[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72917-72918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30596]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice of proposed information collection requests.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, 
Privacy, Information and Records 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 
December 9, 2011. A regular clearance process is also beginning. 
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 
27, 2012.

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 emailed 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, Privacy, Information and Records 
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: November 22, 2011.
Darrin A. King,
Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.

Federal Student Aid

    Type of Review: New.
    Title: Loan Verification Certificate for Special Direct 
Consolidation Loans.
    OMB #: Pending.
    Abstract: This Loan Verification Certificate (LVC) will serve as 
the means by which the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) 
collects certain information from commercial holders of Federal Family 
Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans that a borrower wishes to 
consolidate into the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) 
Program under a special initiative announced by the White House in an 
October 25, 2011 fact sheet titled ``Help Americans Manage Student Loan 
Debt.'' Loans made under this initiative are known as Special Direct 
Consolidation Loans. The information collected on the LVC includes the 
amount needed to pay off the loans that the borrower wants to 
consolidate and other information required by the Department to make 
and service a Special Direct Consolidation Loan.
    The purpose of the special consolidation initiative is to encourage 
borrowers who have both commercially-held FFEL Program loans and other 
loans that are held by the Department (either Direct Loan Program loans 
or FFEL Program loans previously sold to the Department by a FFEL 
Program lender) to consolidate their commercially-held FFEL Program 
loans into the Direct Loan Program. Currently, these borrowers have at 
least two loan servicers and are required to make at least two separate 
monthly payments on

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their federal education loans. This makes repayment more difficult and 
increases the likelihood of a borrower becoming delinquent or going 
into default. For a borrower who has both commercially-held FFEL 
Program loans and Department-held loans, consolidation of the 
commercially-held loans into the Direct Loan Program will simplify 
repayment by allowing the borrower to make a single monthly loan 
payment to one entity (a federal loan servicer under contract to the 
Department), thereby reducing the likelihood of delinquency or default. 
As an incentive for borrowers to consolidate under the special 
initiative, the Department is offering reduced interest rates on 
Special Direct Consolidation Loans.

Additional Information

    The Department is requesting emergency clearance of the Special 
Direct Consolidation Loan LVC because the regular clearance process 
would prevent the Department from making Special Direct Consolidation 
Loans by the announced implementation date. Further, because the 
statutory authority under which the Department is providing the 
incentives will end on June 30, 2012, the use of normal clearance 
procedures would significantly shorten the already limited period 
during which Special Direct Consolidation Loans can be offered, with 
the result that fewer borrowers would be able to benefit from the 
reduced interest rates offered as part of the special initiative.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden

Responses: 62,633.
Burden Hours: 1,565,825.

    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 4757. 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.
    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. 2011-30596 Filed 11-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P