In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is an extension, without change, of a currently approved collection for activities associated with administering emergency allotments (EA) waivers. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, enacted March 18, 2020, includes a general provision that allows the Department of Agriculture to issue EA waivers based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a state has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (PL 116-127), enacted March 18, 2020, includes a general provision that allows the Department of Agriculture to issue emergency allotments (EA) based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a state has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration. In January 2021, the Department obtained Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to collect the information as described in this notice for a period of one year (OMB Control Number 0584-0652; expiration 1/31/2022). The President's Executive Order on Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, issued Jan. 22, 2021, directed all federal agencies to consider administrative actions to better address the current economic crisis resulting from the pandemic. FNS reviewed existing EA policy and issued updated state guidance on April 1, 2021, outlining a new approach to calculating EA that provides greater equity for households most in need. The April 2021 guidance superseded previous guidance issued in March 2020 and April 2020.
The state agency process for requesting EA, as outlined in the April 2021 guidance, now includes an attestation requirement confirming that the state's emergency or disaster declaration remains active when requesting EA. On May 21, 2021, FNS provided further operational guidance to SNAP state agencies and regional offices in a Q&A document provided in response to questions raised during webinars based on the April 1, 2021 guidance.