[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 188 (Monday, September 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60770-60771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21355]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2020-SCC-0154]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting Under CARES Act Sections 
18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, 18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3)

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education 
(ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an 
emergency review of a new information collection.

DATES: The Department is requesting emergency processing and OMB 
approval for this information collection by October 5, 2020; and 
therefore, the Department is requesting public comments by that date. A 
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated to provide the 
public with the opportunity to comment under the full comment period. 
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 
27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2020-SCC-0154. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W208D, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Jack Cox, 202-453-6134.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 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 the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting 
under CARES Act Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, 
18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3).
    OMB Control Number: 1840-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local, and 
Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 20,680.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 41,360.
    Abstract: Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 
(March 27, 2020), authorizes the Secretary of Education to allocate 
formula grant funds to participating institutions of higher educations 
(IHEs). Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act allows the IHEs to use up to 
one-half of the total funds received to cover any costs associated with 
the significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the 
coronavirus (with specific exceptions). Section 18004(a)(2) of the 
CARES Act authorizes the Secretary to make awards under parts A and B 
of title III, parts A and B of title V, and subpart 4 of part A of 
title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (``HEA''), to

[[Page 60771]]

address needs directly related to the coronavirus. These awards are in 
addition to awards made in Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.
    Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act, Pub. authorizes the Secretary 
to allocate funds for part B of Title VII of the HEA, for IHEs that the 
Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs related to 
coronavirus. This information collection request includes the quarterly 
budget and expenditure reporting form that will be used by grantees 
under these sections.
    Additional Information: An emergency clearance approval for the use 
of the system is described below due to the following conditions: If 
this emergency collection is not approved, the Department will be 
unable to effectively monitor the use of funds by grantees that have 
received awards under these sections.
    Directed Question: The Department acknowledges the perception that 
this public reporting instrument may appear to be duplicative to the 
annual report form that is in preliminary development and will be 
submitted to the Department in 2021 (Federal Register/Vol. 85, No. 146/
Wednesday, July 29, 2020). As such, the Department specifically 
welcomes comment on the relationship between the two instruments and 
how it might reduce any possible duplication.

Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-21355 Filed 9-25-20; 8:45 am]
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