Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 94 / Monday, May 18, 2009 / Notices 23247 

nature of the information collection and 

its expected cost and burden; it includes 

the actual data collection instrument. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before June 17, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the collection of information through 

http://www.Regulations.gov or to VA’s 

OMB Desk Officer, Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs, New Executive 

Office Building, Room 10235, 

Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395–7316. 

Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900– 

0165’’ in any correspondence. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Denise McLamb, Enterprise Records 

Service (005R1B), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461– 

7485, FAX (202) 273–0443 or e-mail 

denise.mclamb@va.gov. Please refer to 

‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0165.’’ 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Financial Status Report, VA 

Form 5655. 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0165. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: Claimants complete VA 

Form 5655 to report their financial 

status. VA uses the data collected to 

determine the claimant’s eligibility for a 

waiver of collection, setup a payment 

plan or for the acceptance of a 

compromise offer on their VA benefit 

debt. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The Federal Register 

Notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on this collection 

of information was published on March 

12, 2009 at pages 10809–10810. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 45,553 

hours. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: 1 hour. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

45,553. 

Dated: May 12, 2009. 

By direction of the Secretary. 

Denise McLamb, 

Program Analyst, Enterprise Records Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–11453 Filed 5–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE A320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice of amendment and 

republication of an existing system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 

U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)) requires that all 

agencies publish in the Federal Register 

a notice of the existence and character 

of their records. The Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) gives notice that 

it is amending the system of records 

entitled ‘‘Current and Former 

Accredited Representative, Claims 

Agent, Representative and Claims Agent 

Applicant and Rejected Applicant and 

Attorney Records—VA’’ (01VA022) as 

set forth in the Federal Register, 40 FR 

38095, Aug. 26, 1975; and amended in 

47 FR 1460, Jan. 13, 1982, 54 FR 30969, 

Jul. 25, 1989, 59 FR 47377, Sep. 15, 

1994, and 67 FR 54529, Aug. 22, 2002. 

VA is amending the system notice by (1) 

revising the System Name, System 

Location, Categories of Individuals 

Covered by the System, Categories of 

Records in the System, routine uses 2 

and 5, and procedures for storage, 

retrievability, and safeguards; (2) 

rescinding routine use 8; and (3) adding 

a purpose data element and new routine 

uses 11 through 14. VA is republishing 

the system in its entirety. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed 

amendments to this system of records 

must be received no later than June 17, 

2009. If no public comments are 

received by this date, the amendments 

will become effective on June 17, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted through http:// 

www.Regulations.gov; by mail or handdelivery to the Director, Regulation 

Policy and Management (02REG), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Ave., NW., Room 1068, 

Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to 

(202) 273–9026. Copies of comments 

received will be available for public 

inspection in the Office of Regulation 

Policy and Management, Room 1063B, 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m. Monday through Friday (except 

holidays). Please call (202) 461–4902 for 

an appointment. In addition, during the 

comment period, comments may be 

viewed online through the Federal 

Docket Management System (FDMS). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Daugherty (022G2), Staff 

Attorney, Professional Staff Group II, 

Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 461–7699. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Description of the System of Records 

The System of Records ‘‘Current and 

Former Accredited Representative, 

Claims Agent, Representative and 

Claims Agent Applicant and Rejected 

Applicant and Attorney Records—VA’’ 

(01VA022) contains VA’s accreditation 

records. Accreditation means 

authorization by VA to assist claimants 

with the preparation, presentation, and 

prosecution of claims for veterans 

benefits. 38 CFR 14.627(a). VA accredits 

claims agents, attorneys, and 

representatives of recognized veterans 

service organizations to ensure that 

claimants for benefits have responsible, 

qualified representation before the 

Department. 38 CFR 14.626. 

Before granting accreditation, VA’s 

Office of the General Counsel (OGC) 

verifies the training, qualifications, and 

character and fitness of prospective 

agents, attorneys, and representatives of 

veterans service organizations through 

an application process. 38 CFR 14.629. 

After accreditation, OGC monitors the 

conduct of individuals providing 

representation through communications 

with the individuals providing 

representation, claimants for benefits, 

and other VA offices. When appropriate, 

OGC initiates proceedings to suspend or 

cancel accreditation. 38 CFR 14.633. 

Statute and regulation provide a onetime exception to the requirement for 

formal VA accreditation in that an 

individual may provide representation 

on a particular claim before VA. 38 

U.S.C. 5903; 38 CFR 14.630. Although 

VA does not ‘‘accredit’’ such 

individuals based on a review of their 

personal qualifications, individuals 

providing representation under this 

provision must comply with the same 

standards of conduct for representation 

before VA as apply to claims agents and 

attorneys. 38 U.S.C. 5903(b). VA may 

suspend or cancel this authorization 

under the provisions of 38 CFR 14.633. 

VA last amended System of Records 

01VA022 in December 2002. Since then, 

Congress has amended chapter 59 of 

title 38, United States Code, governing 

the accreditation of individuals for the 

preparation, presentation, and 

prosecution of claims for benefits before 

VA. See The Veterans Benefits, Health 

Care, and Information Technology Act 

of 2006, Public Law 109–461, section 

101, 120 Stat. 3403 (2006). Several 

provisions of amended chapter 59 

require collection, maintenance, and 

retrieval of information from new 

sources. In section 5904(a)(2), Congress 

directed that VA publish regulations 

requiring as a condition of accreditation 

for attorneys and agents, either a 

specific level of experience or the 


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completion of specialized training. In 

section 5904(a)(3), Congress directed VA 

to prescribe in regulations a requirement 

that agents and attorneys annually 

provide VA with status information 

regarding each jurisdiction in which 

they are admitted to practice. Section 

5904(a)(4) provides that VA may not 

accredit agents and attorneys suspended 

or disbarred from practice by any court, 

bar, or other Federal or State agency. 

To implement these and other 

amendments to chapter 59 and to clarify 

and reorganize existing regulations, VA 

recently published regulations 

prescribing additional accreditation 

requirements. 73 FR 29852, May 22, 

2008. The combined effect of the new 

statutes and regulations is to 

significantly expand OGC’s 

accreditation responsibilities. 

Accordingly, VA proposes to amend 

System of Records 01VA022 to enable it 

to collect, manage, and retrieve 

individually-identifiable personal 

information pertaining to prospective, 

current, and former accredited 

individuals to ensure that claimants for 

benefits continue to have responsible, 

qualified representation before VA. 

VA is revising the system name to 

more accurately reflect the purpose for 

which records within the system are 

maintained. Congress’ recent 

amendments to chapter 59 and VA’s 

subsequently published implementing 

regulations have expanded the scope of 

VA’s accreditation program to include 

attorneys and individuals providing 

representation under 38 CFR 14.630. 

Accordingly, VA has revised the name 

of the system to the broader 

‘‘Accreditation Records—VA’’ rather 

than simply adding categories of 

persons to the system name. Our intent 

in revising the system name to reflect its 

purpose is to make it easier for 

interested persons to identify the 

system. 

In a document published in the 

Federal Register on September 15, 1994 

(59 FR 47377), VA described the process 

by which the Veterans Benefits 

Administration (VBA) permitted 

individuals authorized to represent 

claimants before VA to have remote 

access to the records of the persons 

whom they represent. Since that time, 

VA has updated its information 

technology (IT) infrastructure, 

reorganized its IT workforce, and its 

process for granting remote access. This 

amendment describes the location of 

records maintained for purposes of 

granting remote access to veterans’ 

information. It is important to note that 

although records relating to the remote 

access program are included in this 

system of records, they are not 

maintained by OGC. The system 

manager for remote access records in 

this system is the Director of VBA’s 

Compensation and Pension Service. 

Each individual is granted remote 

access to data within VBA’s Benefits 

Delivery Network (BDN) or Veterans 

Service Network (VETSNET) Corporate 

application only after accreditation by 

the Office of the General Counsel. 

Accredited individuals seeking remote 

access must first complete VA’s 

Training, Responsibility, Involvement, 

and Preparation (TRIP) program training 

and VA’s Information Security 

Awareness training as a condition of 

being granted remote access. Following 

completion of required training, 

accredited individuals submit a request 

for local area network (LAN) access and 

a Common Security User Manager 

(CSUM) profile to the Facility 

Information Security Officer (FISO). 

After the FISO’s review and VA 

Regional Office (VARO) Director’s 

approval, the request goes to the 

Consultant, Compensation and Pension 

Interagency Sharing Staff (Consultant) 

for assignment of a unique code which 

identifies the accredited individual and 

limits his or her access to only those 

claimant records similarly identified. 

After the code has been created, the 

Consultant notifies the FISO so that the 

code can be included in the CSUM 

profile. After confirmation of code 

assignment, VA IT administrators or 

VARO LAN administrators create the 

appropriate profiles with approved 

access. 

Accredited individuals granted 

remote access privileges to VBA’s BDN 

or VETSNET data access VA’s Wide 

Area Network through the VA Remote 

Enterprise Security Compliance Update 

Environment (RESCUE) Virtual Private 

Network (VPN) secure connection. From 

there, the request is routed to the Hines 

Citrix terminal server which provides 

access to the VBA applications. To 

ensure the security of the various 

systems, the FISOs and VARO IT system 

administrators monitor daily use of the 

Common Security Service (CSS) 

passwords and can request immediate 

reports for any apparent security 

violations. Security logs are maintained 

by the respective VARO FISO. All CSS 

records for application access are 

maintained in the Corporate database at 

the Austin Information Technology 

Center (AITC) in Austin, Texas. VA 

maintains remote access credentials on 

the LAN at each of the 58 VAROs, the 

Records Management Center, and at 

VBA’s Central Office at 1800 G Street, 

Washington, DC, depending on the 

location at which the request for remote 

access was processed. All security 

violations and security profiles are 

maintained on the Corporate database at 

the AITC. 

Changes noted under the Categories of 

Individuals Covered by the System and 

Categories of Records in the System 

headings reflect the addition of certain 

information on attorneys and 

individuals to the system of records, 

clarify the system description, and 

update the system description for 

consistency with current form 

designations. 

Paragraphs (1) through (3) under the 

Categories of Individuals Covered by the 

System heading are revised to indicate 

that the system of records includes 

claims agents, attorneys, representatives 

of veterans service organizations, and 

individuals providing representation on 

a particular claim. Paragraphs (1) 

through (3) clarify that the system of 

records covers those persons mentioned 

above in all stages of the accreditation 

process beginning with the application 

and continuing beyond active 

accreditation. It includes those who 

have applied for accreditation, are 

currently accredited, and those who 

were formerly accredited. It is necessary 

to include the records of those formerly 

accredited to prevent VA from 

mistakenly granting accreditation to 

persons whose accreditation was 

suspended, cancelled, or who resigned 

in order to prevent suspension or 

cancellation of accreditation. 

Paragraph (4) under the Categories of 

Individuals Covered by the System 

heading is revised to reflect 

amendments to chapter 59 and 

implementing regulations providing that 

representatives of veterans service 

organizations and individuals providing 

representation on a particular claim are 

subject to suspension or cancellation of 

accreditation on the same basis as 

applies to agents and attorneys. 38 

U.S.C. 5902–5903. New paragraph (4) 

reflects records that OGC maintains on 

agents and attorneys, and additional 

records that it will maintain under 

recent regulations. 

VA proposes to add a paragraph (5) 

under the Categories of Individuals 

Covered by the System heading to 

reflect the fact that OGC frequently 

receives communications from veterans, 

other VA offices, and individuals not 

accredited by VA inquiring as to 

whether specific acts require 

accreditation by VA and whether 

specific persons are accredited by VA 

for purposes of representation. 

VA is amending three paragraphs 

under the Categories of Records in the 

System heading. Paragraph (5) is revised 

to include information collected for 

purposes of attorney accreditation. 


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Paragraph (6) is revised to reflect that 

VA has new form numbers for the 

applications for accreditation of service 

organization representatives, and for 

claims agents and attorneys to represent 

veterans before VA. The language of 

paragraph (7) is revised to cover 

information regarding individuals 

authorized to provide representation on 

a particular claim before VA. Paragraph 

(8) is revised to include records 

involved in an inquiry as to the fitness 

of individuals authorized to represent 

individuals before VA on a one-time 

basis. Finally, a new paragraph (12) is 

added to cover records generated by 

inquiries to VA as to whether specific 

acts require accreditation by VA and 

whether specific persons are accredited 

by VA for purposes of representation. 

VA is revising the authority for 

maintenance of the system to reflect 

changes made by Public Law 109–461 

by adding references to sections 5901 

and 5903 of title 38, United States Code. 

A new section describing the purpose 

of the system of records is added to 

comply with § 3.12 of the National 

Archives and Records Administration’s 

Federal Register Document Drafting 

Handbook. The purpose of this system 

of records is to enable VA to collect, 

maintain, and retrieve the individually 

identifiable information necessary to 

ensure that claimants for veterans 

benefits have responsible, qualified 

representation. 38 CFR 14.626. 

II. Proposed Amendments to Routine 

Use Disclosures of Data in the System 

VA is revising routine use 2 to allow 

for the disclosure of any information in 

the system of records relating to 

violations of law to a broad range of 

appropriate authorities such as the 

Federal Trade Commission, State 

insurance regulators, State attorney 

licensing authorities, and State 

Attorneys General or other State law 

enforcement authorities. VA is revising 

routine use 5 to clarify that the name, 

address, and phone number of agents, 

attorneys, and accredited 

representatives will be disclosed to the 

public to assist veterans in finding 

qualified representation. VA is 

rescinding routine use 8 because the 

authority for such disclosure is now 

encompassed within new routine use 2. 

VA has redesignated routine uses 9 

through 11 as routine uses 8 through 10. 

VA has revised newly redesignated 

routine use 8 to allow for disclosure to 

the Department of Justice or other 

appropriate entities in litigation in 

defense of the United States. Timely 

disclosure in such matters assists the 

United States, plaintiffs, and the courts 

by not delaying court proceedings for 

want of records. VA is adding routine 

use 11 to allow disclosure of 

information in the system to the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration to facilitate the 

inspection of VA records management 

systems. VA is adding routine use 12 to 

allow it to disclose any information in 

the system to any individual, 

organization, or agency with whom it 

has a contract or agreement when such 

disclosure is necessary for performance 

of the contract or agreement. VA is 

adding routine use 13 to allow 

disclosure of any information in the 

system to other Federal agencies for the 

purpose of assisting agencies in 

detecting fraud and abuse in their 

programs. VA is adding routine use 14 

to allow disclosure to appropriate 

authorities to enable VA to respond to 

and mitigate the harm resulting from 

any breach of the system of records; this 

routine use is promulgated in order to 

meet VA’s statutory duties under 38 

U.S.C. 5724 and the Privacy Act, 5 

U.S.C. 552a, as amended. 

III. Compatibility of the Proposed 

Routine Uses 

Release of information from these 

records, pursuant to routine uses, will 

be made only in accordance with the 

provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. 

The Privacy Act of 1974 permits 

agencies to disclose information about 

individuals, without their consent, for a 

routine use when the information will 

be used for a purpose for which the 

information was collected. VA has 

determined that the disclosure of 

information for the above purposes in 

the proposed amendment to routine 

uses is a proper and necessary use of the 

information collected by the system 

‘‘Accreditation Records—VA.’’ 

The report of intent to publish and an 

advance copy of the system notice have 

been sent to the appropriate 

Congressional committees and to the 

Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) as required by 5 

U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy Act) and 

guidelines issued by OMB (65 FR 77677, 

December 12, 2000). 

Approved: April 30, 2009. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

01VA022 

SYSTEM NAME: 

Accreditation Records—VA. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Records are maintained in the Office 

of General Counsel (022), and in the 

Veterans Benefits Administration 

(215A), VA Central Office, Washington, 

DC 20420. Records will also be 

maintained in Veterans Benefits 

Administration Regional Offices, 

Regional Counsel Offices, and the 

Facility Information Security Offices of 

the Office of Information & 

Technology’s Field Security Service. 

Records also will be maintained in the 

Austin Information Technology Center 

in Austin, TX. Address locations are 

listed in VA’s ‘‘Facility and Locator 

Directory’’ at http://www1.va.gov/ 

directory/guide/home.asp. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

(1) Persons who have applied for 

accreditation by VA, are currently 

accredited by VA, or were previously 

accredited by VA to represent claimants 

as claims agents or attorneys; (2) 

individuals who have applied for 

accreditation by VA, are currently 

accredited by VA, or were previously 

accredited by VA to provide 

representation on a particular claim; (3) 

individuals recommended for VA 

accreditation by a recognized veterans 

service organization, currently 

accredited by VA as a service 

organization representative or were 

previously accredited by VA as a service 

organization representative; (4) claims 

agents, attorneys, accredited 

representatives, and individuals 

providing representation on a particular 

claim who have been the subject of 

correspondence, investigations, or 

proceedings relating to their fitness to 

represent claimants for benefits before 

VA; and (5) individuals, acting alone, or 

as part of organizations, not accredited 

by VA, who have been the subject of 

correspondence or investigations as to 

the legality of their representation of 

claimants for VA benefits. 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

Records (or information contained in 

records) in this system may include: (1) 

Name and other identifying information; 

(2) address; (3) service organization 

affiliations; (4) claims agent 

examination and grade; (5) 

correspondence concerning prospective, 

present, or former claims agents, 

attorneys, and accredited 

representatives, including attorney and 

claims agent recommendations and 

evaluations from third parties; (6) VA 

Forms 2–21 (former Application for 

Accreditation as Service Organization 

Representative) 21 (Application for 

Accreditation as Service Organization 

Representative), and 21a (Application 

for Accreditation as a Claims Agent or 

Attorney); (7) correspondence 

concerning a prospective, present, or 

former individual providing 


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representation in a particular claim; (8) 

investigative reports, correspondence 

and other information concerning the 

fitness of a prospective, present, or 

former claims agent, attorney, 

accredited representative, or individual 

providing representation in a particular 

claim; (9) documents, decisions, 

correspondence, and other information 

relating to or including the granting, 

denial, suspension, or cancellation of 

accreditation of representatives, claims 

agents, or attorneys, and information 

concerning the placement of 

representatives, claims agents, or 

attorneys on probation by VA or VA’s 

issuance of a reprimand to such an 

individual pertaining to conduct 

relating to representation of claimants 

for benefits before VA; (10) information 

concerning an individual’s exercise of 

remote access privileges to the Veterans 

Benefits Administration automated 

claim records, including identification 

codes and codes used to access various 

VA automated communications systems 

and records systems, as well as security 

profiles and possible security violations; 

(11) information, documents, 

correspondence, and decisions relating 

to the application for, and the grant, 

denial, suspension, or revocation of an 

individual’s privilege of remote access 

to Veterans Benefits Administration 

automated claim records; (12) 

information, documents, 

correspondence, and decisions 

regarding the legality of representation 

provided to claimants seeking benefits 

by unaccredited individuals. 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

Title 38, United States Code, Sections 

501(a), 5901, 5902, 5903 and 5904. 

PURPOSE(S): 

The information collected in the 

system is used to ensure that claimants 

for veterans benefits have qualified, 

competent representation. The 

information will be used to determine 

whether a person is qualified to 

represent claimants before VA and, once 

accredited, whether a person may 

continue to represent claimants before 

VA. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

1. The record of an individual who is 

covered by this system may be disclosed 

to a member of Congress, or a staff 

person acting for the member, when the 

member or staff person requests the 

record on behalf of and at the request of 

that individual. 

2. VA may disclose on its own 

initiative any information in the system, 

except the names and home addresses of 

veterans and their dependents, that is 

relevant to a suspected or reasonably 

imminent violation of the law whether 

civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature 

and whether arising by statute, 

regulation, rule, or order issued 

pursuant thereto, to a Federal, state, 

local, tribal, or foreign agency charged 

with the responsibility of investigating 

or prosecuting such violation, or 

charged with enforcing or implementing 

the statute, regulation, rule, or order. VA 

may also disclose on its own initiative 

the names and addresses of veterans and 

their dependents to a Federal agency 

charged with the responsibility of 

investigating or prosecuting civil, 

criminal, or regulatory violations of law, 

or charged with enforcing or 

implementing the statute, regulation, or 

order issued pursuant thereto. 

3. The name and address of a veteran 

which is relevant to a suspected 

violation or reasonably imminent 

violation of law, whether civil, criminal 

or regulatory in nature and whether 

arising by general or program statute or 

by regulation, rule or order issued 

pursuant thereto, may be disclosed to a 

Federal agency charged with the 

responsibility of investigating or 

prosecuting such violation, or charged 

with enforcing or implementing the 

statute, regulation or order issued 

pursuant thereto, in response to its 

official request. 

4. The name and address of a veteran, 

which is relevant to a suspected 

violation or reasonably imminent 

violation of law concerning public 

health or safety, whether civil, criminal 

or regulatory in nature whether arising 

by general or program statute or by 

regulation, rule or order issued pursuant 

thereto, may be disclosed to any foreign, 

State or local governmental agency or 

instrumentality charged under 

applicable law with the protection of 

the public health or safety if a qualified 

representative of such organization, 

agency or instrumentality has made a 

written request that such name and 

address be provided for a purpose 

authorized by law. 

5. The name, business address, phone 

number, and service organization 

affiliation(s) of claims agents, attorneys, 

and accredited representatives may be 

disclosed to requesting service 

organizations, claimants for benefits, 

and the general public in order to aid 

the requestor in verifying the identity 

and service organization affiliation of 

the accredited representative. 

6. Listings containing the names, 

business addresses, and status of 

accreditation of present and former 

accredited representatives may be 

provided to recognized service 

organizations. 

7. The name and address of a 

prospective, present, or former 

accredited representative, and any 

information concerning such accredited 

representative which is relevant to a 

refusal to grant accreditation, or a 

potential or past suspension or 

termination of accreditation of such 

representative, may be disclosed to the 

service organization(s) with whom the 

representative is affiliated. 

8. VA may disclose information from 

this system of records to the Department 

of Justice (DoJ), either on VA’s initiative 

or in response to DoJ’s request for the 

information, after either VA or DoJ 

determines that such information is 

relevant to DoJ’s representation of the 

United States or any of its components 

in legal proceedings before a court or 

adjudicative body, provided that, in 

each case, the agency also determines 

prior to disclosure that release of the 

records to DoJ is a use of the 

information contained in the records 

that is compatible with the purpose for 

which VA collected the records. VA, on 

its own initiative, may also disclose 

records in this system of records in legal 

proceedings before a court or 

administrative body after determining 

that the disclosure of the records to the 

court or administrative body is a use of 

the information contained in the records 

that is compatible with the purpose for 

which VA collected the records. 

9. VA may disclose the name and 

address of any prospective, present, or 

former accredited representative, claims 

agent, or attorney, and any information 

concerning such individual that relates 

to unlawful, unprofessional, or 

unethical actions by that individual or 

to VA’s denial, cancellation, suspension 

or termination of an individual’s VA 

accreditation, or to both, where 

applicable, to employing entities and 

State and Federal licensing 

organizations when such information 

may be relevant to the initial or 

continued employment or licensing of a 

prospective, present, or former 

accredited representative, claims agent, 

or attorney by an employing entity or 

licensing organization. VA will not 

disclose the names and home addresses 

of claimants and their dependents to 

licensing organizations pursuant to this 

routine use. 

10. VA may disclose the name and 

address of any prospective, present, or 

former accredited representative, claims 

agent, or attorney, and any information 

concerning such individual that relates 

to unlawful, unprofessional, or 

unethical actions by that individual or 

to VA’s denial, cancellation, suspension 


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or termination of an individual’s VA 

accreditation, or to both, where 

applicable, to other Federal and State 

agencies and to Federal courts when 

such information may be relevant to the 

individual’s provision of 

representational services before such 

agency or court. VA will not disclose 

the names and home addresses of 

claimants and their dependents 

pursuant to this routine use. 

11. Disclosure may be made to the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA) and the General 

Services Administration (GSA) in 

records management inspections 

conducted under the authority of 

chapter 29 of title 44, United States 

Code. 

12. Disclosure of relevant information 

may be made to individuals, 

organizations, private or public 

agencies, or other entities with whom 

VA has a contract or agreement or where 

there is a subcontract to perform such 

services as VA may deem practicable for 

the purposes of laws administered by 

VA, in order for the contractor or 

subcontractor to perform the services of 

the contract or agreement. 

13. Disclosure to other Federal 

agencies may be made to assist such 

agencies in preventing and detecting 

possible fraud or abuse by individuals 

in their operations and programs. 

14. VA may, on its own initiative, 

disclose any information or records to 

appropriate agencies, entities, and 

persons when (1) VA suspects or has 

confirmed that the integrity or 

confidentiality of information in the 

system of records has been 

compromised; (2) the Department has 

determined that as a result of the 

suspected or confirmed compromise, 

there is a risk of embarrassment or harm 

to the reputations of the record subjects, 

harm to economic or property interests, 

identity theft or fraud, or harm to the 

security, confidentiality, or integrity of 

this system or other systems or 

programs (whether maintained by the 

Department or another agency or entity) 

that rely upon the potentially 

compromised information; and (3) the 

disclosure is to agencies, entities, or 

persons whom VA determines are 

reasonably necessary to assist or carry 

out the Department’s efforts to respond 

to the suspected or confirmed 

compromise and prevent, minimize, or 

remedy such harm. This routine use 

permits disclosures by the Department 

to respond to a suspected or confirmed 

data breach, including the conduct of 

any risk analysis or provision of credit 

protection services as provided in 38 

U.S.C. 5724, as the terms are defined in 

38 U.S.C. 5727. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, 

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

STORAGE: 

Active records are maintained in 

individual folders stored in file 

cabinets. File cards with name and 

business addresses of individuals 

previously covered by this system are 

maintained in file cabinets; these 

records and those of newly accredited 

persons are also maintained in an 

electronic database. Listings of claim 

agents, attorneys, and accredited 

representatives are maintained both on 

magnetic disk and in hard copy in file 

cabinets. Identification codes and codes 

used to access various VA automated 

communications systems and records 

systems, as well as security profiles and 

possible security violations, are 

maintained on magnetic media in a 

secured environment within VA 

workspaces. Hard copies are maintained 

in locked containers. 

RETRIEVABILITY: 

Records and electronic files are 

maintained in alphabetical order by last 

name of the individuals covered by this 

system. A searchable list of claims 

agents, attorneys, and accredited 

representatives is available at OGC’s 

internet Web site http://www.va.gov/ 

ogc/apps/accreditation/index.html. 

Information concerning possible 

security violations associated with 

exercise or remote access privileges is 

retrieved by individual assignment 

numbers. Information concerning 

individual security profiles and codes 

assigned to an individual for that person 

to obtain access to various computer 

systems is retrieved by the individual’s 

assignment number. 

SAFEGUARDS: 

1. This list of safeguards furnished in 

this System of Record is not an 

exclusive list of measures that has been, 

or will be, taken to protect individuallyidentifiable information. 

VA will maintain the data in 

compliance with applicable VA security 

policy directives that specify the 

standards that will be applied to protect 

sensitive personal information. Security 

complies with applicable Federal 

Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 

issued by the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST). 

Access to and use of these records are 

limited to those persons whose official 

duties require such access. Personnel 

screening is employed to prevent 

unauthorized disclosure. 

2. Access to Automated Data 

Processing files is controlled at two 

levels: (1) Terminals, central processing 

units, and peripheral devices are 

generally placed in secure areas (areas 

that are locked or have limited access) 

or are otherwise protected; and (2) the 

system recognizes authorized users by 

means of an individually unique 

password entered in combination with 

an individually unique user 

identification code. 

3. Access to automated records 

concerning identification codes and 

codes used to access various VA 

automated communications systems and 

records systems, as well as security 

profiles and possible security violations 

is limited to designated automated 

systems security personnel who need to 

know the information in order to 

maintain and monitor the security of the 

VA’s automated communications and 

veterans’ claim records systems. Access 

to these records in automated form is 

controlled by individually unique 

passwords/codes. Agency personnel 

may have access to the information on 

a need to know basis when necessary to 

advise agency security personnel or for 

use to suspend or revoke access 

privileges or to make disclosures 

authorized by a routine use. 

4. Access to VA facilities where 

records, identification codes, 

passwords, security profiles and 

possible security violations are 

maintained is controlled at all hours by 

the Federal Protective Service, VA, or 

other security personnel and security 

access control devices. 

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL: 

VA maintains and disposes of records 

in accordance with records disposition 

authority approved by the Archivist of 

the United States. 

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS: 

Assistant General Counsel (022), 810 

Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC 

20420; Director, Compensation and 

Pension Service (21), 810 Vermont Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20420. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE: 

An individual who wishes to 

determine whether a record is being 

maintained by the Assistant General 

Counsel under his or her name or other 

personal identifier, or wants to 

determine the contents of such records 

should submit a written request to the 

Assistant General Counsel (022), 810 

Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC 

20420. For requests concerning remote 

access program records, an individual 

should submit a written request to the 

Director, Compensation and Pension 

Service (21), 810 Vermont Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20420. 


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23252 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 94 / Monday, May 18, 2009 / Notices 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

Individuals seeking copies of records 

under this system that pertain to 

themselves, or seeking to amend such 

records, should make those requests 

under the Privacy Act. Individuals 

seeking copies of records pertaining to 

others should request them under the 

Freedom of Information Act. All such 

requests must contain a reasonable 

description of the records requested and 

should be in writing, over the original, 

handwritten signature of the requester, 

and should be mailed to: FOIA/PA 

Officer (026G), Office of General 

Counsel, 810 Vermont Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20420. For requests 

concerning remote access program 

records, an individual should submit a 

written request to: FOIA/PA (20M33), 

Veterans Benefits Administration, 810 

Vermont Ave., NW., Washington, DC 

20420. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

See Records Access Procedures above. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Applications for accreditation of 

individuals, correspondence with and 

updates from accredited individuals, 

investigative materials, and 

recommendations and correspondence 

from service organizations and third 

parties. 

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None. 

[FR Doc. E9–11499 Filed 5–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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