Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on computer matching, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) is providing notice of the establishment of a new matching program. Pursuant to the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, Commerce is establishing a new matching program consisting of the computerized comparison of systems of records for Federal benefit programs at Commerce with the Do Not Pay (DNP) Working System, which is administered by Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service. This matching program will enable the Commerce programs listed in the appendix of this notice to compare records maintained in their respective systems of records with records maintained in the DNP Working System for the purposes of identifying and preventing improper payments and conducting any related recovery activities by verifying through DNP prepayment or pre-award eligibility.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67814-67815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21916]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[Docket No. DOC-2026-0397]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Office of Privacy and Open Government, Office of the Secretary, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on computer matching, 
the Department of Commerce (Commerce) is providing notice of the 
establishment of a new matching program. Pursuant to the Payment 
Integrity Information Act of 2019, Commerce is establishing a new 
matching program consisting of the computerized comparison of systems 
of records for Federal benefit programs at Commerce with the Do Not Pay 
(DNP) Working System, which is administered by Treasury's Bureau of the 
Fiscal Service. This matching program will enable the Commerce programs 
listed in the appendix of this notice to compare records maintained in 
their respective systems of records with records maintained in the DNP 
Working System for the purposes of identifying and preventing improper 
payments and conducting any related recovery activities by verifying 
through DNP prepayment or pre-award eligibility.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 27, 2026. This 
new matching program will be effective 30 days after publication of 
this notice through September 10, 2029.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this notice may be submitted 
electronically through the Federal government eRulemaking portal at 
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>; docket number DOC-2026-0397. Electronic 
submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and 
submit a comment, ensures timely receipt, and enables Commerce to make 
the comments available to the public. Please note that comments 
submitted through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> will be made available 
for viewing by the public. Comments on this proposed matching program 
may also be addressed to email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4313312a3522203a02203703272c206d242c35"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4f1f3d26392e2c360e2c3b0f2b202c61282039">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Cormier, Acting Chief Privacy 
Officer and Director of Open Government, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82c1d2cdc2e6ede1ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4f7e4fbf4d0dbd79ad3dbc2">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, (202) 482-1190.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection 
Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-503) amended the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a) by establishing procedural safeguards related to agencies' use of 
records when performing certain types of computerized matching. Section 
7201 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508) 
further amended the Privacy Act regarding protections for individuals 
when agencies perform these functions. Additionally, the Payment 
Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) provides the 
head of the agency operating the DNP Working System with the authority, 
in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to 
waive the requirements in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) in any case or class of 
cases for matching activities conducted under the DNP Initiative (31 
U.S.C. 3354). Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, after consulting with the OMB Director, authorized the 
issuance of a four-year waiver of the requirement for entering into a 
matching agreement under 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) for the class of matching 
programs that meet all of the criteria defined in OMB Memorandum M-25-
32, Preventing Improper Payments and Protecting Privacy through Do Not 
Pay.
    Commerce has determined that the DNP matching program described in 
this notice is eligible for the waiver described in OMB Memorandum M-
25-32, which is effective from September 10, 2025, through September 
10, 2029. For purposes of this notice, matching activities conducted 
between the Federal benefit programs listed in the appendix to this 
document and the DNP Working System constitute a single agency-wide 
matching program implementing DNP for Commerce's listed programs.\1\
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    \1\ The statutory definition of the term ``matching program'' 
means ``any computerized comparison of--(i) two or more automated 
systems of records or a system of records with non-Federal records'' 
for certain enumerated purposes. 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(8) (emphasis 
added). There is a separate statutory definition for ``Federal 
benefit program.'' See OMB Memorandum M-25-32 at Appendix II, page 
2, sec. a.3.iii.1 (recognizing that a single agency matching program 
may consist of multiple systems of records). Thus, this notice 
applies to the DNP matching program for multiple Federal benefits 
programs and associated systems of records within Commerce.
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    Categories of Individuals: Applicants for, or recipients of, 
Federal funds from those Commerce programs listed in the appendix 
below.
    Categories of Records: Data elements that will be matched may 
include:

<bullet> Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
<bullet> Awardee/Payee Name
<bullet> Awardee/Payee Physical Address, City, State, Zip Code
<bullet> Awardee/Payee Routing Number and Bank Account Number

    Commerce follow-up records may include identity-verification 
results, supporting documentation, correspondence and notices, contest 
or correction information, eligibility or payment determinations, and 
records documenting prevention, recoupment, recovery, referral, or 
other disposition.
    System(s) of Records: The records contained within the DNP Working 
System are maintained in the system of records known as Department of 
the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .017--Do Not Pay Payment 
Verification Records (91 FR 28759). This system of records includes 
those databases designated to be included in the DNP Working System by 
the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 as well as other 
databases designated for inclusion by the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, or the designee of the Director, in consultation 
with executive agencies. The Commerce records involved in the matching 
program are maintained in Commerce systems of records listed in the 
appendix below.

Appendix

    Below is a list of the Commerce programs that will match records 
with the DNP Working System, and the applicable system of records 
notice(s) for each Commerce program. For purposes of this notice, 
matching activities conducted between the Federal benefit programs 
listed in the following appendix and the DNP Working System 
constitute a single agency-wide matching program implementing DNP 
for the agency.
    Participating Agencies: The Commerce programs listed in the 
appendix of this notice will match against the DNP Working System, 
which is maintained by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service at the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury.
    Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Payment 
Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) 
establishes the DNP Initiative and requires, for the purposes of 
identifying and preventing improper payments, each executive agency 
to have access to, and use of, the relevant databases in DNP to 
verify payment or award eligibility. Additional applicable 
authorities for this matching program include Executive Order 13520, 
Reducing Improper Payments (74 FR 62201); Executive Order 14249, 
Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse 
(90 FR 14011); and OMB Memorandum M-25-32, Preventing Improper 
Payments and Protecting Privacy Through Do Not Pay. Additional 
information regarding the statutory authorities for the collection 
and maintenance of information for each of the Commerce programs 
that will conduct matches with the DNP Working System are contained 
within the systems of records notices listed in the appendix below.

[[Page 67815]]

    Purpose(s): The purposes of the matching program are identifying 
and preventing improper payments and conducting any related recovery 
activities by verifying through Do Not Pay prepayment or pre-award 
eligibility. Data elements that are necessary for eligibility 
determinations for a relevant Commerce program that are contained in 
records from Commerce systems of records will be compared with 
records in the DNP Working System. When there is a match between a 
record provided by the Commerce program and a record in the DNP 
Working System, the DNP Working System will provide to the 
submitting Commerce program notice of a potentially matching record 
and will identify the database(s) that contain the potentially 
matching record(s). The Commerce program will then review the 
information to determine whether additional action is needed. If no 
matches are identified, the DNP Working System will provide a no 
match response to the submitting Commerce program.

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                                                                                             Federal Register
      Commerce operating unit          Agency program name     System of records notice          citation
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric     Marine Sanctuary        COMMERCE/NOAA-14, Dr. Nancy  80 FR 55829, Sep. 17,
 Administration (NOAA).               Program.                Foster Scholarship           2015; 80 FR 65983,
                                                              Program; Office of           Oct. 28, 2015; 91 FR
                                                              Education, Educational       2332, Jan. 20, 2026.
                                                              Partnership Program (EPP);
                                                              Ernest F. Hollings
                                                              Undergraduate Scholarship
                                                              Program and National
                                                              Marine Fisheries Service
                                                              Recruitment, Training, and
                                                              Research Program.
NOAA...............................  Fisheries Finance       COMMERCE/NOAA-21, Financial  81 FR 44593, July 8,
                                      Program.                Services Division.           2016; 91 FR 2332,
                                                                                           Jan. 20, 2026.
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Nicholas J. Cormier,
Acting Chief Privacy Officer and Director of Open Government, Office of 
Privacy and Open Government.
[FR Doc. 2026-21916 Filed 10-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-17-P


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