Emergency DOE PRA Memo to Sharon Block

Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585

January 3, 2022
MEMORANDUM FOR SHARON BLOCK
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR
OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
FROM:

ERIN MOORE
CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER

SUBJECT:

Emergency Information Collection Request – DOE’s Applicant
Portal

Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established in 5 C.F.R
Part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, the Department of Energy (DOE) is
requesting that the proposed information of collection, DOE’s Applicant Portal, be processed
as an Emergency Clearance Information Collection Request (ICR) as referenced in 5 C.F.R. §
1320.13, Emergency processing.
DOE has determined that the information must be collected prior to the time periods
established under Part 1320 of the regulation, and that this information is essential to DOE’s
implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). DOE has a key role in
implementing the clean energy provisions of BIL to modernize the nation’s energy
infrastructure, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance our energy sector,
and benefit underserved communities. BIL provides more than $62 billion to the
Department and DOE will need to hire more than 1,000 new employees in the immediate
future.

Due to the expeditated timeframe for hiring these new employees, DOE is requesting a
waiver for requesting comments from the public via the Federal Register. DOE is
requesting an Emergency Clearance to collect general applicant information from the public
for a six-month approval period, allowing interested applicants to identify areas of interest for
potential job opportunities within DOE to support the BIL. During this approval period, DOE
will work to establish a regular submission of this ICR.
We would appreciate if you could provide an approval/disapproval determination of this
request to collect information under an emergency clearance by noon on Friday, January 7,
2022.