Supporting Statements Final

United States Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
SUBJECT:

Supporting Statement for the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission to Extend and
Revise Information Collection OMB No. 0524-0038, Certification of Offset and
Entitlement

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1.

CIRCUMSTANCES MAKING COLLECTION OF INFORMATION NECESSARY
The purpose of this collection of information is to ensure the availability of matching
funds for the formula funds provided to CSREES cooperating institutions, most of which
are 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant Institutions
The requirements for this collection are specified in section 226 of the Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA). Section 226 of
AREERA amends Subtitle G of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NSRETPA) by adding a new section 1449. This section
requires matching funds from non-Federal sources for formula funds authorized under
sections 1444 and 1445 of NARETPA for extension and research activities at the 1890
land-grant institutions, including Tuskegee University and West Virginia State College.
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Similar requirements also exist for the following formula funds. Federal Funds
Authorized for Appropriation Under the Act of Congress of September 29, 1977
[National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Policy Act of 1977.
Subtitle E-Animal Health and Disease Research] 7 U.S.C. 3191-3201
Regular Funds Authorized Under Section 3 (b) & (c) of the Smith-Lever Act
CSRS Retirement Funds Authorized Under Section 3 (c) of the Smith-Lever Act
FERS Retirement Funds Authorized Under Section 3 (c) of the Smith-Lever Act
Special Needs Formula Funds Authorized Under Section 3 (b) of the Smith-Lever
Act
Federal Funds Authorized for Appropriation Under the Act of Congress of
August 11, 1955 [Hatch Act, as Amended] 7 U.S.C. 361a-361i
Federal Funds Authorized for Appropriation Under the Act of Congress of August
11, 1955 [Hatch Act, as Amended] 7 U.S.C. 361a-361i
Federal Funds Authorized for Appropriation Under the Act of Congress of
October 10, 1962 [McIntire-Stennis Act] 16 U.S.C. 582a-582a-7

In addition to extending the current information collection, Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is proposing to revise the current title of the
form from “Certification of Offset and Entitlement for 1890 Land-Grant Institutions” to
“Certification of Offset and Entitlement” as the form would apply to all CSREES
cooperating institutions required to certify that matching funds are available. See
Attachment 1.
1

2.

HOW, BY WHOM, AND THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH THE INFORMATION IS TO
BE USED
These forms will be received by the Funds Management Section (FMS) of the Office of
Extramural Programs of CSREES at the beginning of each fiscal year prior to the
distribution of funds. FMS will review these forms to determine if the annual matching
requirements have been met. Institutions will again be required to complete this form
when the final formula allocations are made later in the fiscal year and when any
unmatched funds are redistributed to the other eligible institutions.

3.

USE OF IMPROVED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Eligible CSREES cooperating institutions may submit Form CSREES-2103, Certification
of Offset and Entitlement, either in hard copy format via conventional mail, via a
facsimile machine or pdf format via e-mail. In order to be in compliance with the
Government Paperwork Elimination Act (44 U.S.C. 3504 note) CSREES is in the process
of developing a pilot for the submission of required forms via Grants.gov for one of
CSREES formula grant programs (i.e., formula funds provided under the McIntireStennis Cooperative Forestry Research Act). CSREES requests permission to make the
Forms CSREES-2103A-E available on the CSREES website.

4.

EFFORTS TO IDENTIFICATION
No duplication of effort will be involved. The information contained on Forms CSREES2103A-E will not be available through any other report or form.

5.

METHODS TO MINIMIZE BUDGET OF SMALL BUSINESSES OR ENTITIES
This information collection will have no impact on small businesses or small entities as
the respondents are CSREES cooperating institutions.

6.

CONSEQUENCE IF INFORMATION COLLECTION WERE LESS FREQUENT
The agricultural research and extension formula funds are allocated on an annual basis;
therefore, it is necessary to collect this information each fiscal year. Failure by the
institution to promptly provide this information may result in the withholding of funds,
and an inability to meet the full matching requirement will result in the redistribution of
funds in accordance with the statutorily mandated distribution formulas applicable to
these funds. Consequently, it is critical that CSREES receive this information each fiscal
year to ensure that all allocated formula funds have been properly matched for the fiscal
year prior to the distribution of the funds to the institutions.

7.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR INFORMATION COLLECTION
There are no special circumstances for this information collection.

2

8.

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE
Notice of intent to request an extension of a currently approved information collection
was published in the Federal Register, dated Thursday, December, 8, 2005, page 72982.
See Attachment 2 for a copy of the notice and Attachment 3 for a list of the grantees
surveyed. No comments were received.
CONSULTATIONS WITH PERSONS OUTSIDE THE AGENCY
CSREES has consulted with the 1890 Institutions regarding the burden of this
information collection. See Attachments 3 and 4.

9.

DECISION TO PROVIDE ANY PAYMENT OR GIFT TO RESPONDENTS, OTHER
THAN REMUNERATION OF CONTRACTORS OR GRANTEES
There are no plans to provide any payments or gifts to respondents.

10.

CONFIDENTIALITY PROVIDED TO RESPONDENTS
No Privacy and/or confidentiality issues are anticipated with this information collection.

11.

QUESTIONS OF A SENSITIVE NATURE
No information of a sensitive nature will be requested.

12.

ESTIMATE OF BURDEN
Estimate of the Burden: The total reporting and recordkeeping requirements for the
submission of Form CSREES-2103, Certification of Offset and Entitlement is estimated
to average 3.6 hours per response.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 96.
Estimated Number of Responses: 838.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 3,016.8 hours.
Frequency of Responses: Three times a year.
See Attachment 5 for worksheet on average burden hours and Attachment 6 for the
worksheet on total burden hours. Also see Attachment 7 for the estimate of the total
annualized cost.

13.

CAPITAL/STARTUP COSTS
There are no capital or startup costs.

14.

ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
See Attachment 8 for the estimated annualized cost to the Federal Government.

3

15.

REASONS FOR CHANGE IN BURDEN.
There is an increase of 2,629 in the annual burden hours due to program changes. This
form was original used only for Certifications of Offset and Entitlement for 1890 LandGrant Institutions, and has been expanded to ensure all of the cooperating institutions
(1890 and 1862 Land-Grant Institutions, state agriculture experiment stations, schools of
veterinary medicine, and certified forestry schools) have the necessary matching funds.

16.

TABULATION, ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION PLANS
The information collected is not planned for publication. It is used solely to administer
the program.

17.

SEEKING APPROVAL TO NOT DISPLAY THE EXPIRATION DATE FOR OMB
APPROVAL OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION ON FORMS
No approval is requested.

18.

EXCEPTION(S) TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT (19) ON OMB 83-1
A certification exception is not requested.

B.

COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Information to be collected will not employ statistical methods.

4

Attachments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

5

Form CSREES-2103A-E, Certification of Offset and Entitlement
Copy of Notice of Intent to Revise a Current Approved Information Collection –
“Certification of Offset and Entitlement”
List of Seven Institutions Surveyed for This Collection of Information
Worksheet of Average Burden Hours
Worksheet of Total Burden Hours
Worksheet of Total Costs
Worksheet of Salary Costs to CSREES-USDA
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement