[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15210-15212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05658]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Report to Congress Identifying all Federal Financial Assistance 
Programs for Infrastructure Administered by the Department of Education

AGENCY: Office of Finance and Operations, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) publishes a report to 
Congress, dated March 2022, identifying its Federal financial 
assistance programs (programs) that allow for grant funds to be used 
for infrastructure projects, and that also identifies those programs 
that are inconsistent with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
(i.e., they do not require that all of the iron, steel, manufactured 
products, and construction materials used in the project be produced in 
the United States; do not issue waivers to this requirement; or are 
subject to waivers of general applicability).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phillip Juengst, U.S. Department of 
Education, Office of Acquisition and Grants Administration, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5B242, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 
453-6396. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-
877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department publishes this notice 
containing a report to Congress, dated March 2022, identifying its 
programs that allow for grant funds to be used for infrastructure 
projects, and that also identifies those programs that are inconsistent 
with section 70914 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (i.e., 
they do not require that all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, 
and construction materials used in the project be produced in the 
United States; do not issue waivers to this requirement; or are subject 
to waivers of general applicability). The report to Congress is in the 
Appendix of this notice.
    Accessible Format: On request to the contact person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities can 
obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site, you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department, published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit

[[Page 15211]]

your search to documents published by the Department.

Denise L. Carter,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Finance and Operations, and 
Delegated To Perform the Functions and Duties of the Chief Financial 
Officer.

Appendix--Report to Congress Identifying all Federal Financial 
Assistance Programs for Infrastructure Administered by the Department 
of Education

March 2022

Preface

    The Report to Congress Identifying all Federal Financial 
Assistance Programs for Infrastructure Administered by the U.S. 
Department of Education identifies the Department of Education's 
(Department's) Federal financial assistance programs (programs) that 
allow for grant funds to be used for infrastructure projects, and 
identifies those programs that are inconsistent with section 70914 
of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Pub. L. 117-58 (that 
is, they do not require that all of the iron, steel, manufactured 
products, and construction materials used in the project be produced 
in the United States; do not issue waivers to this requirement; or 
are subject to waivers of general applicability).
    The report consists of a Summary section that addresses whether 
the Department's programs identified in the report include domestic 
content procurement preferences and provides details on any 
applicable domestic content procurement preference. The Summary 
section also addresses whether programs have waiver provisions to 
these preferences in place or are subject to waivers of general 
applicability. The report also includes Exhibits listing the 
Department programs that allow for grant funds to be used for 
infrastructure projects. The Exhibits include the Department's 
program office names, the program titles, the Assistance Listing 
Numbers (ALNs); the award types; and the type of infrastructure 
activity permitted under the programs (that is, construction and/or 
broadband infrastructure activities).

Section I. Summary

    This report is submitted in accordance with section 70913 of the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Public Law 117-58 (the Act or 
IIJA), which requires Federal agencies to submit to Congress and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and publish in the Federal 
Register, a report listing all Federal financial assistance programs 
for infrastructure administered by Federal agencies. The report must 
identify those programs that do not have an established domestic 
content procurement preference for which Federal financial 
assistance may not be obligated unless: (1) All iron and steel used 
in the project will be produced in the United States; (2) the 
manufactured products used in the project will be produced in the 
United States; or (3) the construction materials used in the project 
will be produced in the United States. These requirements are 
defined and established in sections 70912(2) and 70914 of the Act. 
Additionally, the report must identify which of those programs that 
have established domestic content procurement preferences in place 
also allow waivers to these preferences or allow for waivers of 
general applicability to be issued (see section 70914(b)(c) and (d) 
of the Act).
    The Department's financial assistance programs provide services 
from early intervention services to employment training programs. 
Many of these programs provide grants to states or local educational 
agencies and support students and families from vulnerable 
populations, including children with disabilities and those from 
disadvantaged backgrounds. These programs also provide grants and 
loans to postsecondary students and facilitate research that 
examines ways that states, schools, districts, and postsecondary 
institutions can improve America's education system. Generally, 
grants under these programs do not engage in infrastructure; 
specifically, they do not acquire real property or engage in 
construction activities, in accordance with prohibitions in the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations sections 
75.533 and 76.533.
    Although these programs are generally not focused on funding 
infrastructure, a number of the Department's programs do authorize 
infrastructure projects in their statutes or regulations. Three 
Department program offices, the Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education (OESE), the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), and 
the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), 
administer programs that could allow for infrastructure projects 
primarily in accordance with subparagraph (K) of the 
``infrastructure'' definition established in section 70912(5) of the 
Act. A smaller number of programs allow infrastructure projects 
under subparagraph (J). A total of 38 programs are identified within 
this report. Section 70912(5) of the Act provides that:
    (5) INFRASTRUCTURE. The term ``infrastructure'' includes, at a 
minimum, the structures, facilities, and equipment for, in the 
United States--
    (A) roads, highways, and bridges;
    (B) public transportation;
    (C) dams, ports, harbors, and other maritime facilities;
    (D) intercity passenger and freight railroads;
    (E) freight and intermodal facilities;
    (F) airports;
    (G) water-systems, including drinking water and wastewater 
systems;
    (H) electrical transmission facilities and systems;
    (I) utilities;
    (J) broadband infrastructure; and
    (K) buildings and real property.
    While the identified programs may be considered infrastructure 
programs in accordance with subparagraphs (J) and (K) of this 
definition, generally their focus is not primarily infrastructure. 
Most projects awarded Federal financial assistance under these 
programs focus on other allowable and required activities and do not 
engage in infrastructure activities.
    Although the identified programs do not have domestic content 
procurement preferences established in program statute and 
regulations, and thus do not provide for waivers of such 
requirements, the Department supports the administration's efforts 
of strengthening the use of Federal financial assistance to support 
American manufacturing by ensuring that the following as established 
in 2 CFR 200.322 is applicable to projects funded under the 
identified programs:
    (a) As appropriate and to the extent consistent with law, the 
non-Federal entity should, to the greatest extent practicable under 
a Federal award, provide a preference for the purchase, acquisition, 
or use of goods, products, or materials produced in the United 
States (including but not limited to iron, aluminum, steel, cement, 
and other manufactured products). The requirements of this section 
must be included in all subawards including all contracts and 
purchase orders for work or products under this award.
    (b) For purposes of this section:
    (1) ``Produced in the United States'' means, for iron and steel 
products, that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting 
stage through the application of coatings, occurred in the United 
States.
    (2) ``Manufactured products'' means items and construction 
materials composed in whole or in part of non-ferrous metals such as 
aluminum; plastics and polymer-based products such as polyvinyl 
chloride pipe; aggregates such as concrete; glass, including optical 
fiber; and lumber.
    By referencing 2 CFR 200.322 within the Grant Award 
Notifications it issues to grantees under these programs, the 
Department requires compliance with 2 CFR 200.322.
    This report reflects the Department's initial analysis of 
programs and associated Buy America requirements. After OMB develops 
and releases implementation guidance subject to section 70915 of the 
Act, the Department will work closely with OMB to ensure that 
appropriate agency programs that are subject to Build America, Buy 
America requirements are administered with those requirements in 
place. This initial analysis is based on the Department's current 
understanding of information contained in the law and information 
received to date from OMB regarding the implementation of IIJA 
section 70915. The Department's intention was to be inclusive of all 
programs that could potentially fall under these requirements, but 
this initial analysis is subject to change upon further evaluation 
by the Department and new guidance from OMB.

Section II. Exhibits

    For each reported program, the Exhibits that follow identify the 
program office names, the program titles, the ALNs, the award types; 
and the type of infrastructure activity permitted under the programs 
(that is, construction and/or broadband infrastructure activities).

[[Page 15212]]



                             Exhibit 1--OESE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Program title                 ALN              Award type
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Impact Aid Program,                     84.041C  Discretionary.
 Discretionary Construction
 Program.
Per Pupil Facilities Program...         84.282D  Discretionary.
Charter Schools Program Grants          84.354A  Discretionary.
 for Credit Enhancement for
 Charter School Facilities.
Alaska Native Education........         84.356A  Discretionary.
Education of Native Hawaiians..         84.362A  Discretionary.
Education Stabilization Fund            84.425A  Formula.
 Allocation for Outlying Areas.
Governors Emergency Education           84.425C  Formula.
 Relief Fund.
Elementary and Secondary School         84.425D  Formula.
 Emergency Relief Fund.
Governors Education                     84.425H  Formula.
 Stabilization Fund Allocation
 for Outlying Areas.
American Rescue Plan--                  84.425U  Formula.
 Elementary and Secondary
 Schools Emergency Relief Fund
 (ARP-ESSER).
American Rescue Plan--Outlying          84.425X  Formula.
 Areas SEA (ARP-OA SEA).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                             Exhibit 2--OPE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Program title                 ALN              Award type
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strengthening Institutions              84.031A  Discretionary.
 Program (SIP).
Historically Black Colleges and         84.031B  Discretionary.
 Universities Program.
American Indian Tribally                84.031D  Discretionary.
 Controlled Colleges and
 Universities (Part F).
Historically Black Colleges and         84.031E  Discretionary.
 Universities Program (FUTURE
 Act).
Strengthening Institutions              84.031F  Discretionary.
 Program (SIP).
Strengthening Historically              84.031K  Discretionary.
 Black Graduate Institutions
 Program.
Promoting Postbaccalaureate             84.031M  Discretionary.
 Opportunities for Hispanic
 Americans Program.
Predominantly Black                     84.031P  Discretionary.
 Institutions Program--Formula
 Grants.
Developing Hispanic-Serving             84.031S  Discretionary.
 Institutions Program.
American Indian Tribally                84.031T  Discretionary.
 Controlled Colleges and
 Universities.
Asian American and Native               84.382B  Discretionary.
 American Pacific Islander-
 Serving Institutions Program.
Historically Black Colleges and         84.382G  Discretionary.
 Universities (Graduate).
Howard University (Academic)...         84.915A  Formula.
Howard University (Hospital)...         84.915B  Formula.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                            Exhibit 3--OSERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Program title                 ALN              Award type
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Grants--B (611)..........         84.027A  Formula.
Individuals with Disabilities           84.027X  Formula.
 Education Act/American Rescue
 Plan Act of 2021 (ARP).
State Vocational Rehabilitation         84.126A  Formula.
 Services (VR).
STATE GRANT--B PRESCHOOL (619).         84.173A  Formula.
Individuals with Disabilities           84.173X  Formula.
 Education Act/American Rescue
 Plan Act of 2021 (ARP).
INFANT & TODDLERS/FAMILIES              84.181A  Formula.
 (PART C).
Individuals with Disabilities           84.181X  Formula.
 Education Act/American Rescue
 Plan Act of 2021 (ARP).
Helen Keller National Center...         84.904A  Discretionary.
National Technical Institute            84.908A  Formula.
 for the Deaf (NTID).
NTID Endowment Program.........         84.908B  Formula.
NTID COVID.....................         84.908D  Formula.
Gallaudet University...........         84.910A  Formula.
Gallaudet COVID Relief.........         84.910B  Formula.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department of Education's mission is to promote student 
achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering 
educational excellence and ensuring equal access. www.ed.gov

[FR Doc. 2022-05658 Filed 3-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P