Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Notices 70557

December 31, 2000, for Guaranteed

Traffic carriers.

ADDRESSES: Headquarters, Military

Traffic Management Command, ATTN:

MTOP–MRM, 200 Stovall Street,

Alexandria, VA 22332–5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Michael C. Donohue at 703–428–2119,

E-mail donohuem@mtmc.army.mil. An

additional point of contact is Ms. Kiazan

Moneypenny At 703–428–2384, E-mail

moneypennyk@mtmc.army.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice

proposing mandatory use of USBank’s

Powertrack System was published in the

Federal Register, vol. 65, no. 151, page

47970 on Friday, August 4, 2000. In

response to this notice we have received

one set of comments, from the attorney

representing a carrier association,

within the 60-day comment period. A

synopsis of these comments and

responses appear below:

Comment: Carriers must pay a

mandatory commission or service

charge in order to participate in the

program. Said payments are in the form

of deductions (of up to 2%) from the

amounts paid carriers for their services.

Response: Payment of the above fee is

offset by the benefits of being paid more

quickly—within 3 business days, as

opposed to 30 days or more, and

eliminating unnecessary infrastructure

maintained just for DOD accounts.

Complaints of DOD delayed payments

by the industry were among the factors

influencing implementation of

PowerTrack. Additionally, there is an

unspecified cost offset associated with

significantly reduced paperwork

through elimination of Government

unique documentation. Carriers have

the option to reflect any increased costs

(or savings) from the use of PowerTrack

in their rates just as they currently

incorporate any other overhead cost of

doing business.

Comment: Fees currently charged by

USBank to participate in Powertrack

exceed those charged in the market

place by other sources.

Response: DOD maintains that said

fees are well within industry norms.

Further, they are appropriate and

realistic in view of the benefits

described above, particularly rapid

payment, a benefit desired by the

industry. Elimination of the onerous

DOD Carrier invoice process (SF1113)

reduces processing time and overhead

for the carrier significantly.

Comment: Industry’s use of factoring

companies is voluntary. Participation in

Powertrack is mandatory.

Response: Participation in DOD

freight traffic is also voluntary. Use of

Powertrack as a condition for so doing

has been openly addressed in a variety

of forums since DOD Management

Reform Memorandum #15 was

published in the Federal Register in

January 1999. DOD maintains this

allowed industry members sufficient

opportunity to decide if participating in

DOD freight traffic, under these

circumstances, was to their benefit.

Further, prior to Powertrack, use of DOD

unique forms and procedures, as a

condition for participating in DOD

freight traffic was likewise mandatory.

Comment: Selection of USBank/

Powertrack was not competitive. Hence,

better rates for the same, or similar,

services may have been available

elsewhere.

Response: This selection was

competitively bid by the General

Services Administration, the

Government’s principal contracting

manager, under that agency’s

procurement procedures.

Comment: DOD receives a discount

on transportation charges paid by

USBank if DFAS forwards payments

thereto within a specified period. This

creates a strong appearance of conflict of

interests and impropriety on the part of

DOD. Further, USBank’s willingness to

do so suggests they are willing to do the

job for less than is actually billed to

customers. To avoid imposing an

unreasonable financial burden on

carriers, rebates should be refunded

thereto or deducted from their service

charges.

Response: Discounts for timely

payments are a common commercial

and government practice, as are

penalties for late payments. It is in the

best interest of both the customer and

service provider to leverage discounts to

reduce the bill and reduce the service

provider’s account receivable quickly.

This is accepted, open and public, and

does not constitute collusion or ‘‘kickbacks.’’ If these discounts were

redistributed to the industry, then

considerations of equity would dictate

the same disposition of any penalties.

Further, the paperwork involved in such

a process would burdensome and would

detract from the system’s cost benefits.

Comment: MTMC was unequivocally

committed to the use of the USBank

payment system long before public

input was solicited.

Response: Management Reform

Memorandum #15 is one of Secretary of

Defense William Cohen’s Defense

Reform Initiatives. The plan to

completely reengineer DOD’s

transportation documentation and

financial processes was signed by the

Deputy Secretary of Defense, Dr. Hamre

on July 7, 1997. Numerous conferences

and meeting were hosted by DOD,

bringing together senior transportation

and financial leadership from within

DOD and the transportation industry. In

addition, the internal demands of

cutting infrastructure costs and

improving efficiencies, the commercial

transportation industry told DOD that it

was not a ‘‘customer of choice’’. DOD

had to make drastic changes in its

overall transportation documentation

and related financial business processes.

It was no longer acceptable to pay

carriers between 30 and 90 days after

delivery. MTMC, as the DOD Traffic

Manager for surface and intermodal

freight traffic, is unequivocally

committed to the use of the USBank

payment system.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This action is not considered rule

making within the meaning of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 USC 601–

612.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork reduction Act, 44 USC

3051 et seq., does not apply because no

information collection or record keeping

requirements are imposed on

contractors, offerors or members of the

public.

Thomas Hicks,

Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations

and Plans.

[FR Doc. 00–29999 Filed 11–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Notice of Proposed Information

Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory

Information Management Group, Office

of the Chief Information Officer, invites

comments on the proposed information

collection requests as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before January

23, 2001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires

that the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) provide interested

Federal agencies and the public an early

opportunity to comment on information

collection requests. OMB may amend or

waive the requirement for public

consultation to the extent that public

participation in the approval process

would defeat the purpose of the

information collection, violate State or

Federal law, or substantially interfere

70558 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 227 / Friday, November 24, 2000 / Notices

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Leader,

Regulatory Information Management

Group, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, publishes that notice containing

proposed information collection

requests prior to submission of these

requests to OMB. Each proposed

information collection, grouped by

office, contains the following: (1) Type

of review requested, e.g. new, revision,

extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)

Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites

public comment. The Department of

Education is especially interested in

public comment addressing the

following issues: (1) Is this collection

necessary to the proper functions of the

Department; (2) will this information be

processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (5) how

might the Department minimize the

burden of this collection on the

respondents, including through the use

of information technology.

Dated: November 16 2000.

John Tressler,

Leader, Regulatory Information Management,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Student Financial Assistance

Programs

Type of Review: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

Title: Fiscal Operations Report and

Application to Participate (FISAP) in

the Federal Perkins Loan, Federal

Supplemental Educational Opportunity

Grant, and Federal Work-Study

Programs.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit

institutions (primary), Businesses or

other for-profit, State, Local, or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 1.

Burden Hours: 25780.

Abstract: This application data will be

used to compute the amount of funds

needed by each institution during the

2002–2003 Award Year. The Fiscal

Operations Report data will be used to

assess program effectiveness, account

for funds expended during the 2002–

2001 award year, and as as part of the

institutional funding process.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or

faxed to 202–708–9346. Please specify

the complete title of the information

collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the

collection activity requirements should

be directed to Jackie Montague at (202)

708–5359. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–

8339.

Office of the Undersecretary

Type of Review: New Collection.

Title: Study of the SDFSCA Middle

School Coordinator Initiative.

Frequency: Semi-Annually Annually.

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs (primary), Not-forprofit institutions.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 14326.

Burden Hours: 13753.

Abstract: The national evaluation of

the Middle School Coordinator

Initiative (MSCI) will be conducted over

the course of four years and will collect

data from district prevention

coordinators, Middle School

Coordinators, district officials, school

principals, prevention teachers, school

support personnel, students, parents,

and representatives of community

organizations. Initiative implementation

will be assessed in all funded districts.

School-level program data and student

outcome data will be collected from a

sample of 30 MSCI districts as well as

30 comparison districts over four years.

Case study data will be collected from

10 of those MSCI districts.

Requests for copies of the proposed

information collection request may be

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, or

should be addressed to Vivian Reese,

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651. Requests may also be

electronically mailed to the internet

address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or

faxed to 202–708–9346. Please specify

the complete title of the information

collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the

collection activity requirements should

be directed to Kathy Axt at (703) 426–

9692. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–

8339.

[FR Doc. 00–29956 Filed 11–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Department of Education.

SUMMARY: The Leader, Regulatory

Information Management Group, Office

of the Chief Information Officer invites

comments on the submission for OMB

review as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to

submit comments on or before

December 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Attention: Lauren Wittenberg, Acting

Desk Officer, Department of Education,

Office of Management and Budget, 725

17th Street, N.W., Room 10235, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

D.C. 20503 or should be electronically

mailed to the internet address

Lauren_Wittenberg@omb.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires

that the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) provide interested

Federal agencies and the public an early

opportunity to comment on information

collection requests. OMB may amend or

waive the requirement for public

consultation to the extent that public

participation in the approval process

would defeat the purpose of the

information collection, violate State or

Federal law, or substantially interfere

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Leader,

Regulatory Information Management

Group, Office of the Chief Information

Officer, publishes that notice containing

proposed information collection

requests prior to submission of these

requests to OMB. Each proposed

information collection, grouped by

office, contains the following: (1) Type

of review requested, e.g. new, revision,

extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)

Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites

public comment.