benefit amount
                 Unemployment insurance reporting period
                 Transmitter state code
                 Transmitter state or agency name
                System(s) of Records
                 OCSE NDNH contains new hire, quarterly wage, and unemployment
                insurance information furnished by state and federal agencies and is
                maintained by OCSE in its system of records ``OCSE National Directory
                of New Hires,'' No. 09-80-0381, published in the Federal Register at 80
                FR 17906 on April 2, 2015, and updated on February 14, 2018, at 83 FR
                6591. The disclosure of NDNH information by OCSE to HUD constitutes a
                ``routine use,'' as defined by the Privacy Act. 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3).
                Routine use (12) of the system of records authorizes the disclosure of
                NDNH information to HUD. 80 FR 17906, 17907 (April 2, 2015).
                 The HUD records used in the information comparison are retrieved
                from, and the results of the information comparison are maintained
                within, the HUD system of records ``Enterprise Income Verification''
                (EIV), No. HUD/PIH-5, last published in the Federal Register at 71 FR
                45066 on August 8, 2006, and updated on September 1, 2009, at 74 FR
                45235. Routine use (1) of the system of records authorizes disclosure
                of HUD records to OCSE.
                 Dated: July 23, 2021.
                Nancy Corsiglia,
                Senior Agency Official for Privacy.
                [FR Doc. 2021-16098 Filed 7-26-21; 11:15 am]
                BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
                

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