On February 17, 2009,President Obama signed the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. The Act provides NTIA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service (RUS) with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services in the United States. The Act tasks RUS, NTIA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with leading the Federal government's efforts to begin the process of dramatically expanding the reach and quality of broadband services.
The Department of Commerce Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants requires NTIA to collect certain performance information from grant recipients through reporting and monitoring in order to ensure the responsible and effective use of federal funds; to ensure grantees meet the terms and conditions of the award; and to determine if special actions (e.g. closer monitoring, assistance, corrective actions) are needed for particular awards. As a condition of the grant, each BTOP grant recipient is required to submit baseline data with respect to its project and milestones that will allow the program to monitor performance throughout the period of the grant.
The first reporting period for these grants has come to a close, and NTIA must secure the necessary authority to collect this important and required information from recipients. NTIA was unable to receive authority to collect the first quarterly narrative using Health and Human Services (HHS) SF-PPR for standard grantee performance reports.
NTIA must continue to collect project performance information from reipients, with the first quarter reporting requirements due by April 30, 2010. OMB approval of this emergency request is necessary to allow distribution of the required documents to grant recipients, and adequate time for them to respond.
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PL: Pub.L. 111 - 5 123 Name of Law: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.