[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77187-77188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26524]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DOD-2020-OS-0101]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and 
Sustainment, Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Information collection notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment 
announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public 
comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and ways to minimize the

[[Page 77188]]

burden of the information collection on respondents, including through 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by February 
1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: The DoD cannot receive written comments at this time due to 
the COVID-19 pandemic. Comments should be sent electronically to the 
docket listed above.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to OUSD(A&S) Chief 
Information Security Office, 3015 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC. 
Attn: Ms. Katherine Arrington, 703-695-9332.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Trusted Capital Digital 
Marketplace Application; OMB Control Number 0704-XXXX.
    Needs and Uses: Per the authority vested in the Secretary of 
Defense (SECDEF) by Section 1711 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act of 2018, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for 
Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)) has proposed a ``Trusted 
Capital'' initiative in the form of a public-private partnership 
designed to convene trusted sources of private capital with innovative 
companies critical to the defense industrial base (DIB) and national 
security. The initiative includes establishment of a Trusted Capital 
Digital Marketplace (TCDM) to facilitate business relationships between 
eligible investors (``Capital Providers'') and eligible small and 
medium-sized businesses that have been ``down-selected'' by Department 
of Defense (DoD) Components based on relevancy, technical merit, 
business viability, or innovativeness (``Capability Providers''). The 
COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the criticality of the security and 
resiliency of defense supply chains. The Federal emergency enabled DoD 
to accelerate initiatives to identify constraints and risks in our 
supply chains that were initially identified in the Executive Order 
(E.O.) 13806 report, which was published in 2018. One of the risk 
archetypes identified in the report is foreign dependency on capital 
and supply chains. Although DoD will always have a diverse, domestic 
and international supply chain, we recognize that this comes with some 
risk. COVID-19 magnified that risk and the difficulties of offshore 
sources of capital and supply in times of global emergencies. The 
OUSD(A&S) Trusted Capital program offers critical technology companies 
an alternative to adversarial capital. To accomplish this important 
national security mission the Trusted Capital program requires the 
ability to gather data required to conduct national security and supply 
chain due-diligence to prioritize ``trusted'' sources of commercial 
capital to offset direct financial distress in the DIB and support our 
partners affected by the virus with investments and local job creation. 
Information collected will be used in determining an applicant's 
eligibility for TCDM participation. Parties will complete an electronic 
application and be subjected to a due diligence screening process to 
assess for adversarial foreign ownership, influence, or control--as 
well as other national security risks. In the event additional 
information is necessary to process an application, additional 
inquiries may be sent to the applicant. Applicants that receive a 
favorable due diligence screening adjudication by OUSD(A&S) will be 
approved for TCDM participation. In addition to initial application 
requirements, participants will be subject to continuous reporting 
obligations.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Annual Burden Hours: 450 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 300.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Annual Responses: 300.
    Average Burden per Response: 1.5 hours.
    Frequency: Annually.

    Dated: November 25, 2020.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2020-26524 Filed 11-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P