PRA Emergency Letter

United States Department of State
Bureau of Global Talent Management
Washington, D.C. 20520

December 8, 2021
Sharon Block
Acting Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Ms. Block:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 C.F.R.
Part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the proposed
information collection, the COVID-19 Vaccination Requests for Waiver, OMB Control
No. 1405-XXXX, be processed as an Emergency Clearance Request in accordance with 5
C.F.R. §1320.13, Emergency Processing.
I have determined that this information must be collected prior to the time periods
established under Part 1320 of the regulations and that this information is essential to
implement the Department’s health and safety measures included within recent Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Guidance.
Government agencies have an urgent need to require vaccinations from prospective
employees per Executive Order 14043; at the same time, some of those employees have a
legal right to claim a religious or medical exception from this vaccination requirement.
Moreover, I have determined that because of the nature of the public health emergency
and the urgent need for this collection, it is impracticable for the Department to consult in
advance with interested agencies and members of the public in order to minimize the
burden of the collection of information pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 1320.13(c). The Department
estimates that this collection will entail minimal public burden.
Therefore, the Department of State requests a 180-day emergency clearance so that
eligible individuals may claim the appropriate exception to the vaccination requirement
in advance of their entry upon duty into the federal workforce. During the 180-day
approval, the Department will work to establish a regular clearance submission of this
information collection request under the Paperwork Reduction Act procedures. As this
request for approval concerns an urgent safety need, the Department is also seeking
OMB’s approval to waive the need for the Federal Register Notices otherwise required
by 5 C.F.R. 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) and 1320.8(d)(1) prior to publication and implementation of
this disclosure.

We would appreciate if you could please provide an approval/disapproval determination
of this request to collect information under an emergency clearance by close of business
on December 10, 2021.

Sincerely,

Jeanne M. Juliao
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Global Talent Management

Drafted: L/M – Alice Kottmyer

Cleared:
GTM: Pamela Bentley (ok)
A/GIS/DIR: Chantal Douglas (ok)