Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 117 / Monday, June 17, 1996 / Notices 30653

20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12) (1995).

will enhance NSCC’s ability to protect

itself and its members against loss.

(B) Self-Regulatory Organizations’

Statement on Burden on Competition

OCC and NSCC do not believe the

proposed rule changes will impose any

material burden on competition.

(C) Self-Regulatory Organizations’

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Changes Received From

Members, Participants or Others

Written comments were not and are

not intended to be solicited by OCC or

NSCC with respect to the proposed rule

changes, and none have been received

by OCC or NSCC.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Changes and Timing for

Commission Action

Within thirty-five days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

ninety days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which OCC and NSCC consent,

the Commission will:

(A) By order approve the proposed

rule changes or

(B) Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule changes

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of the

submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

changes that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule changes between the

Commission and any person, other than

those that may be withheld from the

public in accordance with the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 552, will be

available for inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of OCC and NSCC. All submission

should refer to the File Nos. SR–OCC–

96–04 and SR–NSCC–96–11 and should

be submitted by July 8, 1996.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.20

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–15274 Filed 6–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Privacy Act of 1974; Report of New

Routine Use

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: New routine use.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e) (4) and

(11)), we are issuing public notice of our

intent to establish a new routine use of

information maintained in the Privacy

Act system of records entitled Master

Files of Social Security Number (SSN)

Holders and SSN Applications, SSA/

OSR, 09–60–0058. (For convenience, we

will refer to the system as the

Enumeration System.) The proposed

routine use provides for disclosure of

SSN and citizenship information to

employers in connection with a pilot

program to verify the employment

authorization of newly-hired employees.

We invite public comments on this

publication.

DATES: We filed a report of an altered

systems of records—new routine use

with the Chairman, Committee on

Government Reform and Oversight of

the House of Representatives, the

Chairman, Committee on Governmental

Affairs of the Senate, and the

Administrator, Office of Information

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget on June 4,

1996. The routine use will become

effective as proposed, without further

notice on July 29, 1996, unless we

receive comments on or before that date

that would result in a contrary

determination.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals may

comment on this publication by writing

to the SSA Privacy Officer, Social

Security Administration, Room 3–A–6

Operations Building, 6401 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235.

Comments may be faxed to (410) 966–

0869 or sent to internet address

willie.j.polk@ssa.gov. All comments

received will be available for public

inspection at that address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Willie J. Polk, Chief, Confidentiality and

Disclosure Branch, Office of Disclosure

Policy, Social Security Administration,

3–D–1 Operations Building, 6401

Security Boulevard, Baltimore,

Maryland 21235, telephone 410–965–

1753.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Discussion of Proposed Routine Use

On February 7, 1995, President

Clinton announced that SSA, in

partnership with the Immigration and

Naturalization Service (INS), will

conduct a pilot project to verify SSNs

and employment authorization for

newly-hired employees.

To work in the United States (U.S.),

a person must be a U.S. citizen or an

alien lawfully admitted to the country

and authorized to work. Employers are

currently required to view documents

from all newly-hired employees to

verify their identities and their

authorization to work in the U.S. That

process has been cumbersome for

employers and is generally viewed as

ineffective at identifying unauthorized

workers. It has also been found to

provide an opportunity for

discrimination against people who look

or sound foreign.

The Commission on Immigration

Reform (also known as the Jordan

Commission) released an interim report

to the Congress in September 1994 that

proposed a computer registry based on

SSA and INS data that employers could

check to determine if a newly-hired

employee is authorized to work. The

Commission recommended that the

President immediately pilot the registry

in the five States with the highest levels

of illegal immigration and several less

affected States. SSA and INS estimate it

would take at least 5 years after the

enactment of legislation to set up the

joint computer registry proposed by the

Jordan Commission. The President has

authorized SSA and INS to develop

pilot projects to test the effectiveness of

some of the concepts embodied in the

computer registry proposal, and to test

the technical feasibility of matching

data from the two agencies’ databases.

The focus of the current pilot project

would involve a two-step process using

existing SSA and INS data bases.

Current plans call for selected volunteer

employers to provide SSA with a newlyhired employee’s SSN, name and date of

birth. SSA would match that

information against the Enumeration

System data base. If the identifying

information furnished by the employer

does not match the data in the

Enumeration System, SSA would so

inform the employer. If there is a match,

SSA would also check for citizenship/

alien status coding. If the Enumeration

System indicates that the employee is a

U.S. citizen, SSA’s response would
30654 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 117 / Monday, June 17, 1996 / Notices

convey this information and no further

inquiries would be necessary. If the

Enumeration System indicates that the

employee was an alien at the time he or

she last applied for a social security

card, SSA would advise the employer to

check with INS to determine whether

the employee is authorized to work.

To comply with the Privacy Act (5

U.S.C. 552a) when disclosing

information to the employers

participating in the pilot, we are

proposing to establish the following

routine use:

In connection with a pilot program,

conducted with the Immigration and

Naturalization Service under 8 U.S.C.

1324a(d)(4) to test methods of verifying that

individuals are authorized to work in the

United States, the Social Security

Administration will inform an employer

participating in such pilot program that the

identifying data (Social Security number,

name and date of birth) furnished by an

employer concerning a particular employee

match, or do not match, the data maintained

in this system of records, and when there is

such a match, that information in this system

of records indicates that the employee is, or

is not, a citizen of the United States.

B. Compatibility of Proposed Routine

Use

We are proposing the routine use

discussed above in accordance with the

Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(7), (b)(3),

and (e) (4) and (11)) and our disclosure

regulation (20 CFR part 401). The

Privacy Act permits us to disclose

information about individuals without

their consents for a routine use, i.e.,

where the information will be used for

a purpose that is compatible with the

purpose for which we collected the

information. The disclosures that will

be made under the proposed routine use

meet the compatibility requirements in

the Privacy Act and the regulation as

discussed below.

Under 8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(1), the

Immigration and Nationality Act

provides that it is unlawful for a person

or other entity to hire, or to recruit or

refer for a fee, for employment in the

U.S. an individual without verifying

that the individual is authorized to work

in the U.S. Among the documents that

can be used to verify the individual’s

authorization to work in the U.S., as

discussed in 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1), is the

SSN card ‘‘(other than such a card

which specifies on the face that the

issuance of the card does not authorize

employment in the United States).’’

Thus, the SSN and SSN card have a

major role in the current process for

verification of an employee’s

authorization to work in the U.S.

Further, 8 U.S.C. 1324a(d) allows the

President to consider the suitability of

existing Federal identification systems

for use in determining employment

authorization and to undertake

demonstration projects, such as the pilot

project described above, that test the

usefulness of such systems for

improving employment verification.

SSA’s Enumeration System is such a

Federal identification system. This

statutory authority has been invoked

with respect to the pilot project

described above. Consequently, with

respect to the pilot project, 8 U.S.C.

1324a(d) establishes employment

authorization verification as one of the

purposes for which SSA collects and

maintains information in its

Enumeration System. Use of that

information by employers participating

in that pilot project to verify

authorization to work in the U.S. clearly

serves that purpose.

In addition, sections 205(c)(2) and

208(a)(7) and (8) of the Social Security

Act (the Act) also support a finding of

compatibility. Under section

205(c)(2)(A) of the Act, SSA is required

to establish and maintain records of the

amounts of wages paid to individuals

and of the periods in which such wages

were paid. In performing these duties,

SSA is required by section

205(c)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Act to arrange for

the issuance of SSNs to certain groups,

including aliens lawfully admitted to

the U.S. for permanent residence or

under other authority to work in the

U.S. Section 205(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Act

provides that SSA must require all

applicants for SSNs to furnish evidence

to establish the age, citizenship, or alien

status, and true identity of such

applicants, and to determine which (if

any) SSN has previously been assigned

to such individual. This provision was

enacted to address, among other things,

concerns about use of SSNs by aliens

entering the U.S. illegally and work in

the U.S. by aliens who are not

authorized to do so. Further, section

208(a)(7)(B) and (a)(8) of the Act

provides that any individual who, with

intent to deceive for any purpose,

falsely represents that a particular SSN

was assigned to him or her when it was

not so assigned, or uses the SSN of any

person in violation of the laws of the

U.S., is guilty of a felony.

Some of the statutorily authorized

purposes for which SSA collects and

uses information maintained in the

Enumeration System are: (1) To keep

accurate records of earnings as required

by section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Act; (2) to

detect instances in which an individual

uses an SSN that has not been assigned

to him or her; (3) to prevent the issuance

of an SSN to an individual who has not

furnished evidence that he or she is

lawfully admitted to the U.S.; and (4) to

deter and detect work in the U.S. that

is not authorized by law.

The services we would provide to

employers under the pilot project would

assist them in reporting accurate wages

to SSA and would help prevent and

deter individuals from engaging in

criminal activity described in section

208(a)(7) and (8) of the Act and

unauthorized work in the U.S. Thus, the

services that SSA would render to

employers who would participate in the

proposed pilot would serve some of the

same purposes for which SSA collects

and maintains the SSN and citizenship/

alien status information in the

Enumeration System.

In furnishing the services described

above to employers who participate in

the employment authorization pilot,

SSA would perform functions for which

it is responsible under Federal law, 8

U.S.C. 1324a(d). This activity would be

necessary to carry out a Social Security

program, as defined in 20 CFR 401.110,

and would be consistent with SSA’s

disclosure regulation, 20 CFR 401.310.

The regulation (20 CFR 401.310)

provides, in part, that we will disclose

information under a routine use ‘‘where

necessary to carry out Social Security

programs.’’ For purposes of that

regulation, ‘‘Social Security program’’ is

defined as ‘‘any program or provision of

law which SSA is responsible for

administering * * *’’ 20 CFR 401.110.

C. Effect of the Proposal on Individual

Rights

The pilot is designed to assist

employers in identifying employees

who are not authorized to work in the

U.S. When operating the pilot, SSA and

INS will apply appropriate measures to

ensure that the privacy rights of

employees whose SSNs are verified

under the pilot are protected to the full

extent of the Privacy Act and all other

applicable laws. SSA and INS will

negotiate a written agreement with each

participating employer that delineates

the employer’s responsibilities and

states the safeguards the employer must

apply to protect the privacy of

information received from SSA and/or

INS. Individuals will have the

opportunity to reconcile any

discrepancies between the information

they furnish to their employers and the

records of SSA before their employers

can take any adverse action based on

those discrepancies. Because employers

participating in the pilot must confirm

that all new hires are authorized to

work, these disclosures should serve to

lessen the incidence of discrimination

against people who look or sound

foreign. Also, we will keep a detailed
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 117 / Monday, June 17, 1996 / Notices 30655

audit trail record of all disclosures made

under the pilot. For these reasons, we

do not anticipate that the disclosures

will have any unwarranted adverse

effect on the rights of individuals.

Dated: June 4, 1996.

Shirley S. Chater,

Commissioner of Social Security.

[FR Doc. 96–15265 Filed 6–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4190–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Inter-American Affairs

[Public Notice 2403]

Guidelines Implementing Title IV of the

Cuban Liberty and Democratic

Solidarity Act

AGENCY: Bureau of Inter-American

Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Title IV, section 401(a), of the

Cuban Liberty and Democratic

Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996

(‘‘Act’’), 22 U.S.C. 6021 et seq., also

known as the Helms-Burton Act,

provides that the ‘‘Secretary of State

shall deny a visa to, and the Attorney

General shall exclude from the United

States, any alien who the Secretary of

State determines is a person who, after

the date of the enactment of this act—

(1) Has confiscated, or has directed or

overseen the confiscation of, property

[in Cuba] a claim to which is owned by

a United States national, or converts or

has converted for personal gain

confiscated property, a claim to which

is owned by a United States national;

(2) Traffics in confiscated property, a

claim to which is owned by a United

States national;

(3) Is a corporate officer, principal, or

shareholder with a controlling interest

of an entity which has been involved in

the confiscation of property or

trafficking in confiscated property, a

claim to which is owned by a United

States national; or

(4) Is a spouse, minor child, or agent

of a person excludable under paragraph

(1), (2), or (3).’’ 22 U.S.C. 6091(a).

The following guidelines will be used

by the Department of State for the

purpose of implementing Title IV of the

act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective

on June 17, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Director, Office of Cuban Affairs, Bureau

of Inter-American Affairs, Department of

State, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington,

D.C. 20520, 202–647–7505.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Department of State Guidelines for

Implementation of Title IV of the

LIBERTAD Act

1. Purpose and Authority. These

guidelines will be used by the

Department of State (‘‘Department’’) for

the purpose of implementing Title IV of

the Cuban Liberty and Democratic

Solidarity Act of 1996, P.L. 104–114, 22

U.S.C. § 6021 et seq., also known as the

Libertad Act or Helms-Burton Act

(‘‘Act’’), and other applicable legislation

as appropriate.

2. Delegation of Authority. The

Secretary of State has delegated

authority to the Assistant Secretary of

State for Inter-American Affairs to make

determinations of excludability and visa

ineligibility under section 401(a) of the

Act.

3. Point of Contact. The Office of

Cuban Affairs in the Bureau of InterAmerican Affairs at the Department is

the central point of contact for all

inquiries about implementation of Title

IV of the Act. The Office may be

contacted in Room No. 3244, U.S.

Department of State, Washington, DC

20520; telephone number 202–647–

7505.

4. Collection of Information—a. As

resources permit, the Department may

collect information from available

sources on whether property in Cuba

owned by a U.S. national has been

confiscated or whether trafficking in

such property confiscated from a U.S.

national has occurred.

b. If the Department has information

indicating that certain property may

have been confiscated or subject to

trafficking, it may request the Foreign

Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC)

to inform it whether the property in

question was the subject of an FCSCcertified claim. the Department may also

obtain information from the FCSC and

other available sources about the current

ownership of an FCSC-certified claim,

including whether it is owned by a U.S.

national.

c. For non-certified claims, the

Department may request claimants to

provide additional information related

to ownership and confiscation of, or

trafficking in, the property concerned.

d. The department will consult as

appropriate with other agencies of the

U.S. government and other sources

regarding the identify of principals,

officers, and controlling shareholders,

and their agents, spouses, and minor

children, or entities that may have

confiscated property owned by a U.S.

national or trafficked in such property.

5. Determinations of excludability and

Ineligibility. Determinations of

ineligibility and excludability under

Title IV will be made when facts or

circumstances exist that would lead the

Department reasonably to conclude that

a person has engaged in confiscation or

trafficking after March 12, 1996.

6. Prior Notification.—a. An alien

who may be the subject of a

determination under Title IV will be

sent notification by registered mail that

his/her name will be entered in the visa

lookout system and port of entry

exclusion system, and that he/she will

be denied a visa upon application or

have his/her visa revoked, 45 days after

the date of the notification letter. the

alien will be informed that divesting

from a ‘‘trafficking’’ arrangement would

avert the exclusion. the Department may

inform the government of the alien’s

country of nationality in confidence

through diplomatic channels of the

name of any corporation or other entity

related to this action.

b. If no information is received within

the 45 day period above that leads the

Department reasonably to conclude (i)

that the alien or company involved has

not engaged in trafficking or is no longer

doing so, or (ii) that an exception to

trafficking under section 401(b)(2)(B)

applies, the Department will notify

consular officers and the Immigration

and Naturalization Service (‘‘INS’’) of a

determination by entering the alien’s

name, including the names of the alien’s

agents, spouse and minor children, if

applicable, in the appropriate lookout

system, and a visa application from the

named alien will be denied or a visa

revoked in accordance with the law.

Entry of the named alien into the

appropriate lookout systems will be the

exclusive means by which consular

officers and the INS will verify that the

alien has been determined to be

excludable under section 401 of the Act.

7. Exemptions. The Department may

grant an exemption for diplomatic and

consular personnel of foreign

governments, and representatives to and

officials of international organizations.

An alien may request from the

Department an exemption for medical

reasons or for purposes of litigation of

an action under Title III of the Act to the

extent permitted under section 401(c) of

the Act. The Department will notify

Department consular officers and the

INS through appropriate channels of the

decision to grant an exemption to a

person otherwise excludable under Title

IV of the Act. The Department may

impose appropriate conditions on any

exemption granted.

8. Review of Determinations. The

Department may review a determination

made under Title IV at any time, as

appropriate, upon the receipt of