Notice2022-20538
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic Sourcing Requirements Waiver-United States Department of Education BABAA Waiver Request Form
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new collection.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 183 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 183 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57882-57883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20538]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0117]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Build
America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic Sourcing Requirements
Waiver--United States Department of Education BABAA Waiver Request Form
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an
emergency review of a new collection.
DATES: The Department is requesting emergency processing and OMB
approval for this information collection by 9/30/2022; and therefore,
the Department is requesting public comments by September 30, 2022. A
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated to provide the
public with the opportunity to comment under the full comment period.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before November
21, 2022.
ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the
information collection listed in this notice, please use <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching the Docket ID number ED-2022-SCC-0117.
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily
accept comments at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4b02080f2428202e3f062c390b2e2f652c243d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="236a60674c404846576e44516346470d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include the docket ID
number and the title of the information collection request when
requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the
Director of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW,
LBJ, Room 6W203, Washington, DC 20202-8240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to
collection activities, please contact Pedro Romero, (202) 453-7886.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)),
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of
information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting
burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The
Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the
following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper
functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4)
how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be
[[Page 57883]]
collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this
collection on the respondents, including through the use of information
technology. Please note that written comments received in response to
this notice will be considered public records.
Title of Collection: Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA)
Domestic Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United States Department of
Education BABAA Waiver Request Form.
OMB Control Number: 1894-NEW.
Type of Review: New Collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 470.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,700.
Abstract: In accordance with section 70914 of the Build America Buy
America Act (Pub. L. 117-58 Sec. Sec. 70901-70953) (BABAA), grantees
funded under the Department's programs that allow funds to be used for
infrastructure projects (infrastructure programs), i.e., construction
and broadband infrastructure, may not use their grant funds for these
infrastructure projects or activities unless they comply with the
following BABAA sourcing requirements: (1) All iron and steel used in
the infrastructure project or activity are produced in the United
States, (2) All manufactured products used in the infrastructure
project or activity are produced in the United States, and (3) All
construction materials are manufactured in the United States.
The Department may, in accordance with sections 70914(b) and (d),
70921(b), 70935, and 70937 of BABAA, and the Office of Management and
Budget Memorandum M 22-11, Initial Implementation Guidance on
Application of Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance
Programs for Infrastructure, approve waivers to BABAA sourcing
requirements submitted by grantees under programs it has identified as
infrastructure programs when it determines that exceptions to these
requirements apply. The Department may approve, subject to notice and
comment requirements and the Office of Management and Budget Made in
America Office (MIAO) review, the types of waivers listed below when
one or more of the following conditions are met: (1) Public Interest
Waiver--Applying the BABAA sourcing requirement would be inconsistent
with the public interest, (2) Non-availability Waiver--The types of
iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials are not
produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
quantities or of a satisfactory quality, and (3) Unreasonable Cost
Waiver--The inclusion of iron, steel, manufactured products, or
construction materials produced in the United States will increase the
cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.
This is a new information collection, and it includes the following
two documents: (1) the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic
Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United States Department of Education
BABAA Waiver Request Form (BABAA Waiver Request Form); and (2) a
document listing the BABAA Waiver Request Form data elements.
Additional Information: Pursuant to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR 1320, the Department
requests that the following collection of information, Build America,
Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United
States Department of Education BABAA Waiver Request Form (BABAA Waiver
Request Form), be processed in accordance with section 1320.13
Emergency Processing. This this information is essential to the
Department's ability to effectively approve waiver requests for
Department grantees as required in accordance with section 70914 of the
Build America Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117-58 Sec. Sec. 70901-70953)
(BABAA) and OMB Memorandum M 22-11, Initial Implementation Guidance on
Application of Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance
Programs for Infrastructure. If normal processing were to be followed,
ED would not be able to implement the BABAA Waiver Request Form on
October 1, 2022, which is the date that it must implement BABAA
requirements under its currently OMB approved adjustment period waiver.
Delays in implementing resulting from normal processing would likely
result in overall delays to critically important project goals and
objectives and would inhibit grant infrastructure projects and
activities from moving forward.
Dated: September 19, 2022.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning,
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-20538 Filed 9-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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