Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 20, 2015 / Notices 2757 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

Computer Matching and Privacy 

Protection Act of 1988; Report of 

Matching Program: RRB and State 

Agencies 

AGENCY: U.S. Railroad Retirement Board 

(RRB). 

ACTION: Notice of a renewal of an 

existing computer matching program 

due to expire on February 10, 2015. 

SUMMARY: The Privacy Act, as amended, 

requires the RRB to issue a public notice 

of its use and intent to use, information 

obtained from state agencies in ongoing 

computer matching programs regarding 

individuals who received benefits under 

the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Act. 

The information received through the 

computer matching programs may 

consist of either: (1) A report of 

unemployment or sickness payments 

made by the state for the same period 

that benefits were paid by the RRB, or 

(2) a report of wages paid to an 

individual, and the names and 

addresses of employers who reported 

those wages to the state for the same 

period that benefits were paid by the 

RRB. 

The purpose of this notice is to advise 

individuals applying for or receiving 

benefits under the Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act of the use 

made by the RRB of the information 

obtained from state agencies by means 

of a computer match. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

March 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Address any comments 

concerning this notice in writing to the 

Secretary to the Board, U.S. Railroad 

Retirement Board, 844 North Rush 

Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611–2092. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Timothy S. Grant, Chief Privacy Officer, 

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 

North Rush Street, Attn: BIS–IRMC, 

Chicago, Illinois 60611–2092. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. General 

The Computer Matching and Privacy 

Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100– 

503), amended the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 

552a) by describing the conditions 

under which computer matching 

involving the Federal government could 

be performed, and by adding certain 

protections for persons applying for, 

and receiving, Federal benefits. Section 

7201 of the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 

508) further amended the Privacy Act 

regarding protection for such persons. 

The Privacy Act, as amended, 

regulates the use of computer matching 

by Federal agencies when matching 

records in a system of records with 

other Federal, State, or local government 

records. It requires Federal agencies 

involved in computer matching 

programs to: 

(1) Negotiate written agreements with 

the other agency or agencies 

participating in the matching programs; 

(2) Obtain approval of the matching 

agreement by the Data Integrity Boards 

of the participating Federal agencies; 

(3) Publish notice of the computer 

matching program in the Federal 

Register; 

(4) Furnish reports about matching 

programs to Congress and Office of 

Management and Budget; 

(5) Notify beneficiaries and applicants 

that their records are subject to 

matching; and 

(6) Verify match findings before 

reducing, suspending, terminating, or 

denying a person’s benefits or 

payments. 

B. RRB Computer Matches Subject to 

the Privacy Act 

We have taken action to ensure that 

all of our computer matching programs 

comply with the requirements of the 

Privacy Act, as amended. 

C. Notice of Computer Matching 

Program: RRB With State Agencies 

1. Name of Participating Agencies: 

The Railroad Retirement Board and 

agencies of all 50 states which provide 

unemployment or sickness benefits. 

2. Purpose of the Match: To identify 

individuals who have improperly 

collected benefits provided by the RRB 

under the Railroad Unemployment 

Insurance Act while earning 

remuneration in non-railroad 

employment or while collecting 

unemployment or sickness benefits paid 

by a state agency. 

3. Authority for Conducting the 

Match: The Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 503(c)(1)), and Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act (45 

U.S.C. 231f(b) and 362(f)). Disclosures 

under this agreement are made in 

accordance with the Privacy Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3)) and in 

compliance with the matching 

procedures in the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 

552a(o), (p), and (r)). 

4. Categories of Records and 

Individuals Covered: All recipients of 

benefits under the Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act during a 

given period who reside in the states 

with which the RRB has negotiated a 

computer matching program agreement. 

Records furnished by the states are 

covered under Privacy Act system of 

records RRB–21, Railroad 

Unemployment and Sickness Insurance 

Benefit System, which was published in 

the Federal Register (FR) on July 26, 

2010 (75 FR 43725). 

5. Inclusive Dates of the Matching 

Program: This computer matching 

program is effective February 10, 2015 

through August 10, 2017. Before 

becoming effective the following notice 

periods must have lapsed: 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register and 

40 days after notice of the matching 

program sent to Congress and OMB. The 

computer matching program is valid for 

18 months from the effective date and, 

if both agencies meet certain conditions, 

the RRB may grant a one-time extension 

of another 12 months. The number of 

matches conducted with each state 

during the period of the match will vary 

from state to state, depending on 

whether the computer matching 

agreement provides for matches to be 

conducted quarterly or every six 

months. 

6. Procedure: The RRB will furnish 

the state agency a file of records. The 

data elements will consist of beneficiary 

identifying information, such as name 

and Social Security Number (SSN), as 

well as the overall period during which 

the individual received benefits under 

the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 

Act. The state agency will match the 

identifying information. 

If the matching operation reveals that 

the individual who had received 

benefits under the Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act also 

received either unemployment or 

sickness insurance benefits from the 

state for any days in the period, the state 

agency will notify the RRB. Depending 

on arrangements made between the two 

jurisdictions, and, in the case of state 

sickness benefits, on the applicable state 

law, either the RRB or the state agency 

will attempt to recover the amount of 

the duplicate payments. 

If the matching operation reveals that 

wages had been reported for the 

individual during the requested period, 

the state will notify the RRB of this fact 

and furnish a breakdown of the wages, 

as well as the name and address of each 

employer who reported earnings for the 

individual. The RRB will then contact 

each employer who reported earnings 

for the individual for the given period. 

Only if the employment is verified will 

the RRB take action to recover the 

overpayment. If the RRB benefits had 

been paid under the Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act, recovery 

is limited to payments made for those 

days on which the individual was 

gainfully employed. 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2758 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 20, 2015 / Notices 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 73787 

(December 8, 2014), 79 FR 73927 (December 12, 

2014) (SR–FICC–2014–06). 

4Letter from ‘‘Anonymous,’’ Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission (Jan. 1, 2015). 

5FICC, Government Securities Division Rulebook 

(‘‘GSD Rulebook’’), Rule 22; Fixed Income Clearing 

Corporation, Mortgage-Backed Securities Division 

Rulebook (‘‘MBSD Rulebook’’), Rule 16. 

6 GSD Rulebook, Rule 22A; MBSD Rulebook, Rule 

17. 

7 GSD Rulebook, Rule 22A; MBSD Rulebook, Rule 

17. 

8 In addition to simplifying FICC’s rules relating 

to the insolvency of a member and ceasing to act, 

the rule change more closely aligns the GSD rules 

and the MBSD rules with the rules of FICC’s 

affiliate, National Securities Clearing Corporation 

(‘‘NSCC’’). Under its Rule 18 (Procedures for When 

the Corporation Declines or Ceases to Act), NSCC 

relies on the time it declines or ceases to act for a 

member when determining which transactions 

involving such member will be excluded from its 

operations, rather than on a separate ‘‘Time of 

Insolvency’’ or ‘‘Cut-Off Time,’’ as applicable. 

9 GSD Rulebook, Rule 22A; MBSD Rulebook, Rule 

17. 

7. Other information: The notice we 

are giving here is in addition to any 

individual notice. We will file a report 

with the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs of 

the Senate, the Committee on Oversight 

and Government Reform of the House of 

Representatives, and the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). 

Dated: January 13, 2015. 

By authority of the Board. 

Martha P. Rico, 

Secretary to the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00663 Filed 1–16–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74046; File No. SR–FICC– 

2014–06] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed 

Income Clearing Corporation; Order 

Approving Proposed Rule Change To 

Amend the Rules of the Government 

Securities Division and the MortgageBacked Securities Division on 

Insolvency and Ceasing To Act 

January 13, 2015. 

I. Introduction 

On November 25, 2014, the Fixed 

Income Clearing Corporation (‘‘FICC’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) proposed 

rule change SR–FICC–2014–06 pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder.2 The proposed 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on December 12, 

2014.3 The Commission received one 

comment supporting the proposed rule 

change.4 For the reasons discussed 

below, the Commission is approving the 

proposed rule change. 

II. Description 

The rule change, as proposed, amends 

the rulebooks of FICC’s Government 

Securities Division (‘‘GSD’’) and FICC’s 

Mortgage-Backed Securities Division 

(‘‘MBSD’’) to simplify those rules 

relating to the insolvency of a member 

and ceasing to act, in order to simplify 

certain aspects of FICC’s process in a 

cease to act situation and provide 

greater legal certainty for FICC and its 

members, particularly in an intra-day 

cease to act situation. 

A. Background 

In connection with lessons learned 

from a recent close-out simulation 

exercise conducted by FICC’s parent 

company, The Depository Trust & 

Clearing Corporation, in which FICC 

participated, and a related review of the 

GSD and MBSD rules, specific 

challenges were identified relating to 

the administration of certain aspects of 

GSD and MBSD insolvency and ceasing 

to act rule provisions, particularly in an 

intra-day cease to act situation. 

B. ‘‘Time of Insolvency’’ and ‘‘Cut-Off 

Time’’ 

GSD and MBSD include in their 

current insolvency rules 5 and cease to 

act rules 6 the concept of a ‘‘Time of 

Insolvency,’’ which is defined to mean 

the time at which FICC determines to its 

reasonable satisfaction that a member is 

‘‘insolvent’’ within the meaning of GSD 

Rule 22 or MBSD Rule 16, respectively. 

This ‘‘Time of Insolvency’’ concept is 

distinguished from the time at which 

FICC ceases to act for a member. The 

GSD and MBSD rules currently use 

‘‘Time of Insolvency’’ as a line of 

demarcation when determining FICC’s 

obligations with respect to pending 

transactions involving the insolvent 

member. Specifically, transactions with 

the insolvent member that are not 

compared or deemed compared in 

accordance with the GSD or MBSD 

rules, respectively, prior to the ‘‘Time of 

Insolvency’’ are not eligible to be part of 

the close-out process, unless otherwise 

determined by FICC’s Board of Directors 

in order to promote orderly settlement. 

For a non-insolvency cease to act 

situation, the GSD rules and the MBSD 

rules on ceasing to act 7 currently 

include the concept of a ‘‘Cut-Off 

Time,’’ which is defined to mean a time 

specified in advance by FICC in a notice 

to its members at which it will cease to 

act for a member. Like the ‘‘Time of 

Insolvency’’ concept, ‘‘Cut-Off Time’’ is 

currently used in the GSD rules and the 

MBSD rules when determining FICC’s 

obligations with respect to pending 

transactions involving the defaulted 

member. 

Identifying an exact time at which a 

member has become ‘‘insolvent’’ for 

purposes of establishing a ‘‘Time of 

Insolvency’’ may pose potential 

challenges for FICC in circumstances 

where the member is deemed 

‘‘insolvent’’ based upon the 

determination or action of a third party, 

such as the member’s regulator, 

supervisory authority or a court of 

competent jurisdiction. In an intra-day 

cease to act situation where transaction 

data is being submitted to FICC in realtime, such potential challenges may 

create a lack of legal certainty for FICC 

and its members regarding FICC’s 

obligations with respect to pending 

transactions involving the insolvent 

member. The rule change removes the 

‘‘Time of Insolvency’’ concept from the 

GSD rules and the MBSD rules and 

instead simply relies on the single time 

FICC ceases to act for an insolvent 

member for purposes of determining its 

obligations with respect to pending 

transactions involving such insolvent 

member. 

In order to also simplify its process in 

non-insolvency cease to act situations, 

the rule change removes the separate 

‘‘Cut-Off Time’’ concept from the GSD 

rules and the MBSD rules, and instead 

relies on the single time FICC ceases to 

act for a defaulted member for purposes 

of determining its obligations with 

respect to pending transactions 

involving such defaulted member.8

C. Transactions Deemed Compared 

Based Solely on Non-Defaulting Member 

Data 

Currently, the provisions of the GSD’s 

rules and the MBSD’s rules on ceasing 

to act,9 and the related prongs of the 

‘‘Compared Trade’’ definition in Rule 1 

of the each of GSD’s rules and MBSD’s 

rules provide that, in the context of 

FICC ceasing to act for a member, a 

transaction involving such member that 

would not otherwise be compared or 

deemed compared under the GSD rules 

or the MBSD rules, respectively, may, in 

certain circumstances, be deemed a 

compared trade based solely on data 

submitted by a non-defaulting member. 

The determination of whether such a 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES