Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Cancer Treatment Deferment

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new information collection.

DATES:

Approval by the OMB has been requested by January 24, 2019. A regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before April 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-0006. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please include the docket ID number and the title of the information collection request when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 550 12th Street SW, PCP, Room 9086, Washington, DC 20202-0023.

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: Cancer Treatment Deferment.

OMB Control Number: 1845-NEW.

Type of Review: A new information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 5,000.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 833.

Abstract: The Department of Education (Department) is requesting an emergency clearance for a new information collection. This collection will be used to obtain information from federal student loan borrowers to determine eligibility for a deferment of repayment of their federal student loan while receiving cancer treatment and for the 6-month period after such treatment. Section 309 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, included a provision for the Department to implement this new basis for deferment. It was effective immediately upon enactment.

Additional Information: An emergency clearance approval for the use of the system is described below due to the following conditions:

On September 28, 2018, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 into law. Section 309 of the law included a new deferment for Direct Loan, FFEL Program, and Perkins Loan borrowers who are receiving cancer treatment and for the 6-month period following such treatment. The law was immediately effective, meaning that borrowers can immediately request and, if eligible, should receive the deferment. Because the law provided no time to implement before the deferment became effective, the Department requests that OMB allow the Department to clear the collection associated with the implementation for the Cancer Treatment Deferment using the emergency clearance procedures of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, outlined in 42 U.S.C. 3507(j) by January 24, 2019.