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Overview
The primary goals of the Department of Labor (DOL) paperwork reduction
effort are:
- Minimizing paperwork burden imposed on the American public
- Ensuring maximum utility and quality of federal information
- Ensuring the use of information technology to improve Government
performance
- Improving the federal government's accountability for managing
information collection activities.
These goals were set by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. The
PRA requires DOL and other federal agencies to be accountable for reducing the
burden of federal paperwork requirements. The Department's commitment to
reducing paper burdens is reflected in our Progress
Summary below.
The DOL Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) maintains a team
that provides oversight for paperwork reduction. Responsibilities include:
Progress Summary and Analysis for Reducing Paperwork Burden
The DOL is committed to reducing paperwork burden, and we have made progress in achieving federal goals. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) set government wide burden hour reduction goals of 10% for Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 and FY 1997, and 5% for FY 1998 - FY 2001. The Department adopted these reduction goals and by FY 2001, achieved an approximate 30% reduction in public burden hours. These reductions came as a result of program changes (those changes as a result of deliberate federal government action) and the recognition of adjustments (those changes that are not a result of federal government action, such as new estimates).
While the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 does not specify burden reduction goals for periods following FY 2001, the Department still makes every effort to ensure that it achieves maximum practicable reductions given its statutory and programmatic responsibilities. To that end, DOL’s total burden reduction for Fiscal Years 1995 through 2008 is approximately 41%. As noted above, these reductions came as a result of both program changes and the recognition of adjustments. The below table provides a year-by-year summary of DOL’s burden reduction progress.
ACTUAL BURDEN HOURS COMPARED TO PAPERWORK
REDUCTION ACT GOALS FISCAL YEARS 1995 THROUGH 2008
Overseeing Information Collections and
Paperwork Reduction Process
The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is responsible for
overseeing the paperwork reduction process. Requests for information
collections subject to the PRA must be announced for public comment in the
Federal Register, reviewed by the OCIO, and approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The CIO certifies that the DOL program agency has
fully complied with all provisions of the PRA and other applicable laws and
policies.
The OCIO reviews information collection requirements contained in
regulatory documents and in information collection requests to ensure:
- Legal authority or necessity for the collection of information
- Compliance with the PRA, GPEA, Privacy Act, and other applicable laws
- The collection imposes minimum burden on the public and offers
practical utility
We also provide overall management of DOLs information collection
enterprise including:
- Managing efforts to reduce DOL's public paperwork burden in
accordance with the Presidents Management Agenda
- Coordinating information collection activity with OMB and DOL
agencies
- Conducting public consultations as required by 5 CFR 1320.5
- Providing training and technical assistance on PRA requirements
- Managing data associated with DOLs information collection inventory
- Providing reports to OMB and DOL senior management
Maintaining and Reporting the Results of an
Annual Information Collection Budget
Annually, OMB issues a data request via an OMB Bulletin to all federal
agencies, which contains instructions for agency preparation of the Information
Collection Budget (ICB) submissions. The ICB serves as a mechanism to implement
the paperwork reduction program and to help Executive Branch departments to
better manage and control the use of federal information collections.
Throughout the year, OCIO tracks ICB data and initiatives designed to reduce
paperwork burden on the public, including the use of information technology to
reduce the burden. OCIO coordinates with DOL agencies to complete the ICB and
submits the report to OMB. OMB, in turn, uses this information to prepare the
federal government's ICB, which is submitted to Congress.
The Information Collection Budget of the United Statesis
available on the White House Web Site and can be viewed at the following URL:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/infocoll.html#icbusg
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