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National Science Foundation.
Notice of a new matching program.
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on computer matching, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing notice of the establishment of a new matching program. Pursuant to the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, NSF is establishing a new matching program consisting of the computerized comparison of systems of records for benefits programs at NSF with the Do Not Pay (DNP) Working System, which is administered by the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service. This matching program will enable the NSF programs listed in the appendix of this notice to compare records maintained in their respective systems of records with records maintained in the DNP Working System for the purposes of identifying and preventing improper payments and conducting any related recovery activities by verifying through DNP prepayment or pre-award eligibility.
This system notice is effective as of August 12, 2026. These new matching programs will be effective 30 days after publication of this notice through September 10, 2029.
Instructions: Written comments on this notice may be submitted electronically through the Federal government eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov; docket number NSF-2026-OTR-0034. Comments on this proposed matching program may also be addressed to Tom Boger, Acting Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP), NSF, privacy@nsf.gov. Include “NSF-2026-OTR-0034” in the subject line of the message.
Instructions: NSF will post all in-scope comments publicly. All comments submitted in response to this ( printed page 42982) Notice will become a matter of public record. Therefore, you should submit only information that you wish to make publicly available.
Tom Boger, Acting Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP), NSF, Randolph Building, 401 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, or by email: privacy@nsf.gov.
The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-503) amended the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) by establishing procedural safeguards related to agencies' use of records when performing certain types of computerized matching. Section 7201 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508) further amended the Privacy Act regarding protections for individuals when agencies perform these functions. Additionally, the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) provides the head of the agency operating the DNP Working System with the authority, in consultation with OMB, to waive the requirements in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) in any case or class of cases for matching activities conducted under the DNP Initiative (31 U.S.C. 3354). Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of the Treasury, after consulting with the OMB Director, authorized the issuance of a four-year waiver of the requirement for entering into a matching agreement under 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) for the class of matching programs that meet all of the criteria defined in OMB Memorandum M-25-32, Preventing Improper Payments and Protecting Privacy through Do Not Pay.
NSF and Treasury have determined that the DNP matching program described in this notice is eligible for the waiver described in OMB Memorandum M-25-32, which is effective from September 10, 2025, through September 10, 2029. For purposes of this notice, matching activities conducted between the Federal benefit programs listed in the appendix to this document and the DNP Working System constitute a single agency-wide matching program implementing DNP for NSF's listed programs.[1]
Participating Agencies: NSF and Treasury.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (31 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.) establishes the DNP Initiative and requires, for the purposes of identifying and preventing improper payments, each executive agency to have access to, and use of, the relevant databases in DNP to verify payment or award eligibility. Additional applicable authorities for this matching program include Executive Order (E.O.) 13520, Reducing Improper Payments (74 FR 62201); E.O. 14249, Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (90 FR 14011); and OMB Memorandum M-25-32, Preventing Improper Payments and Protecting Privacy Through Do Not Pay. Additional information regarding the statutory authorities for the collection and maintenance of information for each of the NSF programs that will conduct matches with the DNP Working System are contained within the systems of records notices listed in the appendix below.
Purpose(s): The purposes of the matching program are identifying and preventing improper payments and conducting any related recovery activities by verifying through Do Not Pay prepayment or pre-award eligibility. Data elements that are necessary for eligibility determinations for a relevant NSF program that are contained in records from NSF systems of records will be compared with records in the DNP Working System. When there is a match between a record provided by the NSF program and a record in the DNP Working System, the DNP Working System will provide to the submitting NSF program notice of a potentially matching record and will identify the database(s) that contain the potentially matching record(s). The NSF program will then review the information to determine whether there is a need for additional action. If no matches are identified, the DNP Working System will provide a no match response to the submitting NSF program.
Categories of Individuals: Applicants for, or recipients of, Federal funds from those NSF programs listed in the appendix below.
Categories of Records: Data elements that will be matched include: applicant's name (which may include individual name and/or business/trading names, if applicable); Social Security Number (SSN); State and federal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN); Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN); Unique Entity Identifier (UEI); home and work address(es); home, work, and mobile telephone numbers; email address(es); bank account information, including account number and financial institution routing and transit number; and tracking numbers used to locate payment information.
System(s) of Records: The records contained within the DNP Working System are maintained in the system of records known as Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .017—Do Not Pay Payment Verification Records (85 FR 11776). This system of records includes those databases designated to be included in the DNP Working System by the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 as well as other databases designated for inclusion by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or the designee of the Director, in consultation with executive agencies. The NSF records involved in the matching program are maintained in NSF systems of records, NSF-13 Fellowship Payroll and NSF-65, NSF Electronic Payment File, both of which were updated on Dec. 5, 2025 (90 FR 56185), and are also referenced in the appendix below.
Dated: July 8, 2026.
Thomas A. Boger,
Acting Senior Agency Official for Privacy, U.S. National Science Foundation.
Appendix: Below is a list of the NSF programs that will match records with the DNP Working System, and the applicable system of records notice(s) for each NSF program. For purposes of this notice, matching activities conducted between the Federal benefit programs listed in the following appendix and the DNP Working System constitute a single agency-wide matching program implementing DNP for the agency.
| Agency | Financial assistance program name | System of records notices |
|---|---|---|
| National Science Foundation | Engineering | NSF-13: Fellowship Payroll; |
| Mathematical and Physical Sciences | NSF-65: NSF Electronic Payment File. | |
| ( printed page 42983) | ||
| Geosciences | ||
| Computer and Information Science and Engineering | ||
| Biological Sciences | ||
| Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences | ||
| STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) | ||
| Polar Programs | ||
| Office of International Science and Engineering | ||
| Integrative Activities | ||
| NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships | ||
1. The statutory definition of the term “matching program” means “any computerized comparison of—(i) two or more automated systems of records or a system of records with non-Federal records” for certain enumerated purposes. 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(8) (emphasis added). There is a separate statutory definition for “Federal benefit program.” See OMB Memorandum M-25-32 at Appendix II, page 2, sec. a.3.iii.1 (recognizing that a single agency matching program may consist of multiple systems of records). Thus, this notice applies to the DNP matching program for multiple Federal benefits programs and associated systems of records within NSF.
Back to Citation[FR Doc. 2026-14006 Filed 7-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
9 comments have been received at Regulations.gov.
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