[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 168 (Friday, August 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53318-53319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18942]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

August 25, 2020.
    The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information 
collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date 
of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding: 
Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology. Comments regarding these information collections are best 
assured of having their full effect if received by September 28, 2020. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs

[[Page 53319]]

potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information 
that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Agricultural Marketing Service

    Title: Generic Information Collection and Clearance of Qualitative 
Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.
    OMB Control Number: 0581-0269.
    Summary of Collection: Executive Order 12862 directs Federal 
agencies to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the 
best service available in the private sector. Improving Agricultural 
Marketing Service (AMS) programs requires ongoing assessment of service 
delivery, by which we mean systematic review of the operation of a 
program compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a means 
of contributing to the continuous improvement of the program.
    Need and Use of the Information: The information collection 
activity will garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in 
an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's 
commitment to improving service delivery. By qualitative feedback we 
mean information that provides useful insights on perceptions and 
opinions, but are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative 
results that can be generalized to the population of study. This 
feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder 
perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of 
issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, 
training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or 
services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and 
actionable communications between AMS and its customers and 
stakeholders. It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management. Feedback collected under this 
generic clearance will provide useful information, but it will not 
yield data that can be generalized to the overall population. This type 
of generic clearance for qualitative information will not be used for 
quantitative information collections that are designed to yield 
reliably actionable results, such as monitoring trends over time or 
documenting program performance. Such data uses require more rigorous 
designs that address: The target population to which generalizations 
will be made, the sampling frame, the sample design (including 
stratification and clustering), the precision requirements or power 
calculations that justify the proposed sample size, the expected 
response rate, methods for assessing potential non-response bias, the 
protocols for data collection, and any testing procedures that were or 
will be undertaken prior fielding the study. Depending on the degree of 
influence the results are likely to have, such collections may still be 
eligible for submission for other generic mechanisms that are designed 
to yield quantitative results.
    Description of Respondents: Farms; Business or other for-profit; 
Not-for-profit Institutions and State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 100,000.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 50,000.

Agricultural Marketing Service

    Title: USDA Web Based Supply Chain Management System (WBSCM).
    OMB Control Number: 0581-0273.
    Summary of Collection: Section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935, as 
amended (Section 32 Pub. L. 74-320; 7 U.S.C. 612(c); Sections 6(a) and 
(e), 13, and 17 of the National School Lunch Act, as amended, (42 
U.S.C. 1751, 1761, and 1766) in addition to several other acts 
authorize the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Procurement Branches 
to prepare and issue announcements for the purchase and sale of 
perishable agricultural commodities. AMS purchases agricultural 
commodities for the Section 32 and 6a & e National School Lunch 
Program/Child & Adult Care Food Program; Nutrition Service Incentive 
Program; Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations; Commodity 
Supplemental Food Program; The Emergency Food Assistance Program and 
Disaster Feeding in addition to providing support for commodity markets 
with surplus inventory.
    Need and Use of the Information: AMS issues solicitation for offers 
in order to solicit bids for commodities for delivery to domestic 
nutrition assistance programs. Vendors respond by making electronic 
offers using the secure Web Based Supply Chain Management System 
(WBSCM). Vendors must be registered, and have an ID and password, in 
order to submit bids electronically through WBSCM via the internet. The 
information will change in response to the needs of the domestic 
feeding programs and each solicitation. Information collected has been 
consolidated into three processes--a New Vendor Application, Bid 
Solicitation, and Contract Delivery, Invoice Submission and Inspection 
Results. The data collected from vendors assists AMS with making a 
determination whether a business is viable and capable of supplying 
product to the Federal government.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit; Farms.
    Number of Respondents: 330.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion; Weekly; Monthly; 
Quarterly.
    Total Burden Hours: 48,376.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-18942 Filed 8-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P