Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Notices 63053 

Recipients on race, sex, and national 

origin and also ensure that Ultimate 

Recipients collect and maintain this 

data. Race and ethnicity data will be 

collected in accordance with the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

Federal Register notice, ‘‘Revisions to 

the Standards for the Classification of 

Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity’’ (62 

FR 58782), October 30, 1997. Sex data 

will be collected in accordance with 

Title IX of the Education Amendments 

of 1972. These items should not be 

submitted with the application but 

should be made available upon request 

by the Agency. 

The applicant and the Ultimate 

Recipients must comply with title VI of 

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title IX of 

the Education Amendments of 1972, the 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 

section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 

1975, Executive Order 12250, Executive 

Order 13166 Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP), and 7 CFR part 1901, 

subpart E. 

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) 

For general questions about this 

notice see the point of contact provided 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this notice. 

H. Build America, Buy America Act 

Funding to Non-Federal Entities. 

Awardees that are Non-Federal Entities, 

defined pursuant to 2 CFR 200.1 as any 

State, local government, Indian Tribe, 

Institution of Higher Education, or 

nonprofit organization, shall be 

governed by the requirements of section 

70914 of the Build America, Buy 

America Act (BABAA) within the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

(Pub. L. 117–58). Any requests for 

waiver of these requirements must be 

submitted pursuant to USDA’s guidance 

available online at https://

www.usda.gov/ocfo/federal-financialassistance-policy/ 

USDABuyAmericaWaiver. 

I. Other Information 

1. Paperwork Reduction Act. In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements associated with the 

programs, as covered in this notice, 

have been approved by Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

OMB Control Number 0570–0021. 

2. National Environmental Policy Act: 

All recipients under this Notice are 

subject to the requirements of 7 CFR 

part 1970 and must comply in 

accordance with 7 CFR 4274.305(b). 

3. Federal Funding Accountability 

and Transparency Act. All applicants, 

in accordance with 2 CFR part 25, must 

be registered in SAM and have a UEI 

number as stated in Section D.3. of this 

notice. All recipients of Federal 

financial assistance are required to 

report information about first-tier subawards and executive total 

compensation in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 170. 

4. Civil Rights Act. All loans made 

under this notice are subject to title VI 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as 

required by USDA (7 CFR part 15, 

subpart A—Nondiscrimination in 

Federally-Assisted Programs of the 

Department of Agriculture—Effectuation 

of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964) and section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, title VIII of 

the Civil Rights Act of 1968, title IX, 

Executive Order 13166 (Limited English 

Proficiency), Executive Order 11246, 

and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 

1974. 

5. Nondiscrimination Statement. In 

accordance with Federal civil rights 

laws and USDA civil rights regulations 

and policies, the USDA, its Mission 

Areas, agencies, staff offices, employees, 

and institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Program information may be made 

available in languages other than 

English. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means of 

communication to obtain program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, 

audiotape, American Sign Language) 

should contact the responsible Mission 

Area, agency, or staff office or the 711 

Relay Service. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, a complainant should 

complete a Form AD–3027, USDA 

Program Discrimination Complaint 

Form, which can be obtained online at 

https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/ 

files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any 

USDA office, by calling (866) 632–9992, 

or by writing a letter addressed to 

USDA. The letter must contain the 

complainant’s name, address, telephone 

number, and a written description of the 

alleged discriminatory action in 

sufficient detail to inform the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about 

the nature and date of an alleged civil 

rights violation. The completed AD– 

3027 form or letter must be submitted to 

USDA by: 

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; or, 

(2) Fax: (833) 256–1665 or (202) 690– 

7442; or 

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Karama Neal, 

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service. USDA Rural Development. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19927 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket #: RBS–22–BUSINESS–0029] 

Notice of Processing Timeline Change 

for the Rural Energy for America 

Program for Fiscal Year 2023 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (the Agency) is 

issuing a notice of the Agency’s 

intention to remove the self-imposed 

restriction that all Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 

applications that were submitted under 

the Rural Energy for America Program 

(REAP) prior to June 30, 2023, and were 

not funded in the national unrestricted 

pooling competitions, must be 

withdrawn. 

DATES: This notice is effective 

September 14, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jonathan Burns, Program Management 

Division, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture, 774–678–7238 or email 

CPgrants@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Agency published two funding 

opportunity notices and a correction 

notice in the Federal Register for REAP 

for FY23. The first notice published 

December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77059), the 

second notice on March 31, 2023 (88 FR 

19239), and the correction notice 

published May 31, 2023 (88 FR 34823). 

The two funding notices state that 

obligations will take place through 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
63054 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Notices 

September 30, 2023, and complete and 

eligible applications which were not 

funded in the national unrestricted 

pooling must be withdrawn. The 

Agency is removing the self-imposed 

deadline on the national unrestricted 

pooling competitions for FY23 due to 

the overwhelming response to REAP for 

FY 2023. The Agency will continue 

processing applications received by 

June 30, 2023, into the first quarter of 

FY 2024 for participation in these 

national competitions. Unfunded 

applications from the national 

competitions will not be moved into the 

next FY 2024 funding cycle and must be 

withdrawn. 

Karama Neal, 

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19868 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket #: RBS–23–BUSINESS–0012] 

Notice of Solicitation of Applications 

for the Rural Microentrepreneur 

Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 

2024 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), 

an agency of the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

Rural Development (RD), is making an 

initial announcement to invite 

applications for loans and grants under 

the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance 

Program (RMAP) for fiscal year (FY) 

2024, subject to the availability of 

funding. This notice is being issued 

prior to the passage of a FY 2024 

Appropriations Act, which may or may 

not provide funding for this program, in 

order to allow applicants sufficient time 

to leverage financing, prepare and 

submit their applications, and give the 

Agency time to process applications 

within FY 2024. Based on FY 2023 

appropriated funding, the Agency 

estimates that approximately 

$29,000,000 will be available for FY 

2024. Successful applications will be 

selected by the Agency for funding and 

subsequently awarded to the extent that 

funding may ultimately be made 

available through appropriations. All 

applicants are responsible for any 

expenses incurred in developing their 

applications or any costs incurred prior 

to the obligation date. 

DATES: The deadlines for completed 

applications to be received in the RD 

State Office for quarterly funding 

competitions are no later than 11:59 

p.m. Eastern time on: First Quarter, 

September 30, 2023; Second Quarter, 

December 31, 2023; Third Quarter, 

March 31, 2024; and Fourth Quarter, 

June 30, 2024. If the due date falls on 

a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, 

the application is due the next business 

day. 

The subsequent microlender technical 

assistance grant (existing 

Microenterprise Development 

Organizations (MDOs) with a 

microentrepreneur revolving loan fund) 

will be made, non-competitively, based 

on the microlender’s microlending 

activity and availability of funds. To 

determine the microlender technical 

assistance grant awards for FY2024, if 

available, the Agency will use the 

microlender’s outstanding balance of 

microloans as of June 30, 2024, to 

calculate the eligible grant amount. 

MDOs that are in compliance with the 

terms of their loan agreement may apply 

for this annual grant. 

ADDRESSES: Applications must be 

submitted electronically to the RD State 

Office for the State where the project is 

located. Applicants are encouraged to 

contact their respective RD State Office 

for an email contact to submit an 

electronic application prior to the 

submission deadline date(s). A list of 

the RD State Office contacts can be 

found at: http://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

contact-us/state-offices. This funding 

opportunity will be made available for 

informational purposes on 

www.grants.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shamika Johnson at shamika.johnson@

usda.gov, Program Management 

Division, Business Programs, Rural 

Business-Cooperative Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mail Stop 

3226, Room 5160–S, Washington, DC 

20250–3226, or call (202) 720–1400. For 

further information on this notice, 

please contact the RD State Office in the 

State in which the applicant’s 

headquarters is located. A list of RD 

State Office contacts is provided at the 

following link: http://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

contact-us/state-offices. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

Federal Awarding Agency Name: 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(RBCS). 

Funding Opportunity Title: Rural 

Microentrepreneur Assistance Program 

(RMAP). 

Announcement Type: Notice of 

Solicitation of Application (NOSA). 

Funding Opportunity Number: RD– 

RBCS–24–RMAP. 

Assistance Listing: 10.870. 

Dates: The deadlines for completed 

applications to be received in the RD 

State Office for quarterly funding 

competitions are no later than 11:59 

p.m. Eastern time on: First Quarter, 

September 30, 2023; Second Quarter, 

December 31, 2023; Third Quarter, 

March 31, 2024, and Fourth Quarter, 

June 30, 2024. 

Rural Development Key Priorities: The 

Agency encourages applicants to 

consider projects that will advance the 

following key priorities (more details 

available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

priority-points): 

• Assisting rural communities recover 

economically through more and better 

market opportunities and through 

improved infrastructure; 

• Ensuring all rural residents have 

equitable access to RD programs and 

benefits from RD funded projects; and 

• Reducing climate pollution and 

increasing resilience to the impacts of 

climate change through economic 

support to rural communities. 

A. Program Description 

1. Purpose of the Program. The 

purpose of RMAP is to support the 

development and ongoing success of 

rural microentrepreneurs and 

microenterprises, each as defined in 7 

CFR 4280.302. RMAP provides the 

following types of support: loan only, 

combination loan and technical 

assistance grant, and subsequent 

technical assistance grants to 

microenterprise development 

organizations (MDOs). Loan funds are 

used by the MDO to establish or 

recapitalize a revolving loan program for 

making microloans to a rural 

microentrepreneur business. Grant 

funds are used by the MDO to provide 

technical assistance and 

entrepreneurship training to rural 

individuals and businesses. 

2. Statutory and Regulatory Authority. 

RMAP is authorized by Section 379E of 

the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act (Pub. L. 87–128), as 

amended, and is codified as 7 U.S.C. 

2008s and implemented by 7 CFR part 

4280, subpart D. 

3. Definitions. The definitions 

applicable to this notice are published 

at 7 CFR 4280.302. 

4. Application Awards. The Agency 

will review, evaluate, and score 

applications received in response to this 


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