Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Family Educational Loan Program-Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)

AGENCY:

Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension without change of a currently approved collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this information collection request by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Comments may also be sent to ICDocketmgr@ed.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Federal Family Educational Loan Program—Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

OMB Control Number: 1845-0093.

Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 16,731.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 50,115.

Abstract: The Department of Education (the Department) is requesting extension without change of the currently approved OMB information collection 1845-0093, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of the collection of loans, the Department lacks sufficient data to allow for more accurate updates to the usage of these forms. The regulations require the FFEL loan holder to match its database against the Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) or other official DOD database and automatically apply the interest rate limitation, as appropriate, to borrowers under the SCRA. There has been no change in the statute or in the regulations at 34 CFR 682.208(j).