Rule2021-14213
Privacy Act; Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 6, 2021
Effective
July 6, 2021
Issuing agencies
Treasury Department
Abstract
In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices (DO), is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt portion of the following new systems of records maintained by the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. The exemption is intended to comply with the legal prohibitions against the disclosure of certain kinds of information and to protect certain information maintained in this system of records.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 126 (Tuesday, July 6, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 6, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35396-35399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14213]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Secretary
31 CFR Part 1
RIN 1505-AC73
Privacy Act; Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of
1974, as amended, the Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices
(DO), is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations to exempt
portion of the following new systems of records maintained by the
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) from certain
provisions of the Privacy Act. The exemption is intended to comply with
the legal prohibitions against the disclosure of certain kinds of
information and to protect certain information maintained in this
system of records.
DATES: Effective July 6, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice and
privacy issues, contact: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy,
Transparency, and Records at U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20220; telephone: (202) 622-
5710.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
SIGPR was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security (CARES) Act of 2020. SIGPR has the duty to conduct, supervise,
and coordinate audits, evaluations, and investigations of the making,
purchase, management, and sale of loans, loan guarantees, and other
investments made by the Secretary of the Treasury under programs
established by the Secretary, as authorized by Section 4018(c) of the
CARES Act, and the management by the Secretary of programs, as
authorized by Section 4018(c) of the CARES Act. SIGPR's duties and
responsibilities are set forth in Section 4018 of the CARES Act, and in
the Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app. 3. SIGPR plans to
create these systems of records to facilitate SIGPR's audits,
evaluations, investigations, and other operations to (1) promote
economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of such
programs; (2) prevent and detect fraud and abuse in the programs and
operations within its jurisdiction; and (3) keep the head of the
establishment and the Congress fully informed about problems and
deficiencies relating to the administration of such programs and
operations and the necessity for and progress of corrective action.
Treasury is publishing separately the notice of the new system of
records to be maintained by SIGPR.
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) and (k)(2), the head of a federal agency
may promulgate rules to exempt a system of records from certain
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a if the system of records contains
investigatory materials compiled for law enforcement purposes. Pursuant
to these provisions, Treasury exempts the following system of records
from 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (c)(4), (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4),
(e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I), (e)(5),
(e)(8), (f), and (g) of the Privacy Act:
SIGPR .420--Audit and Evaluations Records
SIGPR .421--Case Management System and Investigative Records
SIGPR .423--Legal Records
The following are the reasons the investigatory materials contained
in the above-referenced systems of records maintained by SIGPR may be
exempted from various provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) and (k)(2):
(1) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(G) and (f)(l) (Agency
Requirements and Rules) because release would give individuals an
opportunity to learn whether they have been identified as suspects or
subjects of investigation. As further described in the following
paragraph, access to such knowledge may impair the ability of the
Department of the Treasury and SIGPR (the Department/SIGPR) to carry
out its respective missions, since individuals could:
(i) Take steps to avoid detection;
(ii) Inform associates that an investigation is in progress;
(iii) Learn the nature of the investigation;
(iv) Learn whether they are suspects or, instead, have been
identified as alleged law violators;
(v) Begin, continue, or resume illegal conduct upon learning that
they are not identified in the system of records; or
(vi) Destroy evidence needed to prove the violation.
(2) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(1), (e)(4)(H) and (f)(2), (3)
and (5) (Access to Records and Agency Requirements and Rules) because
release might compromise the Department's/SIGPR's ability to provide
useful tactical and strategic information to law enforcement agencies
by:
(i) Permitting access to records contained in the systems of
records such that it might provide information concerning the nature of
current investigations and enable possible violators to avoid detection
or apprehension by:
(A) Allowing the discovery of facts that could form the basis for
violators' arrests;
(B) Enabling violators to destroy or alter evidence of alleged
criminal conduct that could form the basis for arrest; and
(C) Using knowledge of the status of criminal investigations to
delay the commission of a crime or commit a crime at a location that
might not be under surveillance.
(ii) Permitting access to either on-going or closed investigative
files might also reveal investigative techniques and
[[Page 35397]]
procedures, the knowledge of which could enable individuals planning
crimes to structure their operations to avoid detection or
apprehension.
(iii) Permitting access to investigative files and records also
could disclose the identity of confidential sources and informants and
the nature of the information supplied, and thereby endanger the
physical safety of those sources by exposing them to possible reprisals
for having provided the information. In addition, confidential sources
and informants might refuse to provide criminal investigators with
valuable information if they fear their identities may be revealed
through disclosure of their names or the nature of the information they
supplied. Loss of access to such sources would seriously impair the
Department's/SIGPR's ability to carry out its respective mandate.
(iv) Furthermore, providing access to information contained in the
systems of records could reveal the identities of undercover law
enforcement officers who compiled information regarding the
individual's alleged criminal activities and thereby endanger the
physical safety of those undercover officers or their families by
exposing them to possible reprisals.
(v) By compromising the law enforcement value of the systems of
records for the reasons outlined in paragraph (2), subsections (i)
through (iv), permitting access in keeping with these provisions would
discourage other law enforcement and regulatory agencies, foreign and
domestic, from freely sharing information with the Department/SIGPR and
thus would restrict the Department's/SIGPR's access to information
necessary to accomplish its respective mission most effectively.
(vi) Finally, the dissemination of certain information that the
Department/SIGPR maintains in the systems of records is restricted by
law.
(3) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(2), (3) and (4), (e)(4)(H), and
(f)(4) (Access to Records) because these provisions pertain to
requesting an amendment or noting a dispute to records that are exempt
from access for the reasons set forth in paragraph (2) above.
(4) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) (Accounting for Disclosures)
because release of the accounting of disclosures of the records in this
system could impair the ability of law enforcement agencies outside the
Department/SIGPR from making effective use of information provided by
the Department/SIGPR. Making accountings of disclosures available to
the subjects of an investigation could alert them to the fact that
another agency is conducting an investigation into their alleged
criminal activities and could reveal the geographic location of the
other agency's investigation, the nature and purpose of that
investigation, and the dates on which that investigation was active.
Individuals possessing such knowledge could take measures to avoid
detection or apprehension by altering their operations, transferring
their alleged criminal activities to other geographical areas, or
destroying or concealing evidence that would form the basis for arrest.
In the case of a delinquent account, such release might enable the
subject of the investigation to dissipate assets before levy.
(ii) Moreover, providing accountings to the subjects of
investigations would alert them to the fact that the Department/SIGPR
has information regarding their alleged criminal activities and could
inform them of the general nature of that information. Access to such
information could reveal the operations of the Department/SIGPR's
information-gathering and analysis systems and permit individuals to
take steps to avoid detection or apprehension.
(5) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(4) (Accounting of Disclosures/
Notice of Record Correction or Dispute) because this provision depends
on an individual's having access to and an opportunity to request
amendment of records that are exempt from access for the reasons set
out above, this provision should not apply to the systems of records.
(6) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(I) (Agency Requirements/
Publication of the Categories of Records) because it could compromise
the Department/SIGPR's ability to provide useful information to law
enforcement agencies, since revealing sources for the information
could:
(i) Disclose investigative techniques and procedures;
(ii) Result in threats or reprisals against informants by the
subjects of investigations; and
(iii) Cause informants to refuse to give full information to
criminal investigators for fear of having their identities as sources
disclosed.
(7) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(1) (Agency Requirements/
Maintaining Records) because the term ``maintain'' includes ``collect''
and ``disseminate,'' and application of this provision to the systems
of records could impair the Department/SIGPR's ability to collect and
disseminate valuable law enforcement information in the following ways:
(i) In many cases, especially in the early stages of an
investigation, it may be impossible to immediately determine whether
information collected is relevant and necessary, and information that
initially appears irrelevant and unnecessary often may, upon further
evaluation or upon collation with information developed subsequently,
prove particularly relevant to a law enforcement program.
(ii) Not all violations of law discovered by the Department/SIGPR
fall within the investigative jurisdiction of the Department or SIGPR.
To promote effective law enforcement, the Department/SIGPR may disclose
such violations to other law enforcement agencies, including state,
local and foreign agencies, that have jurisdiction over the offenses to
which the information relates. Otherwise, the Department/SIGPR might be
placed in the position of having to ignore information relating to
violations of law not within the jurisdiction of the Department or
SIGPR when that information comes to the Department/SIGPR's attention
during the collation and analysis of information in its respective
records.
(8) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(2) (Agency Requirements/
Collection from an Individual) because it could impair the Department's
ability to collate, analyze, and disseminate investigative,
intelligence, and enforcement information. In addition:
(i) Most information collected about an individual under criminal
investigation is obtained from third parties, such as witnesses and
informants. It is usually not feasible to rely upon the subject of the
investigation as a source for information regarding his or her alleged
criminal activities.
(ii) An attempt to obtain information from the subject of a
criminal investigation will often alert that individual to the
existence of an investigation, thereby affording the individual an
opportunity to attempt to conceal his or her alleged criminal
activities and thus avoid apprehension.
(iii) In certain instances, the subject of a criminal investigation
may assert his or her constitutional right to remain silent and refuse
to supply information to criminal investigators upon request.
(iv) During criminal investigations, it is often a matter of sound
investigative procedure to obtain information from a variety of sources
to verify information already obtained from the subject of a criminal
investigation or other sources.
(9) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(3) (Agency Requirements/
Informing Individuals) because it could impair the
[[Page 35398]]
Department/SIGPR's ability to collect and collate investigative,
intelligence, and enforcement data. In addition:
(i) Confidential sources or undercover law enforcement officers
often obtain information under circumstances in which it is necessary
to keep the true purpose of their actions secret so as not to let the
subject of the investigation, or his or her associates, know that a
criminal investigation is in progress.
(ii) If it became known that the undercover officer was assisting
in a criminal investigation, that officer's physical safety could be
endangered through reprisal, and that officer may not be able to
continue working on the investigation.
(iii) Individuals often feel inhibited talking to a person
representing a criminal law enforcement agency but are willing to talk
to a confidential source or undercover officer whom they believe is not
involved in law enforcement activities.
(iv) Providing a confidential source of information with written
evidence that he or she was a source, as required by this provision,
could increase the likelihood that the source of information would be
subject to retaliation by the subject of the investigation.
(v) Individuals may be contacted during preliminary information
gathering, surveys, or compliance projects concerning the
administration of the internal revenue laws before any individual is
identified as the subject of an investigation. Informing the individual
of the matters required by this provision could impede or compromise
subsequent investigations.
(10) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(5) (Agency Requirements/Record
Maintenance). Because the definition of ``maintain'' includes
``collect'' and ``disseminate,'' this provision could hinder the
initial collection of any information that might not be determined or
determinable, at the moment of collection, to be accurate, relevant,
timely, and complete. Similarly, application of this provision could
seriously restrict the Department/SIGPR's ability to disseminate
information pertaining to a possible violation of law to law
enforcement and regulatory agencies. In collecting information during a
criminal investigation, it is often impossible or unfeasible to
determine accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness prior to
collection of the information. In disseminating information to law
enforcement and regulatory agencies, it is often impossible to
determine accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness prior to
dissemination because the Department/SIGPR may not have the expertise
with which to make such determinations. Information that may initially
appear inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete may, when
collated and analyzed with other available information, become more
pertinent as an investigation progresses. In addition, application of
this provision could seriously impede criminal investigators and
intelligence analysts in the exercise of their judgment in reporting
results obtained during criminal investigations.
(11) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(8) (Agency Requirements/Notice)
because it could reveal investigative techniques and procedures
outlined in those records and to prevent revelation of the existence of
an ongoing investigation where there is need to keep the existence of
the investigation secret.
(12) Exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(g) (Civil Remedies) because, if
the civil remedies relate to provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a from which
these rules exempt the systems of records, there should be no civil
remedies for failure to comply with provisions from which the
Department/SIGPR is exempted. Exemption from this provision will also
protect the Department/SIGPR from baseless civil court actions that
might hamper its ability to collate, analyze, and disseminate
investigative, intelligence, and law enforcement data.
Any information from a system of records for which an exemption is
claimed under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) or 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), which is also
included in another system of records, retains the same exempt status
such information has in the system of records for which such exemption
is claimed.
This rule is not a ``significant regulatory action''' under
Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, it is hereby certified that this rule will not
have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The term ``small entity'' is defined to have the same meaning
as the terms ``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small
governmental jurisdiction'' as defined in the RFA.
The regulation, issued under sections (j)(2) and (k)(2) of the
Privacy Act, is to exempt certain information maintained by the
Department/SIGPR in the above-referenced systems of records from
certain Privacy Act requirements in this system of records by
individuals who are United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted
for permanent residence. In as much as the Privacy Act rights are
personal and apply only to U.S. citizens or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence, small entities, as defined in the RFA, are not
provided rights under the Privacy Act and are outside the scope of this
regulation.
Public Comments
Treasury received no comment on the notice of proposed rulemaking.
No comment was received on the system of records notice. Treasury will
implement the rulemaking as proposed.
List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 1
Privacy.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, part 1, subpart C of Title
31 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
PART 1--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 and 31 U.S.C. 321. Subpart A also issued
under 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended. Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C.
552a, as amended.
0
2. Section 1.36 is amended by adding entries for ``SIGPR .420'',
``SIGPR .421'', and ``SIGPR .423'' in alphanumeric order to the tables
in paragraphs (c)(1)(ii) and (g)(1)(ii) to read as follows:
Sec. 1.36 Systems exempt in whole or in part from provisions of 5
U.S.C. 522a and this part.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number System name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
SIGPR .420--Audit and Evaluations Records.
SIGPR .421--Case Management System and Investigative Records.
SIGPR .423--Legal Records.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
(g) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number System name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
SIGPR .420--Audit and Evaluations Records.
SIGPR .421--Case Management System and Investigative Records.
SIGPR .423--Legal Records.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 35399]]
* * * * *
Ryan Law,
Deputy Assistant Secretary Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
[FR Doc. 2021-14213 Filed 7-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AK-P?>
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 6, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.