[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 127 (Monday, July 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31986-31987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15728]



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NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY


Waiver for the Literacy Information and Communication (LINCS) 
Resource Collections and Regional Resource Centers

AGENCY: National Institute for Literacy.

ACTION: Notice of waiver for the Literacy Information and Communication 
(LINCS) Resource Collections and Regional Resource Centers.

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SUMMARY: The Acting Director waives the requirements in 34 CFR 
75.261(c)(2) of the Education Department General Administrative 
Regulations (EDGAR) that generally prohibit the extension of grants 
beyond the expiration date when the extension requires additional 
Federal funds or the extension involves any change in the approved 
activities under the project. These waivers would enable the current 
eligible grantees under LINCS to apply for and continue to receive 
Federal funding beyond the original 36-month period of performance 
established in the grant application notices published in the Federal 
Register at 71 FR 43628 and 71 FR 44716 and in their grant award 
notices.

DATES: This notice is effective July 6, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel J. Miller, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11146, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-7242. Telephone: (202) 245-7731.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) by requesting it from the contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Waiver of 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2)

    Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-220), 
commonly known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), 
established the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL or Institute) to 
provide national leadership on literacy, coordinate literacy services 
and policy, and serve as a national resource for adult education and 
literacy programs by providing the best and most current information in 
the area of phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, and 
reading comprehension, and supporting the creation of new ways to offer 
services of proven effectiveness. [20 U.S.C. 9252(a)]. The Institute is 
administered under the terms of an interagency agreement entered into 
by the Secretaries of Education (ED), Labor (DOL), and Health and Human 
Services (HHS) (the Interagency Group), and seeks and receives advice 
on its operations from its Presidentially appointed Advisory Board. The 
Institute coordinates its work with the member agencies of the 
Interagency Group to avoid duplication and maximize the results of the 
agencies' investments and efforts in literacy services and policy.
    The Institute's responsibilities include establishing a national 
electronic database of information that disseminates information to the 
broadest possible audience within the literacy and basic skills field 
and a communication network for literacy programs, providers, social 
service agencies, and students. 20 U.S.C. 9252(c)(1)(A). To carry out 
these responsibilities, the Institute awarded three LINCS Regional 
Resource Centers grants on September 29, 2006, and three LINCS Resource 
Collections grants on September 26, 2009. The project period for these 
grants ends on September 30, 2009, and the Institute would normally 
conduct a new competition to continue to fund the activities supported 
by these grants.
    The administration is not requesting funds for the Institute in 
fiscal year (FY) 2010 and has proposed that the Office of Vocational 
and Adult Education (OVAE), which administers both the Adult Education 
State Grant program and the Adult Education National Leadership 
Activities in ED, absorb the resources formerly appropriated to the 
Institute. Congress is now in the process of reauthorizing the 
Workforce Investment Act, and, pending final decisions about the future 
of the Institute and its programs, the Institute does not believe that 
it would be in the public interest to hold new competitions for the 
LINCS grants until after Congress has concluded that process.
    Therefore, to avoid a lapse in the availability of services 
provided by current LINCS grantees, the Institute waives the 
requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which prohibit the extension of 
grants beyond the initial period of performance if the extension 
requires additional Federal funds and/or if the extension involves any 
changes in the approved activities under the project. The Institute is 
waiving these requirements in order to be able to continue to fund 
current, eligible LINCS grantees with FY 2009 funds. The Institute's 
waiver of these requirements and continued funding of the current LINCS 
grants would extend for as long as Congress continues to appropriate 
funds for the existing program authority under 20 U.S.C. 9252 and 
possibly during a transition to any new program authorities that might 
be created in the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. The 
waivers would not affect any other legal provisions governing the 
grants to the current, eligible LINCS grantees, including the 
requirements applicable to continuation awards that were established in 
our August 1, 2006 and August 7, 2006 Federal Register notices (71 FR 
at 44717 and 71 FR at 43628), and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 
concerning continuation awards.
    The waiver of 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) does not exempt current LINCS 
grantees from the account closing provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor 
does it extend the availability of funds previously awarded to current 
LINCS grantees. As a result of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), appropriations 
available for a limited period may be used for payment of valid 
obligations for only five years after the expiration of their period of 
availability for Federal obligation. After that time, the unexpended 
balance of those funds is canceled and returned to the U.S. Treasury 
Department and is unavailable for restoration for any purpose.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Acting Director certifies that this notice of waiver will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    The entities that would be affected by these waivers are:
    (a) The current LINCS grantees;
    (b) Public and private agencies or institutions, or non-profit 
organizations with knowledge and expertise in adult basic education and 
literacy; and,
    (c) consortia of such agencies, institutions, or organizations.
    The Acting Director certifies that the waivers would not have a 
significant economic impact on these entities because the waivers and 
the activities required to support the additional year of funding would 
not impose excessive regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal 
supervision. The waivers would impose minimal requirements to ensure 
the proper expenditure of program funds, including requirements that 
are standard for continuation awards.

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Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice of waiver does not contain any information collection 
requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    The LINCS grants are subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
Order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive Order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program and these grants.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/new/fedregister.
    To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note:
     The official version of this document is the document published 
in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official 
edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations 
is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9295.

    Dated: June 29, 2009.
Daniel J. Miller,
Acting Director, National Institute for Literacy.
[FR Doc. E9-15728 Filed 7-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6055-01-P