Emergency Memo

1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 2055-S, STOP 0201
Washington, D.C. 20250-0201

TO:

Elyse Greenwald
Desk Officer
Office of Management and Budget

THROUGH: Levi S. Harrell
Departmental Clearance Officer
Office of the Chief Information Officer
FROM:

Erin Morris
ERIN MORRIS
Associate Administrator

SUBJECT:

Request for Emergency Review and Approval for a New Information Collection
Request

Digitally signed by ERIN MORRIS
Date: 2021.05.04 12:09:31 -04'00'

We are requesting emergency review and approval of an information collection package for the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to administer a
new competitive grant program, titled the Meat and Poultry Interstate Shipment and Inspection
Readiness Program (ISIRP), authorized and funded under section 764 of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) (Pub. L. 116-260) in response to the ongoing coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
The agency cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures under the PRA due
to the public harm that is reasonably likely to result due to the supply chain risks in meat and
poultry processing systems in the United States caused by the unanticipated COVID-19
pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new level of demand on the local meat
industry stressing businesses to tradeoff between profits and costly measures to manage public
health risks. ISIRP is intended to provide Federal assistance in response to this urgent need. This
new grant program will help bolster meat processing capacity across the country and support
small to mid-size businesses increase their capability to process backlogged livestock, while
maintaining the stringent food safety standards consumers expect in response to COVID-19.
The CAA authorized the appropriation of $60 million in fiscal year (FY) 2021 through 2023,
until expended. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture “to competitively awards funds to meat
and poultry slaughter and processing facilities to assist such facilities with respect to costs
incurred in making improvements to such facilities and carrying out other planning activities
necessary to obtain Federal inspection and allow for interstate shipment.” Grants will be awarded
in the amount of $200,000 dollars and award recipients are required to provide non-Federal
matching funds in an amount equal to the amount of the grant (i.e., $1:$1). However, the statute
stipulates that a recipient who is awarded a grant in fiscal year 2021 is exempt from providing
matching funds. Thus, we are also requesting emergency processing of this collection because
the use of normal clearance procedures is reasonable likely to cause AMS to miss the statutory
deadline to waive the matching requirement (i.e., September 30, 2021). It is our intent to align
with the legislation and waive the FY 2021 match requirement for ISIRP grant awards, which

Page 2
will minimize the burden on small and mid-size businesses that have been hit especially hard
during the pandemic.
ISIRP is voluntary and respondents will either request or apply for this specific competitive grant
program. In doing do, they provide information, and AMS is the primary user of the information.
The information collected is needed to certify that grant participants are complying with
applicable program regulations in section 764 of the CAA and in accordance with the Office of
Management and Budget’s (OMB) Guidance on Grants and Agreements (2 CFR part 200). The
data collected is the minimum information necessary for AMS to effectively carry out the
program requirements and to provide the respondents the type of service they request to address
supply chain resiliency and efficiency affected by the pandemic.
In compliance with OMB regulations (5 C.F.R. Part 1320) which implement the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), the information collection and recordkeeping
requirements that may be imposed by this action are submitted to OMB for emergency review
and approval. The additional reporting requirements would not become effective prior to OMB
review. Once approved the collection will be merged with OMB No. 0581-0240, AMS Grant
Programs.
Attached are the OMB 83-I, the Supporting Statement, and AMS-71 spreadsheet.