12076 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2022 / Notices 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

the office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations, this notice 

announces the Agricultural Research 

Service’s (ARS) intent to seek 

reinstatement of the ARS Animal Health 

National Program Assessment Survey. 

This voluntary information collection 

will give beneficiaries of ARS research 

the opportunity to provide input on the 

impact of the research conducted by 

ARS in the last National Program cycle. 

This input will be used for planning the 

research agenda for the next 5-year 

program cycle. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

May 2, 2022 to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this notice to Ms. Janice 

Boarman, Program Analyst, Agricultural 

Research Service, Office of National 

Programs, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, 

GWCC, Room 2–2035, Beltsville, 

Maryland 20705–5138. Submit 

electronic comments to 

Janice.Boarman@usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Janice Boarman at (301) 504–4764. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: ARS Animal Health National 

Program Assessment Evaluation Form. 

OMB Number: 0518–0042. 

Expiration Date: September 30, 2022. 

Type of Request: Approval to seek 

reinstatement of the ARS Animal Health 

National Program Assessment Survey. 

This voluntary information collection 

will give beneficiaries of ARS research 

the opportunity to provide input on the 

impact of the research conducted by 

ARS in the last National Program cycle 

for the Animal Health National Program. 

This survey seeks input from 

beneficiaries of research conducted by 

ARS for program planning and ensures 

alignment of the ARS National Programs 

with the needs of our customers, 

partners, and stakeholders. 

Abstract: ARS research covers the 

span of nutrition, food safety and 

quality, animal and plant production 

and protection, and natural resources 

and sustainable agricultural systems. It 

is organized into fifteen National 

Programs addressing specific areas of 

this research. These National Programs 

serve to bring coordination, 

communication, and prioritization to 

approximately 660 research projects 

carried out by ARS and focus on the 

relevance, impact, and quality of ARS 

research. The requested voluntary 

electronic evaluation survey will give 

beneficiaries of ARS research the 

opportunity to provide input on the 

impact of the ARS Animal Health 

National Program. For the purpose of 

this National Program Assessment, 

impact is defined as research that has 

influenced or will significantly 

influence the area covered by the 

National Program; has created or will 

create information, best practices, and/ 

or economic opportunities for the 

National Program’s customers, partners, 

and stakeholders; or has enabled or will 

enable action and regulatory agencies to 

formulate policies and regulations to 

support American agriculture. The 

electronic evaluation form will be 

available online through a dedicated 

URL. The input provided through the 

completion of the evaluation form will 

be shared with customers, partners, 

stakeholders, and ARS Administrators 

as part of the National Program’s 

assessment process. ARS National 

Program Assessments are conducted 

every 5 years as part of ARS’ National 

Program planning cycle to ensure the 

relevance, quality, and impact of ARS 

research. The assessment serves as both 

a retrospective evaluation and as the 

foundation for future priority setting for 

the Agency. The electronic evaluation 

form will allow ARS to outreach to its 

many customers, partners and 

stakeholders that are unable to 

participate in planned assessment 

meetings and also ensures an efficient 

means of obtaining the greatest amount 

of input on the impact and direction of 

the ARS Animal Health National 

Program. 

Estimate of Burden: Completing the 

electronic evaluation form is estimated 

to average 15 minutes per response. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

600. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 150 hours. 

Comments are invited on (a) whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of 

the proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and the assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the input provided by a 

wide array of customers, and; (d) ways 

to minimize the burden of the collection 

of information on those who respond, 

including the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technology. Comments should be 

sent to the address in the preamble. All 

responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 

Simon Y. Liu, 

Associate Administrator, ARS. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04443 Filed 3–2–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

February 28, 2022. 

The Department of Agriculture has 

submitted the following information 

collection requirement(s) to OMB for 

review and clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. Comments are 

requested regarding; whether the 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; ways to enhance the 

quality, utility and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and ways to 

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. 

Comments regarding this information 

collection received by April 4, 2022 will 

be considered. Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number and the agency informs 

potential persons who are to respond to 

the collection of information that such 

persons are not required to respond to 

the collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Food and Nutrition Service 

Title: Fourth Access, Participation, 

Eligibility, and Certification Study 

(APEC IV). 

OMB Control Number: 0584–0530. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2022 / Notices 12077 

Summary of Collection: USDA’s Food 

and Nutrition Service (FNS) depends 

upon the APEC study series to provide 

reliable, national estimates of errors and 

improper payments made to school 

districts in which the National School 

Lunch Program (NSLP) and School 

Breakfast Program (SBP) are operated. 

This is the fourth study in the APEC 

series and it will provide the required 

information for school year (SY) 2023– 

2024. 

The Payment Integrity Information 

Act of 2019 (PIIA) requires that FNS 

identify and reduce improper payments 

in these programs, including both 

underpayments and overpayments. In 

order to comply with the law, programs 

must have a statistically valid rate of 

improper payment below 10 percent, 

and programs out of compliance with 

PIIA are subject to increased scrutiny 

and reporting requirements. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

specific study objectives of APEC IV are: 

Objective 1: Generate a national 

estimate of the annual amount of 

improper payments in the National 

School Lunch Program and School 

Breakfast Program based on SY 2023– 

2024 by replicating and refining the 

methodology used in prior APEC 

studies. Objective 2: Provide a robust 

examination of the relationship between 

error rates and student (household), 

school, and school food authority (SFA) 

characteristics. Objective 3: Conduct 

two sub-studies testing the effect that 

data collection methods have on 

responses. 

APEC IV will collect data to measure 

certification, aggregation, and meal 

claiming errors via in-person visits to 

SFAs and schools and surveys of SFA 

directors and households. Data 

collection will include (a) abstraction 

from income eligibility applications and 

categorical eligibility records; (b) 

abstraction of meal count and claiming 

records from SFAs, schools, States, and 

FNS administrative data; (c) an online 

survey of SFA directors; (d) meal 

observations in schools; and (e) a 

telephone survey of households. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals/Households, State, Local, or 

Tribal government. 

Number of Respondents: 13,068. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Once, Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 21,013. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04478 Filed 3–2–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

[Docket No. RHS–19–MFH–0024] 

New Fee Structure for Section 538 

Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program Initial and Annual Guarantee 

Fees 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS or the Agency), a Rural 

Development agency of the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), is announcing a new fee 

structure for the Section 538 Guaranteed 

Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) 

initial and annual guarantee fees. 

DATES: The effective date of the revised 

fees is April 4, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Daniels, Finance and Loan 

Analyst, Multi-Family Housing 

Production and Preservation Division, 

Rural Housing Service, USDA, STOP 

0781, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20250–0781, 

Telephone: (202) 720–0021 (this is not 

a toll-free number); email: 

tammy.daniels@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority 

The RHS administers the 538 

Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) loans under the 

authority of the Housing Act of 1949, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 1490p–2) and 

operates under 7 CFR part 3565. As set 

forth in 7 CFR part 3565, the Agency 

will publish any changes to the fees in 

a Notice in the Federal Register. 

Background 

RHS administers the Section 538 

Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) under the authority of 

the Housing Act of 1949, as amended 

(42 U.S.C. 1490p–2). Under the GRRHP, 

RHS guarantees loans for the 

development of housing and related 

facilities in rural areas. Section 538(g) 

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture 

to charge certain fees to lenders for loan 

guarantees (see, 42 U.S.C. 1490p–2(g)). 

The fees charged are used to cover the 

costs of loan guarantees pursuant to the 

provisions of the Credit Reform Act of 

1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). 

On December 3, 2020, the Agency 

published a final rule in the Federal 

Register at 85 FR 77985 with an 

effective date of January 4, 2021,which 

amended 7 CFR part 3565 by removing 

the stated amount that the Agency will 

charge for the initial and annual 

guarantee fees. This regulation update 

affords the program the flexibility and 

ability to create the maximum housing 

affordability to residents by lowering 

program costs when practical, without 

the need for a regulatory change. As 

stated in the final rule, if changes occur 

in the fee amounts, the Agency will 

release those changes through a Notice 

in the Federal Register and will provide 

guidance on how to process the loans 

which will be impacted by the new fee 

structure. Interested parties will be able 

to locate current fees on the Agency’s 

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

programs-services/multifamily-housingprograms/multifamily-housing-loanguarantees. 

New Fee Structure 

Projects with a fully executed (signed 

by both the Agency and Lender) 

conditional commitment as of the date 

this notice is published, or a loan 

obligated prior to October 1, 2021 are 

ineligible for the reduced fees. Loans in 

the following three categories will 

receive a greater reductions in the fees: 

(1) Green and Energy Efficient, (2) 

Preservation of Existing Section 515, 

514/516 Rural Development Properties, 

and (3) Workforce Housing. The overall 

status of the GRRHP portfolio is healthy. 

There is a low delinquency rate, the 

program operates at a negative subsidy, 

and the program has used all or most of 

its appropriations in the past 5 years. 

The initial and annual guarantee fee is 

usually passed on to the borrower. 

Reducing the fees will decrease the debt 

service for future loans which will 

ultimately decrease the rents and 

provide savings to the tenants, allow 

more funds to be allocated toward 

capital improvements while continuing 

to offset the cost to operate the program. 

On February 18, 2021, the Agency 

conducted a forum soliciting feedback 

from Section 538 lenders, borrowers, 

and program stakeholders. The general 

feedback was that the new fee structure 

for the initial and annual guarantee fees 

should take into account affordability 

and target projects whose rents are at 60 

percent Area Median Income (AMI) and 

have current government subsidies. The 

new fee structure being implemented 

has taken this into account by providing 

greater reduced fees for preservation of 

existing Section 515, 514/516 Rural 

Development properties. 

The annual fee will not be changed 

for existing Section 538 GRRHP loans. 

At the discretion of the Agency, Section 

538 GRRHP loans that are refinanced or 

modified after the revised fee structure 

goes into effect and can successfully 

demonstrate that the reduced fee results 


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