FederalReporting.gov Recipient Registration System supporting statement

Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act

“FederalReporting.gov Recipient Registration System” for Reporting under Section 1512 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5

A. Justification.

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Section 1512 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), enacted on February 17, 2009, requires recipients of Recovery Act funds to report on the use of those funds. These reports are to be submitted to FederalReporting.gov, and certain information from these reports will later be posted to the publically available website Recovery.gov.

The FederalReporting.gov Recipient Registration System (FRRS) was developed to protect the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (the Board) and FederalReporting.gov users from individuals seeking to gain unauthorized access to user accounts on FederalReporting.gov. FRRS is used for the purposes of verifying the identity of the user; allowing users to establish an account on FederalReporting.gov; providing users access to their FederalReporting.gov account for reporting data; allowing users to customize, update, or terminate their accounts with FederalReporting.gov; renewing or revoking a user’s account on FederalReporting.gov; and supporting the FederalReporting.gov help desk functions. The information is used to provide authenticated protected access to FederalReporting.gov, thereby protecting FederalReporting.gov and FederalReporting.gov users from potential harm caused by individuals with malicious intentions gaining unauthorized access to the system.

To assist in this goal, FRRS will collect a registrant’s name, email address, telephone number and extension, three security questions and answers, and, by way of a DUNS number, organization information. (See the attached Information Collection Instrument.) The person registering for FederalReporting.gov will generate a self-assigned password that will be stored on the FRRS, but will only be accessible to the registering individual.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

As described above, FRRS was developed to protect the Board and FederalReporting.gov users from individuals seeking to gain unauthorized access to user accounts on FederalReporting.gov. FRRS is used for the purposes of verifying the identity of the individual; allowing individual users to establish an account on FederalReporting.gov; providing individual users access to their FederalReporting.gov account for reporting data; allowing users to customize, update, or terminate their accounts with FederalReporting.gov; renewing or revoking an individual user’s account on FederalReporting.gov; and supporting the FederalReporting.gov help desk functions. The information is used to provide authenticated protected access to FederalReporting.gov, thereby protecting FederalReporting.gov and FederalReporting.gov users from potential harm caused by individuals with malicious intentions gaining unauthorized access to the system.

3. Use of Information Technology in Collection

FederalReporting.gov is the means by which recipients of Recovery funds are required to report on the use of those funds. The user registration for FederalReporting.gov is required for usage of FederalReporting.gov and ultimately reporting the required information. Electronic registration will facilitate data validation and ensure that only authorized users are reporting the required 1512 data elements.

4. No Duplication or Use of Similar Information

FRRS is a unique registration system that does not duplicate an existing collection and will provide authenticated protected access to FederalReporting.gov.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

To the extent that OMB Collection 0430-0001 has an impact on small businesses or other small entities, as described the Supporting Statement to that collection, the registration system for FederalReporting.gov will have a related impact in that those affected small entities will need to have a user register on the FRRS prior to submitting required reports.

6. Consequences if Collection is Not Conducted

If the collection is not conducted, there will be no adequate means to verify the identity of the user, to provide users access to their FederalReporting.gov account for reporting data, or to allow users to customize, update, or terminate their accounts with FederalReporting.gov. Furthermore, lack of such a collection will hinder the accountability goals of such reporting on the use of Recovery funds because of the difficulties in ascertaining the user inputting the required 1512 data.

7. Special Circumstances relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

The FRRS does not require special circumstances.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency

N/A- This is an emergency information collection needed to ensure that recipients will be able to register to provide the required data under 1512 reporting requirements prior to the statutory deadline for the first report, which is October 10, 2009.

9. Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents

N/A - FRRS does not involve a payment or gift to respondents.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

FRRS data and information will be collected in a secure system environment. Physical access to the data system housed within the facility is controlled by a computerized badge reading system. Multiple levels of security are maintained via dual factor authentication for access using biometrics.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

The FRRS currently does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

The FRRS online registration form, a copy of which is attached, is neither complex nor long. Based upon repeated trials of the FRRS, it is estimated that it will take a registrant approximately 5 minutes (.0833333 hours) to register.

	Estimated Number of Respondents	Frequency of Response	Estimated Burden Hours per Response	Total Annual Burden Hours
Prime Recipients	110,289	1	.0833333	9,191
Subrecipients	40,402	1	.0833333	3,367
Total	150,691	1	.0833333	12,558

Using the average hourly cost equivalent figure that was utilized in the earlier 1512 Data information collection request, which was $68.00 per hour, the total cost equivalent of the FRRS information collection would equal $853,916.

13. Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers

The FRRS does not require additional recordkeeping by the respondents.

14. Annualized Cost to the Federal Government

The cost associated with the FRRS is already incorporated into the costs of building, operating and maintaining the entire FederalReporting.gov system, which was estimated to cost $2,000,000 during the first year due to start-up costs.

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments

N/A – This is a new collection.

16. For collections of information whose results are planned to be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication.

N/A – Although the 1512 data elements will be posted on Recovery.gov, there is no plan to publish FRRS data.

17. Reason(s) for Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

N/A – The Board is not seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

N/A – There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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