Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act,
Pub. L. No. 116-136 (March 27, 2020), authorizes the Secretary of
Education to allocate formula grant funds to participating
institutions of higher educations (IHEs). Section 18004(c) of the
CARES Act allows the IHEs to use up to one-half of the total funds
received to cover any costs associated with the significant changes
to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus (with
specific exceptions). Section 18004(a)(2) of the CARES Act
authorizes the Secretary to make awards under parts A and B of
title III, parts A and B of title V, and subpart 4 of part A of
title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (“HEA”),
to address needs directly related to the coronavirus. These awards
are in addition to awards made in Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES
Act. Section 18004(a)(3) of the CARES Act, Pub. authorizes the
Secretary to allocate funds for part B of Title VII of the HEA, for
IHEs that the Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs
related to coronavirus. This information collection request
includes additions and revisions to the quarterly budget and
expenditure reporting form used by grantees under these sections of
the CARES Act, as well as comparable sections of the Coronavirus
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA)
(P.L. 116-260) and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (Pub.
L. 117-2). These revisions to the collection will ensure the
Department will be able to more effectively monitor the use of
funds by grantees that have received awards under these sections.
The majority of the quarterly report aligns closely with the
recently-approved annual reporting form, for which 60- and 30-day
comment notices were published.
The Department is
requesting emergency approval to allow the revisions to be
implemented and announced prior to the first quarter reporting
deadline on April 10, 2022. If the Department is unable to
implement the changes in time for this reporting deadline, the
Department will be lacking critical information needed to monitor
and provide technical assistance to HEERF grantees. Given the
amount of HEERF funds that have been distributed, it is imperative
that the Department has the information needed to ensure that all
uses of funds are in accordance with the governing statutes and
program guidance.
This currently approved
collection has been modified to align more closely with the annual
reporting form and to ensure that the Department will be able to
more effectively monitor the use of funds by grantees. As a result
of these changes to the collection, the burden per response has
increased from two hours to five hours, resulting in an increase in
total annual burden hours.
$68,800
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Karen Epps 202 453-6337
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.