2022-19104. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Election Form

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing a new collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 6, 2022.

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 (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department, 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 ICR that is described below. The Department is especially interested in public comments 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 record.

Title of Collection: Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Election Form.

OMB Control Number: 1845-NEW.

Type of Review: New collection.

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

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 128.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,048.

Abstract: The Department of Education (ED) is requesting approval of a new information collection for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Election form. On March 15, 2022, the President signed the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act into law. Among other things, the law amended section 438(b)(2)(I) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). This provision of the law requires FFEL Program lenders or an entity that holds a beneficial ownership interest in a FFEL Program loan (beneficial holder) to transition away from LIBOR based Special Allowance Payments (SAP) to a new formula set by the law based on SOFR. The transition may occur any time on or before June 30, 2023. However, a FFEL Program lender or beneficial holder must transition to the SOFR based SAP calculation by July 1, 2023, as a condition of continued participation in FFEL Program.

Dated: August 30, 2022.

Kun Mullan,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.