OMB requires agencies to detail paperwork reduction goals

Agencies not meeting paperwork reduction goals will have to electronically file information with the Office of Management and Budget about how they are complying with burden reduction laws.In a recent , John Graham, administrator of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, gave several CIOs guidance for preparation and submission of information to his office that will be the basis for the fiscal 2006 Information Collection Budget. Submissions are due Nov. 21.The ICB, an annual report, details information collection burdens on the public and gauges agencies’ progress in complying with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.“Our goal this year is to eliminate all existing violations of the PRA as soon as possible,” Graham wrote.Graham sent the letter to 27 agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Defense, State and Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.Graham said that agencies must give status reports on paperwork reduction programs initiated last year, and added that OMB may schedule meetings in early 2006 on any new plans to comply with the rules.CIOs also must submit descriptions of new initiatives along with their agency’s comprehensive burden accounting, including aggregate burden totals, program changes broken into categories and examples of burden changes.