System name: Federal Private Relief Legislation, HHS/OS/OGC.
Security classification: None.
System location: This system is located in the Division of Legislation, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the Secretary, Room 427 D, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20201.
Categories of individuals covered by the system: Private individuals, groups, or institutions for whom a United States Congressman or Senator has introduced a private relief bill.
Categories of records in the system: Background which gives rise to the individual's, group's or institution's claim for private relief legislation.
Authority for maintenance of the system: 5 U.S.C. 301; OMB Circular A-19.
Purpose(s):
To respond to Congressional requests for information regarding private relief legislation.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
The information is used to prepare reports to the Congress, most commonly to the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which reports are thereafter made available to the public under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552. In connection with the preparation of those reports, the information contained in this system of records will, as a routine use be disclosed to officers and employees of the Office of Management and Budget in connection with the review of private relief legislation as set forth in OMB Circular No. A-19 at various stages of the legislative coordination and clearance process as set forth in that Circular, and may, as a routine use, be disclosed to officers or employees of agencies (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551(i) and 552(e) other than the agency that maintains the record. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that individual.
In the event of litigation where the defendant is (a) the Department, any component of the Department, or any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity; (b) the United States where the Department determines that the claim, if successful, is likely to directly affect the operations of the Department or any of its components; or (c) any Department employee in his or
her individual capacity where the Justice Department has agreed to represent such employee, the Department may disclose such records as it deems desirable or necessary to the Department of Justice to enable that Department to present an effective defense, provided such disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
Records may be disclosed to student volunteers, individuals working under a personal services contract, and other individuals performing functions for the Department but technically not having the status of agency employees, if they need access to the records in order to perform their assigned agency functions.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:
Storage: Paper records in file folders kept in legal size filing cabinets.
Retrievability: By bill number using card systems maintained by name and by subject.
Safeguards: Immediate access to these records are only by authorized staff. Building is locked at close of business.
Retention and disposal: Retained indefinitely either at System Location or at Federal Record Center where files are sent on a regular predetermined schedule.
System manager(s) and address: Chief, Legislative Reference and Control Service, Division of Legislation, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services, Room 427 D, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201.
Notification procedure: Any inquiries regarding the records in question should be made to the System Manager.
Record access procedures: Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably specify the record contents being sought. (These access procedures are in accordance with Department Regulations (45 CFR 5b.5(a)(2)) Federal Register, October 8, 1975, page 47410.)
Contesting record procedures: Contact the official at the address specified under System Managers and Address above, and reasonably identify the record and specify the information to be contested and corrective action sought with supporting justification. (These procedures are in accordance with Department Regulations (45 CFR 5b.7) Federal Register, October 8, 1975, page 47411.)
Record source categories: The information in this system comes from the Operating Divisions of the Department, the Public Health Service Agencies, the Office of the Secretary, Congressional Committees, individual Congressmen and Senators, and, in some cases, the subject individual, group, or institution.
Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act: None.
