Overview
Title
Information Collection Request; Submission for OMB Review
Agencies
ELI5 AI
The Peace Corps wants to ask people some extra questions about their past, especially if they or their family know any secret agents, and they are asking everyone to share their thoughts about this to make sure it doesn't take too long or feel too hard to answer.
Summary AI
The Peace Corps has announced a 30-day period for public comments on a proposed new information collection request, which it plans to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This process is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The request involves a form titled "Supplemental Intelligence Background Questions," aimed at assessing any connections applicants or their relatives have to intelligence services, affecting their eligibility for employment or volunteering. The Peace Corps is inviting feedback on the necessity, burden, and accuracy of this data collection, including suggestions on minimizing respondent burden through technology.
Abstract
The Peace Corps will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The purpose of this notice is to allow 30 days for public comment in the Federal Register preceding submission to OMB. We are conducting this process in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Keywords AI
Sources
AnalysisAI
The document at hand is a notice from the Peace Corps about a new form titled "Supplemental Intelligence Background Questions". This form is intended as a follow-up to an existing questionnaire, designed to assess the kind of intelligence connections applicants or their relatives might have. The overarching goal is to determine whether these connections could affect an individual’s eligibility for employment or volunteering with the Peace Corps. This initiative is in line with the obligations set forth by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, which seeks to minimize the burden of data collection on individuals while ensuring that necessary information is gathered.
Summary of the Document
The Peace Corps is preparing to submit a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new information collection process. Before doing so, they are inviting the public to comment on the proposal. They have outlined a 30-day period during which feedback can be submitted, ending on January 6, 2025. The primary purpose of this proposed collection is to gather additional data about applicants' connections to intelligence agencies, which could affect their eligibility to join the Peace Corps.
Significant Issues and Concerns
Several issues warrant attention within this document. First, there is a potential ambiguity in the use of terms related to the "intelligence connections" of applicants or their relatives. The document does not clearly define what qualifies as such a connection, which could lead to subjective interpretations and inconsistencies. Additionally, there is a lack of detail regarding the calculations behind the estimated completion time of ten minutes per respondent and the annual burden hours. This might cause skepticism about the accuracy of these figures, especially among those familiar with such procedural assessments.
Moreover, the text could benefit from simplification. Certain sections are dense and could be more accessible to the general public, ensuring all readers fully understand what is being proposed and their potential role in it. Another concern is the oversight of privacy considerations; the document does not explicitly mention how the sensitive information collected will be protected, which is crucial given the nature of the data involved. Lastly, the notice directs comments to the FOIA/Privacy Act Officer, but it does not clarify the reason for this choice, potentially causing confusion about his role in this context.
Impact on the Public and Specific Stakeholders
The proposed information collection by the Peace Corps could broadly impact both potential applicants to the Peace Corps and their families, as it imposes an additional layer of scrutiny regarding intelligence connections. This may deter some individuals from applying if they or their relatives have such connections, even if those connections are benign or distant.
For applicants who might be unjustly affected by this policy, the option to appeal decisions is provided, which offers some recourse but could also potentially prolong the application process. The call for public comment is an opportunity for concerned parties and the general public to express their views and potentially influence the shaping of this policy to ensure it is fair and justified.
Potential Positive and Negative Impacts
For stakeholders focusing on national security, this additional vetting could be viewed positively as it aims to ensure that Peace Corps personnel do not have conflicting interests due to intelligence ties. Conversely, from a negative perspective, the criteria and methods for evaluating “intelligence connections” could be seen as overly intrusive or lacking transparency, leading to warranted public concern about privacy and civil liberties.
In summary, while the initiative is rooted in legitimate concerns regarding security and conflict of interest, the Peace Corps might need to address the ambiguities and clarify protective measures to ensure that the proposal is understood positively and supports its intended goals without unnecessary public apprehension.
Issues
• The abstract and the main text discuss different forms related to the Intelligence Background Questionnaire, which might be confusing. It mentions 'Supplemental Intelligence Background Questions' and the existing 'Intelligence Background Questionnaire (OMB Control Number 0420-0551)', but the exact relationship and differences are not clearly outlined.
• The term 'intelligence connection' is used repeatedly without a clear definition of what constitutes an 'intelligence connection'. This could be ambiguous and open to interpretation.
• Although the notice invites comments on the burden estimation, it lacks a detailed explanation of how the estimated completion time (10 minutes) and the annual burden hours (16.67 hours) were calculated. This might raise questions about the validity of these estimates.
• The language and structure, especially in the '*General Description of Collection*' and '*Request for Comment*', sections are somewhat dense and could be simplified for better understanding by the general public.
• The role of the FOIA/Privacy Act Officer in the context of this information collection request could be clarified. It's not immediately clear why comments should be directed to this officer.
• There is no information about any specific security measures or data protection protocols to safeguard the respondents' potentially sensitive information, which would be a concern given the nature of the information being collected.