[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 70992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26873]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 70992]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation


Request for Approval of a New Information Collection; Long Term 
Contracting System (LTCS)

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency 
(FSA), Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO) is seeking comments from all 
interested individuals and organizations regarding a new information 
collection. This collection is necessary for the procurement of 
agricultural commodities by KCCO for USDA's domestic feeding programs. 
Vendors bidding on long-term invitations will complete and submit their 
offers on-line through LTCS, which will record the system date/time 
that the offer was submitted and will ensure that the data remains 
secured within the system until bid opening time.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before February 
7, 2005, to be assured consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Comments regarding this information 
collection requirement may be directed to James Klemp, Acting Chief, 
Planning and Analysis Division, Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO), 
6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64133-4676, telephone (816) 
926-6509 or fax (816) 926-1648; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Long Term Contracting System (LTCS).
    OMB Number: 0560-New.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new collection.
    Abstract: The Long Term Contracting System (LTCS) is a web-based 
application that streamlines the bid entry and evaluation functions for 
Long-term, Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. 
KCCO will generally issue invitations for bids to purchase commodities 
for domestic feeding programs on an annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or 
monthly basis; however, invitations may be issued more frequently, 
depending on various program requirements. Bid offers will be received, 
evaluated, and awarded within LTCS. Interested vendors will submit a 
price per destination for each product, along with their available 
capacities per delivery period/month, and their answers to specific 
certification questions. The information collected will be processed 
through the LTCS bid evaluation program to determine optimal awards. 
KCCO will analyze the results of the bid evaluation and award contracts 
to the eligible, responsible and responsive bidders whose offers are 
most advantageous to USDA in terms of the lowest overall cost. It is 
necessary to collect the information in order to evaluate bids 
impartially. The LTCS will automatically tie together monthly 
allocation contracts with the applicable long-term contract, and since 
LTCS will access real-time data, users will be able to access up-to-
the-minute contract award information. Vendors can access LTCS on-line 
prior to bid opening time to submit, modify, or withdraw their offers. 
The automated process of LTCS will significantly reduce the chance for 
errors in awards and reduce recordkeeping errors associated with the 
current manual process of tracking contract data.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for collecting 
information under this notice is estimated to average 2 hours per 
response.
    Respondents: Interested vendors; currently, cheese and pudding 
vendors.
    Respondents: 20.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 2.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 80 hours.
    Proposed topics for comment include: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
or (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of the information 
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments regarding 
this information collection requirement may be directed to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for USDA, Washington, DC 20503, and to 
James Klemp, Acting Chief, Planning and Analysis Division, Kansas City 
Commodity Office, 6501 Beacon Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64133-4676. 
All comments will become a matter of public record.
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection(s) of 
information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60 
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. 
Therefore, a comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect 
if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on November 30, 2004.
James R. Little,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 04-26873 Filed 12-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P