OMB and the Department have determined that the best course of action is to withdraw this emergency information collection request (ICR). The Department will resubmit this request as a standard non-emergency ICR in short order. Upon resubmitting this ICR for OMB approval, the Department will provide public notice in the Federal Register and provide 30 days for the public to comment. The supporting statement in the resubmitted ICR will address concerns raised by OMB to date. Lastly, OMB and the Department have agreed that the Department will pursue rulemaking to address the Department's desire to collect "true copies" of contracts from covered institutions.
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Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
6 Months From Approved
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Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, provides that institutions of higher education must file a disclosure report with the Secretary of Education under the following circumstances: Whenever any institution is owned or controlled by a foreign source or receives a gift from or enters into a contract with a foreign source, the value of which is $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with that foreign source within a calendar year, the institution shall file a disclosure report with the Secretary on January 31 or July 31, whichever is sooner. (see https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2017-title20/pdf/USCODE-2017-title20-chap28-subchapI-partB-sec1011e.pdf).
This collection of information is necessary to ensure that the Secretary receives sufficient information about gifts or contracts involving a foreign source, or about ownership or control of the institution by a foreign source, to be able to enforce 20 U.S.C. 1011f.
The Department is requesting emergency approval in order to meet the statutory deadline for institutions to report disclosures by January 31, 2020. The United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a Staff Report titled âChinaâs Impact on the U.S. Education Systemâ in February 2019. In addition, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued three reports since August 2016 summarizing investigations into the relationship between China and U.S. universities. These reports revealed a shared concern: the relationship between China and U.S. universities is both imbalanced and opaque. The Department has responded to that shared concern by engaging in a holistic review of activities related to Section 117, including opening compliance investigations into six U.S. universities and engaging in a comprehensive internal control evaluation of the Departmentâs Section 117-related business processes and systems. The numerous disturbing facts uncovered in each compliance investigation strongly support the inference that there is widespread failure among U.S. universities to comply with their Section 117 obligations. In addition, the Departmentâs internal control evaluation exposed weaknesses in the control activities designed to ensure institutionsâ compliance with Section 117 and those intended to detect instances of non-compliance. The holistic review thus revealed a problem demanding immediate and aggressive corrective action, which was the impetus for this ICR. In sum, we cannot properly implement the statutory reporting requirements without emergency approval before the next reporting period.
US Code:
20 USC 1101f
Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965
This is a new collection based on a program change to facilitate compliance with section 117 of the HEA. There is no new statutory or regulatory requirement, but there is new evidence, as previously referenced in this document, of noncompliance with this statutory provision prompting this new collection. There is an estimated increase in annual burden of 8,000 hours based on 400 responses for a total cost of $191,600.
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.
1801-New Supporting Statement Part A Second FR Notice.fsk.docx
Foreign Gifts and Contracts Disclosures