Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 139 /Tuesday, July 21, 1998 / Notices 39119

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a, the

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of

Matching Programs, notice is hereby

given of the conduct of an Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) program of

computer matches.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice will be

effective August 20, 1998, unless

comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESSES: Comments or inquiries may

be mailed to the Chief Inspector,

Internal Revenue Service, 1111

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Jacqueline Greening, Internal

Auditor, Quality Assurance and

Oversight Section, Office of Planning

and Management, Office of Assistant

Chief Inspector (Internal Auditor),

Internal Revenue Service, (202) 622–

5911.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IRS

management is responsible for

discouraging the perpetration of

irregular or illegal acts and limiting any

exposure if an integrity breach occurs.

To assist in accomplishing this mission,

the Inspection Service has enhanced its

conventional audit and investigative

activities with a program to detect and

deter unauthorized access (UNAX) by

IRS employees to taxpayer information.

The Audit Trail Lead Analysis System

(ATLAS) is a system designed to detect

unauthorized access to taxpayer records.

It does so by identifying IRS employees

who have accessed taxpayer records

using the Integrated Data Retrieval

System (IDRS) in a manner that appears

to be inconsistent with standard IRS

practice.

One of the five IRS organizational

strategies is to ensure public confidence

in the integrity of the IRS by a

dedication to the highest ethical

standards. One of the ways that the

Inspection Service supports this

objective is to provide IRS management

an assessment of the organization’s

ethical environment through the UNAX

Program, which is part of the overall

Inspection Service Integrity Program.

Computer matching is the most

feasible method of performing

comprehensive analysis of employee,

taxpayer, and tax administration data

because of the large number of

employees (56,000 employees access

IDRS); the geographical dispersion of

IRS offices and employees (nationwide);

and the tremendous volume of

computerized data that is available for

analysis (100 million IDRS transactions

are generated each month).

This program will be conducted using

audit trails and IDRS records generated

from each Service Center. Four years of

audit trail records will be available to

search.

NAME OF SOURCE AGENCY: Internal

Revenue Service.

NAME OF RECIPIENT AGENCY: Internal

Revenue Service.

BEGINNING AND COMPLETION DATES: This

program of computer matches is

expected to commence on July 31, 1998,

but not earlier than the fortieth day after

copies of the Computer Matching

Agreement are provided to the Congress

and OMB unless comments dictate

otherwise. The program of computer

matches is expected to conclude at the

end of the eighteenth month after the

beginning date (January 31, 2000).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this program

of computer matches is to detect

unauthorized access to taxpayer records

by IRS employees. The system will

identify employees who have accessed

taxpayer records using the IDRS in a

manner that appears to be inconsistent

with standard IRS practice.

AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301, 26 U.S.C. 7213,

7213A, 7214, 7608, 7801, 7802, 7803, 18

U.S.C. 1030(a)(2)(B); and Reorganization

Plan No. 1 of 1952, pursuant to Section

7804(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of

1986. The Computer Security Act of

1987 (Pub. L. 100–235). The Federal

Managers’ Financial Integrity Act

(FMFIA) (Pub. L. 97–255). Executive

Order 12674 of April 12, 1989, entitled,

‘‘Principles of Ethical Conduct for

Government Officers and Employees.’’

OMB Circular A–130, ‘‘Management of

Federal Information Resources,’’ dated

February 8, 1996. OMB Circular A–123,

‘‘Internal Control Systems,’’ dated

August 16, 1983.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED:

Current and former employees of the

IRS and contractors for the IRS.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS COVERED:

Included in this program of computer

matches is information related to

computer inquiries and entries to the

IDRS (Treasury/IRS 34.018) made by

IRS employees: employee identification

numbers and employee social security

numbers, command codes used,

taxpayer identification number

accessed, terminal from which access

occurred, date and time of access.

Information from the Individual Master

File (IMF) (Treasury/IRS 24.030), the

Business Master File (BMF) (Treasury/

IRS 24.046), and the Treasury Integrated

Management Information System

(TIMIS) (Treasury/DO .002) will be used

to obtain employee address and

spouse’s name.

Other information from these files not

uniquely pertaining to the IRS

employee(s) but that could possibly

establish a relationship between the IRS

employee(s) and the account(s) accessed

will be used to determine the actions or

the effect of actions of employee(s) or to

corroborate declarations or statements

by employee(s). From IDRS (Treasury/

IRS 34.018): Taxpayer identification

number and tax period. From IMF

(Treasury/IRS 24.030) and BMF

(Treasury/IRS 24.046): Taxpayer entity

information, including address, current

and prior name, and tax account status.

From TIMIS (Treasury/DO .002):

employee identifying and locating

information, including address, current

name and name of spouse.

Dated: July 15, 1998.

Shelia Y. McCann,

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Administration).

[FR Doc. 98–19343 Filed 7–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900–0085]

Proposed Information Collection

Activity: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Board of Veterans’ Appeals,

Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Board of Veterans’

Appeals (BVA), Department of Veterans

Affairs (VA), is announcing an

opportunity for public comment on the

proposed collection of certain

information by the agency. Under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of

1995, Federal agencies are required to

publish notice in the Federal Register

concerning each proposed collection of

information, including each proposed

extension of a currently approved

collection, and allow 60 days for public

comment in response to the notice. This

notice solicits comments on the

information required in processing

appeals from denial of VA benefits and

in regulation of representatives’ fees.

DATES: Written comments and

recommendations on the proposed

collection of information should be

received on or before September 21,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

on the collection of information to Sue

Hamlin, Board of Veterans’ Appeals

(01C), Department of Veterans Affairs,
39120 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 139 /Tuesday, July 21, 1998 / Notices

810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20420. Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control

No. 2900–0085’’ in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue

Hamlin at (202) 565–5686.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the

PRA of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13; 44 U.S.C.

3501–3520), Federal agencies must

obtain approval from the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for each

collection of information they conduct

or sponsor. This request for comment is

being made pursuant to Section

3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA.

With respect to the following

collection of information, BVA invites

comments on: (1) Whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of BVA’s

functions, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of BVA’s estimate of the

burden of the proposed collection of

information; (3) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (4)

ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on

respondents, including through the use

of automated collection techniques or

the use of other forms of information

technology.

Titles

a. Appeal to Board of Veterans’

Appeals, VA Form 9.

b. Withdrawal of Services by a

Representative.

c. Filing of Representative’s Fee

Agreements and Motions for Review of

Such Agreements.

d. Motion for Review of

Representative’s Charges for Expenses.

e. Request for Changes in Hearing

Date.

f. Motion for Reconsideration.

OMB Control Number: 2900–0085.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Abstract:

a. VA Form 9 is furnished to an

appellant so that he or she has the

information necessary to perfect an

appeal from a denial of VA benefits.

b. When the appellant’s representative

withdraws from a case, information

must be obtained in order to afford

protection to the appellant and in order

for BVA to be able to know who is

providing representational services in

each individual case.

c. Agreements for fees charged by

individuals or organizations for

representing claimants and appellants

before VA are filed with, and reviewed

by, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The

information is used to afford protection

to VA claimants by ensuring that the VA

benefits are not diverted from their

intended purpose through overreaching

by unscrupulous representatives and in

processing payment of fees from VA

benefits when provided by the

agreement.

d. Expense reimbursements claimed

by individuals and organizations for

representing claimants and appellants

before VA have been monitored for

fairness for many years. The information

is used to monitor representatives’ fees

for reasonableness and ensure that

unreasonable fees are not charged by

claiming such fees under the guise of

‘‘expenses.’’

e. VA provides hearings to appellants

and their representatives, as required by

basic Constitutional due-process and by

Title 38 U.S.C. 7107(b). From time to

time, hearing dates and/or times are

changed, hearing requests withdrawn

and new hearings requested after failure

to appear at a scheduled hearing. The

information is used to comply with the

appellants’ or their representatives’

requests.

f. Decisions by BVA are final unless

the Chairman orders reconsideration of

the decision. The information provided

is unique in each case and must be

provided in order for BVA to be aware

that reconsideration is being sought and

to inform BVA of the basis of the

request. Failure to obtain the

information would result in depriving

appellants of this potential form of

relief.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households.

Estimated Total Annual Burden:

36,837 hours.

a. Appeal to Board of Veterans’

Appeals—32,500 hours.

b. Withdrawal of Services by a

Representative—183 hours.

c. Filing and Motions for Review of

fee Agreements—225 hours.

d. Motion for Review of Expenses—4

hours.

e. Request for Changes in Hearing

Date—2,374 hours.

f. Motion for Reconsideration—1,550

hours.

Estimated Average Burden Per

Respondent: 53 minutes.

a. Appeal to Board of Veterans’

Appeals—1 hour.

b. Withdrawal of Services by a

Representative—20 minutes.

c. Fee Agreement—30 minutes

(contract modifications), 10 minutes

(basic filing)—2 hours (filing motion or

response).

d. Motion for Review of Expenses—2

hours (motion or response to motion).

e. Request for Changes in Hearing

Date—15 minutes (basic request)—1

hour (requests requiring preparation of

a motion).

f. Motion for Reconsideration—1

hour.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Number of

Respondents: 41,644.

a. Appeal to Board of Veterans’

Appeals—32,500.

b. Withdrawal of Services by a

Representative—550.

c. Fee Agreement—875.

d. Motion for Review of Expenses—2.

e. Request for Changes in Hearing

Date—6,167.

f. Motion for Reconsideration—1,550.

Dated: May 15, 1998.

By direction of the Secretary.

Barbara H. Epps,

Management Analyst, nformation

Management Service.

[FR Doc. 98–19311 Filed 7–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P