Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) Program
| Published date | 26 August 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 47653 |
| Record Number | 2021-18358 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Transportation Security Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 163 (Thursday, August 26, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 163 (Thursday, August 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47653-47654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18358]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB
Review: Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) Program
AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security
(DHS).
ACTION: 30-Day notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request
(ICR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1652-0062,
abstracted below, to OMB for review and approval of a revision to the
currently approved collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its
expected burden. The collection allows TSA to conduct transportation
security-related assessments during site visits with surface
transportation security and operating officials.
DATES: Send your comments by September 27, 2021. A comment to OMB is
most effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments'' and by using the find function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina A. Walsh, TSA PRA Officer,
Information Technology (IT), TSA-11, Transportation Security
Administration, 6595 Springfield Center Drive, Springfield, VA 20598-
6011; telephone (571) 227-2062; email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TSA published a Federal Register notice,
with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following
collection of information on June 4, 2021, 86 FR 30065.
[[Page 47654]]
Comments Invited
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a valid OMB control number. The ICR documentation will be
available at http://www.reginfo.gov upon its submission to OMB.
Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and approval of the following
information collection, TSA is soliciting comments to--
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Information Collection Requirement
Title: Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) Program.
Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
OMB Control Number: 1652-0062.
Form(s): BASE electronic checklist.
Affected Public: Highway transportation asset owners and operators;
and, public transportation agencies, including mass transit bus, rail
transit, and less common types of service (such as cable cars, inclined
planes, funiculars, and automated guideway systems).
Abstract: TSA's BASE program works with existing (and new)
transportation asset and system owner/operators by asking established
questions to identify their current security posture, identify security
gaps, and encourage implementation of countermeasures applicable to the
specific surface mode of transportation. Data and results collected
through the BASE program will inform TSA's policy and program
initiatives and allow TSA to provide focused resources and tools to
enhance the overall security posture within these sectors of the
surface transportation community.
The Government Accountability Office, audit GAO-20-404, ``Passenger
Rail Security: TSA Engages with Stakeholders but Could Better Identify
and Share Standards and Key Practices (April 2020),'' recommended TSA
update the BASE cybersecurity questions to ensure they reflect key
practices.\1\ TSA concurred with this recommendation and is requesting
to revise the collection to include questions that cover all five core
functions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
cybersecurity framework. All core functions and a majority of the
subcategories are integrated with Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency guidelines and established industry best practices in
the newly-developed cybersecurity questions and cybersecurity annex
questions, strengthening the cybersecurity health for the
transportation sector.
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\1\ Additional information regarding this audit and the GAO's
recommendations are available on the GAO's website using the audit
number (GAO-20-0404) or at the following link: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-404.
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Number of Respondents: 182.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1,698 hours annually.\2\
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\2\ The annual burden has decreased since the publication of the
60-day notice, which reported 1,708 annual hour burden (MT/PR BASE
1,196 hours annually + HWY BASE 512 hours annually).
Dated: August 20, 2021.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2021-18358 Filed 8-25-21; 8:45 am]
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