The Department of Education is
requesting emergency clearance of the data collection associated
with this clearance by June 25, 2010. An emergency clearance is
needed to meet the Congressional legislative mandate to award funds
to loan servicers prior to the end of the 2010 fiscal year. These
funds were not appropriated until the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act was signed on March 30, 2010. Specifically, this
data collection is necessary to implement the requirements in
section 458(a)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended
(HEA), as added by section 2212 (b) (1) of the SAFRA Act. Title II
of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The
SAFRA Act requires the Department to commit $25,000,000 to
distribute to eligible servicers by the end of FY 2010 and another
$25,000,000 by the end of FY 2011. This data collection is
necessary to assist Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) servicers
in retaining jobs at their loan servicing facilities located in the
United States as of January 1, 2010. The SAFRA Act provides for
eligible loan servicers to apply for funds to assist them in
maintaining jobs of people working on loan servicing at their U.S.
locations. The Department will determine by formula the dollar
amount of funds each eligible servicer will receive.
We must meet the
deadline set by Congress to evaluate applications and obligate the
awards before the end of the 2010 government fiscal year. We have a
tight time frame to notify servicers, review their application,
determine award amounts and inform servicers of award amounts and
receive their updated plan for retaining jobs at their location
within the U.S. The SAFRA Act Payments to Loan Servicers for Job
Retention is a new requirement that requires the Department to
implement the requirements in section 458(a) (7) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 as amended (HEA), as added by section 2212
(b) (1) of the SAFRA Act, Title II of the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010, (Public Law 111-152). Specifically,
SAFRA requires the Secretary to provide payments to student loan
servicers in FY 2010 and FY 2011 for retaining jobs at locations in
the United Sates where such servicers were operating under part B
of the HEA on January 1, 2010. Implementation of the SAFRA Act
requirements will be conducted in several phases. First, FFEL loan
servicers will submit application forms with payroll information
for individuals working within a servicing entity on loan
origination activity at the location they designate on the date
specified in the final requirements, as well as a plan for
preserving jobs at that facility. This information provided will be
used by the Department to determine award amount. The Department
will calculate, by formula, the award each servicer will receive
and will then notify the servicer of the award amount. Finally, the
servicer will, before any funds are disbursed, submit an updated
plan detailing how it will use the awarded funds to preserve jobs
at that facility based on the actual amount of the award. The
awarded amount will subsequently be disbursed to the servicer.
This is a new data collection
required under the SAFRA Act, and all burden is considered
new.
$25,000,000
No
No
Yes
Uncollected
No
Uncollected
Donald Conner
2025027818
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.