[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33797-33798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14417]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, 
Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, 
invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since public harm is reasonably 
likely to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by June 
25, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Education Desk Officer, 
Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New 
Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, be faxed to (202) 395-
5806 or e-mailed to [email protected] with a cc: to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB 
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity 
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public 
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval 
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate 
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's 
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Director, Information 
Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management 
Services, Office of Management, publishes this notice containing 
proposed information collection requests at the beginning of the 
Departmental review of the information collection. Each proposed 
information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) 
Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision, extension, existing or 
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) 
Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) 
Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or 
Recordkeeping burden. ED invites public comment.
    The Department of Education is especially interested in public 
comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection 
necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this 
information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the 
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on 
respondents, including through the use of information technology.

    Dated: June 10, 2010.
Darrin A. King,
Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory 
Information Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Postsecondary Education

    Type of Review: Emergency.
    Title: Student Aid Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) Payments to 
Loan Servicers for Job Retention.
    Abstract: The Department of Education is requesting emergency 
clearance of the data collection associated with this clearance by June 
25, 2010. An emergency clearance is needed to meet Congressional 
legislative mandate to award funds to loan servicers prior to the end 
of the fiscal year. These funds were not appropriated until the Health 
Care and Education Reconciliation Act was signed on March 30, 2010. 
Specifically, this data collection is necessary to implement the 
requirements in section 458(a)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
as amended (HEA), as added by section 2212 (b)(1) of the SAFRA Act. 
Title II of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. 
The SAFRA Act requires the Department to commit $25,000,000 to 
distribute to eligible servicers by the end of FY 2010 and another 
$25,000,000 by the end of FY 2011.
    This data collection is necessary to assist Federal Family 
Education Loan

[[Page 33798]]

(FFEL) servicers in retaining jobs at their loan servicing facilities 
located in the United States as of January 1, 2010. The SAFRA Act 
provides for eligible loan servicers to apply for funds to assist them 
in maintaining jobs of people working on loan servicing at their U.S. 
locations. The Department will determine by formula the dollar amount 
of funds each eligible servicer will receive.
    Additional Information: The Department (ED) is requesting that OMB 
grant an emergency clearance by June 25, 2010 for all documents 
necessary to meet the Congressional legislative mandate to award funds 
to loan servicers prior to the end of the fiscal year. SAFRA requires 
the Secretary to provide payments to student loan servicers in FY 2010 
and FY 2011 for retaining jobs at locations in the United States where 
such servicers were operating under part B of the HEA on January 1, 
2010.
    This data collection is necessary to assist Federal Family 
Education Loan (FFEL) servicers in retaining jobs at their loan 
servicing facilities located in the United States as of January 1, 
2010. The SAFRA Act provides for eligible loan servicers to apply for 
funds to assist them in maintaining jobs of people working on loan 
servicing at their U.S. locations. The Department will determine by 
formula the dollar amount of funds each eligible servicer will receive.
    Emergency clearance is needed so that eligible servicers can apply 
for an award under SAFRA, and ED can meet the deadline set by Congress 
to evaluate the applications and obligate the awards before the end of 
the 2010 government fiscal year. We have a tight time frame to notify 
servicers, review their application, determine award amounts and inform 
servicers of award amounts and receive their updated plan for retaining 
jobs at their location within the U.S.
    Implementation of the SAFRA Act requirements will be conducted in 
several phases. First, FFEL loan servicers will submit application 
forms with payroll information for individuals working within a 
servicing entity on loan origination activity at the location they 
designate on the date specified in the final requirements, as well as a 
plan for preserving jobs at that facility. This information provided 
will be used by the Department to determine award amount. The 
Department will calculate, by formula, the award each servicer will 
receive and will then notify the servicer of the award amount. Finally, 
the servicer will, before any funds are disbursed, submit an updated 
plan detailing how it will use the awarded funds to preserve jobs at 
that facility based on the actual award amount. The awarded amount will 
subsequently be disbursed to the servicer.
    Upon receiving emergency clearance of the document the Department 
will publish the ``Interim final requirements'' in a separate Federal 
Register notice and start accepting applications from eligible 
servicers.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Private Sector.
    Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

Responses: 37.
Burden Hours: 1,739.

    Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse 
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 4336. When 
you access the information collection, click on ``Download 
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be 
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically 
mailed to the Internet address [email protected] or faxed to 202-401-
0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection 
when making your request.
    Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to [email protected]. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

[FR Doc. 2010-14417 Filed 6-14-10; 8:45 am]
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