2013 Justification Voucher_010313

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS

 

A. Justification

A1.  Need for Information Collection

The National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, requires that individuals who complete a term of service in an approved national service position be granted a national service education award. These education awards can be used to repay qualified student loans and to pay for the cost of attending qualified post-secondary educational institutions and Veterans Affairs Approved programs. The form is used to collect information necessary for disbursing payments as detailed in 42 USC §12602 through §12604. This version of the form provides guidance on recent legislative changes and identification of Veterans Affairs Approved programs.

A2.  Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

AmeriCorps members use the form, or its electronic equivalent, to authorize a payment from their education award account, schools and lenders verify eligibility for the payments, and both parties verify certain legal requirements.

 

 A3.  Minimize Burden: Use of Improved Technology to Reduce Burden

Currently, about two-thirds of the education award payments are requested and processed electronically. The Corporation expects the use of paper forms to continue to decrease over the next few years and will continue to promote payments through Electronic Funds Transfers via the US Treasury, which now comprise about 68% of award payments.

A4.  Non-Duplication

This information is not being requested by any other means.

 

A5.  Minimizing for economic burden for small businesses or other small entities.

Only AmeriCorps members and their schools or student loan holders fill out this form or its electronic version. The form requests only the most pertinent information not available to the Trust elsewhere. Schools and loan holders complete the forms in order to receive payments.

A6.  Consequences of the collection if not conducted, conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

 

If this data were not collected the Corporation would not know how or where to disburse AmeriCorps members’ payments, nor how to assess a request’s eligibility.

A7.  Special circumstances that would cause information collection to be collected in a manner requiring respondents to report more often than quarterly; report in fewer than 30 days after receipt of the request; submit more than an original and two copies; retain records for more than three years; and other ways specified in the Instructions focused on statistical methods, confidentially, and proprietary trade secrets.

There are no special circumstances that would require the collection of information in any other ways specified.

A8.  Provide copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the Agency’s notice. Summarize comments received and actions taken in response to comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

The 60 day Notice soliciting comments was published on Thursday, October 25, 2012 on page 65183. The Corporation received no responses to the notice.

 

 A9.  Payment to Respondents

There are no payments or gifts to respondents.

  

A10.  Assurance of Confidentiality and its basis in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

Confidentiality of information supplied by respondents is ensured by the Privacy Act. A Privacy Act notice appears on the form.

A11.  Sensitive Questions

 

The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.

 

A12. Hour burden of the collection

The estimate of burden hours for AmeriCorps members and schools and loan holders to complete the form is 11,833 hours.

A13. Cost burden to the respondent

None.

 

A14. Cost to Government

There are no additional costs to the Government.

A15. Reasons for program changes or adjustments in burden or cost.

CNCS seeks only to revise the burden hour information to reflect the increased electronic volume of this form.

 

 A16.  Publication of results

Not applicable because the responses to this information collection will not be published. 

 

A17.  Explain the reason for seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

The Corporation requests that the expiration date not be displayed. OMB approved a similar request the last time the Corporation revised the form.

Several years ago, when a prior version did include the expiration date, the Corporation was contacted by hundreds of members whose awards were not due to expire for several years because they thought the form’s expiration date was the date their award expired. We have not had this confusion with subsequent versions, which do not include the expiration date.

In addition, system constraints make it difficult to revise the hard-coded dates on the online versions in a timely manner, which may give rise to considerable confusion among members and institutions due to the display of a date indicating the ICR has expired.

 

 A18.  Exceptions to the certification statement

No exceptions are requested

3