[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63886-63887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26816]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is adopting a proposal to extend for three years, with revision, the 
Procurement Solicitation Package (FR 1400; OMB No. 7100-0180).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.
    OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 
or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board. Board-approved collections of information are 
incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved 
collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of 
information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. 
The Board may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not 
required to respond to, an information collection that has been 
extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    Final approval under OMB delegated authority of the extension for 
three years, with revision, of the following reports:

    Report title: Vendor Database.
    Agency form number: FR 1400A.
    OMB control number: 7100-0180.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: Businesses.
    Estimated number of respondents: 250.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 250.

    Report title: Solicitation Package.
    Agency form number: FR 1400B.
    OMB control number: 7100-0180.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: Businesses.
    Estimated number of respondents: 300.
    Estimated average hours per response: 81.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 24,300.

    Report title: Vendor Risk Management Offeror Questionnaire.
    Agency form number: FR 1400C.
    OMB control number: 7100-0180.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: Businesses.
    Estimated number of respondents: 20.
    Estimated average hours per response: 12.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 240.

    Report title: Subcontracting Report.
    Agency form number: FR 1400D.
    OMB control number: 7100-0180.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Respondents: Businesses.
    Estimated number of respondents: 75.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.5.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 150.

    General description of reports: The Board is continuously seeking 
vendors who are interested in doing business with the Board through 
various outreach events, minority/diversity conferences, meetings, and 
events targeted to either a specific industry classification of vendors 
or an upcoming acquisition. Vendors are encouraged during these efforts 
to register in the Board's database of interested vendors (FR 1400A). 
In announcing an acquisition, Board staff contacts vendors registered 
in the Board database via electronic mail or by telephone, and provides 
the Solicitation Package (FR 1400B) and applicable attachments. The 
Solicitation, Offer, and Award form (SOA) (Attachment A of FR 1400B) is 
required with proposals offered in response to a solicitation issued by 
the Board. The Supplier Information Form (Attachment N of FR 1400B) is 
required for the entry of a vendor into the Board's contract writing 
and invoice payment system. As a result of the criteria used by the 
Board to evaluate proposals, the Solicitation Package may also include 
the Past Performance Data Sheet and Past Performance Questionnaire 
(Attachment I of FR 1400B) if past performance is an evaluation factor. 
Typically, if past performance is considered an evaluation factor, the 
vendor is asked to submit information on up to three previous contracts 
whose effort is recent and relevant to the effort required by the 
solicitation.
    Solicitations that require the vendor to process, store, or 
transmit data from the Board will contain the Vendor Risk Management 
Offeror Questionnaire (FR 1400C). The questionnaire will be specific to 
the security controls surrounding the vendor's proposed application 
that will be used to process, store, or transmit the data. Security 
controls will be defined and prioritized based on the Federal 
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 
(Security Controls and Assessment Procedures for Federal Information 
Systems and Organizations). In addition, for solicitations that have 
subcontracting opportunities and are expected to exceed $100,000 
($300,000 for construction), a non-covered company vendor is required 
to submit a subcontracting plan in its own format, with its proposal. 
Then, if the vendor is the chosen vendor and awarded a contract, the 
vendor is required to provide the quarterly Subcontracting Reports (FR 
1400D) to the Board, which shall document the vendor's participation 
achievement on a cumulative basis. Information from the Subcontracting 
Report is used to assist the Board in fulfilling the requirement in 
Section 342(e) of the Dodd-Frank Act that requires the Board to submit 
to Congress an annual report regarding the fair inclusion of minorities 
and women in contracting.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The FR 1400A is voluntary. 
For prospective vendors that decide to submit proposals to the Board, 
the FR 1400B, 1400C, and 1400D are required to obtain a benefit, in 
order to be eligible for the award of a contract.

[[Page 63887]]

    The FR 1400 is authorized pursuant to sections 10 and 11 of the 
Federal Reserve Act (``FRA''), and section 342(c) of the Dodd-Frank 
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (``Dodd-Frank''). 
Sections 10(3) and 11 of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 243 and 248(l)) grant the 
Board full authority to manage its buildings and its staff. Section 
10(4) of the FRA (12 U.S.C. 244) authorizes the Board to determine and 
prescribe the manner in which its obligations shall be incurred and its 
disbursements and expenses allowed and paid. Therefore, the Board can 
solicit proposals and seek the information in FR 1400 from prospective 
vendors.
    Additionally, the FR 1400 is authorized by section 342(c) of Dodd-
Frank (12 U.S.C. 5452(c)), which requires the Board to develop and 
implement standards and procedures for the review and evaluation of 
contract proposals and for hiring service providers that include a 
component that gives consideration to the diversity of a prospective 
vendor and the fair inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce 
of such vendor and any subcontractor.
    A vendor generally may request confidential treatment for 
information submitted during the solicitation process, and the Board 
will review the request to determine if the data may be kept 
confidential under exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, which 
protects from disclosure trade secrets and commercial or financial 
information (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Current actions: On September 28, 2018, the Board published a 
notice in the Federal Register (83 FR 49092) requesting public comment 
for 60 days on the extension, with revision, of the Procurement 
Solicitation Package. To better assist the Board's competitive vendor 
solicitation process, the Board has revised the FR 1400 by (1) 
reformatting and updating the Solicitation Package, including the 
Solicitation, Offer, and Award Form (SOA), Supplier Information Form, 
Past Performance Data Sheet, and Past Performance Questionnaire (FR 
1400B); (2) adding the Vendor Risk Management Offeror Questionnaire (FR 
1400C); and (3) revising the Subcontracting Report (FR 1400D) to 
improve clarity and gather specific information in accordance with the 
Board's subcontracting goals. Lastly, the Board has discontinued the 
use of the Request for Price Quotation Form (RFP/RFPQ). The purpose of 
the RFPQ form was absorbed into the FR 1400B. The comment period for 
this notice expired on November 27, 2018. The Board did not receive any 
comments. The revisions will be implemented as proposed.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, December 6, 
2018.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-26816 Filed 12-11-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P