Emergency Memo

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

TO:

Dominic Mancini
Deputy Director
Office of Management and Budget

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

Erin Morris
ERIN
Associate Administrator
Agricultural Marketing Service

MORRIS

SUBJECT:

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

Digitally signed by ERIN MORRIS
Date: 2021.08.12 10:18:09 -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 block grant program, titled the Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety (SPRS)
Grant Program, authorized and funded under section 751 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act
of 2021 (CAA) (Pub. L. No. 116-260) in response to the ongoing 2019 novel coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
The agency cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures under the PRA due
to the immediate need to provide financial assistance to domestic seafood processors impacted
by COVID-19. SPRS is intended to provide Federal financial assistance to state entities in the
form of block grants to fund seafood processing facilities and processing vessels for efforts to
respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID–19.
The CAA directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make available $1.5 billion beginning in fiscal
year 2021, until expended. Of this $1.5 billion, USDA is allocating $50 million for this new
Seafood Pandemic Response and Safety Grant Program. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to
provide “grants and loans to small or midsized food processors or distributors, seafood
processing facilities and processing vessels, farmers markets, producers, or other organizations to
respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against the Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” In accordance with the CAA, SPRS funds may be use for:
•
•

Workplace safety measures, including, but not limited to, personal protective
equipment, sanitizer, hand washing stations, air filters, thermometers, cleaning
supplies, etc.
Market pivots such as transition to virtual/online sales costs (online platform
development and fees, online marketing, credit card processing fees), supplies, new
signage.

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•
•
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Retrofitting facilities for worker and consumer safety (plexiglass, walk up windows,
heat lamps, fans, tents, propane, weights, tables, chairs).
Additional transportation costs incurred to maintain social distancing.
Additional worker housing costs incurred to maintain social distancing or to allow for
quarantining of new or exposed employees.
Unreimbursed costs associated with providing or enabling vaccinations, testing, or
healthcare treatment of infected employees, including any paid leave.

Grants will be awarded to eligible state entities that work with the seafood processing sector. Each
of the eligible states will then distribute award to support seafood processing facilities and
processing vessels. AMS will allow reimbursement for costs incurred from the start of the Public
Health Emergency Period (01/27/20) declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
along with anticipated expenses for the remainder of 2021 to support entities who experienced
significant expenses over the course of the entire pandemic.
SPRS is voluntary and respondents will apply for this specific block 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 751 of the CAA and in accordance with the Office of Management and
Budget’s (OMB) Guidance on Grants and Agreements (2 C.F.R. 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 support they request to address the financial costs for their
pandemic response efforts.
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.