[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44662-44663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15279]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Indian Health Service


Request for Public Comment: 60-Day Proposed Information 
Collection: Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program 
helps to ensure that requested date can be provided in the desired 
format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is providing a 60-day 
advance opportunity for public comment on a proposed extension of 
current information collection activity to be submitted to the Office 
of Management and Budget for review.
    Proposed Collection: Title: 0917-0014, ``Indian Health Service Loan 
Repayment Program.'' Type of Information Collection Request: Extension, 
without revision, of currently approved information collection, 0917-
0014, ``Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program.'' Form Number: 
None. Forms: The IHS Loan Repayment Program Information Booklet 
contains the instructions and the application formats. Need and Use of 
Information Collection: The IHS Loan Repayment Program (LRP) identifies 
health professionals with pre-existing financial obligations for 
education expenses that meet program criteria and who are qualified and 
willing to serve at, often remote, IHS health care facilities. Under 
the program, eligible health professionals sign a contract under which 
the IHS agrees to repay part or all of their indebtedness for 
professional training education. In exchange, the health professionals 
agree to serve for a specified period of time in IHS health care 
facilities. Eligible health professionals that wish to apply must 
submit an application to participate in the program. The application 
requests personal, demographic and educational training information, 
including information on the educational loans of

[[Page 44663]]

the individual for which repayment is being requested (i.e., date, 
amount, account number, purpose of each loan, interest rate, the 
current balance, etc.). The data collected is needed and used to 
evaluate applicant eligibility; rank and prioritize applicants by 
speciality; assign applicants to IHS health care facilities; determine 
payment amounts and schedules for paying the lending institutions; and 
to provide data and statistics for program management review and 
analysis. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of 
Respondents: Individuals. The table below provides the estimated burden 
hours for this information collection:

                                             Estimated Burden Hours
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                                      Estimated
    Data collection instrument        number of     Responses per     Average burden hour per      Total annual
                                     respondents     respondent              response *             burden hrs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section I........................             425               1  0.25 (15 mins)...............          106.25
Section II.......................             425               1  0.50 (30 mins)...............          212.5
Section III......................             425               4  0.25 (15 mins)...............          425
Contract.........................             425               1  0.334 (20 mins)..............          141.95
Affidavit........................             425               1  0.167 (10 mins)..............           70.97
Lender Certificate...............            1700               1  0.25 (15 mins)...............          425.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For ease of understanding, burden hours are also provided in actual minutes.

    There are no Capital Costs, Operating Costs and/or Maintenance 
Costs to report.
    Request for Comments: Your written comments and/or suggestions are 
invited on one or more of the following points: (a) Whether the 
information collection activity is necessary to carry out an agency 
function; (b) whether the agency processes the information collected in 
a useful and timely fashion; (c) the accuracy of public burden estimate 
(the estimated amount of time needed for individual respondents to 
provide the requested information); (d) whether the methodology and 
assumptions used to determine the estimate are logical; (e) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information being 
collected; and (f) ways to minimize the public burden through the use 
of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Send Comments and Requests For Further Information: Send your 
written comments and requests for more information on the proposed 
collection or requests to obtain a copy of the data collection 
instrument(s) and instructions to: Mrs. Chris Rouleau, IHS Reports 
Clearance Officer, 12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 450, Rockville, MD 
20852-1601, call non-toll free (301) 443-5938, send via facsimile to 
(301) 443-2316, or send your e-mail requests, comments, and return 
address to: [email protected].
    Comment Due Date: Your comments regarding this information 
collection are best assured of having their full effect if received 
within 60-days of the date of this publication.

    Dated: July 28, 2005.
Charles W. Grim,
Assistant Surgeon General, Director, Indian Health Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15279 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-16-M