5826 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

statement of activities for review in a 

newspaper, provided a notice is sent to 

all tribal members in the area or some 

other acceptable manner of notification 

is used, and provided that this is 

accomplished within the timeframes 

that are specified in 7 CFR 1944.674. 

As part of the application, all 

applicants must also provide a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number. As required by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), all grant applicants must 

provide a DUNS number when applying 

for Federal grants, on or after October 1, 

2003. Organizations can receive a DUNS 

number at no cost by calling the 

dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 

request line at 1–866–705–5711. 

Additional information concerning this 

requirement is provided in a policy 

directive issued by OMB and published 

in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003 

(Vol. 68, No. 124, pages 38402–38405). 

To comply with the President’s 

Management Agenda, the Department of 

Agriculture is participating as a partner 

in the new government-wide Grants.gov 

site in FY 2004. Housing Preservation 

Grants (Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance # 10.433) is one of the 

programs included at this website. If 

you are an applicant under the Housing 

Preservation Grant Program, you may 

submit your application to the Agency 

in either electronic or paper format. 

Please be mindful that the application 

deadline for electronic format differs 

from the deadline for paper format. The 

electronic format deadline will be based 

on Washington DC time. The paper 

format deadline is local time for each 

Rural Development State Office. 

Users of Grants.gov will be able to 

download a copy of the application 

package, complete it off line, and then 

upload and submit the application via 

the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail 

an electronic copy of a grant application 

to RHS; however, the Agency 

encourages your participation in 

Grants.gov.

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, 

you will find information about 

submitting an application electronically 

through the site as well as the hours of 

operation. RHS strongly recommends 

that you do not wait until the 

application deadline date to begin the 

application process through Grants.gov.

To use Grants.gov, applicants must have 

a DUNS number. 

• You may submit all documents 

electronically through the website, 

including all information typically 

included on the application for Rural 

Housing Preservation Grants, and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

• Your application must comply with 

any page limit requirements described 

in this Notice. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application through the website, 

you will receive an automatic 

acknowledgement from Grants.gov that 

contains a Grants.gov tracking number. 

• RHS may request that you provide 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

• If you experience technical 

difficulties on the closing date and are 

unable to meet the 5 p.m. (Washington, 

DC time) deadline, print out your 

application and submit it to your State 

Office. If you must submit the 

application to your State Office, you 

must meet the closing date and local 

time deadline. 

You may access the electronic grant 

application for Housing Preservation 

Grants at: http://www.grants.gov.

Please note that you must locate the 

downloadable application package for 

this program by the CFDA Number or 

FedGrants Funding Opportunity 

Number, which can be found at http://

www.fedgrants.gov.

Funding Information 

The funding instrument for the HPG 

Program will be a grant agreement. The 

term of the grant can vary from 1 to 2 

years, depending on available funds and 

demand. No maximum or minimum 

grant levels have been established at the 

National level. If and when a final 

appropriation act is enacted providing 

funding for the HPG Program, you 

should contact the Rural Development 

State Office to determine the allocation 

and the State maximum grant level, if 

any. From funds available for the HPG 

Program, there will be monies set aside 

for grants located in Empowerment 

Zones, Enterprise Communities, and 

Rural Economic Area Partnership Zones 

and other funds will be distributed 

under a formula allocation to States 

pursuant to 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2593 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service 

Notice for Requests for Proposals for 

Guaranteed Loans Under the Section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) for Fiscal Year 2004

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This is a request for proposals 

for guaranteed loans under the section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) pursuant to 7 CFR 

3565.4 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 subject 

to the availability of funding. FY 2003 

funding for the section 538 program was 

$99.350 million. This notice is being 

issued prior to passage of a final 

appropriations bill to allow applicants 

sufficient time to leverage financing and 

submit proposals in the form of 

‘‘RESPONSES’’, and give the Agency 

maximum time to process applications 

within the current fiscal year. A Notice 

of Funding Availability will be 

published announcing the funding level 

for the GRRHP for FY 2004 once an 

appropriation act has been enacted. The 

commitment of program dollars will be 

made to applicants of selected responses 

that have fulfilled the necessary 

requirements for obligation, to the 

extent an appropriation act provides 

funding for GRRHP for FY 2004. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. The following paragraphs outline 

the timeframes, eligibility requirements, 

lender responsibilities, and the overall 

response and application processes. 

The GRRHP operates under 7 CFR 

part 3565. The GRRHP Origination and 

Servicing Handbook (HB–1–3565) is 

available to provide lenders and the 

general public with guidance on 

program administration. HB–1–3565, 

which contains a copy of 7 CFR part 

3565 in Appendix 1, can be found at the 

Rural Development Instructions Web 

site at http://rdinit.usda.gov/regs.

Eligible lenders are invited to submit 

responses for the development of 

affordable rental housing to serve rural 

America. The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS) will review responses submitted 

by eligible lenders, on the lender’s 

letterhead, and signed by both the 

prospective borrower and lender. 

Although a complete application is not 

required in response to this notice, 

eligible lenders may submit a complete 

application concurrently with the 

response. The submission of a complete 

application will not affect the scoring 

process.

DATES: Program dollars will be allocated 

through a continuous selection process 

to the extent and when an appropriation 

act provides funding for GRRHP for FY 

2004. The RHS will review all responses 

on an on-going basis through May 14, 

2004. Those responses that are selected 

that subsequently submit complete 

applications and meet all Federal 

environmental requirements will 

receive commitments to the extent an 

appropriation act provides funding for 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5827

GRRHP for FY 2004 until all funds are 

expended. If any FY 2004 funds have 

not been exhausted by May 14, 2004, 

the Agency will continue receiving and 

reviewing responses until all funds are 

expended. A notice will be published in 

the Federal Register when all funds are 

committed for FY 2004. 

Eligible lenders intending to mail a 

response or application must provide 

sufficient time to permit delivery to the 

submission address on or before the 

closing deadline date. Acceptance by a 

U.S. Post Office or private mailer does 

not constitute delivery. Postage due 

responses and applications will not be 

accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Arlene Nunes, Senior Loan Specialist, 

Guaranteed Loans, Multi-Family 

Housing Processing Division, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, South 

Agriculture Building, Room 1271, STOP 

0781, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0781. E-mail: 

arlene.nunes@usda.gov. Telephone: 

(202) 401–2307. This number is not tollfree. Hearing or speech-impaired 

persons may access that number by 

calling the Federal Information Relay 

Service toll-free at (800) 877–8339. 

Eligiblity of Prior Year Selected NOFA 

Responses: NOFA responses selected in 

prior years, but not yet funded, are 

eligible for FY 2004 program dollars 

subject to the availability of funds. Prior 

year NOFA responses selected by RHS 

for submission of a complete 

application may submit an application 

for competition for FY 2004 funding 

without completing a FY 2004 response. 

All qualified applications will be 

funded on a first come basis until all 

program funds are exhausted. RHS will 

commit and obligate funds only to 

lenders that submit a complete 

application, including all Federal 

environmental documents required by 7 

CFR part 1940, subpart G, Form RD 

3565–1, and the $2,500 application fee. 

General Program Information 

Program Purpose: The section 538 

Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program is designed to increase the 

supply of affordable multi-family 

housing through partnerships between 

the RHS and major lending sources, as 

well as state and local housing finance 

agencies and bond issuers. 

Responses Must be Submitted By: The 

Agency will only accept responses from 

GRRHP eligible or approved lenders as 

described in 7 CFR 3565.102 and 

3565.103 respectively. 

Qualifying Properties: Qualifying 

properties include new construction for 

multi-family housing units or 

acquisition of existing structures with 

minimum per unit rehabilitation 

expenditure requirements in accordance 

with 7 CFR 3565.252. The portion of 

guaranteed funds for acquisition with 

rehabilitation is limited to 25 percent of 

the program authority. 

Eligible Financing Sources: Any form 

of Federal, State, and conventional 

sources of financing can be used in 

conjunction with the loan guarantee, 

including Home Investment Partnership 

Program (HOME) grant funds, tax 

exempt bonds, and low income housing 

tax credits. 

Maximum Guarantee: The maximum 

guarantee for a permanent loan will be 

90 percent of the unpaid balance and 

interest on the loan. The maximum 

guarantee on a construction loan will be 

90 percent of the work in place, which 

have credit enhancements, or up to 90 

percent of the amount actually 

advanced by the lender, whichever is 

less. 

Reimbursement of Losses: Any losses 

will be split on a pro-rata basis between 

the lender and the RHS from the first 

dollar lost.

Interest Rate: RHS will accept the best 

rate negotiated between the lender and 

prospective borrower. The lender is not 

required to provide the interest rate in 

the response unless interest credit 

assistance is requested for the project. 

Priority points will be given for interest 

rates less than 250 basis points above 

the monthly Applicable Federal Rate 

(AFR), on the day of closing, when 

interest credit assistance is requested. In 

all cases, interest rates must be fixed 

over the term of the loan. 

Interest Credit: RHS will award 

interest credit to at least 20 percent of 

the loans made under the program. If 20 

percent of the loans have not received 

interest credit by May 14, 2004, then 

RHS will award interest credit to those 

loans that initially requested interest 

credit and have the highest interest 

credit priority score until at least 20% 

of the loans have received interest 

credit. Requests for interest credit must 

be made in the response. Lenders are 

not permitted to make requests for 

interest credit after the selection process 

has taken place. 

Due to limited funding and in order 

to distribute interest credit assistance as 

broadly as possible, the Agency has 

decided to limit the interest credit to 

$1.5 million per project. For example, if 

an eligible request were made for 

interest credit on a loan of $2.5 million, 

up to $1.5 million of the loan would 

receive interest credit. Interest credit is 

not available for construction loans. 

Interest credit is only available for 

permanent loans. Lenders with projects 

that are viable with or without interest 

credit are encouraged to submit a 

response reflecting financial and market 

feasibility under both funding options. 

Responses requesting consideration 

under both options will not affect 

interest credit selection. However, once 

the interest credit funds are exhausted, 

only those responses requesting 

consideration under both funding 

options or the Non-Interest Credit 

option will be further considered. 

Due to limited interest credit funds 

and the responsibility of RHS to target 

and give priority to rural areas most in 

need, responses requesting interest 

credit must score a minimum of 65 

points under the criteria established in 

this notice. In the event of ties, selection 

between responses will be by lot. 

Surcharges for Guarantee of 

Construction Advances: There is no 

surcharge for the guarantee of 

construction advances for FY 2004. 

Program Fees for FY 2004: The 

following information stipulates the 

program fees. 

(1) There is an initial guarantee fee of 

1 percent of the total guarantee amount, 

which will be due when the loan 

guarantee is issued. In the case of a 

combination construction and 

permanent loan guarantee, the 1 percent 

initial fee will be paid when the 

construction loan note guarantee is 

issued. For purposes of calculating this 

fee, the guarantee amount is the product 

of the percentage of the guarantee times 

the initial principal amount of the 

guaranteed loan. 

(2) There is an annual renewal fee of 

0.5 percent of the outstanding principal 

and interest of the loan. This fee will be 

collected annually on January 1st of 

each calendar year. 

(3) There is no fee for site assessment 

and market analysis or preliminary 

feasibility in FY 2004. 

(4) There is a non-refundable 

application fee of $2,500 when the 

application is submitted. 

(5) There is a flat fee of $500 when a 

lender requests RHS to extend the term 

of a guarantee commitment. 

(6) There is a flat fee of $500 when a 

lender requests RHS to extend a 

guarantee commitment after the period 

of the commitment lapses. 

(7) There is a flat fee of $1,250 when 

a lender requests RHS to approve the 

transfer of property and assumption of 

the loan to an eligible prospective 

borrower. 

(8) There is no lender application fee 

for lender approval in FY 2004. 

Eligible Lenders: An eligible lender 

for the section 538 GRRHP as required 

by 7 CFR 3565.102 must be a licensed 

business entity or Housing Finance 

Agency (HFA) in good standing in the 

5828 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

state or states where it conducts 

business. Lender eligibility 

requirements are contained in 7 CFR 

3565.102. Below is a list of some of the 

eligible lender criteria under 7 CFR 

3565.102: 

(1) Licensed business entity that 

meets the qualifications and has the 

approval of the Secretary of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD) to make 

multi-family housing loans that are 

insured under the National Housing 

Act. A complete list of HUD approved 

lenders can be found on the HUD Web 

site at http://www.hud.gov.

(2) A licensed business entity that 

meets the qualifications and has the 

approval of the Freddie Mac or Fannie 

Mae corporations to make multi-family 

housing loans that are sold to the same 

corporations. A complete list of Freddie 

Mac approved lenders can be found on 

the Freddie Mac Web site at http://

www.freddiemac.com. Fannie Mae 

approved lenders are found at http://

www.fanniemae.com.

(3) A state or local HFA with a toptier rating from Moody’s or Standard & 

Poors, or member of the Federal Home 

Loan Bank system, and the 

demonstrated ability to underwrite, 

originate, process, close, service, 

manage, and dispose of multi-family 

housing loans in a prudent manner. 

(4) Be a GRRHP approved lender, 

defined as an entity with an executed 

multi-family housing Lender’s 

Agreement with RHS.

(5) Lenders that can demonstrate the 

capacity to underwrite, originate, 

process, close, service, manage, and 

dispose of multi-family housing loans in 

a prudent manner. In order to be 

approved the lender will have to have 

an acceptable level of financial 

soundness as determined by a lender 

rating service. The submission of 

materials demonstrating capacity will be 

required if the lender’s response is 

selected. 

Lenders who are otherwise ineligible 

may become eligible if they maintain a 

correspondent relationship with an 

eligible lender that does have the 

capacity to underwrite, originate, 

process, close, service, manage, and 

dispose of multi-family housing loans in 

a prudent manner. In this case, the 

eligible lender must submit the response 

and application. All contractual and 

legal documentation will be signed 

between RHS and the lender that 

submitted the response and application. 

RHS Lender Approval Application:

Lenders whose responses are selected 

will be notified by the RHS to submit a 

request for RHS lender approval 

application within 30 days of 

notification. Lenders that have received 

RHS lender approval in the past and are 

in good standing do not need to reapply 

for RHS lender approval. 

Submission of Documentation for 

RHS Lender Approval: All lenders that 

have not yet received RHS lender 

approval must submit a complete 

application for RHS lender approval to 

the Director of the Multi-Family 

Housing Processing Division at the 

address provided in the ‘‘NOTICE 

SUBMISSION ADDRESS’’ section of 

this notice. As RHS does not have a 

formal application form, a complete 

application will consist of a cover letter 

requesting RHS lender approval and the 

following documentation: 

(1) Request for RHS lender approval 

on the lender’s letterhead; 

(2) Lenders who are HUD, Freddie 

Mac or Fannie Mae multi-family 

approved lenders are required to show 

evidence of this status, such as a copy 

of a letter designating the distinction; 

(3) The lender’s Loan Origination, 

Loan Servicing and Portfolio 

Management Handbooks. These 

handbooks should detail the lender’s 

policies and procedures on loan 

origination through termination for 

multi-family loans; 

(4) Portfolio performance data; 

(5) Copies of standard documents that 

will be used in processing GRRHP 

loans; 

(6) Resumes and qualifications of key 

personnel that will be involved in the 

GRRHP; 

(7) Identification of standards and 

processes that deviate from those 

outlined in the GRRHP Origination and 

Servicing Handbook (HB–1–3565) found 

at http://rdinit.usda.gov/regs;

(8) A copy of the most recent audited 

financial statements; 

(9) Lender specific information 

including: (a) Legal name and address, 

(b) list of principal officers and their 

responsibilities, (c) certification that the 

officers and principals of the lender 

have not been debarred or suspended 

from Federal programs, (d) Form AD 

1047, (e) certification that the lender is 

not in default or delinquent on any 

Federal debt or loan, or possess an 

outstanding finding of deficiency in a 

Federal housing program, and (f) 

certification of the lender’s credit rating; 

and 

(10) Documentation on bonding and 

insurance. 

RHS Lender Approval Requirements:

Lenders who request RHS lender 

approval must meet the standards 

stipulated in the 7 CFR 3565.103.

Lender Responsibilities: Lenders will 

be responsible for the full range of loan 

origination, underwriting, management, 

servicing, compliance issues and 

property disposition activities 

associated with their projects. The 

lender will be expected to provide 

guidance to the prospective borrower on 

the RHS requirements during the 

application phase. Once the guarantee is 

issued, the lender is expected to service 

each loan it underwrites or contract 

these services to another capable entity. 

Discussion of Notice 

Content of Notice Responses: All 

responses require lender information 

and project specific data. Incomplete 

responses will not be considered for 

funding. Lenders will be notified of 

incomplete responses. Complete 

responses are to include a signed cover 

letter from the lender on the lender’s 

letterhead and the following 

information: 

(1) Lender certification—The lender 

must certify that the lender will make a 

loan to the prospective borrower for the 

proposed project, under specified terms 

and conditions subject to the issuance of 

the RHS guarantee. Lender certification 

must be on the lender’s letterhead and 

signed by both the lender and the 

prospective borrower. 

(2) Project specific data—The lender 

must submit the project specific data 

below on the lender’s letterhead, signed 

by both the lender and the prospective 

borrower.

Lender Name ............................................................................................ Insert the lender’s name. 

Lender Tax ID # ....................................................................................... Insert lender’s tax ID #. 

Lender Contact Name .............................................................................. Name of the lender contact for loan 

Mailing Address ........................................................................................ Lender’s complete mailing address 

Phone # .................................................................................................... Phone # for lender contact. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5829

Fax # ......................................................................................................... Insert lender’s fax #. 

E-mail Address ......................................................................................... Insert lender contact e-mail address. 

Borrower Name and Organization Type .................................................. State whether borrower is a Limited Partnership, Corporation, Indian 

Tribe, etc. 

Tax Classification Type ............................................................................ State whether borrower is for profit, not for profit, etc. 

Borrower Tax ID # .................................................................................... Insert borrower’s tax ID #. 

Borrower Address, including County ........................................................ Insert borrower’s address and county. 

Borrower Phone # .................................................................................... Insert borrower’s phone #. 

Principal or Key Member for the Borrower .............................................. Insert name and title. 

Borrower Information and Statement of Housing Development Experience.Attach relevant information. 

New Construction or Acquisition or Repair or Rehabilitation ................... State whether the project is new construction or acquisition or repair or 

rehabilitation. 

Project Location Town or City .................................................................. Town or city in which the project is located. 

Project County .......................................................................................... County in which the project is located. 

Project State ............................................................................................. State in which the project is located. 

Project Zip Code ....................................................................................... Insert zip code. 

Project Congressional District .................................................................. Congressional District for project location. 

Project Name ............................................................................................ Insert project name. 

Project Type ............................................................................................. Family, senior (all residents over 55), or mixed. 

Property Description and Proposed Development Schedule ................... Provide as an attachment. 

Total Project Development Cost .............................................................. Enter amount for total project. 

# of Units .................................................................................................. Insert the # of units in the project. 

Cost Per Unit ............................................................................................ Total development cost divided by # of units. 

Bedroom Mix ............................................................................................ # of units by # of bedrooms. 

Rent .......................................................................................................... Proposed rent structure. 

Median Income for Community ................................................................ Provide median income for the community. 

Evidence of Site Control ........................................................................... Attach relevant information.

Description of Any Environmental Issues ................................................ Attach relevant information. 

Loan Amount ............................................................................................ Insert the loan amount. 

Interest Credit (IC) .................................................................................... Is interest credit requested for this loan? (Yes or No) 

Interest Rate (for interest credit requests only) ....................................... Lenders seeking interest credit must provide the interest rate. Priority 

points will be awarded to projects requesting interest credit for interest rates less than 250 basis points over the monthly applicable federal rate on the day of closing. 

If Above Is Yes, Should Proposal Be Considered Under Non-IC Selection if IC Funds Are Exhausted?.If Yes, proposal must show financial feasibility for Non-IC consideration. 

Borrower’s Proposed Equity ..................................................................... Insert amount. 

Tax Credits ............................................................................................... Will the project be allocated tax credits? How much? What is the estimated value of the tax credits awarded? 

Other Sources of Funds ........................................................................... List all funding sources. 

Loan to Value ........................................................................................... Guaranteed loan divided by value of project. 

Debt Coverage Ratio ................................................................................ Net Operating Income divided by debt service payments. 

5830 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

Percentage of Guarantee ......................................................................... Percentage guarantee requested.

Collateral ................................................................................................... Attach relevant information. 

Empowerment Zone (EZ) or Enterprise Community (EC) ....................... Yes or No. Is the project in a recognized EZ or EC? 

Colonia or Tribal Land .............................................................................. Is the project in a Colonia or on an Indian Reservation? (Yes or No) 

Population ................................................................................................. Must be within the 20,000 population limit set for the program. 

Is a Guarantee for Construction Being Requested? Are Advances 

Being Requested?.

State yes or no. The Agency will guarantee construction advances, 

only as part of a combination construction and permanent loan. 

Loan Term ................................................................................................ Up to a 40-year amortized loan. Balloon mortgages with a minimum 

25-year term are eligible. 

Scoring of Priority Criteria for 

Selection of Projects with Interest Credit 

Requests: RHS will allocate points to 

projects with requests for interest credit. 

Projects with no interest credit request 

will be reviewed for eligibility and 

viability on a continuous basis and 

without any priority selection criteria.

The seven priority criteria for projects 

with requests for interest credit are 

listed below. 

Priority 1—Projects located in eligible 

rural communities with the lowest 

populations will receive the highest 

points.

Population size Points 

0–5,000 people ............................... 15 

5,001–10,000 people ...................... 10 

10,001–15,000 people .................... 5 

15,001–20,000 people .................... 0 

Priority 2—The RHS will award 

points for projects with 3–5 bedroom 

units as follows:

Number of 3–5 bedroom units Points 

more than 15 .................................. 20 

10–15 .............................................. 15 

5–9 .................................................. 10 

1–4 .................................................. 5 

Priority 3—The most needy 

communities as determined by the 

median income from the most recent 

census data will receive points. The 

RHS will allocate points to projects 

located in communities having the 

lowest median income. Points for 

median income will be awarded as 

follows:

Median income

(dollars) Points 

Less than $35,000 .......................... 20 

$35,001–$45,000 ............................ 15 

$45,001–$55,000 ............................ 10 

$55,001–$65,000 ............................ 5 

More than $65,000 ......................... 0 

Priority 4—Projects that demonstrate 

partnering and leveraging in order to 

develop the maximum number of units 

and promote partnerships with state and 

local communities will also receive 

points. Points will awarded as follows:

Loan to value ratio

(percentage %) Points 

More than 75 .................................. 10 

70–75 .............................................. 15 

Less than 70 ................................... 20 

Priority 5—The development of 

projects on Tribal Lands, or in an 

Empowerment Zone or Enterprise 

Community will receive points. The 

RHS will attribute 20 points to projects 

that are developed in any of the 

locations described in this priority. 

Priority 6—The development of 

projects in a Colonia or in a place 

identified in the State’s Consolidated 

Plan or State Needs Assessment as a 

high need community for multi-family 

housing will receive points. The RHS 

will attribute 20 points to projects that 

are developed in any of the locations 

described in this priority. 

Priority 7—RHS will award points for 

interest rates above the applicable 

Federal rate at the time of loan closing 

as follows:

Interest rate Points 

More than 250 basis points ............ (20) 

200 to 250 basis points, inclusive .. 5

100 to 199 basis points, inclusive .. 10

0 to 99 basis points, inclusive ........ 15

Notice Submission Address: Eligible 

lenders will send responses to: Director, 

Multi-Family Housing Processing 

Division, Rural Housing Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Room 1263, 

STOP 0781, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

0781. Responses for participation in the 

program must be identified as ‘‘Section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program’’ on the envelope. 

Notifications: Responses will be 

reviewed for completeness and 

eligibility. The RHS will notify those 

lenders whose responses are selected 

via letter. The RHS will request lenders 

without RHS lender approval to apply 

for RHS lender approval within 30 days 

of receipt of the notification of selection. 

For information regarding RHS lender 

approval, please refer to the section 

entitled ‘‘Submission of Documentation 

for RHS Lender Approval’’ in this 

notice. Requests for RHS lender 

approval should be sent to the person 

and address listed in the ‘‘Notice 

Submission Address’’ section in this 

notice.

Lenders will also be invited to submit 

a complete application and the required 

application fee of $2,500 to the Rural 

Development State Office where the 

project is located. 

Submission of GRRHP Applications:

Notification letters will instruct lenders 

to contact the Rural Development State 

Office immediately following 

notification of selection to schedule 

required agency reviews. Rural 

Development State Office addresses can 

be found on the Rural Development 

Web site, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov, 

under ‘‘State Offices’’. 

Rural Development State Office staff 

will work with lenders in the 

development of an application package. 

Required documentation for a complete 

application package is stated in Chapter 

3 of HB–1–3565. 

The deadline for the submission of a 

complete application and application 

fee is 90 days from the date of 

notification of response selection. If the 

application and fee are not submitted 

within 90 days from the date of 

notification, the selection is subject to 

cancellation, thereby allowing another 

response that is ready to proceed with 

processing to be selected. 

Obligation of Program Funds: The 

RHS will only obligate funds to projects 

that meet the requirements for 

obligation, including undergoing a 

satisfactory environmental review in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) 

and lenders who have submitted the 

$2,500 application fee and completed 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5831

Form RD 3565–1 for the selected 

project. 

Conditional Commitment: Once 

required documents for obligation and 

the application fee are received and all 

NEPA requirements have been met, the 

Rural Development State Office will 

issue a conditional commitment, which 

stipulates the conditions that must be 

fulfilled before the issuance of a 

guarantee, in accordance with 7 CFR 

3565.303. 

Issuance of Guarantee: The RHS will 

issue a guarantee to the lender for a 

project in accordance with 7 CFR 

3565.303. No guarantee can be issued 

without a complete application, review 

of appropriate certifications, satisfactory 

assessment of the appropriate level of 

environmental review, and the 

completion of any conditional 

requirements.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2595 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List; Addition

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled.

ACTION: Addition to the procurement 

list. 

SUMMARY: This action adds to the 

Procurement List a service to be 

furnished by a nonprofit agency 

employing persons who are blind or 

have other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 7, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 

1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, 

Arlington, Virginia, 22202–3259.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheryl D. Kennerly, (703) 603–7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 12, 2003, the Committee for 

Purchase From People Who Are Blind 

or Severely Disabled published notice 

(68 F.R. 69375) of proposed addition to 

the Procurement List. After 

consideration of the material presented 

to it concerning capability of qualified 

nonprofit agency to provide the service 

and impact of the addition on the 

current or most recent contractor, the 

Committee has determined that the 

service listed below is suitable for 

procurement by the Federal Government 

under 41 U.S.C. 46–48c and 41 CFR 51–

2.4. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

I certify that the following action will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The major factors considered for this 

certification were: 

1. The action will not result in any 

additional reporting, recordkeeping or 

other compliance requirements for small 

entities other than the small 

organizations that will furnish the 

service to the Government. 

2. The action will result in 

authorizing small entities to furnish the 

service to the Government. 

3. There are no known regulatory 

alternatives which would accomplish 

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in 

connection with the service proposed 

for addition to the Procurement List. 

End of Certification 

Accordingly, the following service is 

added to the Procurement List: 

Service 

Service Type/Location: Custodial 

Services, Dan E. Russell Federal 

Building, 2012 15th Street, Gulfport, 

Mississippi. 

NPA: Mississippi Goodworks, Inc., 

Gulfport, Mississippi. 

Contract Activity: GSA, Property 

Management Center (4PMB), Atlanta, 

Georgia. This action does not affect 

current contracts awarded prior to the 

effective date of this addition or options 

that may be exercised under those 

contracts.

Sheryl D. Kennerly, 

Director, Information Management.

[FR Doc. 04–2634 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6353–01–P

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List; Proposed Additions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase from 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled.

ACTION: Proposed additions to 

Procurement List. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is proposing 

to add to the Procurement List products 

to be furnished by nonprofit agencies 

employing persons who are blind or 

have other severe disabilities.

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR

BEFORE: March 7, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 

1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, 

Arlington, Virginia, 22202–3259.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheryl D. Kennerly, (703) 603–7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published pursuant to 41 U.S.C 

47(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its purpose 

is to provide interested persons an 

opportunity to submit comments on the 

proposed actions. If the Committee 

approves the proposed additions, the 

entities of the Federal Government 

identified in the notice for each product 

or service will be required to procure 

the products listed below from 

nonprofit agencies employing persons 

who are blind or have other severe 

disabilities. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

I certify that the following action will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The major factors considered for this 

certification were: 

1. If approved, the action will not 

result in any additional reporting, 

recordkeeping or other compliance 

requirements for small entities other 

than the small organizations that will 

furnish the products to the Government. 

2. If approved, the action will result 

in authorizing small entities to furnish 

the products to the Government. 

3. There are no known regulatory 

alternatives which would accomplish 

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in 

connection with the products proposed 

for addition to the Procurement List. 

Comments on this certification are 

invited. 

Commenters should identify the 

statement(s) underlying the certification 

on which they are providing additional 

information. 

End of Certification 

The following products are proposed 

for addition to Procurement List for 

production by the nonprofit agencies 

listed:

Products 

Product/NSN: Strap, Eyewear, Retention, 

8470–01–487–1605 

NPA: Lions Services, Inc., Charlotte, North 

Carolina 

Contract Activity: Defense Supply Center 

Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania 

Product/NSN: Wet Floor Sign—Bilingual 

(English/Spanish), 9905–00–NIB–0046 

NPA: Lions Volunteer Blind Industries, Inc., 

Morristown, Tennessee 

Contract Activity: Office Supplies & Paper 

Products Acquisition Center, New York,