Four Agencies Seek OMB Clearance for New and Renewed Information Collections

VA: New Recognition Application for Veteran-Serving Organizations

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs, is submitting a new information collection — the Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP) Recognition Application — to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The collection carries OMB Control Number 2900-NEW and is classified as a new collection. Comments and recommendations must be sent by August 28, 2026.

The notice grounds the collection in Section 129 of Public Law 118-210, the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (Dole Act), which requires VA to establish a process to recognize organizations and individuals that assist Veterans, family members, or caregivers with navigating available VHA programs and services, provided those organizations and individuals do not receive compensation or charge a fee for rendered services. The process VA developed includes an electronic application through which organizations and individuals submit standardized details for review by staff in the VHA National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP). VA has created a HAP Application completed through an online system.

The agency estimates 180 respondents, with an estimated average burden of 45 minutes per respondent and a total estimated annual burden of 135 hours. Responses are collected on a one-time basis and are directed at the private sector. A 60-day comment period notice was previously published at 91 FR 27138 on May 13, 2026.

State Department and FinCEN: Qualitative Customer Feedback Renewals

The Department of State is seeking OMB approval for an extension of a currently approved collection under OMB Control Number 1405-0193: the Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery. The public comment period runs through September 28, 2026.

The notice explains that this collection gathers qualitative customer feedback from individuals responding to Department of State customer service evaluation requests — specifically, brief surveys completed after interactions with a Department Program Office or Embassy. According to the notice, the feedback is intended to provide insights into customer perceptions, experiences, and expectations; offer an early warning of issues with service; and focus attention on areas where communication, training, or operational changes might improve delivery. The notice explicitly states that the data collected will not yield results suitable for quantitative analysis, such as monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Estimated respondents total 2,000,000, with an average time per response of 3.5 minutes and a total estimated annual burden time of 116,667 hours. Response is voluntary.

Separately, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department is seeking renewal, without change, of its own Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery, also with a comment deadline of September 28, 2026. FinCEN's notice explains the mechanics of a generic clearance: it is an umbrella OMB approval allowing an agency to obtain expedited approval for multiple, similar information collections, generally limited to collections that are voluntary, low-burden, and uncontroversial. The notice states that FinCEN first completed its initial generic clearance process in March 2011, and that once approved, a generic clearance plan may remain in place for up to three years, the maximum allowed under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FinCEN administers the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) under authority delegated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the BSA framework — including the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 — forms the statutory backdrop for FinCEN's broader information-collection activities.

DEA: New Centralized Database for Suspicious Controlled-Substance Orders

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Justice, is seeking OMB review of a proposed new collection titled "Suspicious Orders of Controlled Substances," with a 60-day comment period closing September 28, 2026. No form number will be assigned; the applicable component is the DEA's Diversion Control Division.

The notice roots the collection in Section 307 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 827), which requires controlled substance manufacturers and distributors to make periodic reports to DEA regarding the sale, delivery, and other disposal of certain controlled substances. The notice states that these reports help ensure a closed system of distribution for controlled substances and are used to comply with international treaty obligations. The collection is described as a centralized database for the reporting of all suspicious orders of controlled substances. The affected public is business or other for-profit entities. Public comment on the associated notice of proposed rulemaking was solicited at 85 FR 69282 on November 2, 2020, during a 60-day comment period; no comments on PRA were received at that time.

DEA estimates 178 registrants will participate, with a time per response of 0.16669 minutes. The agency estimates 739,429 total annual responses and 12,324 total annual burden hours, with a monetized value of respondent time of $749,546. The estimated total annual cost burden of the collection itself is $0.

PBGC: Technical Correction to Single-Employer Plan Valuation Rule

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued a correction to a rule document that originally appeared on pages 39463–39465 in the Federal Register on June 30, 2026, concerning 29 CFR Part 4044 — Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans; Interest Assumptions for Valuing Benefits. The correction addresses two table heading errors in that document: on page 39464, the heading "TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH--SPREADS" is corrected to read "TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH(e)--SPREADS," and on page 39465, the continued table heading is corrected correspondingly to "TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH(e)--SPREADS--Continued."

What to Watch

• August 28, 2026 — Deadline for public comments on the VA's HAP Recognition Application information collection (OMB Control No. 2900-NEW).
• September 28, 2026 — Deadline for public comments on three separate collections: the State Department's qualitative feedback generic clearance extension (OMB Control No. 1405-0193); the DEA's proposed new Suspicious Orders of Controlled Substances centralized database; and FinCEN's renewal without change of its qualitative feedback generic clearance.

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