02-11612. Notice of Public Information Collection Requirements Submitted to OMB for Review

SUMMARY:

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has submitted the following information collection to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104- Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of this notification. Comments should be addressed to: Desk Officer for USAID, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington DC 20503. Copies of submission may be obtained by calling [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Number: OMB 0412-0552.

Form Number: N/A.

Title: Financial Status Report.

Type of Submission: Renewal of Information Collection.

Purpose: In its appropriations act, Congress always requests country level financial expenditure data in order to determine whether funds appropriated to the Agency are being used for their intended purpose and are not used to support activities that are not in the US National Interest. Generally, this has been fairly straightfoward for assistance recipients who work specifically in one country, but harder to capture in the cases where recipients operate at a regional scale. Therefore, for each country where USAID spends money, careful review is necessary in order to be able to certify that funds expended do not go into programs where funding is prohibited, restricted or limited. Financial expenditure data by country is used by the agency to meet several reporting requirements for Congress. Country specific financial expenditure data is also used to determine whether the agency is meeting Congressional ceilings and earmarks. In addition, Congressional notification is required for activities in certain countries (Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, etc), as well as activities covering certain subject matter such as activities promoting country participation in the Kyoto Protocol, use of notwithstanding authority for supporting energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In each case, Congress request to know the amount of taxpayer dollars that is expended by the program or in the specific country.

USAID currently requires grant and cooperative agreement recipients who work in multiple countries to provide expenditure reports by country. The purpose of this notice is to extend the class deviation to the statute from the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with 22 CFR 226.4. The information is being collected so that USAID can ensure programs do not fund activities in countries where the United States Congress has prohibited or fund programs where Congress has limited the types of activities that my be funded.

Annual Reporting Burden:

 Respondents: 80.

 Total annual responses: 320.

 Total annual hours requested: 800 hours.

Dated: May 3, 2002.

Cynthia Staples,

Acting Chief, Information and Records Division, Office of Administrative Services, Bureau for Management.