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1 1 (April 17, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepqs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the IegisI9tive debate since 1914 Updated April 17, 2024 The Paperwork Reduction Act and Federal Collections of Information: A Brief Overview Congress enacted the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) in 1980 and reauthorized it in 1995 (codified at 44 U.S.C. §§3501-3521) in part to address a concern that the federal government was requiring businesses, individuals, and other entities to spend too much time filling out paperwork at the behest of federal agencies. The PRA contemplated a centralized system for controlling and minimizing the amount of information that federal agencies collect while considering the public benefit and practical utility of the information. To this end, the PRA requires agencies to justify collecting information from the public by establishing the need and intended use of the information, estimating the paperwork burden to result from the information collection, and providing public input on each proposed collection. The PRA also created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees government-wide efforts to manage the federal paperwork burden. This In Focus provides an overview of the information collection aspects of the PRA, including OMB and agency responsibilities for managing paperwork burden. Other elements of the PRA, including information resources management and statistical policy, are not covered here. Wat Is the Federal Paperwork Burden? Agencies collect information from the public under a wide variety of circumstances-for example, through tax forms, the decennial census, applications for government benefits, efforts to evaluate programs, and reporting requirements that inform agencies on an industry's compliance with regulations. The PRA requires agencies, when collecting information, to estimate the paperwork burden associated with each collection. Burden means the time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. It is generally considered to be a function of the number of respondents, the frequency of response, and the time required to provide the information. Burden is generally represented in hours (often referred to as burden hours). Although information collections are often critical to the work of federal agencies, they can impose a substantial burden on the public. Paperwork Reduction Act Overview To achieve its objective of balancing burden with the benefits of information, the PRA tasked OMB with reviewing and approving agencies' information collections. As described in more detail below, agencies must receive approval from OIRA prior to conducting an information collection. Upon approval of each information collection request (ICR), an OMB control number is assigned and must be displayed on the collection. Each OMB approval may last for no longer than three years. OMB is also required to report annually to Congress on major activities under the PRA. OMB fulfills this requirement by issuing an annual information collection budget, which contains information about the current paperwork burden, efforts to reduce the burden, violations of the act, and improvements in the use of information. For example, in FY2022, the total paperwork burden reported by OMB was 10.34 billion hours, compared to 9.97 billion hours in FY2021. Burden can increase or decrease for a number of reasons, including new statutory requirements, re- estimations of burden hours, and renewals or lapses in approved information collections. Scope of the PRA The scope of the PRA is broad: It applies to almost all executive branch agencies, including statutorily designated independent regulatory agencies, which are generally excluded from regulatory oversight and control by the President or OMB. It also applies to most agency information collections, including collections that are voluntary. For its purposes, the PRA defines agency as any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency. The following agencies and entities are exempted: the Government Accountability Office; the Federal Election Commission; the governments of the District of Columbia and the territories and possessions of the United States; and government-owned, contractor- operated facilities, including laboratories engaged in national defense research and production activities. The PRA defines collection of information broadly as the obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the disclosure to third parties or the public, of facts or opinions by or for an agency, regardless of form or format, calling for either (i) answers to identical questions posed to, or identical reporting or recordkeeping requirements imposed on, ten or more persons, other than agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the United States; or (ii) answers to questions posed to agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the United States which are to be used for general statistical purposes. With these definitions, if a federal agency wants to collect information from 10 or more nonfederal entities-which can include individuals, states, or businesses-sponsors

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