The organization that is still in control of the federal government proposes to collect information on "Federal and Non-Federal Financial Assistance Instruments" through the Forest Service. The deadline for Comments on this proposal is tomorrow, Friday, November 13, 2020. Now is the time to make your voice heard once again.
Feel free to use all or part of the Comments I left today, which are published below for your ease of reference. Thank you for being a citizen.
Agency: FOREST SERVICE (FS)
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals:: Federal and Non-Federal Financial Assistance Instruments
Document ID: FS_FRDOC_0001-3384
Document No.: 2020-20195.
Comment:
BECAUSE THE NOTICE IS UNSUPPORTED BY FACTS, IT IS IN VIOLATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT AND CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW.
The Notice contains unsupported statements that the actions described in it are authorized by Congress because they are exempted by Congress from statutes that would otherwise govern these actions: "The Forest Service issues partnership agreements under specific authorities exempt from the Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act (FGCAA). This collection is for a new form that will be used to enter into [certain] agreement[s.]"
The Notice further contains this advisory: "In addition to Federal Financial Assistance (FFA), Congress created specific authorizations for acts outside the scope of the FGCAA. Appropriations language was developed to convey authority for the Forest Service to enter into relationships that are outside the scope of the FGCAA. The Forest Service implements these authorizations using instruments such as collection agreements, FGCAA exempted agreements, memorandums of understanding, and other agreements which mutually benefit participating parties. These instruments fall outside the scope of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and often require financial plans and statements of work."
THE NOTICE FAILS TO SUFFICIENTLY IDENTIFY THE AUTHORITY OR LEGAL BASIS FOR IT. FOR THAT ADDITIONAL REASON, IT IS CONTRARY TO LAW AND CANNOT LAWFULLY BE IMPLEMENTED.
The exemptions are unidentified in this Notice except by reference generally to " the Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act" and to "Federal Financial Assistance." "Authorization" to expend federal funds and enter into agreements is not specified. For these reasons, this Notice merits further attention.
Background Information: This particular Notice is unusual in that it does not identify the specific statutory provisions on which it is based. The Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act is codified at 31 USCA § 6301 et seq. The federal government has provided a description of its operation at https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants/grant-policies/federal-grant-cooperative-agreement-act-1977.html.
CONCLUSION
For all of the above reasons, whether taken separately or together, the proposed Notice is unauthorized and contrary to law. Therefore it cannot lawfully be implemented. Thank you for your consideration of these Comments.
Please read the disclaimer. This blog article ©2020 Dennis J. Wall; permission is freely given to leave Comments in response to this proposed federal Notice on regulations.gov, that may contain material from this article. All other rights reserved.
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