[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68226-68227]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30505]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Application for 
Investment Assistance; Community Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

AGENCY: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 22, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Jamie Lipsey, Room 7005, Economic Development 
Administration, Washington, DC 20230, telephone (202) 482-3467, 
facsimile (202) 482-5671 (or via the Internet at [email protected].).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    EDA's mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by 
promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions 
for growth and success in the worldwide economy. To accomplish this 
mission, EDA administers several programs authorized under the Public 
Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 ((42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) 
(PWEDA) and under chapters 3, 4, and 5 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2341 et seq.) (Trade Act)).
    The Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act (TGAAA), part 
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, amended chapter 
4 of the Trade Act to establish the Community Trade Adjustment 
Assistance (Community TAA) Program, which is designed to assist U.S. 
communities suffering negative effects from trade impacts and will be 
administered by EDA.
    The amended Trade Act requires that a community have a Cognizable 
Certification, which is a certification by the Secretaries of Labor, 
Commerce, or Agriculture under the TAA for Workers, Firms, or Farmers 
programs, respectively and petition for EDA to make an Affirmative 
Determination that a community is significantly affected by the threat 
to, or loss of, jobs associated with the Cognizable Certification as a 
threshold before receiving a grant under the program. EDA plans to make 
such petitions as minimally burdensome as possible and to process 
petitions using the OMB-approved Application for Federal Assistance 
(Form SF-424) to reduce confusion and ensure standard information. EDA 
intends to request that a petitioning community complete Items 1-16 and 
21 of Form SF-424. For Item 15, recipients will be required to complete 
a formula provided by EDA using their Civilian Labor Force (CLF) data, 
which is readily available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 
provide a brief narrative describing the threat to, or loss of, jobs 
associated with a Cognizable Certification.
    Applicants also must identify the applicable Cognizable 
Certification upon which the community bases its petition or petition-
application. For TAA Workers Cognizable Certifications, the applicant 
community must provide the TAA petition number associated with the 
Department of Labor's certification decision. For TAA for Firms 
certifications, the applicant community must provide the name of the 
firm certified under the program and locator number in the official 
notification letter provided by the Department of Commerce to the 
certified firm. For TAA for Farmers certifications, the applicant 
community must provide the name of the certified agricultural commodity 
and the record identifier provided by the Department of Agriculture. 
Recipients do not have to

[[Page 68227]]

complete Items 17, 18, and 19 of Form SF-424.
    Since the implementation portion of the Community TAA Program is 
similar to EDA's existing economic development planning and 
construction programs, EDA plans to require communities that have 
received this Affirmative Determination to use OMB-approved Application 
for Investment Assistance (Form ED-900), to request planning and/or 
project implementation assistance.
    Form ED-900 also is required to apply for assistance under EDA's 
other economic development programs authorized under PWEDA. All 
information collected using Form ED-900 is necessary for EDA to 
evaluate whether proposed projects satisfy eligibility and programmatic 
requirements contained in PWEDA, the accompanying regulations codified 
in 13 CFR chapter III, and the applicable Federal Funding Opportunity 
(FFO) announcement. As noted above, Form ED-900 also will be used to 
evaluate whether proposed projects satisfy eligibility and programmatic 
requirement contained in chapter 4 of the Trade Act, which establishes 
the Community TAA Program, EDA's regulations as set out at 13 CFR part 
313, and the applicable FFO.
    Form ED-900 was renewed in March 2009; however, an emergency 
request was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget due to the 
eligibility changes in the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms 
Program as specified in the Trade and Globalization Adjustment 
Assistance Act (TGAAA) of 2009, which reauthorized the program. OMB 
approved this emergency request on August 12, 2009, and because of the 
time constraints of the emergency request, a notice for public comment 
was not processed. The emergency request is valid for six months and 
this notice will begin the process to extend the approval.

II. Method of Collection

    Form ED-900 may be downloaded in Portable Document Format (PDF) 
from http://www.grants.gov. Form ED-900 may be submitted electronically 
via http://www.grants.gov or in hard copy to the applicable EDA 
regional office that serves the applicant's state.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0610-0094.
    Form Number(s): ED-900.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Local, county, or other political subdivision of a 
State or a consortium of political subdivisions of a State.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,225 [Community TAA Program: 350 
respondents (of which 300 are expected to go on to file implementation 
grant applications following receipt of an Affirmative Determination 
from EDA). EDAP: 875 grant applications].
    Estimated Time per Response: 21.35 hours [weighted average of 21.66 
hours for 875 EDAP respondents, 2 hours for 50 Community TAA 
respondents filing petitions but not requesting implementation grant 
assistance, and 23.66 hours for Community TAA respondents filing 
petitions and requesting implementation grant assistance].
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 26,150.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: December 18, 2009.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-30505 Filed 12-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-24-P