Department of Agriculture Submits Information Collection Requests to OMB Under Paperwork Reduction Act

The Department of Agriculture published a notice in the Federal Register on November 6, 2026, announcing the submission of two information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The notice details administrative data collections concerning school nutrition standards and the recovery of delinquent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program debts, providing stakeholders and the public an opportunity to submit comments through December 7, 2026.

USDA Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool

The Food and Nutrition Administration submitted a reinstatement for an expired information collection titled the USDA Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool under OMB Control Number 0584-0626. Section 306 of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 mandates hiring standards and annual training for all personnel involved in preparing school meals. To help local educational agencies and school food authorities meet these requirements, the agency offers a web-based application tool at no cost.

While training requirements are compulsory, utilizing the tracking tool itself remains voluntary. State and local school district nutrition professionals may employ alternative methods to track and manage their training hours and learning objectives. State reviewers utilize reports generated from the system to prepare for onsite Administrative Reviews at school food authorities. The collection involves 10,006 respondents from state, local, or tribal governments, accounting for a total burden of 17,090 hours.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipient Claims

The second submission involves a reinstatement of an expired information collection for Federal Collection Methods for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipient Claims under OMB Control Number 0584-0446. Section 13(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and corresponding program regulations require state agencies to refer delinquent debts to another federal entity for third-party disclosure reporting to the Department of the Treasury for collection.

The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 mandates that eligible delinquent debts be referred to the Treasury for collection when they are 120 days or more delinquent. The Treasury Offset Program intercepts federal payments, such as tax refunds and federal salaries, to apply toward the outstanding debt. Although specific program regulations previously cited a longer timeframe, statutory requirements compel compliance with the 120-day threshold. State agencies submit files containing delinquent debts to the Food and Nutrition Administration on a weekly basis, which are then consolidated and forwarded to the Treasury.

This collection involves 272,214 respondents from state, local, or tribal governments, resulting in an estimated burden of 46,490 hours. The agency noted in the filing that data collection has continued during the expiration period to maintain compliance with underlying statutory mandates.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Public comments regarding the necessity of the information collections, the accuracy of the burden estimates, and methods to minimize respondent burden must be submitted by December 7, 2026, via the regulations website. These submissions reflect ongoing administrative obligations under federal statutes governing child nutrition and public assistance debt recovery.