Notice of Change to an Expenditure Deadline Under the CARES Act for Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response Grants, 23683-23684 [2023-08158]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 18, 2023 / Notices ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (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 through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. Overview of This Information Collection (1) Type of Information Collection: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal. (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the DHS sponsoring the collection: I–212, eSAFE; USCIS. (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. Sections 212(a)(9)(A) and 212(a)(9)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) render an alien inadmissible to the United States unless he or she obtains the consent to reapply (also known as permission to reapply) for admission to the United States. An alien who is inadmissible under these provisions has either been removed (deported, or excluded) from the United States, or illegally reentered after having been removed (deported, or excluded), or illegally reentered after having accrued more than one year of unlawful presence in the United States. The information collection required on an Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal, Form I– 212, is necessary for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to determine whether the applicant is eligible to file the waiver. If the application is approved, the alien will be permitted to apply for admission to the United States, after being granted a visa with the Department of State (DOS) as either an immigrant or a nonimmigrant. (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 259001 respond: The estimated total number of respondents for the information collection I–212 is 6,800 and the estimated hour burden per response is 1.87 hours. The estimated total number of respondents for the information collection e-SAFE is 1,200 and the estimated hour burden per response is 2 hours. The estimated total number of respondents for the information collection Biometrics is 350 and the estimated hour burden per response is 1.17 hour. (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated with this collection is 15,503 hours. (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated with this collection of information is $364,260. Dated: April 11, 2023. Samantha L Deshommes, Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security. [FR Doc. 2023–08130 Filed 4–17–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9111–97–P DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR–6218–N–02] Notice of Change to an Expenditure Deadline Under the CARES Act for Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response Grants Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, HUD. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: On August 20, 2020, HUD issued a notice providing for the program rules, statutory and regulatory waivers, and alternative requirements applicable to supplemental Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds made available to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus (CDBG–CV funds) and to annual formula CDBG grants awarded in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. This notice describes a change to one of the regulatory waivers and alternative requirements applicable to the CDBG–CV funds. The change removes the requirement that eighty percent of a grant must be expended within three years of grant agreement execution. Except as otherwise described in this notice, the August 2020 Notice, the CARES Act, and the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 23683 statutory and regulatory provisions governing the CDBG program continue to apply to CDBG–CV funds. DATES: April 18, 2023. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Savin Ven Johnson, Deputy Director, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 202–708–3587. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/ consumers/guides/telecommunicationsrelay-service-trs. Facsimile inquiries may be sent to Ms. Ven Johnson at 202– 708–0033. Except for the ‘‘800’’ number, these telephone numbers are not tollfree. Questions regarding the CDBG–CV program may be submitted to CPDQuestionsAnswered@hud.gov. Interested parties may also visit HUD’s website at https://www.hud.gov/ program_offices/comm_planning for updated information and resources. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Overview and Background The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116– 136) (CARES Act) was signed March 27, 2020. The CARES Act made $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) coronavirus response (CDBG–CV) funds available to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. CDBG–CV and CDBG grants are a flexible source of funding that can be used to pay costs that are not covered by other sources of assistance, particularly to benefit persons of low and moderate income. The CARES Act also provided the Secretary the authority to grant waivers and alternative requirements to quickly administer the funds. On August 20, 2020, HUD published in the Federal Register a Notice of Program Rules, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements Under the CARES Act for Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response Grants, Fiscal Year 2019 and 2020 Community Development Block Grants, and for Other Formula Programs (August 2020 Notice) to provide requirements applicable to HUD grantees for the use of CDBG–CV funds. 85 FR 51457. In the August 2020 Notice in Section III on CDBG–CV Grants, HUD established a Period of Performance requirement, in paragraph III.B.7.(a), which required a E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM 18APN1 23684 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 18, 2023 / Notices six-year expenditure deadline in the CDBG–CV grant agreement as well as a requirement that each grantee must expend at least 80 percent of their CDBG–CV funds within three years (Three-Year Requirement). The ThreeYear-Requirement was based on CDBG expenditure patterns in more usual times. Since January 21, 2020, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case in the United States of a coronavirus known by several names, including novel coronavirus, and SARSCoV–2, and which causes the disease commonly referred to as COVID–19, the course of the ensuing pandemic caused unforeseen obstacles for grantees implementing their CDBG and CDBG– CV assisted activities. The Three-Year Requirement, set in August 2020, did not take into account the expenditure delays that would be caused by the pandemic, such as major supply chain issues for construction materials, prolonged shutdowns, and the other economic effects of quarantines, social distancing, and workers dropping out of the workforce to care for family members. In hindsight, these forces delayed construction launch and completion, stalled inspections, and—despite strenuous grantee efforts—delayed at least some activities for virtually every CDBG–CV grantee. Delays were compounded for CDBG–CV grantees as State and local staff struggled to adjust to remote or hybrid work while implementing a spate of other fastmoving and often overlapping CARES, FEMA, and American Rescue Plan (enacted March 3, 2021) funding from multiple agencies while considering the best uses for each funding source and preventing duplications of benefit. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 II. This Notice Due to COVID–19, more than a third of the 1,200 plus CDBG–CV grantees need more time to achieve the 80 percent expenditure target (based on data from the IDIS online information system from March 2023). In response to the delay experienced by grantees and given HUD’s experience with slow distribution of funds, this notice removes the August 2020 Notice’s paragraph III.B.7.(a) Three-Year Requirement to expend 80 percent of funds for CDBG–CV funds. This Notice maintains the paragraph III.B.7.(a) Period of Performance requirement that provides grantees of CDBG–CV funds a VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:08 Apr 17, 2023 Jkt 259001 six-year period of performance and 100 percent expenditure requirement.1 consumers/guides/telecommunicationsrelay-service-trs. III. Findings and Certifications Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. Paperwork Reduction Act The information collection requirements in this notice have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501– 3520) and assigned OMB Control Number 2506–0085. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers for the CDBG–CV grants under the CARES Act are: 14.218 (Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants); 14.225 (Community Development Block Grants/Special Purpose Grants/Insular Areas); and 14.228 (Community Development Block Grants/State’s Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii) (formerly CDBG Grant/Small Cities Program). Environmental Impact A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the environment has been made in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is available for inspection at HUD’s Funding Opportunities web page at: https:// www.hud.gov/grants/. The FONSI is available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410– 0500. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the docket file must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202–708–3055 (this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/ 1 24 CFR 570.200(k) and 24 CFR 570.480(h) allow HUD to establish a period for performance and expenditure that is shorter than the normal period. PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 [FR Doc. 2023–08158 Filed 4–17–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4210–67–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs [234A2100DD/AAKC001030/ A0A501010.999900] Land Acquisitions; the Samish Indian Nation, Washington Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs has made a final determination to acquire 0.52 acres, more or less, into trust for the Samish Indian Nation, Washington. DATES: This final determination was made on April 11, 2023. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carla H. Clark, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Real Estate Services, 1001 Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, comments@bia.gov, (720) 484–3233. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the date listed in the DATES section of this notice, the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs issued a decision to accept land in trust for the Samish Indian Nation, Washington under the authority of Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 984). The land referred to herein, consisting of 0.52 acres, more or less, is in Skagit County, State of Washington, described as follows: SUMMARY: Legal Description of Property Parcel Nos.: 56258, 106717—Longhouse Property The east 1⁄2 of lot 13 and all of lots 14 through 20, inclusive, block 208, ‘‘map of the city of Anacortes’’, as per plat recorded in volume 2 of plats, pages 4, 5, 6 and 7, records of Skagit county, Washington. Authority This notice is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 209 Departmental Manual 8.1 and is published to comply with the requirements of 25 CFR 151.12(c)(2)(ii) that notice of the decision to acquire E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM 18APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23683-23684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08158]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6218-N-02]


Notice of Change to an Expenditure Deadline Under the CARES Act 
for Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response 
Grants

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On August 20, 2020, HUD issued a notice providing for the 
program rules, statutory and regulatory waivers, and alternative 
requirements applicable to supplemental Community Development Block 
Grant (CDBG) funds made available to prevent, prepare for, and respond 
to coronavirus (CDBG-CV funds) and to annual formula CDBG grants 
awarded in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. This notice describes a change 
to one of the regulatory waivers and alternative requirements 
applicable to the CDBG-CV funds. The change removes the requirement 
that eighty percent of a grant must be expended within three years of 
grant agreement execution. Except as otherwise described in this 
notice, the August 2020 Notice, the CARES Act, and the statutory and 
regulatory provisions governing the CDBG program continue to apply to 
CDBG-CV funds.

DATES: April 18, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Savin Ven Johnson, Deputy Director, 
Office of Block Grant Assistance, Office of Community Planning and 
Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Room 7282, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number 202-708-
3587. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals 
who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or 
communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an 
accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Facsimile inquiries may be 
sent to Ms. Ven Johnson at 202-708-0033. Except for the ``800'' number, 
these telephone numbers are not toll-free. Questions regarding the 
CDBG-CV program may be submitted to [email protected]. 
Interested parties may also visit HUD's website at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning for updated information and resources.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview and Background

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 
116-136) (CARES Act) was signed March 27, 2020. The CARES Act made $5 
billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) coronavirus 
response (CDBG-CV) funds available to prevent, prepare for, and respond 
to coronavirus. CDBG-CV and CDBG grants are a flexible source of 
funding that can be used to pay costs that are not covered by other 
sources of assistance, particularly to benefit persons of low and 
moderate income. The CARES Act also provided the Secretary the 
authority to grant waivers and alternative requirements to quickly 
administer the funds.
    On August 20, 2020, HUD published in the Federal Register a Notice 
of Program Rules, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements Under the CARES 
Act for Community Development Block Grant Program Coronavirus Response 
Grants, Fiscal Year 2019 and 2020 Community Development Block Grants, 
and for Other Formula Programs (August 2020 Notice) to provide 
requirements applicable to HUD grantees for the use of CDBG-CV funds. 
85 FR 51457. In the August 2020 Notice in Section III on CDBG-CV 
Grants, HUD established a Period of Performance requirement, in 
paragraph III.B.7.(a), which required a

[[Page 23684]]

six-year expenditure deadline in the CDBG-CV grant agreement as well as 
a requirement that each grantee must expend at least 80 percent of 
their CDBG-CV funds within three years (Three-Year Requirement). The 
Three-Year-Requirement was based on CDBG expenditure patterns in more 
usual times.
    Since January 21, 2020, when the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case in the United States of a 
coronavirus known by several names, including novel coronavirus, and 
SARS-CoV-2, and which causes the disease commonly referred to as COVID-
19, the course of the ensuing pandemic caused unforeseen obstacles for 
grantees implementing their CDBG and CDBG-CV assisted activities. The 
Three-Year Requirement, set in August 2020, did not take into account 
the expenditure delays that would be caused by the pandemic, such as 
major supply chain issues for construction materials, prolonged 
shutdowns, and the other economic effects of quarantines, social 
distancing, and workers dropping out of the workforce to care for 
family members.
    In hindsight, these forces delayed construction launch and 
completion, stalled inspections, and--despite strenuous grantee 
efforts--delayed at least some activities for virtually every CDBG-CV 
grantee. Delays were compounded for CDBG-CV grantees as State and local 
staff struggled to adjust to remote or hybrid work while implementing a 
spate of other fast-moving and often overlapping CARES, FEMA, and 
American Rescue Plan (enacted March 3, 2021) funding from multiple 
agencies while considering the best uses for each funding source and 
preventing duplications of benefit.

II. This Notice

    Due to COVID-19, more than a third of the 1,200 plus CDBG-CV 
grantees need more time to achieve the 80 percent expenditure target 
(based on data from the IDIS online information system from March 
2023). In response to the delay experienced by grantees and given HUD's 
experience with slow distribution of funds, this notice removes the 
August 2020 Notice's paragraph III.B.7.(a) Three-Year Requirement to 
expend 80 percent of funds for CDBG-CV funds. This Notice maintains the 
paragraph III.B.7.(a) Period of Performance requirement that provides 
grantees of CDBG-CV funds a six-year period of performance and 100 
percent expenditure requirement.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 24 CFR 570.200(k) and 24 CFR 570.480(h) allow HUD to 
establish a period for performance and expenditure that is shorter 
than the normal period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Findings and Certifications

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements in this notice have been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned OMB 
Control Number 2506-0085. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the collection displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers for the CDBG-CV 
grants under the CARES Act are: 14.218 (Community Development Block 
Grants/Entitlement Grants); 14.225 (Community Development Block Grants/
Special Purpose Grants/Insular Areas); and 14.228 (Community 
Development Block Grants/State's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in 
Hawaii) (formerly CDBG Grant/Small Cities Program).

Environmental Impact

    A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to the 
environment has been made in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 
part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The FONSI is 
available for inspection at HUD's Funding Opportunities web page at: 
https://www.hud.gov/grants/. The FONSI is available for public 
inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in the Regulations 
Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. 
Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance 
appointment to review the docket file must be scheduled by calling the 
Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 (this is not a toll-free number). 
HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or 
communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an 
accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.

Marion McFadden,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-08158 Filed 4-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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