[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 148 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42444-42445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15044]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Amending Federal Financial Assistance-Related Forms to Include 
Universal Identifier

AGENCY: Office of Federal Financial Management and Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposes to 
authorize each Federal agency that receives applications for Federal 
financial assistance to add a field for the applicant's Dun and 
Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to application 
forms previously approved by OMB. This proposed update would broaden 
the directive's effect to all forms of Federal financial assistance 
covered by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (the 
``Act'') including grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative 
agreements, and other forms of financial assistance.

DATES: Comments are due by September 4, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Marguerite Pridgen, Office 
of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget, 725 
17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503; telephone 202-395-7844; fax 
202-395-3952; e-mail [email protected]. Due to potential delays in 
OMB's receipt and processing of mail sent through the U.S. Postal 
Service, we encourage respondents to submit comments electronically to 
ensure timely receipt. We cannot guarantee that comments mailed will be 
received before the comment closing date. Please include ``Amending 
Forms for DUNS'' in the subject line of the email message; please also 
include the full body of your comments in the text of the message and 
as an attachment. Include your name, title, organization, postal 
address, telephone number, and e-mail address in your message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marguerite Pridgen at the addresses 
noted above.

    Authority: Sec. 2, Pub. L. 109-282, 102 Stat. 1186.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
proposes to authorize each Federal agency that receives applications 
for Federal financial assistance to add a field for the applicant's Dun 
and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to 
application forms previously approved by OMB. The intent of authorizing 
agencies to add the field without additional OMB approval is to enable 
the agencies to require applicants other than individual persons to 
provide DUNS numbers for all applications submitted on or after October 
1, 2007. This proposal thereby would update the policy in the OMB 
directive issued on June 27, 2003 [68 FR 38403], ``Use of a Universal 
Identifier by Grant Applicants.'' That directive authorized agencies to 
add the DUNS number as a required field for applications leading to the 
award of two specific forms of Federal financial assistance: Grants and 
cooperative agreements. This proposed update would broaden the 
directive's effect to all forms of Federal financial assistance covered 
by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (the 
``Act'') including grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative 
agreements, and other forms of financial assistance. The reason for the 
proposed update is that the DUNS number will be used as the unique 
identifier for recipient entities that is required by the Federal 
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282). 
Under that Act, OMB must ensure the establishment and maintenance of a 
location on the World Wide Web

[[Page 42445]]

through which the public may access and search data on agencies' 
awards. The unique identifier of the recipient entity is one of the 
data elements that the Act requires for each award. Note that the 
Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition 
Regulations Council (Councils) are addressing the Federal Funding 
Accountability and Transparency Act requirements for contracts, 
subcontracts, purchase orders, task orders and delivery orders under 
separate Federal Register notices.

Danny Werfel,
Deputy Controller.
 [FR Doc. E7-15044 Filed 8-1-07; 8:45 am]
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