A. Census of Chinese blocked property in the (1) Aids in accomplishment of the mission of the NG. Office of Foreign Assets Control: "[P]revent- (2) Contains names of custodians in the United States of blocked Chinese property. B. Actuarial data cards (computerized) (1) Provides for actuarial valuations supplied to 19,900. the State Department and the City of Wash- (2) Files include card decks for the Foreign Service II. Nature of Material Submitted In general, the Office of the Secretary's answers were informative and to the point. No requested information was omitted entirely, although, as noted below, one or two answers were overly general. III. Comments A. Statutory Authority 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-Section 5(b) of the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. Appendix, 5b) gives the President a general power during time of war or national emergency to regulate various transactions. The application of this 1917 Act to the world of 1973 is not within the scope of the Subcommittee study; presuming that the regulation of transactions is authorized under the Act, it must be inferred that a list of custodians of foreign owned property would also be authorized. Such authorization for the blocked property file can best be described as implied statutory authority. 2. FOREIGN SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.-22 U.S.Č. 1101 requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare the actuarial valuations. Record-keeping is obviously required. Therefore derivative authorization justifies this system. 3. D.C. TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.-Section 31-716a of the D.C. Code requires the Treasury Department to make the actuarial valuations. Since record-keeping is obviously required, derivative authorization also justifies this system. 4. D.C. FIREMEN AND POLICEMEN RETIREMENT SYSTEM.-No specific authority was given for the maintenance of this file. B. Subject Notification and Review 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-Individuals are neither notified of inclusion in the files nor allowed to review, supplement, explain or rebut inaccurate data. 2. ACTUARIAL DATA CARD FILES.-Individuals are not notified of inclusion in the files. The response is equivocal regarding access to files by subject individuals, but indicates no specific limitation on the right of access and review. C. Access by Other Agencies 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-No access is allowed other agencies. 2. ACTUARIAL DATA CARD FILES.-Files are maintained by the Treasury for the State Department and the City of Washington, D.C. Data is supplied to these two agencies but to no others. There is no interfacing. D. Public Access 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-No access is allowed the public. 2. ACTUARIAL DATA CARD FILES.-No access is allowed the public. E. Security Precautions 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-The response states files are treated as confidential and are unavailable to those other than proper officials. No specific guidelines governing maintenance of the files have been developed. 2. ACTUARIAL DATA CARD FILES.-Files are kept in an area with limited employee access; specific guidelines regarding file maintenance have not been developed. F. Sources of Information 1. CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY FILE.-Individuals, banks, and other holders of assets belonging to Mainland China and/or nationals thereof have been required by Foreign Assets Control to file property census reports. 2. ACTUARIAL DATA CARD FILES.-Information is obtained from organizations served-State Department and District of Columbia records. IV. Evaluation All of the files maintained by the Office of the Secretary seem reasonably related to a legitimate undertaking of the Department. The dearth of formalized security precautions is disappointing, as is the absence of authority for Treasury Maintenance of D.C. Firemen and Policemen Retirement System files. Agency Response The Office of the Secretary submitted the following responses to the Subcommittee's October 15, 1971 request for answers to the standard questionnaire. (See inside back cover.) The actual Data Card response was prepared on November 22, 1972, and received by the Subcommittee on or about May 8, 1973. Blocked Property response was prepared on April 12, 1973, and received on or about May 8, 1973. OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL CENSUS OF CHINESE BLOCKED PROPERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 610 CENSUS REPORTS (TFR 01C1) Date Response Prepared.—April 12, 1973 File Control No.-OS-01 File Medium.-Magnetic Tape National Security Classification.-None (1) Describe briefly the major categories of data on individuals presently maintained and stored under auspices of the Treasury Department and its agencies and the approximate number of subject individuals covered in each category. The Office of Foreign Assets Control is in the final stage of a census of blocked Chinese property in the United States. Such reports do not contain derogatory or personal information concerning individuals. They do contain the names of custodians in the United States of property belonging to foreign owners. The census has been put on magnetic tape. Because the census concerns property rather than individuals, the number of individuals whose property may be involved is unknown. (2) Under what statutory and administrative authority was each data bank established and for what purpose? Please supply copies of pertinent federal statutes, regulations and memoranda on which this authority is based and by which it is implemented. The respective statutory and administrative authority for the Foreign Assets Control computerized property census is respectively: section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. and 5(b)), and the Foreign Assets Control Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 500. (3) Are Treasury Department controls, guidelines, or advice required by or offered to state officials and private individuals who either administer or who utilize this data-gathering program? Please supply copies of pertinent rules or advisory documents as issued by federal and state agencies. No state officials or private individuals administer or utilize the Foreign Assets Control property census data. (4) For each category and each conglomerate of data, indicate its present state of computerization or other mechanization for access and retrieval as well as for evaluation and analysis. The Foreign Assets Control's current census of Chinese blocked property in the United States has been put on magnetic tape. No other mechanization for access and retrieval has been performed, nor is planned. (5) Describe plans for further computerization or mechanization in each program. The Foreign Assets Control does not plan further computerization or mechanization of any program. (6) In what instances would each system be utilized? By what officials and by what agencies? The property census reports are for utilization of the Foreign Assets Control only. However, total figures in dollar value might be supplied upon appropriate request to governmental agencies having a need for such information as, for example, the Department of State or the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. (7) For each new data storage and processing program, please describe: (a) the advantages; and (b) the extent to which it permits correlating, common storage and multifaceted analysis of data on a scale not hitherto available. Computerization of the census of Chinese property eliminated some duplication of manual functions involved in classifying information extracted; saved substantial man-hours of labor; and made it possible to correlate and compact essential information found in each report and to contain the census as a whole in one printout. (8) What specific subject areas concerning an individual's background, personal life, personality and habits are noted in each data program? The Foreign Assets Control property census reports do not contain information on the background, personal life, or personality and habits of individuals. (9) Has the Treasury Department and its component agencies developed comprehensive guidelines governing maintenance of any or all the various data systems, access to them, review and disclosure of material in them, and distribution of data to other agencies? If so, please supply copies. No specific and comprehensive guidelines have been developed by the Foreign Assets Control governing maintenance of property census reports collected by it. However, all such reports have at all times been treated as confidential material. (10-A) Is the subject individual or his representative notified of the fact that he is in the data bank? No. (B) Is he allowed to review the data on record about him; to supplement his file; or to explain or rebut inaccurate material? Please describe the precise limitations on such rights for each restriction. No. (11) What aspects of the recorded data are available to other persons? Who, specifically? For what purpose? By what authority? See answers to 6 and 9 above. (12) Is a record maintained of each inspection or use of the individual's record? Not applicable. (There has been no proper request for inspection or use of the census reports, nor is there likely to be any such request). (13) For each data bank, please indicate how the information is collected, whether it is solicited from the individual, from third persons, or from existing records. The Foreign Assets Control has required individuals, banks, and other holders of assets belonging to mainland China and/or nationals thereof to file property census reports. (14) What officials in your agency are responsible for determining the accuracy of information in the data bank? What provisions are made, procedurally, for deleting information found to be inaccurate or inappropriate, either on the initiative of the agency or on motion of the individual? 1 The Director of the Foreign Assets Control is responsible for collection of the property census reports and for determining accuracy (as by comparison with prior reports) where possible. If any information contained in any such report was found to be inaccurate the Director would promptly order it to be deleted. (15) What other agencies have access to information or use of information in each data bank? See answer to 6 above. (16) What states and federal agencies may utilize the data in your computerized files by coding, interfacing and other devices relating to their own computers? None. (However, the computerization of the Foreign Assets Control Chinese property census was performed by the Bureau of Customs.) (17) What security devices and procedures are utilized to prevent: (a) unauthorized access to the data file; and (b) improper use of the information? Foreign Assets Control computerized property census reports are maintained on magnetic tape at the Bureau of Customs Data Center. Such tape is stored in the Data Center's library and is treated as confidential material which is unavailable to other than proper official persons. (18) What formal or information arrangement does the Treasury Department have with congressional committees for the authorizing and reviewing of new data banks and the clearance of new electronic or mechanized record-management techniques? None. › (19–A) Have any data programs or the development of other comprehensive records systems been discussed before other congressional committees by Treasury Department representatives? No. (B) Have any been specifically approved by Congress or congressional committees? No. (C) If so, would you please supply any available testimony or citations to such hearings? Not applicable. OFFICES OF THE GOVERNMENT ACTUARY, DEBT ANALYSIS, AND THE SECRETARY ACTUARIAL DATA CARDS Date Response Prepared.-November 22, 1971 Class of File.-Federal and District of Columbia Employees File Control No.-OS-02 File Medium.-Punched cards National Security Classification.-None (1) We have three major categories of data cards. First there is the active employee deck for members of the Foreign Service Retirement System, about 5600 in number. Second, there is an active deck for D.C. Firemen and Policemen, about 1400 Firemen and 5100 Policemen. The third category is D.C. Teachers. This active deck contains about 7800 cards. (2) This file of actuarial data cards is maintained for the purpose of making actuarial valuations of the Foreign Service Retirement System (22 U.S.C. 110), the D.C. Teachers' Retirement System (D.C. Code 31-716a), and for making actuarial studies of the D.C. Firemen and Policemen Retirement System. In the case of Foreign Service and D.C. Teachers there is a statutory requirement for the Secretary of the Treasury to make valuations at periods of 5 years or oftener if deemed necessary. Reference is made to Section 861 of the Foreign Service Retirement Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1101) (Atachment 1), and Section 14 of the D.C. Teachers' Retirement Act (D.C. Code 31-716a) (Attachment 2), portions of which are attached. There is no statutory requirement for making valuations of the D.C. Firemen and Policemen System, but from time to time requests are made by the District of Columbia Government for studies on this system. (See 31 U.S.Č. 1151, 1152). [Omitted.] (3) There are no guidelines involved in the collection of this data. These decks are maintained for statistical purposes and this information in some form is required in order to make actuarial valuations. The form and the extent of the material is determined by the Actuary in the Office of Debt Analysis, who is responsible for the preparation of the valuations. A copy of the memorandum sent to the State Department showing the layout of information on the Foreign Service data cards is attached. [Omitted] No memoranda were submitted to the District Government. In their case, the same information was obtained as appears on their payroll listing. Sample printouts attached [omitted] show the extent of this information. No recent printout for Firemen and Policemen available. (4) Active member decks for these three systems are obtained at the end of each calendar year. Succeeding decks are then run against each other to determine new entrants and separations during the calendar year. Decks may or may not always be in alphabetical order. At times they are broken down into entry age groups or year of birth groups. Proper grouping is achieved by sorting on an ordinary sorter. (5) There are no future plans for expanding this procedure. As was stated above, this material is necessary only in order to obtain a statistical listing for grouping necessary to perform the actuarial valuations. (6) Data files are used only by the Actuary in the Office of Debt Analysis (and his staff) for preparing actuarial valuations. In the case of the Foreign Service deck, the administrative people of the State Department request tabulations from time to time. These tabulations are direct listings by name from the file and are generally for studying the numbers of employees in certain categories or classes, not for a study on an individual basis. It is pointed out that these same cards could be obtained in their own department. They are prepared from this deck merely as a convenience. (7) The maintenance of these active employee decks makes it easy to group the employees by year of birth, by entry age group, etc., thereby greatly facilitating the actuarial valuation. As noted above, this procedure is well established and is used the same year after year. The extraction of information by State Department administrators, however, takes different forms at different times as the need arises. It is necessary to have the information by name in order to add year of birth, entry age, etc., from other files. 20-550-74-pt. 5- -2 |