What is the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and PRA Clearance?
A. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance is the term used for the process of obtaining approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for federally sponsored data collections as required by the PRA. OMB was originally granted this authority in 1940 under the Federal Reports Act. Due to increasing complaints from the public about duplicate and lengthy federal government data collections, Congress passed the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1980 which were reissued in 1995. The purpose of the Act remains to ensure that federal agencies do not overburden the public with federally sponsored data collections. OMB review considerations range from policy issues to statistical design and methodology. OMB pays particular attention to the practical utility of the data to the federal government. PRA clearance is required when standardized data collection from 10 or more respondents is collected in response to a federally sponsored data collection within a 12 month period. Many use the
