SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In March 2026, the FCC adopted the Suspension and Disbarment Report & Order ( Modernizing Suspension and Debarment Rules, GN Docket No. 19-309, Report and Order, Direct Final Rule, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 41 FCC Rcd 2774 (Mar. 27, 2026); 91 FR 18134 (Apr. 9, 2026)), which adopted the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) located in 2 CFR 180 with supplemental FCC-specific rules tailored to programs that the Commission administers. The Commission will use this system to collect information from individuals and entities participating in certain FCC programs, as well as files and documents from investigations conducted by other Commission bureaus or offices, including the Office of Inspector General, to determine whether individuals or entities have engaged in misconduct and should be considered for an exclusion or other action. ( printed page 66701)

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

FCC/OGC-8, Suspension and Disbarment Records.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Office of the General Counsel (OGC), 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554; or FISMA-compliant contractor.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

FCC, OGC, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 218, 225, 254, 403, 616, and 620; E.O. 12,549, 51 FR 6370 (Feb. 18, 1986); E.O. 12,689, 54 FR 34131 (Aug. 18, 1989); 2 CFR part 180; 2 CFR part 6001.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

The FCC uses this system to collect information to investigate individuals and entities participating in certain FCC programs to determine if such persons have engaged in prior misconduct or violations set forth in 2 CFR 6001 and whether to initiate an exclusion or other action.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals, including points of contact for and those who certify on behalf of entities or those who otherwise act as agents, representatives, or independent contractors on behalf of entities, that participate in FCC programs; individuals who are or have been the subjects of FCC (including, without limitation, the Office of Inspector General) investigations and enforcement actions; individuals who are or have provided information in FCC investigations, including other bureau or office investigations ( e.g., witnesses, complainants, informants).

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Categories of records in this system include, but are not limited to:

1. Information that is associated with individuals participating in FCC programs, including contact information, financial information, information related to the product or service being provided, criminal and other related histories, FCC program-specific certifications, and suspension and debarment history and current status, as well as history of misconduct germane to suspension or debarment;

2. Information about the customers of individuals or entities that participate in FCC programs;

3. Files developed during investigations of known or alleged fraud, waste, and abuse; other irregularities; or violations of laws, regulations, orders, or requirements;

4. Files related to programs and operations administered or financed by the FCC or funds managed by the FCC, including contractors and others doing business with or on behalf of the FCC;

5. Investigative reports and related documents, including, without limitation, correspondences, logs, notes, summaries, attachments, charts, spreadsheets, and working papers; and

6. Audit reports and supporting documentation, including, without limitation, correspondences, memoranda, transcripts, notes, computations, flowcharts, illustrations and summaries.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Individuals and points of contact for entities that participate in certain programs the FCC administers ( e.g., USF, TRS program); individuals that provide information in relation to FCC investigations ( e.g., witnesses, complainants, informants); entities that participate in certain programs the FCC administers; entities that provide information in relation to FCC investigations; information referred to the SDO by other FCC bureaus and offices, including the Office of Inspector General; information gathered by administrators of certain FCC funds related to FCC programs ( e.g., Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) for USF programs or Rolka Loube for TRS programs); information referred to the SDO by other Federal, State, local, Tribal, international, or multinational agencies or by any interagency committees, such as the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC).

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or information contained in this system may be disclosed to authorized entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside the FCC as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows.

1. Public Access—Names and other information about individuals or entities subject to investigations or exclusions contained in this system may be disclosed to the public in Commission releases, including, without limitation, Notices of Suspension and Proposed Debarments, Notices of Limited Denials of Participation, or Notices of Debarment.

2. Suspension and Debarment Disclosure—The FCC may disclose information from this system to other Federal agencies considering suspension or debarment action if the information is relevant to the suspension and debarment action or if the FCC determines such agency has a more sufficient nexus to the matter or more resources and therefore will receive a referral from the FCC.

3. Suspension and Debarment Inquiry—the FCC may disclose information from this system to interagency committees, such as the ISDC, for guidance or support or to liaise to determine which other federal agencies to refer suspension and debarment matters to.

4. SAM.gov —OGC may disclose information and files to the General Services Administration to notify the agency that the FCC has excluded an individual or entity and that the individual or entity should be placed on the government-wide System for Award Management (SAM) exclusion list.

5. Administrators—the FCC may disclose information from this system to its relevant FCC fund administrators ( e.g., USAC or Rolka Loube) in order to seek more information for any exclusion or other related action or investigation and to otherwise notify such administrators that the FCC has excluded an individual or entity.

6. Law Enforcement and Investigation—When the FCC investigates any violation or potential violation of a civil or criminal law, regulation, policy, executed consent decree, order, or any other type of compulsory obligation and determines that a record in this system, either alone or in conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, regulation, policy, consent decree, order, or other compulsory obligation, the FCC may disclose pertinent information as it deems necessary to the target of an investigation, as well as with the appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, international, or multinational agencies, or a component of such an agency, responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, order, or other compulsory obligation.

7. Litigation—Records may be disclosed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) when: (a) the FCC or any component thereof; (b) any employee of the FCC in his or her official capacity; (c) any employee of the FCC in his or her individual capacity where the DOJ or the FCC has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the United States Government is a party to litigation or ( printed page 66702) has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, the FCC determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation, and the use of such records by the DOJ is for a purpose that is compatible with the purpose for which the FCC collected the records.

8. Adjudication—Records may be disclosed in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body, when: (a) the FCC or any component thereof; (b) any employee of the FCC in his or her official capacity; (c) any employee of the FCC in his or her individual capacity; or (d) the United States Government, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, the FCC determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation, and that the use of such records is for a purpose that is compatible with the purpose for which the agency collected the records.

9. Congressional Inquiries—Information may be provided to a Congressional office in response to an inquiry from that Congressional office made at the written request of the individual to whom the information pertains.

10. Government-wide Program Management and Oversight—Information may be disclosed to the DOJ to obtain that department's advice regarding disclosure obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); or to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to obtain that office's advice regarding obligations under the Privacy Act.

11. Breach Notification—Records may be disclosed to appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) the Commission suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of PII maintained in the system of records; (b) the Commission has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, the Commission (including its information system, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Commission's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

12. Assistance to Federal Agencies and Entities Related to Breaches—Records may be disclosed to another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the Commission determines that information from this system is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in: (a) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information systems, program, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.

13. Non-Federal Personnel—Records may be disclosed to non-Federal personnel, including contractors, other vendors ( e.g., identity verification services), grantees, and volunteers who have been engaged to assist the FCC in the performance of a service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other activity related to this system of records and who need to have access to the records in order to perform their activity.

14. Department of Treasury—Records may be disclosed to the U.S. Department of Treasury when disclosure of the information is relevant to review payment and award eligibility through the Do Not Pay Working System for the purposes of identifying, preventing, or recouping improper payments to an applicant for, or recipient of, Federal funds, including funds disbursed by a state (meaning a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United States, or a federally recognized Indian tribe) in a state-administered, federally funded program.

15. Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Disclosure—Records may be disclosed to Federal agencies, non-Federal entities, their employees, and agents (including contractors, their agents or employees; employees or contractors of the agents or designated agents); or contractors, their employees or agents with whom the FCC has a contract, service agreement, cooperative agreement, or computer matching agreements for the purpose of: (1) detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments; (2) detection and prevention of fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal programs administered by a Federal agency or non-Federal entity; (3) detection of fraud, waste, and abuse by individuals in their operations and programs, but only to the extent that the information shared is necessary and relevant to verify pre-award and prepayment requirements prior to the release of Federal funds, prevent and recover improper payments for services rendered under programs of the FCC or of those Federal agencies and non-Federal entities to which the FCC provides information under this routine use.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:

This is an electronic system of records that resides on the FCC's network or on an FCC vendor's network.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:

Records in this system of records, including the administrative records for such matters, can be retrieved by the name of individual or entity who is investigated, excluded, and/or otherwise the target for another action.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:

The FCC is drafting a retention and disposition schedule for these records; currently all records retention schedules are pending. Unscheduled records are retained indefinitely pending the agency's submission, and the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) approval, of a disposition schedule.

( printed page 66703)

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:

The electronic records, files, and data are stored within FCC or vendor accreditation boundaries and maintained in a database housed in the FCC's or a vendor's computer network databases. Access to the electronic files is restricted to authorized employees and contractors; and to IT staff, contractors, and vendors who maintain the IT networks and services. Other employees and contractors may be granted access on a need-to-know basis. The electronic files and records are protected by the FCC and third-party privacy safeguards, a comprehensive and dynamic set of IT safety and security protocols and features that are designed to meet all Federal IT privacy standards, including those required by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Individuals wishing to request access to and/or amendment of records about themselves should follow the Notification Procedures below.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

Individuals wishing to request access to and/or amendment of records about themselves should follow the Notification Procedures below.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

Individuals wishing to determine whether this system of records contains information about themselves may do so by writing to privacy@fcc.gov. Individuals requesting access must also comply with the FCC's Privacy Act regulations regarding verification of identity to gain access to records as required under 47 CFR part 0, subpart E.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None. However, when exempt records received from other systems of records become part of this system, the FCC claims the same exemptions for those records that are claimed for the system(s) of records from which they originated.

HISTORY:

None.

91 FR 66700