[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 18 (Thursday, January 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4899-4901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1751]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 3090-0290;Docket No. 2010-0002; Sequence 20]
Submission for OMB Review; OMB Control No. 3090-0290; Central
Contractor Registration Requirements for Prime Grant Recipients
AGENCY: Office of Technology Strategy/Office of Governmentwide Policy,
General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments regarding a new OMB
information clearance.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and
approve an emergency new information collection requirement regarding
Central Contractor Registration Requirements for Prime Grant
Recipients.
Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
functions of the Central Contractor Registration Requirements for Prime
Grant Recipients, whether it will have practical utility; whether our
estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is
accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use
of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
DATES: Submit comments on or before February 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 3090-
0290, Central Contractor Registration Requirements for Prime Grant
Recipients by any of the following methods:
Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by inputting ``Information
Collection 3090-0290, Central Contractor Registration Requirements for
Prime Grant Recipients'' under the heading ``Enter Keyword or ID'' and
selecting ``Search''. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that
corresponds with ``Information Collection 3090-0290, Central Contractor
Registration Requirements for Prime Grant Recipients''. Follow the
instructions provided at the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. Please
include your name, company name (if any), and ``Information Collection
3090-0290, Central Contractor Registration Requirements for Prime Grant
Recipients'' on your attached document.
Fax: 202-501-4067.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN:
Hada Flowers/IC 3090-0290.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information
Collection 3090-0290, Central Contractor Registration Requirements for
Prime Grant Recipients, in all correspondence related to this
collection. All comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business
confidential information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Janice Miller, Program Analyst,
Office of Technology Strategy/Office of Governmentwide Policy, at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
This information collection requires information necessary for
prime awardee registration into the FFATA Subaward Reporting System
(FSRS) and review of its entity-related information. This will allow
for prime awardee reporting of subaward and executive compensation data
pursuant to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
(FFATA, or Transparency Act). This information collection requires that
all prime grant awardees, subject to reporting under the Transparency
Act register and maintain their registration in CCR.
B. Discussion of Public Comments
Rename the Central Contractor Registration to more accurately
reflect its new purpose. Four comments were received expressing concern
regarding the name of the Central Contractor Registration. Two
respondents suggested that if it is necessary to have prime grantees
maintain registration in a centralized database of all Federal
awardees, that the registry be renamed to reinforce the statutory
distinction between acquisition and assistance awards. Since
nongovernmental organizations accept only assistance awards
(cooperative agreements) from the U.S. Government, they are recognized
as an independent, non-state actor that provides technical assistance
through a people-to-people approach. As they are not agents of the U.S.
Government, they feel that requiring grantees to register in a
``contractor'' registry would, by virtue of association, negate the
distinction between assistance and acquisition, and could result in
confusion about their role in implementing programs overseas. Two
respondents believe that OMB should recognize that use of the term
``contractor'' in a requirement that is now being applied to recipients
of grants and cooperative agreements is likely to have a problematic
impact because of the documented tendency on the part of some Federal
agencies to improperly differentiate between acquisition and assistance
instruments, and that this has often been the case in Federal agencies
that fund projects that are performed overseas. These respondents
suggest that OMB consider changing the nomenclature, at some future
date, to the Central Contractor and Grantee Registry to reinforce the
statutory distinction derived from the Federal Grant and Cooperative
Agreement Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-224).
Response: GSA acknowledges that the Central Contractor Registration
(CCR) is now used by and supports both the contracts and grants
communities. The registration services it provides are no longer
limited to contractors alone. GSA also acknowledges the name CCR is not
inclusive of the full range of registration services provided. Instead
of renaming the system, however, GSA is
[[Page 4900]]
undertaking a restructuring of the supporting architecture to define
consolidated, streamlined business services. CCR is the first migration
group of existing, government-wide systems moving to this new
architecture, known as the System for Award Management (SAM). The new
system will provide the same capabilities found in the Federal
procurement and award systems today--streamlined for efficiency and
supported by common services to reduce costs and improve data quality.
The business service for entity management with SAM will incorporate a
restructured registration process better suited to the needs of both
the contracts and grants communities as well as the ability to manage
certifications and representations. While CCR will cease to exist as an
independent application, the Web address for CCR (https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx) will remain active for a period of time following the
migration redirecting users to SAM where registration business services
will be provided.
Foreign Assistance Awards. One respondent urged GSA and OMB to
withdraw this notice until consultations can be had on less burdensome
and more appropriate accountability procedures for international
development and humanitarian relief nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) implementing Federal funding that will not increase the security
risks for organizations and staff in the field.
Response: OMB and GSA sought to reduce burden on prime awardees
while providing a means to report subaward activity pursuant to the
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (Transparency Act).
This information collection requires that all prime grant awardees
subject to reporting under the Transparency Act register and maintain
their active registration in CCR. The Transparency Act does not allow
for exemptions for foreign assistance awards. This registration enables
significant data reuse within the FSRS and other government systems,
while increasing data quality. OMB will continue to work with all prime
recipients' concerns to identify the least burdensome methods for
reporting, recognizing the need to ensure the safety and security of
certain foreign assistance recipients. As Transparency Act reporting
matures, GSA welcomes specific recommendations on how to minimize
reporting burden while complying with the Act's requirements.
Burden Imposed. Three comments were received regarding the burden
of this information collection. One respondent commented that regarding
the GSA estimate of 23,358 respondents, each respondent is expected to
submit one response with a calculated entry time of one hour per
response appears only to reflect a one-time estimation of the reporting
burden on the prime without considering the subsequent efforts that
would need to be made over the lifetime of an award by both prime and
subawardees to maintain the accuracy of the information. One respondent
stated that the notice does not offer estimates of the direct or
indirect costs associated with collection, entry and maintenance of
prime and subawardee records and that, given the time and funding
required to meet the requirement in full, it would be difficult for
U.S.-based international NGOs with hundreds of subawards and limited
budgets to meet the reporting deadline for each subrecipient without
dedicating a substantial number of new additional administrative
personnel. Another respondent commented that it appears from the
precision of the data used to identify the number of respondents
(23,358), GSA is relying on a specific source rather than simply
estimating a number. But because there is no identification about where
these data on respondents comes from, it is virtually impossible to
assess whether they are accurate or based on valid assumptions and
methodologies. The respondent requests that GSA and OMB publish
additional information about the sources of data in the request so that
they can be assessed in accordance with the letter and spirit of the
Paperwork Reduction Act. They also add that the simple round number of
1 hour per response identified in the estimate belies the effort that
they and other similarly situated organizations would be required to
undertake. One respondent requested that the burden estimate be re-
evaluated.
Response: The figure of 23,358 grants respondents was derived from
the number of grantees who are not currently registered in CCR. This
number is based on the total number of unique prime grant awardees
reporting into USAspending.gov over all years (80,625), minus the total
number of Recovery Act-funded prime grant awardees who are currently
required under FederalReporting.gov to register in CCR (55,267). The
resulting remainder, 23,358, constitutes the total number of new prime
grant awardees who may not be currently registered in CCR, and will, as
a result of this revision, be required to register in the system. This
figure may be an overestimate given that prime grant awardees may also
be Federal contractors who, under this existing collection, are
required to register in CCR. This figure may also be an overestimate to
the extent that any grant awardee whose award amount is reimbursed
through the Department of the Treasury's Secure Payment System is also
already required to register in CCR; and because not all prime grant
awardees will be required to register in CCR, if no reporting under
FFATA is required. Because these are new statutory requirements for
reporting, GSA has provided its best estimates based on available
information. Where the public is encouraged to provide specific burden
estimates associated with this reporting requirement, GSA will continue
to review and revise these burden estimates as more information becomes
available.
Purpose of the Information Collection Request. One respondent asked
what this ICR really does and why was it an emergency new information
collection requirement.
Response: This information collection requires that all prime grant
awardees subject to reporting under FFATA register and maintain their
registration in CCR. Emergency review and clearance of this new
information collection requirement is essential to the implementation
of FFATA. Without expedited OMB review and approval, prime grant
awardees would not have been able to report subaward and executive
compensation data pursuant to FFATA's transparency requirements for new
grant awards as of October 1, 2010. The CCR was developed to centralize
awardee information. This collection will leverage the central
clearinghouse capacity of CCR to ensure that prime grant awardees have
minimal burden in providing the Federal Government with its identifying
information. This will ensure that the information provided to the
Federal Government once will be used multiple times to facilitate
multiple reporting requirements for prime grant awardees pursuant to
FFATA.
C. Annual Reporting Burden
Respondents: 23,358.
Responses Per Respondent: 1.
Hours Per Response: 1.
Total Burden Hours: 23,358.
Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the
information collection documents from the General Services
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control
No. 3090-0290, Central Contractor Registration Requirements
[[Page 4901]]
for Prime Grant Recipients, in all correspondence.
Dated: January 21, 2011.
Casey Coleman,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-1751 Filed 1-26-11; 8:45 am]
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