[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 241 (Monday, December 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71866-71867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27450]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

December 15, 2021.
    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. 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 this information collection received by January 
19, 2022 will be considered. 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 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 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.

[[Page 71867]]

Food and Nutrition Service

    Title: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Emergency 
Allotments (COVID-19).
    OMB Control Number: 0584-0652.
    Summary of Collection: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act 
of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-127), enacted March 18, 2020, includes a general 
provision that allows the Department of Agriculture to issue emergency 
allotments (EA) based on a public health emergency declaration by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services under Section 319 of the Public 
Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a State has 
also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.
    Need and Use of the Information: The purpose for this collection is 
for FNS to implement administrative actions in response to the current 
economic crisis resulting from the pandemic. FNS distributed updated 
State guidance on April 1, 2021, outlining a new approach for States to 
calculate EA, which provides greater equity for households most in 
need. In addition to outlining a new EA minimum benefit policy, the 
updated guidance describes an EA phase-out process States may request 
and use when their State-level emergency declaration expiration date is 
coming up. The State agency process for requesting EA, as outlined in 
the April 2021 guidance, remains generally unchanged, though the State 
must now confirm that the State's emergency or disaster declaration 
remains active when requesting EA.
    FNS reviews request for approval to provide EA to households to 
bring all households up to the maximum benefit allowable due to 
pandemic related economic conditions. Because the EA waiver increases 
the monthly benefit of participants above the amount originally 
anticipated for this fiscal year, the amount of benefits issued and 
redeemed are carefully tracked to ensure FNS does not exceed its 
appropriation. As such, it is necessary for FNS to collect information 
from State agencies operating EA on a more frequent basis than would be 
reported normally.
    Description of Respondents: (53) State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 53.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Recordkeeping Once, On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 763.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-27450 Filed 12-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P