Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 51719 

activities will have practical utility; (ii) 

the accuracy of the Department’s 

estimates of the burden of the 

information collection activities, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used to 

determine the estimates; (iii) ways for 

the Department to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information 

being collected; and (iv) ways for the 

Department to minimize the burden of 

information collection activities on the 

public by automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology (e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses). See 

44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)(i)–(iv); 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)(1)(i)–(iv). The Department 

believes that soliciting public comment 

will promote its efforts to reduce the 

administrative and paperwork burdens 

associated with the collection of 

information mandated by Federal 

regulations. In summary, the 

Department reasons that comments 

received will advance three objectives: 

(i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) ensure 

that it organizes information collection 

requirements in a ‘‘user friendly’’ format 

to improve the use of such information; 

and (iii) accurately assess the resources 

expended to retrieve and produce 

information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 

3501. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as 

amended; and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 9, 

2021. 

Morteza Farajian, 

Executive Director, the Build America Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19945 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DOT–OST–2021–0106] 

America’s Supply Chains and the 

Transportation Industrial Base 

ACTION: Notice of request for 

information. 

SUMMARY: On February 24, 2021, 

President Biden issued an Executive 

Order, ‘‘America’s Supply Chains,’’ 

which directs several Federal agency 

actions to secure and strengthen 

America’s supply chains. On June 8, 

2021, the President also established a 

Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force— 

co-chaired by the Secretaries of 

Transportation, Agriculture, and 

Commerce—to address near term supply 

chain challenges, with a focus on 

alleviating bottlenecks and supply 

constraints in the transportation sector, 

particularly for ports, rail, and trucking. 

The Executive Order requires the 

Secretary of Transportation to submit, 

within one year, a report to the 

President on supply chains for the 

transportation industrial base. DOT’s 

one-year assessment will build off the 

work of the Supply Chains Disruption 

Task Force and focus on the freight and 

logistics sector, with the goal of 

strengthening resilience among 

transportation supply chains. This 

notice requests information from the 

public to assist the Department of 

Transportation in preparing the report 

required by the Executive Order and 

solicits practical solutions from a broad 

range of stakeholders to address current 

and future challenges to supply chain 

resilience in the freight and logistics 

sector. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 18, 2021. DOT will 

consider comments filed after this date 

to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket Number DOT– 

OST–2021–0106 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Search by using 

the docket number (provided above). 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments on the electronic docket site. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor (W12–140), Washington, 

DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: W12–140 of the 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

numbers. 

Note: All comments received, including 

any personal information, will be posted 

without change to the docket and is 

accessible via http://www.regulations.gov. 

Input submitted online via 

www.regulations.gov is not immediately 

posted to the site. It may take several 

business days before your submission is 

posted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ryan Endorf at ryan.endorf@dot.gov or 

at 202–366–4835. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: On February 24, 2021, 

President Biden issued Executive Order 

14017, ‘‘America’s Supply Chains’’ (86 

FR 11849) (E.O. 14017). E.O. 14017 

focuses on the need for resilient, 

diverse, and secure supply chains to 

ensure U.S. economic prosperity and 

national security. Such supply chains 

are needed to address conditions that 

can reduce critical manufacturing 

capacity and the availability and 

integrity of critical goods, products, and 

services. Section 4 of E.O. 14017 directs 

that within one year, the Secretary of 

Transportation shall submit a report to 

the President, through the Assistant to 

the President for National Security 

Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to 

the President for Economic Policy 

(APEP), on supply chains for the 

transportation industrial base. Per the 

Executive Order, the Secretary shall 

determine what constitutes the 

‘‘transportation industrial base’’ for 

purposes of the report. President Biden 

has also established a Supply Chain 

Disruptions Task Force—co-chaired by 

the Secretaries of Transportation, 

Agriculture, and Commerce—to address 

near term supply chain challenges, with 

a focus on alleviating bottlenecks and 

supply constraints in the transportation 

sector, particularly for ports, rail, and 

trucking. 

The transportation industry in the 

U.S. is both vast and varied and 

underpins much of the economic 

activity that takes place in other sectors. 

It includes both the vehicles required to 

move goods and people and the roads, 

rails, waterways, and airways over 

which those vehicles travel. It includes 

cargo and passenger terminals that 

provide for the transfer of people and 

goods between vehicles and modes. It 

includes the control and information 

systems that allow the network to 

operate smoothly and efficiently and 

enable users to make the most 

advantageous choices about their use of 

that network. It includes public and 

private providers of transportation 

services and the operation of privately 

owned personal vehicles. 

In fulfilling this requirement, the 

Department intends to produce a report 

on the Nation’s freight and logistics 

sector, focused on how the freight 

system supports supply chains and any 

challenges and resilience issues within 

that system. DOT has heard from many 

stakeholders about issues related to 

bottlenecks on highways, rail, and at 

ports, as well as severe container/ 

chassis shortages and lack of adequate 

warehousing capacity, particularly 

around the nation’s largest ports. The 

resiliency of the freight system is also a 

key aspect of supply chain resiliency 

across the rest of the economy, 

including the critical products being 

addressed in the one-year reports being 

developed by other agencies. 

51720 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices 

The Department is currently engaged 

with stakeholders and public agency 

partners in addressing current issues in 

freight and logistics through President’ 

Biden’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task 

Force. DOT’s E.O. 14017 report will 

build on those efforts, focusing on 

challenges and solutions over the 

medium and longer term while also 

addressing DOT’s goals of safety, 

economic strength, climate resilience, 

equity, and transformation. 

This notice requests comments and 

information from the public to assist the 

Department of Transportation in 

preparing the report required by E.O. 

14017. In developing this report, the 

Secretary will consult with the heads of 

appropriate agencies, and will be 

assisted by the relevant operating 

administrations of the Department of 

Transportation. 

Written Comments 

The Department seeks information 

from the public on the current 

challenges faced within the freight and 

logistics sector, including, but not 

limited to, the following topics: 

1. The identification of major 

infrastructure or operational bottlenecks 

and chokepoints across all aspects of the 

freight and logistics supply chain— 

including shipping/receiving, 

intermodal transfer, rail/water/truck 

transportation, warehousing, etc.—that 

slow or impede efficient cargo 

movement within the freight and 

logistics sector, and the most effective 

investments and management practice 

improvements that could be made to 

alleviate those bottlenecks. 

2. Current and potential future 

shortages and/or distribution limitations 

of essential cargo-handling equipment, 

such as chassis and shipping containers, 

and how these challenges can be or are 

likely to be addressed by the freight and 

logistics industry over both the medium 

and longer term. 

3. Warehouse capacity and 

availability, and any challenges faced in 

operating and siting/constructing those 

facilities, as well as challenges faced by 

third-party logistics service providers 

and other stakeholders in the logistic 

system. 

4. Major risks to resilience within the 

freight and logistics sector (including 

defense, intelligence, cyber, homeland 

security, health, climate, environmental, 

natural, market, economic, geopolitical, 

human-rights, or labor-management 

risks). What factors help to mitigate, or 

conversely exacerbate, these risks? 

5. The effects of climate change on 

transportation and logistics 

infrastructure and its implications for 

supply chain resiliency. 

6. Technology issues, including 

information systems, cybersecurity 

risks, and interoperability, that affect 

the safe, efficient, and reliable 

movement of goods. Would greater 

standardization of those technologies 

help address those challenges? 

7. Key opportunities and challenges 

with respect to the existing and future 

workforce to ensure a well-functioning 

freight and logistics supply chain and 

achieve the President’s goal of 

increasing good-paying jobs with the 

choice of a union. Are there additional 

workforce or skill set opportunities and 

needs currently, or expected in the 

future? 

8. Current barriers (including 

statutory, regulatory, technological, 

institutional, labor and workforce, 

management, existing business models/ 

practices issues) that inhibit supply 

chain performance. For any barriers 

identified, please address the actors 

involved and potential outcomes should 

those barriers be removed. 

9. Critical assets that the sector relies 

upon and their expected future 

availability. Would increasing domestic 

production of these assets be desirable 

or feasible as a means of ensuring 

greater supply chain resiliency (chassis, 

containers, etc.)? 

10. Technological practices, including 

data sharing, that are being 

implemented at various levels across the 

supply chain sector. What are the 

upsides, challenges, and drawbacks of 

further adoption? 

11. Actions that DOT or other 

agencies in the U.S. Government (USG) 

could take under existing authorities or 

in partnership with States, local 

governments, the private sector, or labor 

to address current and evolving 

challenges within the freight and 

logistics sector. 

12. Other policy recommendations or 

suggested executive, legislative, or 

regulatory changes to ensure a resilient 

supply chain that DOT/USG should 

consider, including means to collaborate 

more effectively across government 

agencies and suggestions based on state 

and international models. 

13. Recommended actions by nonFederal entities, including State and 

local governments, private firms, labor, 

and other participants in the freight and 

logistics sector that could be encouraged 

by DOT/USG. 

Dated: September 10, 2021. 

Michael Shapiro, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic 

Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19974 Filed 9–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

[Docket No. TTB–2021–0003] 

Proposed Information Collections; 

Comment Request (No. 83) 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau (TTB); Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: As part of our continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, and as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

we invite comments on the proposed or 

continuing information collections 

listed below in this notice. 

DATES: We must receive your written 

comments on or before November 15, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments on 

the information collections described in 

this document using one of the two 

methods described below— 

• Internet: To submit comments 

electronically, use the comment form for 

this document posted on the 

‘‘Regulations.gov’’ e-rulemaking website 

at https://www.regulations.gov within 

Docket No. TTB–2021–0003. 

• Mail: Send comments to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, 

Regulations and Rulings Division, 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 12, 

Washington, DC 20005. 

Please submit separate comments for 

each specific information collection 

described in this document. You must 

reference the information collection’s 

title, form or recordkeeping requirement 

number (if any), and OMB control 

number in your comment. 

You may view copies of this 

document, the relevant TTB forms, and 

any comments received at https://

www.regulations.gov within Docket No. 

TTB–2021–0003. TTB has posted a link 

to that docket on its website at https:// 

www.ttb.gov/rrd/information-collectionnotices. You also may obtain paper 

copies of this document, the listed 

forms, and any comments received by 

contacting TTB’s Paperwork Reduction 

Act Officer at the addresses or telephone 

number shown below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Hoover, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW, Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

202–453–1039, ext. 135; or 

informationcollections@ttb.gov (please 

do not submit comments to this email 

address).