[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 77 (Monday, April 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23742-23743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09382]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Nomination Form of Veterinary Shortage Situations for the 
Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP)

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), as part 
of its compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, invites the general public to comment 
on an information collection for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP). This notice initiates a 30-day comment period and 
prescribes the proposed nomination form for the VMLRP that will be 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal. The 
NIFA may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Comments regarding this information collection must be received 
on or before May 22, 2013 to be assured of having their full effect.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include the text ``VMLRP Shortage 
Situation Nomination Form'' in the subject line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 720-0857.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of 
Agriculture; STOP 2216; 1400 Independence Avenue SW.; Washington, DC 
20250-2216.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: National Institute of Food and Agriculture; 
U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room 4213, Waterfront Centre; 800 9th 
Street SW.; Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Hitchcock; Office of Information 
Technology; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department 
of Agriculture; STOP 2216; 1400 Independence Avenue SW.; Washington, DC 
20250-2216; Fax: 202-720-0857; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Collection

    Title: VMLRP Veterinarian Shortage Situation Nomination.
    OMB Number: 0524-0046.
    Type of Request: Intent to request OMB approval to renew an 
information collection for VMLRP.
    Abstract: NIFA established a process to designate veterinarian 
shortage situations for the VMLRP as authorized under section 1415A of 
the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act 
of 1977 (NARETPA). This information collection applies to Subpart A of 
7 CFR Part 3431.
    Need and Use of the Information: NIFA publishes an annual 
solicitation in the Federal Register which requests the Animal Health 
Official in each state and insular area to submit the VMLRP 
Veterinarian Shortage Situation Nomination Form for each situation or 
position for which there is a critical shortage of practicing 
veterinarians. This form includes questions requiring checkboxes or 
text with a word limitation to minimize the burden for nominators and 
reviewers. Submitted nomination forms are reviewed and evaluated by a 
panel according to the criteria identified in the published 
solicitation. From these evaluations, the VMLRP Program Director may 
designate the recommended shortage situations and these designations 
are identified in the Request for Applications (RFA) for VMLRP loan 
repayment applications from individual veterinarians.
    Method of Collection: The information collection (nomination form) 
is available on the NIFA Web site and nominators are required to make 
submissions by emailing the completed forms to [email protected].
    Frequency of Response: Annual nominations.
    Type of Respondents: Animal Health Official of each state and 
insular area.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 57 respondents.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 267 respondents (range of 1 to 8 for 
each nominating entity).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 534 hours.
    Request for Comments: Comments submitted in response to this notice 
will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of 
the information collection. All comments will become a matter of public 
record. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the VMLRP, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the public burden estimate (the estimated 
amount of time needed for individual respondents to provide the 
requested information), including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the public 
burden through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.
    Obtaining a Copy of the Information Collection: A copy of the 
information collection and related instructions may be obtained free of 
charge by contacting Jason Hitchcock by telephone, (202) 720-4343, or 
by email, [email protected]. Information is also available at: 
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.


[[Page 23743]]


    Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of April, 2013.
Catherine Woteki,
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 2013-09382 Filed 4-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P