Emergency PRA Letter VSA

Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554

January 13, 2022
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Ms. Sharon Block
Acting Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Ms. Block:
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) requests Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to submit the information collection described herein
under the “emergency processing” provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 5
CFR 1320.13. The Commission is requesting clearance for a new information collection entitled
[3060-XXXX], Volunteer Service Agreement, FCC Form A-384. For the reasons explained
below, We respectfully request OMB approval for this new information collection at the earliest
possible time.
Background
The information collection requirements to be reported under this new collection are the
result of requirements imposed by an Executive Order issued by President Biden regarding
mandatory COVID-19 vaccination among Federal workers.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14043 to protect the
health and safety of the Federal workforce and to promote the efficiency of the civil service.
Pursuant to the Executive Order and implementing guidance, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) informed its workforce that, other than in limited circumstances where a
reasonable accommodation is legally required, all employees need to be fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 by November 22, 2021, regardless of where they are working. This requirement
includes unpaid volunteers.
To ensure compliance with this mandate, the FCC is requiring individuals seeking
volunteer service at the agency to certify that they have been vaccinated against the COVID-19
virus as part of its existing Volunteer Service Agreement form. As part of this effort to revise the
existing form, however, the agency has discovered that it was never submitted for OMB approval
despite being in use for approximately a decade, and wishes to remedy that oversight.

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Request for Emergency Processing
Accordingly, as provided under 5 CFR § 1320.13, Emergency Processing, the FCC is
requesting emergency processing for the new collection of information as specified in the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations. Specifically, the FCC
cannot reasonably comply with normal clearance procedures because the use of normal clearance
procedures is unlikely to be complete in time for the FCC to collect COVID-19 vaccine
certification from existing volunteers and those wishing to commence volunteer service during
the approaching spring semester of their school year. Moreover, if the Commission were to wait
120 days to formally notify the public and potential interested parties of its intent to collect this
information, then the Commission’s ability to comply with this mandate will be significantly
hindered.
In addition, the FCC wants to ensure that the process of seeking approval to use the
existing portions of the Volunteer Service Agreement Form will not prevent the continued use of
the form for an extended period of time, thereby unintentionally preventing forthcoming
volunteers from beginning their service in a timely manner.
Due to the emergency nature of this request, the Commission is also requesting a waiver
of the requirement to publish notice in the Federal Register.
The Commission’s staff is ready to work with your PRA Desk Officer to immediately
provide any additional information needed to facilitate OMB’s approval of this emergency
request for this new information collection. Please have your PRA desk officer contact Nicole
Ongele at (202) 418-2991, or Nicole.ongele@fcc.gov, if there are any questions or any additional
information that may be needed.

Sincerely,
Mark
Stephens

Digitally signed by
Mark Stephens
Date: 2022.01.14
07:38:26 -05'00'

Mark Stephens
Managing Director

Enclosure

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