DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE

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								OMB Control Number:  0503-0028
Exp. Date:  November 2025

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Solution for Funding Opportunity Announcement” 

TITLE:  Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Bankruptcy Payment.

USDA Agency:  Farm Service Agency; Farm Loan Programs.

Alignment with Information Collection Package:  (Check one)
[  ] One-Time Pilot Program.
[X] One-Time Funding Announcement of New Program.

Purpose:  The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is directed by USDA Secretary to provide relief to distressed borrowers with certain Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct and guaranteed loans and to expedite assistance for those whose agricultural operations are at financial risk.  USDA funded with $3.1 billion as authorized by the Section of 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  

FSA will be able to provide loan payment assistance to borrowers in bankruptcy once a response is received from the borrower acknowledging and requesting the payment and accepting the payment conditions and responsibilities.  FSA has already identified individuals who qualify for assistance but is unable to automatically apply or send the payment due to requirements of various State bankruptcy courts.  For payments to be made, eligible FSA direct or guaranteed customers will need to review the potential payment, evaluate the potential impacts of the payments on their bankruptcy case, if applicable, and formally accept the offer.  To collect this acceptance, FSA has created a new Exhibit titled “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Section 22006 (IRA) Payment Notification Response Form.”  This exhibit will need to be completed, signed, and returned by the borrower to formally accept their IRA payment.

Eligible borrowers will receive a payment in accordance to the details provided in an October 18, 2022 press release which details the program roll-out.  For borrowers under bankruptcy protection, FSA will need written confirmation that the borrower is accepting the payment.

Announcement Dates:  This bankruptcy payment window will be open from June through September 2023.

Type of Collection: (Check one)
[  ]  Grant.
[  ]  Cooperative agreement.
[X]  New federal financial assistance program.

[  ]  Other: ____________________________________________

How will information collected be submitted to the agency?
[  ]  Grants.gov

[X]  Other:  Applicants may submit an IRA response in person in an FSA county office or by mail, emailing, or faxing.  FSA county office staff will complete the response processing in an automated system.

Does the agency need to collect information, such as progress reports, beyond the expiration of this generic ICR (November 2025)? If so, will the agency be submitting a regular ICR package?
[  ]  Yes.  [X]  No.
Announcement: 
[  ]  Notice of Funding of Opportunity (NOFO)
[  ]  Grants.gov Announcement
[  ]  Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)
[  ]  Request for Application (RFA)
[ ]  Notice of Funding of Availability (NOFA) (Announced in the Federal Register)
[  ]  Notice of Solicitation of Application (NOSA)
[  ]  Notice of Awards
[ X ] Other Funding Announcement Types:  Press release – attached 

Is the agency asking any questions of a sensitive nature?  If yes, 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 the reasons justifying why the agency considers the questions necessary, the 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.
[  ] Yes.  [X] No.
If yes, additional info:
Certification:
I certify this grant, cooperative agreement, or other federal financial assistance to be true:
[X] Yes.  [  ] No.

Burden Hours, Formats, and Reporting
Brief description of information being collected (project summary, NOA, etc.)
Form number
Number of Respondents
Number of Responses per respondent
Total Annual Responses
Hours per response
Total Burden Hours
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Section 22006 (IRA) Payment Notification Response Form

None, Exhibit 1 format
1000
1
1000
0.17


167
XXXXX






TOTAL, Burden Hours





167