[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 183 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57882-57883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20538]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0117]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Build 
America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic Sourcing Requirements 
Waiver--United States Department of Education BABAA Waiver Request Form

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OS), 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 collection.

DATES: The Department is requesting emergency processing and OMB 
approval for this information collection by 9/30/2022; and therefore, 
the Department is requesting public comments by September 30, 2022. 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 
21, 2022.

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-2022-SCC-0117. 
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 6W203, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Pedro Romero, (202) 453-7886.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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 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

[[Page 57883]]

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: Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) 
Domestic Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United States Department of 
Education BABAA Waiver Request Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1894-NEW.
    Type of Review: New Collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 470.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,700.
    Abstract: In accordance with section 70914 of the Build America Buy 
America Act (Pub. L. 117-58 Sec. Sec.  70901-70953) (BABAA), grantees 
funded under the Department's programs that allow funds to be used for 
infrastructure projects (infrastructure programs), i.e., construction 
and broadband infrastructure, may not use their grant funds for these 
infrastructure projects or activities unless they comply with the 
following BABAA sourcing requirements: (1) All iron and steel used in 
the infrastructure project or activity are produced in the United 
States, (2) All manufactured products used in the infrastructure 
project or activity are produced in the United States, and (3) All 
construction materials are manufactured in the United States.
    The Department may, in accordance with sections 70914(b) and (d), 
70921(b), 70935, and 70937 of BABAA, and the Office of Management and 
Budget Memorandum M 22-11, Initial Implementation Guidance on 
Application of Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance 
Programs for Infrastructure, approve waivers to BABAA sourcing 
requirements submitted by grantees under programs it has identified as 
infrastructure programs when it determines that exceptions to these 
requirements apply. The Department may approve, subject to notice and 
comment requirements and the Office of Management and Budget Made in 
America Office (MIAO) review, the types of waivers listed below when 
one or more of the following conditions are met: (1) Public Interest 
Waiver--Applying the BABAA sourcing requirement would be inconsistent 
with the public interest, (2) Non-availability Waiver--The types of 
iron, steel, manufactured products, or construction materials are not 
produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available 
quantities or of a satisfactory quality, and (3) Unreasonable Cost 
Waiver--The inclusion of iron, steel, manufactured products, or 
construction materials produced in the United States will increase the 
cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.
    This is a new information collection, and it includes the following 
two documents: (1) the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic 
Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United States Department of Education 
BABAA Waiver Request Form (BABAA Waiver Request Form); and (2) a 
document listing the BABAA Waiver Request Form data elements.
    Additional Information: Pursuant to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR 1320, the Department 
requests that the following collection of information, Build America, 
Buy America Act (BABAA) Domestic Sourcing Requirements Waiver--United 
States Department of Education BABAA Waiver Request Form (BABAA Waiver 
Request Form), be processed in accordance with section 1320.13 
Emergency Processing. This this information is essential to the 
Department's ability to effectively approve waiver requests for 
Department grantees as required in accordance with section 70914 of the 
Build America Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117-58 Sec. Sec.  70901-70953) 
(BABAA) and OMB Memorandum M 22-11, Initial Implementation Guidance on 
Application of Buy America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance 
Programs for Infrastructure. If normal processing were to be followed, 
ED would not be able to implement the BABAA Waiver Request Form on 
October 1, 2022, which is the date that it must implement BABAA 
requirements under its currently OMB approved adjustment period waiver. 
Delays in implementing resulting from normal processing would likely 
result in overall delays to critically important project goals and 
objectives and would inhibit grant infrastructure projects and 
activities from moving forward.

    Dated: September 19, 2022.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-20538 Filed 9-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P