Agency for International Development – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Agency for International Development sought comment on information contained in Federal Register Notice (Document Number: 2020-01961) and published Monday, February 3, 2020. One comment was received. The content of that comment was not germane to the subject of the information collection exercise. USAID/CDI will now request approval of this generic collection of information from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this information collection. Comments are requested concerning whether the continuing collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of the information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The public meeting of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) previously scheduled for March 25, 2020, Agricultural Growth, Structural Transformation, and the Journey to Self-Reliance: Implications for USAID Programming, has been postponed until a later date.

This proposed rule would amend USAID's regulations to implement Executive Order 13831, ``Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.'' Among other changes, this rule proposes to provide clarity regarding the rights and obligations of faith-based organizations that are participating in USAID's programs, and is intended to ensure that the Agency's implements its programs and activities in a manner consistent with the requirements of Federal law, including the First Amendment to the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is issuing a survey on Food for Peace (FFP) Title II vegetable oil packaging to collect information on the quality and condition of vegetable oil packaging and what problems or challenges should be prioritized and addressed. Data collected from the survey will be compiled and shared with survey participants and be used to make improvements to Title II vegetable oil.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following new information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This proposed information collection was published in the Federal Register on September 6, 2019, allowing for a 60-day public comment period and received one comment. The notice was revised to clarify participation in the survey is voluntary and how information will be used. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

The rule amends the AIDAR's provisions that pertain to incentive awards for personal services contracts with individuals.

The U.S. Agency for International Development published a document in the Federal Register of 2019-20311 concerning notification of a public meeting. The document omitted the meeting date, October 15, 2019.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to review and comment on the following new information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are requested concerning; whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility for managing USAID's Exchange Visitor program; the accuracy of USAID's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; suggestions on how s to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following new information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Comments are requested concerning whether the proposed or continuing collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of the information on the respondents.

USAID is issuing a final rule to rescind the Agency's rules to streamline the registration process for Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs). Foreign assistance has evolved since the establishment of the requirement that PVOs register with USAID, and a careful review of the Agency's business practices has concluded that there is no longer a need for the current, time-consuming and costly Agency-wide process. The remaining USAID programs required by statute to register PVOs as a condition of eligibility have incorporated a simplified registration process into each of their applications for funding. USAID published the proposed rule and has determined to adopt a final rule to support streamlining the PVO registration process.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposes to amend the Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) to revise the General Provision contract clause (hereafter ``clause'') 5 entitled ``Leave and Holidays (APR 1997).'' This proposed rule also makes other editorial and clarifying changes to this clause and the prescription.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposes to amend the Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) to allow for the designation of U.S. Personal Services Contractors (US PSCs) and Cooperating Country National Personal Services Contractors (CCN PSCs) as contracting officers and agreement officers. The proposed revisions will address a shortage of U.S. direct-hire staff by delegating the proposed authorities to qualified US and CCN PSCs. The delegation of limited contracting/ agreement officer authorities to a select number of CCN PSCs will also bolster the Agency to succeed in terms of building long-term, host country technical capacity to materially assist the Missions with procurement responsibility.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposes to amend its regulation regarding incentive awards for personal services contracts with individuals. In 2004 and 2015, the USAID Administrator approved policies to authorize funding for incentive and recognition awards for personal services contracts with individuals under the Agency's authorities for such contracts. This proposed rule will allow USAID to recognize the work of an individual personal services contractor (PSC) for extraordinary performance of services under their contract by providing them with monetary or non-monetary incentive awards.

USAID is publishing this proposed rule to rescind agency rules in support of streamlining the Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) registration process. Foreign assistance circumstances have evolved since the establishment of the PVO registration process, and a careful review of USAID's business practices has concluded that there is no longer a need for the current, time-consuming and costly Agency-wide process. The remaining USAID programs that legislatively require PVOs to be registered as a condition of eligibility have incorporated a simplified registration process into each of their program's applications.

This notice lists approved candidates who will comprise a standing roster for service on the Agency's 2018 SES Performance Review Board. The Agency will use this roster to select SES Performance Review Board members. The standing roster is as follows:

In a final rule published on January 19, 2017, a number of federal departments and agencies revised to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (often referred to as the ``Common Rule''), which each department and agency adopted into regulations in its part of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) adopted the same changes in a final rule published on September 18, 2017. The revised Common Rule was scheduled to become effective on January 19, 2018, with a general compliance date of the same date. By an interim final rule issued on January 17, 2018 and published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2018, federal departments and agencies delayed the effective date and the general compliance date for the revised Common Rule for a 6-month period, until July 19, 2018. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published an interim final rule adopting the same regulatory changes on January 26, 2018. The revised Common Rule, including technical amendments made by the January 22, 2018 interim final rule, is referred to here as the ``2018 Requirements.'' On April 20, 2018, the federal departments and agencies listed here published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing and seeking comments as to whether the general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements should be delayed for an additional 6-month period. The NPRM also proposed and sought comments on whether to allow regulated entities to implement certain burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements in specified circumstances during such continued delay period. Through this final rule, we are adopting the proposals described in the April 20, 2018 NPRM. This rule delays the general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements for an additional 6-month period, until January 21, 2019. As a result of this delay, regulated entities will be required, with an exception, to continue to comply with the requirements of the pre-2018 version of the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the ``pre-2018 Requirements'') until January 21, 2019. The one exception to this general rule is that institutions will be permitted (but not required) to implement, for certain research, three burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements during the delay period (July 19, 2018, through January 20, 2019). Those three provisions are: The revised definition of ``research,'' which deems certain activities not to be research covered by the Common Rule; the elimination of the requirement for annual continuing review with respect to certain categories of research; and the elimination of the requirement that institutional review boards (IRBs) review grant applications or other funding proposals related to the research. Institutions taking advantage of the three-burden reducing provisions must comply with all other pre-2018 Requirements during the delay period. The three burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements can only be implemented during the delay period with respect to studies initiated prior to January 21, 2019 that will transition to compliance with the revised Common Rule. Any study that implements these three burden-reducing provisions during the delay period must, beginning on January 21, 2019, comply with all of the 2018 Requirements for the balance of the study's duration.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is issuing a final rule to amend the USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR) that clarifies accountability for all mobile Information Technology equipment.

In a final rule published on January 19, 2017, federal departments and agencies listed in this document made revisions to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) adopted the same regulatory changes in a separate final rule published on September 18, 2017. The revised policy, reflected in both final rules, is described here as the ``2018 Requirements.'' The 2018 Requirements are scheduled to become effective on January 19, 2018, with a general compliance date of January 19, 2018 (with the exception of the revisions to the cooperative research provision). This interim final rule delays the effective date and general compliance date of the 2018 Requirements to July 19, 2018. The federal departments and agencies listed in this document are in the process of developing a proposed rule to further delay implementation of the 2018 Requirements. The limited implementation delay accomplished by this interim final rule both provides additional time to regulated entities for the preparations necessary to implement the 2018 Requirements, and additional time for the departments and agencies listed in this document to seek input from interested stakeholders through a notice and comment rulemaking process that allows for public engagement on the proposal for a further implementation delay.