Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 54260-54262 [E7-18712]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 184 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54260-54262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18712]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 
Federal Communications Commission

September 14, 2007.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s), as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. An agency may 
not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a 
current valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty 
for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
PRA that does not display a valid control number. Comments are 
requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways 
to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before November 
23, 2007. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Les Smith, Federal Communications 
Commission, Room 1-C216, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, or 
via the Internet to PRA@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s) contact Les Smith at (202) 418-0217 or 
via the Internet at PRA@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.

[[Page 54261]]

    Title: Comprehensive Review of the Universal Service Fund 
Management, Administration, and Oversight; Federal-State Joint Board on 
Universal Service; Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support 
Mechanism; Rule Health Care Support Mechanism; Lifeline and Link-up; 
and Changes to the Board of Directors for the National Exchange Carrier 
Association, Inc., WC Docket No. 05-195 et al., FCC 07-150.
    Form Number: N/A
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 1.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.0 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 1.0 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: None.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Respondents may request that 
information be withheld from disclosure. Requests for confidentiality 
are processed in accordance with FCC rules under 47 CFR Sec.  0.459.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: On August 29, 2007, the FCC released a Report and 
Order (``R&O''), Comprehensive Review of the Universal Service Fund 
Management, Administration, and Oversight; Federal-State Joint Board on 
Universal Service; Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support 
Mechanism; Rule Health Care Support Mechanism; Lifeline and Link-up; 
and Changes to the Board of Directors for the National Exchange Carrier 
Association, Inc., WC Docket No. 05-195, et al., FCC 07-150. In this 
R&O, the FCC has adopted new and revised information collection 
requirements that include timely filing for Telecommunications 
Reporting Worksheets, a reminder that USF contributors must file FCC 
Forms 499-A and 499-Q on a periodic basis, document retention and 
recordkeeping requirements and administrative limitation periods for 
the high-cost, low-income, and rural health care universal service 
programs, and various other performance measures and reporting 
requirements for the universal service programs and for the Universal 
Service Fund (``USF'') Administrator. These recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements are part of the FCC's continuing process to deter 
misconduct and inappropriate uses of the universal service funds. It is 
the FCC's intention that these requirements will both safeguard the USF 
from waste, fraud, and abuse and improve the management, 
administration, and oversight of the USF. These information collection 
requirements are as follows:
    Timely filing for Worksheets. At present, Universal Service Fund 
contributors must file FCC Form 499-Q, ``Telecommunications Reporting 
Worksheet'' (``Worksheet''), on a timely filing basis and must not 
submit inaccurate or untruthful information. In addition, the R&O will 
require the USF Administrator to add information, e.g., a notification 
requirement, to the monthly invoice sent to contributors. Each monthly 
invoice must now also include language pertaining to the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) of 1996, substantially as follows:
    A failure to submit payment may result in sanctions, including, but 
not limited to, the initiation of proceedings to recover the 
outstanding debt, together with any applicable administrative charges, 
penalties, and interest pursuant to the provisions of the Debt 
Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365) and the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996, (Pub. L. 104-134) as amended (the ``DCIA''), 
as set forth below.
    The date of payment on the invoice is the due date. If full payment 
is not received by the date due, the debt is delinquent and the full 
amount of the outstanding debt may be transferred to the United States 
Department of Treasury (``Treasury'') for debt collection. Because the 
unpaid amount is a debt owed to the United States, we are required by 
the DCIA to impose interest and to inform you what may happen if you do 
not pay the full outstanding debt. Under the DCIA, the United States 
will charge interest from the date the contribution was due, you will 
be required to pay the administrative costs of processing and handling 
a delinquent claim as set by the Treasury (currently 18 percent of the 
debt), and you will be charged an additional penalty of 6 percent a 
year for any part of the debt that is more than 90 days past due. 
Interest on the outstanding debt (``DCIA Interest'') will be assessed 
at the published investment rate for the Treasury tax and loan accounts 
(``Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate''). However, if you pay the 
full amount of the outstanding debt and associated administrative fees 
and penalties within 30 days of the due date, the DCIA Interest will be 
waived. These requirements are set out at 31 U.S.C. 3717. In addition 
to the language in the invoice, the R&O has specified that USF 
Administrator's invoice shall state clearly that the invoiced amount is 
due on a specific date and that the debt is delinquent if not paid in 
full by that date. The USF Administrator's invoices and any letters 
shall also explain the applicable sanction and administrative changes 
for late payments, i.e., under 31 U.S.C. section 3717, a delinquent 
debt that is not paid in full within 30 days from the date due will 
incur interest, and if not paid in full within 90 days from the due 
date, will also incur a penalty. In addition, the delinquent 
contributor will be assessed the administrative costs of collection, 
pursuant to 47 CFR 54.713 of FCC rules. Finally, an invoice sent after 
partial payment should show clearly that the payment was applied to 
outstanding penalties, administrative costs, accrued interest, and then 
to the oldest outstanding principal (``American Rule'').
    Document retention requirements. Having concluded in the R&O that 
document retention and recordkeeping requirements not only prevent 
waste, fraud, and abuse, but also protect applicants and service 
providers in the event of vendor disputes, the FCC has adopted or 
revised several of these requirements that will demonstrate compliance 
with FCC rules and regulations and be available to the USF 
Administrator, auditors, and the FCC, as follows:
    High-cost program. Recipients of universal service support for 
high-cost providers must retain all records that they may require to 
demonstrate to auditors that the support they received was consistent 
with the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and FCC rules, 
assuming that the audits are conducted within five years of 
disbursement of such support. This R&O clarifies that beneficiaries 
must make available all such documents and records that pertain to 
them, including those of NECA, contractors, and consultants working on 
behalf of the beneficiaries to the Commission's Office of Inspector 
General (``OIG''), to the USF Administrator, and to their auditors. See 
47 CFR 54.202(e).\1\
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    \1\ 47 CFR Sec.  54.202(e): All eligible telecommunications 
carriers shall retain all records required to demonstrate to 
auditors that the support received was consistent with the universal 
service high-cost program rules. These rules should include the 
following: Data supporting line count filings; historical customer 
records; fixed asset property accounting records; general ledgers; 
invoice copies for the purchase and maintenance of equipment; 
maintenance contracts for the upgrade or equipment; and any other 
relevant documentation. This documentation must be maintained for at 
least five years from the receipt of funding.
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    Low-income program. With respect to the two low-income universal 
service programs--Lifeline and Link-Up, the FCC has concluded that it 
should maintain the current two-tiered

[[Page 54262]]

document retention requirements--that participating service providers 
should retain a record verifying the eligibility of a recipient of the 
program for as long as the recipient continues to receive supported 
service and three years more, and to make it available in conjunction 
with any audit to which it may be relevant. However, the R&O removes 
the clause that waives the requirement to retain documentation of 
eligibility once an audit is completed. The FCC also clarifies that 
beneficiaries must make available all documentation and records that 
pertain to them, including those of contractors and consultants working 
on their behalf, to the Commission's OIG, to the USF Administrator, and 
to auditors working on their behalf. See 47 CFR 54.417(a).\2\
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    \2\ 47 CFR Sec.  54.417(a): Eligible telecommunications carriers 
must maintain records to document compliance with all Commission and 
state requirements governing the Lifeline/Link Up programs for the 
three full years preceding calendar years and requiring carriers to 
retain documentation for as long as the customer receives Lifeline 
service from the ETC or until audited by the Administrator and 
provide that documentation to the Commission or Administrator upon 
request.* * *
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    Rural health care and schools and libraries programs. The FCC 
maintains the current requirement that rural health care providers and 
schools and libraries must retain their records, which evidence that 
the funding they receive was proper, for five years. In addition, this 
requirement will now also apply to those service providers that receive 
support for serving rural health care providers. Furthermore, the FCC 
clarifies that beneficiaries must make available all documents and 
records that pertain to them, including those of contractors and 
consultants, working on their behalf, to the Commission's OIG, to the 
USF Administrator, and to their auditors, as required by 47 CFR 
54.516(a) \3\ and 47 CFR 54.619(a).\4\
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    \3\ 47 CFR Sec.  54.516(a) Recordkeeping requirements--(1) 
Schools and libraries. Schools and libraries shall retain all 
documents related to the application for, receipt, and delivery of 
discounted telecommunications and other supported services for at 
least 5 years after the last day of the service delivered in a 
particular Funding Year. Any other document that demonstrates 
compliance with the statutory or regulatory requirements for the 
schools and libraries mechanism shall be retained as well. Schools 
and libraries shall maintain asset and inventory records of 
equipment purchased as components of supported internal connections 
services sufficient to verify the actual location of such equipment 
for a period of five years after purchase.
    \4\ 47 Sec.  CFR 54.619(d) Service providers. Service providers 
shall retain documents related to the delivery of discounted 
telecommunications and other supported services for at least five 
years after the last day of the delivery of discounted services. Any 
documentation that demonstrates compliance with the statutory or 
regulatory requirements for the rural health care mechanism shall be 
retained as well.
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    Contributors. The R&O also requires contributors to the Universal 
Service Fund to retain all documents and records, e.g., financial 
statements and supporting documentation, etc., that they may require to 
demonstrate to auditors that their contributions were made in 
compliance with the program rules, assuming that audits are conducted 
within five years. The FCC clarifies that contributors must make 
available all documents and records that pertain to them, including 
those of contractors and consultants working on their behalf, to the 
Commission's OIG, to the USF Administrator, and to their auditors.
    Connectivity. The FCC will require the USF Administrator to work 
with the Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau to modify the 
relevant FCC Forms or to create additional questions for USF program 
participants to determine more accurately how schools and libraries 
connect to the Internet and their precise levels of connectivity.
    These new and revised information collection requirements, which 
include document retention and recordkeeping requirements, etc., will 
affect numerous information collections that the FCC currently 
maintains. Once OMB approves these requirements, the FCC will begin to 
update these information collections as required by the rules adopted 
in this R&O.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-18712 Filed 9-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P