Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2024 / Notices 14515 

1The Affordable Connectivity Program provides a 

monthly subsidy of up to $30 ($75 on qualifying 

Tribal lands) to cover the cost of internet service for 

low-income Americans. At the time of the 

publication of this Notice, the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC) ended new 

enrollments because ACP is expected to run out of 

funding in April of this year without new 

Congressional appropriations. A bipartisan 

proposal, the Affordable Connectivity Program 

Extension Act, was introduced which would add $7 

billion to the program. The Biden Administration 

has also requested $6 billion for the program. For 

more information to go: Affordable Connectivity 

Program | Federal Communications Commission 

(https://www.fcc.gov/acp). 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–6338–N–02] 

Notice of Expansion and Proposed 

Restructuring of the Digital 

Opportunity Demonstration Program 

AGENCY: Office of Public and Indian 

Housing, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On October 17, 2023, HUD 

issued a Notice of Expansion and 

Proposed Restructuring of the Digital 

Demonstration Program 

(ConnectHomeUSA). ConnectHomeUSA 

is designed to further the collaborative 

efforts by HUD-assisted housing 

organizations, government, industry, 

and nonprofit organizations to 

accelerate broadband internet adoption 

and use in HUD-assisted homes. This 

Notice extends eligible applicants to 

now include Continuum of Care 

Program and Housing Opportunities for 

Persons with AIDS Program grantees. 

This Notice also extends the application 

deadline for all applicants. 

DATES: Applications are due April 12, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dina 

Lehmann-Kim, Program Manager, 

Public and Indian Housing, Department 

of Housing and Urban Development, 

451 7th Street SW, Room 4130, 

Washington, DC 20024; telephone 

number 202–402–2430; email: 

Dina.Lehmann-Kim@hud.gov. 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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Notice 

This Notice further expands eligibility 

of CHUSA to Continuum of Care (CoC) 

and Housing Opportunities for Persons 

with AIDS (HOPWA) grantees. Under 

the prior Notice, only Public Housing 

Authorities, Tribes, and Multifamily 

owners/operators were eligible to apply 

(88 FR 55693, October 17, 2023). HUD 

is committed to advancing digital 

opportunities in HUD-assisted 

communities by expanding its 

ConnectHomeUSA (CHUSA) initiative 

to between 50 and 100 new 

communities as Tier 1 CHUSA 

communities. 

HUD’s goal is to identify new 

communities from urban, rural, and 

Tribal locations with both small and 

large populations that have the capacity 

to effectively narrow the digital divide, 

including expanding programs and 

capabilities over time. HUD seeks 

communities where state, local or Tribal 

leadership has already taken steps to 

support the goals of CHUSA, as 

measured by both the community’s 

participation in other complementary 

Federal initiatives such as the 

Affordable Connectivity Program 1

which enhance internet access in 

communities and/or by local broadband 

plans and strategies for implementation. 

HUD seeks to partner with new 

communities, as well as existing 

CHUSA communities that wish to 

continue their work, and provide 

technical assistance to these 

communities to identify financial, inkind and other resources to accomplish 

the goals of CHUSA. In this vein, HUD 

encourages applicants to familiarize 

themselves with other Federal programs 

that are funding broadband, such as the 

Broadband Equity, Access and 

Deployment grant ($42.45 billion) and 

the Digital Equity Act grant program 

($2.75 billion) by going to this 

comprehensive website: 

www.internetforall.gov. 

Through this Notice, HUD is 

expanding eligible applicants to include 

CoC and HOPWA grantees. Grantees of 

these programs, especially those using 

assistance tied to a particular housing 

site, such as project-based rental 

assistance, may benefit from the 

technical assistance and structure of 

CHUSA to begin designing digital 

inclusion programs that will support 

residents connecting to free or low-cost 

internet, provide internet accessible 

devices, provide education to help 

maintain housing, strengthen health and 

well-being, and build self-sufficiency. 

The number of communities served 

by CHUSA will depend on the number 

of communities that commit to 

narrowing the digital divide and that 

meet the criteria outlined in the prior 

Notice (88 FR 71586). Applicants 

should review Appendix A in the prior 

Notice which outlines: the Restructuring 

of CHUSA into a tiered model; the goals 

of CHUSA; HUD support and 

recognition of sites’ achievements; 

application requirements; and 

participation requirements of selected 

communities. CoC and HOPWA 

grantees interested in applying to join 

CHUSA, must submit a Letter of Intent 

to join as a Tier 1 CHUSA community. 

To be considered eligible, the Letter of 

Intent must thoroughly address the 

Required Levels of Engagement for Tier 

1 as outlined in the prior Notice. 

There is no Congressional funding for 

CHUSA; the program implementation is 

contingent upon HUD resources such as 

staffing and technical assistance. As this 

expansion proceeds, HUD will continue 

to assess community interest and the 

availability of HUD staffing resources to 

support participation by additional 

communities. HUD will also assess the 

effectiveness of the selection criteria 

within the three tiers on an ongoing 

basis. Such assessment may expand the 

number of participating communities, 

revise the selection criteria, or both to 

reflect HUD’s experience in 

implementing CHUSA. 

II. Support for Applicants 

A webinar explaining the application 

process can be viewed at https://

www.hudexchange.info/trainings/ 

courses/steps-for-applying-to-join-theconnecthomeusa-expansion/. A 

Frequently Asked Questions document 

and other guidance is also available on 

HUD’s ConnectHomeUSA at https://

hud.gov/connecthomeusa. If applicants 

have additional questions, the HUD 

CHUSA team is available to assist. 

Questions can be addressed to: 

ConnectHome@hud.gov. 

Dominique Blom, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary—Public 

and Indian Housing. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03881 Filed 2–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R3–FAC–2024–N007; 

FRFR48120323YA0–XXX–FF03F00000; OMB 

Control Number 1018–0182] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget; Online 

Program Management System for 

Carbon Dioxide-Carp 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 


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