2900-0208 SS for Renewal 30-day 29DEC2021

Supporting Statement for

Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR)

VA Form 6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal and

VA Form 10101, Contractor Production Report

Approved OMB Control No. 2900-0208

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection of information.

This Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) submission seeks to extend the expiration date for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval No. 2900-0208. The actual VA Form 10101 and VA Form 6298 can be located at VA Forms website (Find A VA Form | Veterans Affairs.)

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) manages a multi-million-dollar construction program that involves the design and construction of medical centers, and other VA facilities including building improvements and conversions. The actual construction work is contracted out to private construction firms.

a. VA Form 6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal. The use of this form is mandatory for obtaining the proposal and supporting cost or pricing data from the contractor and subcontractor for all architect-engineer contracts for design services when the contract price is estimated to be $50,000 or more. It is also used in obtaining proposals and supporting cost or pricing data for architect engineer services for research study, seismic study, master planning study, construction management and other related services contracts. This form also includes the certifications of cost and pricing data as well as the cost accounting standards. The contractor is provided an electronic template of VA Form 6298 when the contract is awarded.

b. VA Form 10101, Contractor Production Report. Resident Engineers monitor contractors’ work and verify the work progress reported before payment can be made. The requirement for this information is contained in VA Acquisition Regulation 852.236-79. VA Form 10101, Contractor Production Report, or other agreed upon format may be used for this purpose. The Resident Engineers (R/E) review this report and re-enter this data into the Paragon system, thereby creating a supplement or a correction summary to contractor's comments. The Senior Resident Engineer then approves the VA daily summary.

Failure to receive information from the Contractor Production Report, or other agreed upon format, could result in a claim for non-performance and construction delays against the Government if the Government were unable to collect this information to administer the contract.

Submission of a Contractor Production Report is a standard business practice for construction firms. Therefore, we maintain electronic versions of the standardized VA Forms 10101 only for those contractors who prefer to use them.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purposes the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate actual use the agency has made of the information received from current collection.

a. An architect-engineering (A/E) firm selected for negotiation of a contract with VA is required to submit a fee proposal based on the scope and complexity of the project. Prior to negotiation, VA develops an independent government estimate of the cost for A/E services, based on a detailed analysis of the costs expected to be generated by the work. A VA contracting officer negotiates a contract price considered fair and reasonable based on a comparative study of the independent estimate and the A/E’s proposal. At the conclusion of the negotiation, an executed VA Form 6298 is included in the contract file and is available for possible future audit. Without this collection of information, there would be no way for VA to determine if the A/E’s proposal is appropriate according to the scope and complexity of the individual project, and no basis for contract negotiation.

b. The Contractor Production Report, VA Form 10101, or contractor equivalent is used by the contractor to record the data necessary to assure that sufficient labor and materials were used to accomplish the contract work. The data on this form is reviewed when payment issues arise.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

An electronic template of VA Form 6298 is included in the contract file, at the conclusion of negotiations, to record contract requirements. The contractor provides updates to information as needed, utilizing the electronic template provided, to fill, save and print documentation. VA has included a fill-in, save and print version of VA Form 10101.

4. Describe effort to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

There are no known incidents of duplicate information collection. All requests for data are kept to an absolute minimum. Data collection under OMB Control Number 2900-0422 establishes the regulations under which this information is collected. OMB determined in September 2002 that it doesn’t consider 2900-0208 and 2900-0422 as duplicate information collection.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

VA will accept construction firms’ designed forms and we request the minimum amount of data necessary to ensure that the contractor provides sufficient labor and materials to accomplish the contract work. The burden is minimized to the extent possible for all businesses; we request only that information which is essential as a basis for contract negotiation, administration, and subsequent payment. The burden imposed by this collection is considered a standard business process and is not significant.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

VA Form 6298 is submitted once as part of a proposal and therefore cannot be submitted less frequently. A Contractor Production Report, VA Form 10101 or contractor equivalent, must be submitted at regular intervals or we would be unable to ensure the contractor provides sufficient labor and materials to accomplish the contract work. This could hinder VA’s ability to properly administer the contract and accept work and approve payments and could potentially result in a claim for non-performance and construction delays.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted more often than quarterly or require respondents to prepare written responses to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it; submit more than an original and two copies of any document; retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years; in connection with a statistical survey that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study and require the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB.

VA Form 6298 is submitted once as part of a proposal and therefore time for response is more than 30 days after receipt. The time for contractors to submit VA Form 10101 is specified in the contract. However, this form is provided to the contractor during the solicitation phase. As a result, the contractor has more than 30 days after receipt to provide a response. Additionally, the information on VA Form 10101 is needed for payment purposes, therefore, it may require contractors to submit the form more often than quarterly.

8. a. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register of the sponsor’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the sponsor in responses to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

A 60-day FRN was published in the Federal Register (86 FR 60109) on October 29, 2021. VA did not receive any public comments.

b. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure or reporting format, and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed or reported. Explain any circumstances which preclude consultation every three years with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained.

The information is not available from any source other than the Architect/Engineer firm selected for contract negotiation. We have not had any questions and there are no known concerns about the need for these instructions. Outside consultation is conducted with the public through the 60- and 30-day Federal Register notices.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payment or gift is provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statue, regulation, or agency policy.

The Privacy Act is not applicable as there is no system of records or personally identifiable information. The information is identified by company name only. However, completed forms are kept in secured files to protect the A/E firms.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private; include specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

The VA Form 6298 contains questions of a confidential nature because it contains privileged financial and operational data of the A/E firm. This information is necessary to determine whether the firm has the resources to complete the job. The data we collect on VA Form 10101 does not contain information of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of the hour burden of the collection of information:

a. Total annual respondents:

VA Form	No. of Respondents	X Frequency	= Annual Responses	X No. of Minutes	÷ by 60	Burden Hours
Form 6298	50	5	250	240		1,000
Form 10101	285	38.08	10,853	24		4,341
Annual Total	335		11,103	264		5,341

b. If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB 83-I.

Estimated total annual reporting burden: 5,341 hours (1,000+4,341)

c. Provide estimates of annual cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Average Hourly Earnings. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

Estimated annualized cost: $315,920 (5,341 hours at $59.15 per hour.) The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gathers information on full-time wage and salary workers. According to the latest (May 2020) available BLS data, the mean hourly wage on BLS wage code – “17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations” is $43.41 plus 36.25% fringe benefits per OMB Memo M-08-13 dated March 11, 2008. The BLS information was taken from the following website: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#17-0000.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

N/A

14. Provide estimates of annual cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operation expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

Hourly rate of $41.26 is based on 2021 OPM Salary Table, including benefits of 36.25% per OMB Memo M-08-13 dated March 11, 2008, of the average GS 11, Step 5, VA contracting officer. OPM 2021 Salary Table can be located at Pay & Leave : Salaries & Wages - OPM.gov

VA Form	Annual Responses	X No. of Minutes	÷ by 60	Burden Hours	Processing & Maintenance	Annual Burden Cost
Form 6298	250	240		1,000	$41.26	$41,260
Form 10101	10,853	24		4,341	$41.26	$179,110
Printing for non-electronic forms ($50 for each form)						$100
Annual Total	11,103			5,341		$220,470

The cost to the Federal Government is estimated at $220,470.

15. Explain the reason for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of OMB 83-I

There is no change in burden hours. The burden cost is due to the increased in the BLS wage rate and OPM General Schedule salary rate.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

There are no plans to publish the results of the information collected.

17. If seeking approval to omit the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

VA is not seeking approval to omit the OMB expiration date.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB 83-I.

This submission does not contain any exceptions to the certification statements.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

No statistical methods are used in this data collection.

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