[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59500-59501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23513]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. DHS-2014-0046 ]
Agency Information Collection Activities: DHS OIG Audit of FEMA's
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, DHS Form 530, DHS Form 531,
DHS Form 532
AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits, DHS.
ACTION: 60-day notice and request for comments; new collection, 1601--
NEW.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector
General, Office of Audits, will submit the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until December 1,
2014. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2014-0046, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Please follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Please include docket number
DHS-2014-0046 in the subject line of the message.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection is mandatory for
grantees selected in a random sample of fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year
2012 Assistance to Firefighter (AFG) grants and Staffing for Adequate
Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants.
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector
General (OIG) is conducting an audit to determine whether the Federal
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Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) oversight and monitoring of
Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program recipients ensures that
grantees comply with grant requirements and guidance precluding waste,
fraud, and abuse of grant funds.
The DHS OIG will use the data collected to determine whether FEMA's
current monitoring and grant management efforts comply with Federal
regulations, as well as FEMA's Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program
requirements. The DHS OIG will make recommendations to FEMA to address
any programmatic challenges identified during the audit.
The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, stipulates that
Inspectors General conduct and supervise audits to provide a means for
keeping the head of the establishment and the Congress fully and
currently informed about problems and deficiencies relating to the
administration of such programs and operations and the necessity for
and progress of corrective action. In addition, as such, they have
access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers,
recommendations, or other material that relate to programs and
operations with respect to which that Inspector General has
responsibilities under this Act.
Additionally, financial and programmatic monitoring requirements
are set forth in 44 CFR Part 13, Uniform Administrative Requirements
for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Government or
2 CFR Part 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and
Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other
Non-Profit Organizations. Per FEMA grant guidance and grant award
letters, grant recipients are required to conform to either 44 CFR Part
13 or 2 CFR Part 215. Both regulations stipulate that records must be
retained for three years after submission of the final expenditure
report for the grant.
Finally, both 44 CFR Part 13.43 and 2 CFR Part 215.53 provide the
Inspector General the right of timely and unrestricted access to any
records of recipients that are pertinent to the awards, in order to
make audits, examinations, excerpts, transcripts and copies of such
documents. The collection information will be used by the DHS OIG to
conduct an audit of FEMA's oversight and management of the Assistance
to Firefighters Grant Program--specifically the Assistance to
Firefighters (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) sub-programs. This information will be used to respond
to the audit's objective, which is to determine the extent to which
Assistance to Firefighter grant recipients comply with grant
requirements and guidance precluding waste, fraud, and abuse of grant
funds.
The information will be requested in an email sent to each
grantee's point of contact information in FEMA's eGrant database. DHS
Forms 530, 531, and 532 detail the information being collected from
each grantee. Each attachment is specific to the type of grant awarded.
The email will have one attachment specific to the grant awarded.
A cover email (Grantee Email from OIG) provides guidance for
submitting the requested information.
Once the information is collected from the grantee, the DHS OIG
will analyze this information based on established criteria to
determine if grantees complied with these criteria to preclude waste,
fraud, and abuse of grant funds. The information will also be used to
determine if FEMA provided adequate oversight and monitoring of these
grant programs.
This results of this analysis will be presented in two audit
reports--one for AFG grants and one for SAFER grants. These reports
will include recommendations to FEMA based on the results of the
analysis.
The preferred submission method for collection of this information
will be via electronic mail. However, regular mail options for hard
copies or scanned copies on electronic media will be available should
the grantee not have access to the internet.
An email will be sent to the grantee with the appropriate form for
the type of grant attached. The email (Grantee Email from OIG) provides
guidance to the grantee on how to respond to this request.
A specific form will be sent for each the three types of grants in
the sample--AFG (DHS Form 532), SAFER Hiring (DHS Form 530), or SAFER
Recruitment and Retention (DHS Form 531). Each form has questions and
document requests specific to that type of grant.
Each form requests documents that may be available on the internet.
If information is available on the internet (for example, grantee
procurement policies) and the grantee provides this location of this
information, the DHS OIG will download this information from the Web
site.
The burden has been reduced on the grantee because the DHS OIG is
only requesting information the grantee is required to retain and does
not normally submit to FEMA including items such as invoices for items/
services purchased, written procurement policies and proof of payment
to vendors for items/services purchased.
Grantees are required to maintain grant records for three years
after the submission of their final expenditure report. It is estimated
that no more than 28 respondents (five percent) will mail their records
to the DHS Office of Inspector General. The cost to mail a five pound
box of records to the Office of Inspector General's Denver Field Office
using the United States Postal Service's Standard Post is $14.33. The
estimated total annual cost burden is $401.24.
The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in
comments which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
Analysis
Agency: Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits, DHS.
Title: DHS OIG Audit of FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Program.
OMB Number: 1601-NEW.
Frequency: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 556.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 2 hours.
Total Burden Hours: 1112.
Estimated Annual Cost: $401.24.
Dated: September 22, 2104.
Margaret H. Graves,
Deputy Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-23513 Filed 10-1-14; 8:45 am]
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