A. This is a United States Government computer system, maintained pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1331 et al. All data on this system may be monitored by, recorded by, and disclosed to authorized personnel, in any manner. Use of this system by any user, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to this monitoring, recording, and disclosure. Improper use may be punishable under 18 U.S.C. 1030 et al.

B. We do not collect information identifying you as an individual unless you choose to provide such information. We learn certain information automatically from your visit to our websites:

• The Internet Protocol address of your computer or firewall, and the name of the domain (e.g., your_company.com or aol.com) and server from which you access the Internet;
• Your browser type, operating system, and HTTP request method;
• The date and time you access our sites and how long your transaction lasted;
• The pages and sizes of our sites you access;
• The status of your request; and
• The website from which you linked directly to our sites.

If you visit certain pages of our sites, you will be asked to supply additional information such as your name, telephone number, and e-mail address, employer type, agency or firm name, address, and account number. Disclosure of such information is voluntary, but failure to provide the information may result in denial of access to certain pages.

C. We primarily use the information to help you in obtaining the assistance you seek from our sites. We also use the information for statistical purposes, such as assessing numbers of visitors, system performance and cost, and identifying problem areas. Finally, we monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage, knowingly or inadvertently. Information may be shared with staff of our agency and contractors assisting our staff who have a need for the information. When required by law or in very unusual circumstances such as misuse of our system, we may share individual information with Congress, the public, union personnel, other agencies, or in litigation. We handle information in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a; in particular, we recognize the importance of safeguarding personal privacy, and do not normally publish information that identifies individuals except as required by law.

D. Certain pages on our site use "session cookies." A session cookie is a small piece of information containing a random number and an expiration time that is placed on your computer when you access a page. Cookies help us support your shopping cart transactions. You are not obligated to accept cookies from us, but if you do not, some of the functions on our site may not be available to you. Once your transaction is completed, our cookie expires. Our cookies do not contain individually identifiable information, and we do not share cookie information outside the agency.