1652-0075 Speaker Request Form SS

INFORMATION COLLECTION SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Speaker Request Form

1652-0075

Exp.: 8/31/2025

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information. (Annotate the CFR parts/sections affected).

Under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for security in all modes of transportation, including screening operations for passenger air transportation and for carrying out such other duties it considers appropriate relating to transportation security. See sec. 101(a) of ATSA, Pub. L. 107-71 (115 Stat. 597-598, Nov. 19, 2001), as codified at 49 U.S.C. 114(d) and (f). DHS Directive 110-02 established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy with respect to the acceptance of public speaking invitations by DHS employees and formally implemented the Office of Public Affairs DHS Speakers Bureau as well as DHS component speaker bureaus. Based on these requirements, the Transportation Security Administration, a component of DHS, created its own Speaker Bureau and modeled it after the DHS Speakers Bureau process to allow for the acceptance of public speaking invitations.

To ensure consistency with the DHS directive, TSA created the Speaker Request Form, which collects information on the requestor and the event a speaker would attend. TSA is requesting OMB approval of this form as a Common Form to permit Federal agency users beyond the agency that created the form (e.g., Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Office of Personnel Management) to streamline the information collection process in coordination with OMB.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The Speaker Request Form requests information about the organization requesting a speaker, including the name of the organization; the event sponsor; whether it is a profit or nonprofit organization; the point of contact information for the person coordinating the event; the title, date, time, and location of the event; the type of event (e.g., keynote, dinner, panel, interview, etc.); the purpose of the event; the event website, if applicable, the topics of discussion; the audience type (e.g., students, government stakeholders or industry partners); other notable guests; and, if media will be attending.

This basic contact information is needed to respond to the requestor, determine where to find a TSA speaker geographically, and determine what resources would be needed to send a speaker to the event. TSA also collects information to determine if it is in the best interests of the agency and consistent with Federal ethics requirements to send a speaker to the speaking engagement, and if it aligns with the agency’s communication goals. If TSA determines it is in the best interests of the agency to participate, TSA will also use this information to select who should speak on behalf of the agency on the requested topics. The information is collected only once for any engagement and is completely voluntary on the part of the requestor. The form streamlines the TSA Speaker Request process.

The organization and point of contact information is shared with the proposed TSA speaker or speakers, staff supporting the speaker and Speakers Bureau staff to allow the speaker to coordinate the day of logistics. The event information may be shared among TSA offices, particularly within the Strategic Communications and Public Affairs office to identify greater opportunities to align the engagement or the organization with its communication goals and possibly promote the TSA speaker on other external platforms.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden. [Effective 03/22/01, your response must SPECIFICALLY reference the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), which addresses electronic filing and recordkeeping, and what you are doing to adhere to it. You must explain how you will provide a fully electronic reporting option by October 2003, or an explanation of why this is not practicable.]

The Speaker Request Form is an online submission form, which provides a fully electronic means for the public to request a speaker. The form is available at https://www.tsa.gov/form/speaker-request. Access and distribution of the completed form is limited to the employees tasked with coordinating TSA speaking engagements. Any archiving of the form’s information would be on a secure and closed system, accessible only to employees with system permissions. The collected information could be used to identify trends over time.

Usability Testing Requirement: Pursuant to a 2023 DHS requirement, all Information Collection Requests must undergo usability testing prior to submission to OMB. See DHS Fiscal Year 2024 Burden Reduction Plan Memorandum dated, September 22, 2023. TSA completed usability testing on the online submission form to determine the accuracy of the burden. There were seven participants, and all were unfamiliar with the form. TSA found that the participants completed the form within the estimated time of 10 minutes. The participants made no recommendation for changes to the collection.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose(s) described in Item 2 above.

There is no similar information already held by TSA that could be used for the purpose of the public submitting Speaker Request Forms to denote their interests in having a TSA Speaker.

5. If the collection of information has a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses or other small entities (Item 5 of the Paperwork Reduction Act submission form), describe the methods used to minimize burden.

This collection does not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

This information is collected from the public to gather adequate information to find the appropriate speaker. If this collection was not conducted, TSA would be limited in providing the appropriate speaker.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

This information collection is conducted in a manner consistent with the general information guidelines.

8. Describe efforts to consult persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d) soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

TSA published a notice in the Federal Register, with a 60-day period for soliciting comment, see 89 FR 105620 (December 27, 2024), and a 30-day notice, see 90 FR 17074 (April 23, 2025). TSA received no comments in reply to the notices.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than see remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payment or gift will be provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

TSA does not provide an assurance of confidentiality. However, this information collection is covered under DHS/ALL/PIA-006, General Contact Lists (June 15, 2007).

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

TSA does not ask any questions of a sensitive or private nature.

12. Provide estimates of hour and cost burdens of the collection of information.

TSA expects to receive approximately 300 speaker requests per year. The agency estimates that each respondent will spend approximately 10 minutes to complete the Speaker Request Form, for a total annual burden of 3,000 minutes (50 hours).

To estimate the total annual cost burden, TSA applies a respondent loaded wage rate of $45.72 per hour¹ and multiplies this rate by the total annual burden. This calculation is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: TSA Speaker Requestors
	Requests	Time (in Hrs)	Time Burden (in Hrs)	Hourly Wage Rate	Hourly Wage Rate
	A	B	C = A × B	D = $46.84	E = C × D
CY 2026	300	0.1667	50	$46.84	$2,286.08
CY 2027	300		50		$2,286.08
CY 2028	300		50		$2,286.08
Total	900		150		$6,858.24
Annualized	300		50		$2,286.08

13. Provide an estimate of annualized capital and start-up costs.

Beyond the hourly burden, there are no respondent or record keeper costs estimated for this collection.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, and other expenses that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

TSA estimates that it will take an average of 2 hours to process each request. TSA applies a wage rate of $69.77 per hour² to determine an annual cost of $41,863. This calculation is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: TSA Cost Burden
	Requests	Time (in Hrs)	Time Burden (in Hrs)	Hourly Wage Rate	Hourly Wage Rate
	A	B	C = A × B	D = $69.77	E = C × D
CY 2026	300	2	600	$69.77	$41,862.76
CY 2027	300		600		$41,862.76
CY 2028	300		600		$41,862.76
Total	900		1800		$125,588.28
Annualized	300		600		$41,862.76

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I.

There are no program changes or adjustments as this is a new information collection request.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

TSA will not publish results of this collection.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

TSA is not seeking such approval.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-I.

TSA is not seeking any exceptions to the certification statement.

1 TSA uses the wage rate for All Occupational Groups as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The “unloaded” (pay only, does not include benefits) wage rate for All Occupational Groups is $31.48. BLS. May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Last modified April 3, 2024 (accessed December 17, 2024), https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes_nat.htm#00-0000.

TSA then calculates a compensation factor to adjust the wage rate and account for benefits using information from BLS. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – September 2024. Table 1. Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs as a percent of total compensation: private industry workers. The total compensation of $46.84, divided by the wage rate of $32.25, yields a compensation factor of 1.4524. Last modified December 17, 2024 (accessed January 27, 2025), https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_12172024.htm. The fully-loaded wage rate of $45.72 is the product of the unloaded wage rate ($31.48) and the compensation factor (1.4524).

2 Requests are processed by either a G or H TSA pay band employee. TSA uses a fully-loaded wage rate of $63.60 for a G pay band employee, Step 5, and $79.94 for a H pay band employee, Step 5, to get a blended fully-loaded wage rate of $69.77. Source: TSA Resource Management Office (RMO) 2025 TSA Pay Rates. Rates include locality pay for the National Capital Region.