Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Notices 68561 

In several sections of both acts, the 

policies and responsibilities including 

the collection and use of information 

necessary to complete real estate title 

clearance and loan closing are 

prescribed. Also, the Secretary is 

authorized to prescribe regulations to 

ensure that Federal funds are not wasted 

or dissipated and that construction will 

be undertaken economically and will 

not be of elaborate or extravagant design 

or materials. 

Information for the RD forms and 

their usage in this collection package are 

included in this supporting statement. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

required information is collected by the 

Closing Agent/Attorney and the field 

office staff. Forms and/or guidelines are 

provided to assist in the collection and 

submission of this information. Most of 

these forms collect information that is 

standard in the industry and do not 

entail additional burdens on the public 

beyond the time needed to review and 

understand the forms and fill them out. 

Description of Respondents: 

Businesses or other for-profits. 

Number of Respondents: 1. 

Frequency of Responses: Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 1. 

Rural Housing Service 

Title: 7 CFR 1942, Letter of Intent to 

Meet Conditions for Loan and Grant 

Agreement Common Forms Package. 

OMB Control Number: 0575–NEW. 

Summary of Collection: The Rural 

Housing Service (RHS), Rural Business 

and Cooperative Service (RBCS) and 

Rural Utilities service (RUS) agencies 

within the Rural Development mission 

area, hereinafter referred to as Agency, 

is the credit Agency for agriculture and 

rural development for the United States 

Department of Agriculture. The Agency 

offers offer loans, grants and loan 

guarantees to help create jobs and 

support economic development and 

essential services such as housing; 

health care; first responder services and 

equipment; and water, electric and 

communications infrastructure. 

The Authorities that allow the Rural 

Housing Service (RHS), Rural Business 

and Cooperative Service (RBCS) and 

Rural Utilities service (RUS), Agencies 

within Rural Development (RD) are as 

follows: 

The RHS is authorized under various 

sections of Title V of the Housing Act 

of 1949, as amended, to provide 

financial assistance to construct, 

improve, alter, repair, replace, or 

rehabilitate dwellings, which will 

provide modest, decent, safe, and 

sanitary housing to eligible individuals 

in rural areas. The Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act, as 

amended, authorizes the credit 

programs of the RHS, RBCS and RUS to 

provide financial assistance for essential 

community facilities such as 

construction of community facilities 

and water and waste systems; and the 

improvement, development, and 

financing of businesses, industries, and 

employment. 

In several sections of both acts, loan 

limitations are established as 

percentages of development costs, 

requiring careful monitoring of those 

costs. Also, the Secretary is authorized 

to prescribe regulations to ensure that 

Federal funds are not wasted or 

dissipated. The information collection 

under OMB Number 0575–New will 

enable the Agencies to effectively 

monitor a recipient’s compliance with 

the conditions set forth in the loan and/ 

or grant agreement. 

The Secretary of Agriculture is 

authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1936(b) to make 

or guarantee loans to eligible entities 

(Indian tribes, public agencies, 

cooperatives and nonprofit 

corporations) so that loans will be 

provided to individuals and entities for 

the purposes that predominantly serve 

communities in rural areas and promote 

community development, establish new 

businesses, establish and support 

microlending programs and create or 

retain employment opportunities. 

The Agencies are required to provide 

Federal financial assistance through its 

housing and community and business 

programs. The laws implemented in 7 

CFR part 1942, require the recipients of 

RD Federal financial assistance to 

collect various types of information. 

Recipients of awards are required to 

submit reporting and payment request 

information to facilitate monitoring of 

the award and disbursement of funds. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

information collected is of such type 

and nature that the use of improved 

information technology, such as data 

and word processing would not 

significantly reduce the public burden. 

Information for each loan/grant 

application is unique and, therefore, 

cannot take significant advantage of this 

technology. Forms have been automated 

and are available on the USDA Service 

Center website. Provision of information 

is faster, however the time for electronic 

input roughly equals the time for 

handwriting the form. 

Description of Respondents: 

Businesses or other for-profits; Farms; 

Not-for-profit. 

Number of Respondents: 1. 

Frequency of Responses: Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 1. 

Levi S. Harrell, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21907 Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

USDA Equity Commission; Meeting 

AGENCY: USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public and virtual 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), that a public meeting of the 

USDA Equity Commission (EC or 

Commission), Subcommittee for 

Agriculture and the Rural Community 

Economic Development (RCED) 

Subcommittee will convene to continue 

its work reviewing USDA programs, 

services, and policies for the purpose of 

making recommendations for how the 

Department can improve access and 

advance equity. The Commission and 

Subcommittees are authorized under 

section 22007c of the Inflation 

Reduction Act of 2022, Public Law 117– 

169, and operates in compliance with 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended. 

DATES: The EC meeting will be held 

Tuesday, October 24 through Thursday, 

October 26 from 12:00 p.m. EST to 7:00 

p.m. EST each day. 

ADDRESSES: The public can participate 

via a zoom meeting link. Access 

information will be provided to 

registered individuals via email. 

Detailed information can be found at: 

https://www.usda.gov/equitycommission. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cecilia Hernandez, Designated Federal 

Officer, USDA Equity Commission, 

Office of the Deputy Secretary, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Room 6006– 

S, Washington, DC 20250–0235; 

Phone:(202) 913–5907; Email: 

Equitycommission@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the FCC 

Telecommunications Relay Service 

(TRS) at 7–1–1 between 8:00 a.m. and 

8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, 

Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 20, 2021, President Biden 

signed an Executive Order On 

Advancing Racial Equity and Support 


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68562 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Notices 

for Underserved Communities Through 

the Federal Government and committed 

to creating the USDA Equity 

Commission as part of his rural agenda 

and commitment to closing the racial 

wealth gap and addressing longstanding 

inequities in agriculture. Section 22007c 

of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, 

Public Law 117–169, provides sufficient 

funds to ensure the Commission is well 

staffed and positioned to deliver on its 

charge. 

The USDA Equity Commission will 

advise the Secretary of Agriculture and 

provide USDA with an analysis of how 

its programs, policies, systems, 

structures, and practices contribute to 

barriers to inclusion or access, systemic 

discrimination, or exacerbate or 

perpetuate racial, economic, health and 

social disparities and recommendations 

for action. The Agriculture 

Subcommittee reports to the Equity 

Commission and provides 

recommendations on issues of concern 

related to agriculture. The Rural 

Community Economic Development 

Subcommittee (RCED) also reports to 

the Equity Commission and is focused 

on issues related to rural community 

prosperity. The Equity Commission 

delivered an interim report and 

provided actionable recommendations 

in February 2023. A final report will be 

completed by winter of 2024. 

Meeting Agenda: The agenda items 

may include, but are not limited to, 

welcome and introductions; 

administrative matters; introduction and 

presentation of the Agriculture 

Subcommittee and Rural Community 

Economic Development Subcommittee 

recommendations; and deliberations 

and voting of recommendations to be 

included in the final report. Please 

check the USDA Equity Commission 

website (https://www.usda.gov/equitycommission) for an agenda 24–48 hours 

prior to October 24. 

Register for the Meeting: The public is 

asked to pre-register for the meeting by 

visiting https://www.usda.gov/equitycommission. Your pre-registration must 

state: your name; organization or 

interest represented; if you are planning 

to give oral comments; and if you 

require special accommodations. USDA 

will also accept day-of registrations. 

Oral Comments: The Commission is 

providing the public an opportunity to 

provide oral comments and will 

accommodate as many individuals and 

organizations as time permits. Persons 

or organizations wishing to make oral 

comments must pre-register by 11:59 

p.m. ET, October 9, 2023, and may only 

register for one speaking slot. 

Participants who wish to make oral 

comments must also be available to 

attend a tech-check before the meeting. 

Instructions for registering and 

participating in the meeting can be 

found on https://www.usda.gov/equitycommission. 

Written Comments: Written public 

comments for consideration at the 

meeting will be accepted on or before 

11:59 p.m. ET, October 9. Comments 

submitted after this date will be 

provided to the Commission, but the 

Commission may not have adequate 

time to consider those comments prior 

to the meeting. The USDA Equity 

Commission strongly prefers comments 

be submitted electronically. However, 

written comments may also be 

submitted (i.e., postmarked) via mail to 

the person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by or 

before the deadline. Written comments 

will be accepted up to 15 days after the 

meeting for inclusion in the meeting 

minutes. 

Availability of Materials for the 

Meeting: All written public comments 

received by October 9, 2023, will be 

compiled into a file and available for 

member review and be included in the 

meeting minutes. Duplicate comments 

from multiple individuals will appear as 

one comment, with a notation that 

multiple copies of the comment were 

received. Please visit https://

www.usda.gov/equitycommissiontoviewtheagendaand/or 

minutes from this meeting. 

Meeting Accommodations: USDA is 

committed to making its electronic and 

information technologies accessible to 

individuals with disabilities by meeting 

or exceeding the requirements of 

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 

U.S.C. 794d), as amended. If you need 

reasonable accommodations, please 

make requests in advance for reasonable 

accommodations through the meeting 

registration link on https://

www.usda.gov/equity-commission. 

Determinations for reasonable 

accommodations will be made on a 

case-by-case basis. 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, USDA, its 

agencies, offices, and 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 or 

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. 

Equal opportunity practices in 

accordance with USDA’s policies will 

be followed in all appointments to the 

Committee. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the Committee 

have taken in account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include to the extent 

possible, individuals with demonstrated 

ability to represent minorities, women, 

and person with disabilities. USDA is 

an equal opportunity provider, 

employer, and lender. 

Dated: September 28, 2023. 

Cikena Reid, 

USDA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21918 Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Newspapers Used for Publication of 

Legal Notices in the Southwestern 

Region; Arizona, New Mexico, and 

Parts of Oklahoma and Texas 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice lists the 

newspapers that will be used by all 

Ranger Districts, Grasslands, Forests, 

and the Regional Office of the 

Southwestern Region to publish legal 

notices. The intended effect of this 

action is to inform interested members 

of the public which newspapers the 

Forest Service will use to publish 

notices of proposed actions, notices of 

decision, and notices of opportunity to 

file an objection. This will provide the 

public with constructive notice of Forest 

Service proposals and decisions, 

provide information on the procedures 

to comment or object, and establish the 

date that the Forest Service will use to 

determine if comments or objections 

were timely. 

DATES: Publication of legal notices in 

the listed newspapers will begin on the 

date of this publication and continue 

until further notice. 

ADDRESSES: Roxanne Turley, Regional 

Administrative Review Coordinator, 

Forest Service, Southwestern Region, 

333 Broadway SE, Albuquerque, NM 

87102–3498. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Roxanne Turley, Regional 

Administrative Review Coordinator at 

(505) 526–0020 or by email at 

roxanne.turley@usda.gov. 


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