This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

44332 

Vol. 86, No. 153 

Thursday, August 12, 2021 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

August 9, 2021. 

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 September 13, 

2021 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: Evaluation of Child Support 

Enforcement Cooperation Requirements. 

OMB Control Number: 0584–NEW. 

Summary of Collection: The 

Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 

(Pub. L. 115–334) requires the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food 

and Nutrition Service (FNS) to conduct 

an independent evaluation of the child 

support cooperation requirement in the 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP). The planned data 

collection fulfills this evaluation 

requirement. Section 17 [7 U.S.C. 2026] 

(m) (1, 2) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

of 2008 Section 17, 7 U.S.C. 2026), as 

amended by the Agriculture 

Improvement Act of 2018, authorizes 

the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into 

contracts with private institutions to 

assess the implementation, impacts, 

costs, and benefits of having a child 

support cooperation requirement in 

SNAP. The Personal Responsibility and 

Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 

1996 (Appendix A3: Legal Authority 

Pub. L. 104–193) gave States the option 

to require custodial and noncustodial 

parents who apply for and participate in 

SNAP to cooperate with the child 

support program. The goals of this 

requirement are to increase child 

support participation, increase the 

income of families, and reduce their 

need for public assistance. 

Need and Usse of the Information: 

The primary purpose of this voluntary, 

one-time data collection is to assess the 

implementation of the following: (1) 

The implementation of the child 

support cooperation requirement for 

each State in the study that currently 

implements the requirement; (2) the 

feasibility of implementing the child 

support cooperation requirement in a 

sample of State agencies that formerly 

implemented the requirement or are 

considering implementing the 

requirement; (3) the impact of the child 

support cooperation requirement in 

SNAP on both custodial and 

noncustodial parents in study States 

that have or formerly had a child 

support cooperation requirement; (4) 

how State agencies align the procedures 

for the implementing child support 

cooperation requirement in SNAP to 

those in other Federal programs; (5) 

determine the costs and benefits to State 

SNAP agencies, child support agencies, 

and households of requiring State 

agencies to implement the requirement; 

(6) assess the impact of the requirement 

on SNAP eligibility, benefit levels, food 

security, income, and economic 

stability. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals/Households (750) Businessfor-not-for-Profit (12) State, Local, or 

Tribal Government (352). 

Number of Respondents: 1,114. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting; 

On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 1,514. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17232 Filed 8–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

[Docket No. RHS–21–CF–0009] 

The American Rescue Plan Act 

Emergency Rural Health Care Grant 

Program 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability 

(NOFA). 

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS), a Rural Development agency of 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), announces the 

availability of up to $500 million in 

grant funding, appropriated under the 

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, for 

the establishment of the Emergency 

Rural Health Care (ERHC) Grant 

Program. As authorized under Section 

1002 of the American Rescue Plan Act 

of 2021, funds will be made available 

and distributed between two tracks of 

funding to eligible applicants: Track 

One, Recovery grants to offer support for 

rural health care services in the form of 

immediate relief to address the 

economic conditions arising from the 

COVID–19 emergency; and Track Two, 

Impact grants to offer longer-term 

funding to advance ideas and solutions 

to support long-term sustainability of 

rural health. 

DATES: Applications for the ERHC Grant 

Program must be submitted to the 

applicable USDA Rural Development 


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Office (See ADDRESSES section for 

details). Track One, Recovery 

applications will be accepted on a 

continual basis, beginning on the 

publication date of this Notice, until 

funds are exhausted. The applicable 

USDA Rural Development State Office 

will conduct an initial review, rating, 

and selection of complete applications 

received by 4:00 p.m. local time on 

October 12, 2021. Subsequent 

application reviews, rankings, and 

selections will occur in additional 

rounds for all complete applications 

until all remaining funds are utilized. 

Track Two, Impact applications must be 

received by the applicable USDA Rural 

Development Office by 4:00 p.m. local 

time on October 12, 2021. Track Two, 

Impact applications received after 

October 12, 2021 will not be considered. 

Comments related to the collection of 

information must be submitted by 

October 12, 2021. Please follow the 

directions provided in Section IX of this 

NOFA. 

ADDRESSES: This funding opportunity 

will be made available for informational 

purposes on Grants.gov. 

Application Submission: Track One, 

Recovery applications will be submitted 

to a processing office as designated by 

the USDA Rural Development State 

Office in the state where the applicant’s 

project is located. Agency state office 

contact information is available at 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/stateoffices. Track Two, Impact applications 

will be submitted to a processing office 

as designated by the USDA Rural 

Development State Office in the state 

where the applicant is headquartered. 

For applicants with headquarters 

located in the District of Columbia, 

applications will be submitted to the 

USDA Rural Development National 

Office, ATTN: Jamie Davenport, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW, STOP 0787, 

Washington, DC 20250. Both paper and 

electronic applications must be received 

by the Agency by the deadlines stated 

in the DATES section of this Notice. The 

use of a courier and package tracking for 

paper applications is strongly 

encouraged. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jamie Davenport: USDA Rural 

Development, Community Facilities 

Program. Telephone: (202) 720–0002, 

email: Jamie.Davenport@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities that require 

alternative means for communication 

should contact the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at 

(202) 720–2600 (voice). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: 

This solicitation is authorized 

pursuant to the American Rescue Plan 

Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117–2), 7 CFR part 

3570, subpart B; 7 U.S.C. 8103(f)), Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act, 

2002; 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(13), and the 

Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act; 7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(26). 

Rural Development Funding Priorities 

The Agency encourages applicants to 

consider projects that will advance the 

following key priorities: 

Æ Assisting rural communities 

recover economically from the impacts 

of the COVID–19 pandemic, particularly 

disadvantaged communities; 

Æ Ensuring all rural residents have 

equitable access to RD programs and 

benefits from RD funded projects; and 

Æ Reducing climate pollution and 

increasing resilience to the impacts of 

climate change through economic 

support to rural communities. 

For further information, visit https:// 

www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. 

Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (also known as the 

Congressional Review Act or CRA), 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs in 

the Office of Management and Budget 

designated this action as a major rule as 

defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2), (Pub. L. 104– 

121), because it is likely to result in an 

annual effect on the economy of 

$100,000,000 or more. Accordingly, 

there is a 60-day delay in the effective 

date of this action. Application rating, 

ranking, and selection will not begin 

until after October 12, 2021. Therefore, 

the 60-day delay required by the CRA is 

not expected to have a material impact 

upon the administration and/or 

implementation of the ERHC Grant 

Program. 

Background 

USDA’s Rural Development Agencies, 

comprising the Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RB–CS), Rural 

Housing Service (RHS), and the Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS), are leading the 

way in helping rural America improve 

the quality of life and increase the 

economic opportunities for rural people. 

RHS offers a variety of programs to 

build or improve housing and essential 

community facilities in rural areas. The 

Agency also offers loans, grants, and 

loan guarantees for single- and multifamily housing, child-care centers, fire 

and police stations, hospitals, libraries, 

nursing homes, schools, first responder 

vehicles and equipment, housing for 

farm laborers and much more. The 

Agency also provides technical 

assistance loans and grants in 

partnership with non-profit 

organizations, Indian tribes, state and 

Federal government agencies, and local 

communities. 

The American Rescue Plan Act of 

2021 (ARPA), Public Law 117–2, was 

signed by the President on March 11, 

2021. It provides the Rural Housing 

Service Community Facilities (CF) 

Program up to $500,000,000 in grant 

funding for eligible CF applicants and 

eligible CF facilities to help broaden 

access to COVID–19 vaccines and 

testing, health care services including 

telehealth services, food assistance 

through food banks and food 

distribution facilities, and collaborative, 

evidence-based support for the longterm sustainability of rural health care. 

Nearly one in five Americans live in 

rural areas and depend on local 

hospitals for care. Data shows that 

between January 2013 and February 

2020, 101 rural hospitals closed in 28 

states. According to data from the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) and a recent study by 

the U.S. Government Accountability 

Office (GAO), counties with a hospital 

closure experience an immediate and 

steady decline in availability of health 

care providers compared to counties 

that do not experience a closure. Rural 

residents in these counties must travel 

an additional median distance of 20 

miles to access health care services after 

a closure. Furthermore, HHS data shows 

that Medicare fee-for-service 

beneficiaries are less healthy in areas 

with hospital closures compared to their 

counterparts in service areas without 

closures. In addition, HHS data shows 

that rural hospitals operated under 

negative margins before closure and 

hospitals that remain open are 

increasingly showing signs of financial 

distress. 

The financial stress on rural hospitals 

and the negative impact on rural 

residents was exacerbated by the 

COVID–19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, 20 

hospitals closed and as many as 453 

more rural hospitals are considered 

highly vulnerable for future closure. It is 

estimated that rural hospitals lost an 

estimated 70 percent of their income in 

2020 due to delayed and deferred care 

caused by the pandemic. Rural residents 

are generally older, less healthy, and 

more reliant on government payors than 

their urban counterparts. 

In designing this ERHC program, 

USDA determined that the challenges 

facing rural health care are primarily 

two-fold: immediate financial needs 

stemming from COVID–19 related 


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expenses and long-term access and 

availability of rural health care services 

that have been further hampered as a 

result of the COVID–19 pandemic. In 

response to these challenges, this ERHC 

Grant Program NOFA provides two 

tracks of funding: Track One for 

recovery grants to support immediate 

financial relief needs and Track Two for 

impact grants to advance ideas and 

solutions to support the long-term 

sustainability of rural health care. 

Overview 

Federal Agency: Rural Housing 

Service (RHS), (USDA). 

Funding Opportunity Title: The 

American Rescue Plan Act Emergency 

Rural Health Care (ERHC) Grant 

Program. 

Funding Opportunity Number: 

USDA–RHS–ERHC–2021. 

Announcement Type: Notice of Funds 

Availability. 

Assistance Listings (AL) Number: 

10.766. 

Due Date for Applications: Track One, 

Recovery applications will be accepted 

on a continual basis and will be 

evaluated as long as funding remains 

available. Complete applications 

received by 4:00 p.m. local time on 

October 12, 2021 will be evaluated and 

ranked according to the scoring criteria 

in this Notice. Applications 

subsequently received and/or deemed 

complete will be evaluated and ranked 

as long as funding remains available. 

Applications for Track Two, Impact 

applications must be received by 4:00 

p.m. local time on October 12, 2021. 

Applications received after 4:00 p.m. 

local time on October 12, 2021 will not 

be considered. 

For further information, visit the 

Emergency Rural Health Care Grant 

Program web page at https://

www.rd.usda.gov/erhc. 

Items in Supplementary Information 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

II. Federal Award Information 

III. Definitions 

IV. Eligibility Information 

V. Application Submission Information 

VI. Application Review Information 

VII. Federal Awarding Administration 

Information 

VIII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 

IX. Other Information 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

A. Background 

This NOFA is being issued pursuant 

to the recently passed American Rescue 

Plan Act of 2021 and is considered to be 

Economically Significant and Major. 

Funds will be administered in 

accordance with this NOFA and will be 

distributed between two tracks of 

funding: Under Track One, Recovery 

grants are designed to provide 

emergency grant funding for eligible CF 

applicants to help rural hospitals and 

local communities broaden access to 

COVID–19 vaccines and testing, health 

care services including telehealth 

services, and food assistance through 

food banks and food distribution 

facilities in rural areas. 

Track Two, Impact grants are 

designed to plan for, implement, and 

evaluate models to support the longterm sustainability of rural health care. 

Long-term sustainability is defined as 

improved health outcomes, improved 

access to quality health care, and 

creating and maintaining health care as 

a key economic driver of small 

communities. Details on eligible 

Community Facilities (CF) applicants 

and eligible CF facilities may be found 

in Section IV. Eligibility Information of 

this Notice. 

Applicants may request assistance for 

costs for a performance period of up to 

36 months. Track One, Recovery 

applicants may additionally request preaward costs incurred on or after March 

13, 2020. Applicants may not request 

assistance for expenses or losses that 

have been reimbursed from other 

Federal sources or that other Federal 

sources are obligated to reimburse. 

Rural communities face unique 

challenges due to the COVID–19 

pandemic that include financial and 

economic vulnerability. At the same 

time, rural communities have essential 

community infrastructure needs that are 

essential to promote vaccine 

administration and distribution, 

conduct COVID–19 testing, provide 

access to quality health care services, 

and support the needs of food banks and 

food distribution facilities. This 

program provides critical grant funding 

to support rural communities’ health 

care needs in the face of COVID–19. 

B. Program Description 

This program is designed for essential 

community facilities located in rural 

areas, primarily serving rural areas, and 

serving populations with median 

household income that is lower than 

ninety percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income. Within these parameters, the 

Agency is further encouraging 

investment in distressed communities. 

RD utilizes the Distressed Communities 

Index, developed by the Economic 

Innovation Group (EIG), which 

combines seven publicly available 

metrics to assess the economic wellbeing of communities. For more 

information on EIG’s Distressed 

Communities Index, visit https://

eig.org/dci. EIG’s Distressed Community 

Map can be found at the following 

website: https://

ruraldevelopment.maps.arcgis.com/ 

apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=

06a26a91d074426d944d22715a90311e. 

As part of its annual performance plan 

and strategic goals and objectives, the 

Agency tracks the percent of RD 

assistance that goes to distressed 

communities in its loan and grant 

programs and will do the same for this 

program. 

C. Implementation of the American 

Rescue Act of 2021 Provisions 

Track One, Recovery grant funds will 

be allocated to USDA Rural 

Development State Offices. The 

allocation of funds will be based on an 

adaptation of 7 CFR part 1940, subpart 

L, Methodology and Formulas for 

Allocation of Loan and Grant Program 

Funds. USDA Rural Development State 

Offices will have until June 30, 2022 to 

obligate funds allocated to their 

respective state. After June 30, 2022, 

unobligated funds may be pooled into 

the USDA Rural Development National 

Office Reserve to fund additional 

qualified applications based on the 

evaluation criteria specified in this 

Notice. The Agency intends to provide 

a minimum $350,000,000 to fund 

eligible facilities under Track One. 

Track Two, Impact grant funds will be 

held within the USDA Rural 

Development National Office Reserve. 

The Agency intends to provide up to 

$125,000,000 to fund no more than 15 

projects under Track Two. Any 

unobligated funds for Track Two, 

Impact grants will be made available for 

Track One, Recovery grants. 

II. Federal Award Information 

A. Assistance Listings (AL) Number: 

10.766 

Assistance Listings (AL) Title: 

American Rescue Plan Act Emergency 

Rural Health Care (ERHC) Grant 

Program. 

B. Available Funds 

The American Rescue Plan Act of 

2021 provides $500,000,000 in 

budgetary authority for this program 

through September 30, 2023. The 

Agency may publish future notices in 

the Federal Register to align with the 

demand for these grants. 

C. Funding Limitations 

The Agency will review and evaluate 

applications received as set forth in this 

NOFA. The Agency anticipates that 

demand for grant funding may exceed 

the supply of funds and will assign 


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points to each application in accordance 

with the scoring and selection criteria 

for the applicable funding track outlined 

in this Notice. 

III. Definitions 

The terms and conditions provided in 

this NOFA are applicable to and for 

purposes of this NOFA only. Unless 

otherwise provided in the award 

documents, all financial terms not 

defined herein shall have the meaning 

as defined by Generally Accepted 

Accounting Principles (GAAP). 

Agency means the Rural Housing 

Service (RHS), an agency of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

Consortium means institutions of 

health care, higher education, academic 

health and research institutes, federallyrecognized tribes, or economic 

development entities (inclusive of tribal 

economic development entities), or 

combination thereof, located in the 

region identified to be served that have 

experience in addressing these issues in 

the region. 

Eligible Project Costs means only 

those costs incurred during the grant 

period and eligible pre-award period 

and that are directly related to the use 

and purposes of the American Rescue 

Plan Act’s Emergency Rural Health Care 

Grant Program. 

GAAP means accounting principles 

generally accepted in the United States 

of America. 

Poverty line means the level of 

income for a family of four as defined 

by section 673(2) of the Community 

Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

9902(2)). 

Rural and rural area mean a city, 

town, or unincorporated area with a 

population of not more than 20,000 

inhabitants in accordance with 7 U.S.C. 

1991(a)(13). Population may be adjusted 

by exclusion of individuals incarcerated 

on a long-term or regional basis and the 

exclusion of the first 1,500 individuals 

who reside in housing located on a 

military base. The boundaries for 

unincorporated areas will be based on 

Census Designated Place(s). Population 

data from the most recent decennial 

census of the United States will be used. 

For projects located on tribal trust land, 

the population of the tribal trust land, 

based on the most recent decennial 

census, will be used to determine the 

rural area regardless of whether the 

tribal trust land is located within the 

boundaries of a city or town. 

Rural Development (RD) means a 

mission area within USDA which 

includes Rural Housing Service, Rural 

Utilities Service, and Rural BusinessCooperative Service. 

State nonmetropolitan median 

household income (MHI) means the 

median household income of the State’s 

nonmetropolitan counties and portions 

of metropolitan counties outside of 

cities, towns, or places of 50,000 or 

more population. 

IV. Eligibility Information 

A. Applicant Eligibility 

(1) An eligible applicant under this 

program must be one of the types of 

entities outlined in 7 CFR 3570.61(a): 

(a) Public body, such as a 

municipality, county, district, authority, 

or other political subdivision of a State. 

State public bodies are not eligible for 

assistance under this program. 

(b) Nonprofit corporation or 

association. Applicants, other than 

nonprofit utility applicants, must have 

significant ties with the local rural 

community. Such ties are necessary to 

ensure to the greatest extent possible 

that a facility under private control will 

carry out a public purpose and continue 

to primarily serve rural areas. Nonprofit 

Track Two, Impact applicants must 

demonstrate a consortium of partners 

that demonstrate significant ties with 

the local rural community(ies) as 

referenced in paragraph (2) of this 

section. 

(c) Federally recognized Indian Tribe, 

including a political subdivision of a 

Tribe, in a rural area. 

(2) In addition to meeting the 

eligibility requirements of Section 

IV(A)(1) above, Track Two, Impact grant 

applicants must establish a network or 

consortium of entities for the purposes 

of this grant. The network or consortium 

shall: 

(a) Be comprised of at least three or 

more health care provider organizations, 

economic development entities, 

federally-recognized tribes, and/or 

institutions of higher education, 

academic health, and research institutes 

(including the applicant organization). 

(b) Be comprised of rural and/or 

urban nonprofit entities, as long as at 

least 66% (two-thirds) of network 

members are located in a rural area and 

primarily serve a rural area as defined 

by this Notice; and 

(c) Identify one lead entity to serve as 

the primary applicant and recipient of 

the Track Two, Impact grant funds and 

accountable for monitoring and 

reporting on the project performance 

and financial management of the grant. 

The lead entity or applicant must be an 

eligible entity described above in 

Section IV (A) (1), although significant 

ties to the local rural community may be 

satisfied as long as at least 66% (twothirds) of consortium members are 

located in a rural area and primarily 

serve a rural area. The lead entity must 

also be legally organized as an 

incorporated organization or other legal 

entity with legal authority to contract 

with the Federal Government. 

B. Project Location Eligibility 

To be eligible for grant funds under 

this Notice, the eligible facility or 

project to be financed must be located 

in a rural area as defined in section 

343(a)(13)(C) of the Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

1991(a)(13)) and must primarily serve 

rural residents. The terms ‘‘rural’’ and 

‘‘rural area’’ mean any area other than 

a city, town, or unincorporated area that 

has a population of greater than 20,000 

inhabitants. Population may be adjusted 

by exclusion of individuals incarcerated 

on a long-term or regional basis and the 

exclusion of the first 1,500 individuals 

who reside in housing located on a 

military base. The boundaries for 

unincorporated areas in determining 

populations will be based on the Census 

Designated Places(s) (CDP). Data from 

the most recent decennial census of the 

United States will be used in 

determining population. For projects 

located on tribal trust land, the 

population of the tribal trust land, based 

on the most recent decennial census, 

will be used to determine the rural area 

regardless of whether the tribal trust 

land is located within the boundaries of 

a city or town. 

Non-public body applicants are not 

required to be headquartered in a rural 

area. However, applicants must 

demonstrate how the facility to be 

financed with these grant funds is 

located in and will primarily serve rural 

areas. For Track Two, Impact grants, the 

lead applicant must demonstrate how 

the project is for the benefit of facilities 

located in rural areas and which 

primarily serve rural areas. 

When considering whether a facility 

primarily serves rural residents, the 

Agency will consider the applicant or 

facility’s normal service territory, 

excluding any temporary expansion of 

service area resulting from the COVID– 

19 pandemic. 

C. Eligible Grant Amounts 

An applicant is limited in the amount 

of grant funds that can be requested to 

assist a facility, depending on the 

population to be served and the median 

household income of that population. 

Facilities and projects must demonstrate 

other sources of funds to fund the 

remaining portion of project costs. In 

these cases, grant assistance will be 

provided on a graduated scale with 

smaller communities with the lowest 


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median household income being eligible 

for a higher proportion of grant funds. 

Grant funds will be limited to: 

(1) The percentages of eligible project 

costs as outlined below: 

(a) Up to 75 percent when the 

proposed project is located in a rural 

community having a population of 

5,000 or less and the median household 

income of the population to be served 

by the proposed facility is below the 

poverty line or 60 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income, whichever is greater. 

(b) Up to 55 percent when the 

proposed project is located in a rural 

community having a population of 

12,000 or less and the median 

household income of the population to 

be served by the proposed facility is 

below the poverty line or 70 percent of 

the State nonmetropolitan median 

household income, whichever is greater. 

(c) Up to 35 percent when the 

proposed project is located in a rural 

community having a population of 

20,000 or less and the median 

household income of the population to 

be served by the proposed facility is 

below the poverty line or 80 percent of 

the State nonmetropolitan median 

household income, whichever is greater. 

(d) Up to 15 percent when the 

proposed project is located in a rural 

community having a population of 

20,000 or less and the median 

household income of the population to 

be served by the proposed facility is 

below the poverty line or 90 percent of 

the state nonmetropolitan median 

household income, whichever is greater. 

(e) In-kind contributions are not an 

acceptable source of cost-sharing funds. 

Applicants must utilize cash 

contributions to fund the remaining 

project costs and these funds must be 

expended for an eligible purpose 

outlined in this Notice. 

(i) If requesting Track One, Recovery 

funds for lost revenue or staffing 

expenses as defined in paragraphs 

D.(1)(c) and D.(1)(f) of this section, 

respectively, applicants may utilize the 

applicable percentage of lost revenue or 

staffing expenses to satisfy the costsharing requirement. For example, an 

applicant that experienced $100,000 in 

lost revenues associated with a facility 

located in a rural community of less 

than 5,000 population and a median 

household income of less than 60 

percent of the state nonmetropolitan 

median household income is eligible for 

a maximum project cost of 75 percent. 

In this example, the applicant can 

request $75,000 for grant funding 

associated with lost revenues and the 

remaining $25,000 in lost revenues 

serves as the balance of the total project 

cost. 

(ii) Applicants may not use grant 

funds received under other Rural 

Development (RD) programs to satisfy 

cost-sharing or matching requirements. 

Federal and state resources may be 

acceptable sources to the extent it is 

allowable under the Federal or state 

program(s). 

(iii) If awarded grant funds under this 

program, grant funds may not be 

utilized as matching funds for other 

Federal programs. 

(2) Under Track One, Recovery, the 

maximum grant assistance allowed is 

$1,000,000. Under Track Two, Impact, 

the maximum grant assistance allowed 

is $10,000,000. 

(3) Under Track One, Recovery, the 

minimum grant assistance allowed is 

$25,000. Under Track Two, Impact, the 

minimum grant assistance is $5,000,000. 

(4) Applicants may request and 

receive assistance under both Track One 

and Track Two awards. Applicants may 

submit only one application for Track 

Two assistance. Affiliated entities may 

only participate in a single Track Two 

application. 

(5) Applicants may request assistance 

for more than one project location. An 

applicant entity with wholly owned 

affiliated entities or subsidiaries may 

apply on behalf of one or more affiliated 

entities. An Affiliate is an entity 

controlling or having the power to 

control another entity, or a third party 

or parties that control or have the power 

to control both entities. 

(6) If it is determined that an 

applicant is affiliated with another 

entity that has also applied, then the 

maximum grant award applies to all 

affiliated entities as if they applied as 

one applicant. 

D. Eligible Use of Grant Funds 

Grant funds must be used to support 

health care and nutritional assistance 

needs in correlation with the COVID–19 

pandemic and as defined below. Funds 

may be requested for one or more 

purposes outlined below: 

(1) Track One, Recovery funds must 

be used to support immediate health 

care needs stemming from the COVID– 

19 pandemic, to support preparedness 

for a future pandemic event, and/or to 

increase access to quality health care 

services to improve community health 

outcomes. To be eligible for this 

program, a project must support the 

health care needs, including access to 

nutrition assistance through food banks 

and food distribution facilities, for a 

rural community(ies). Funds requested 

from the categories below may be 

requested for expenses incurred during 

the grant period and/or the eligible preaward period dating back to March 13, 

2020: 

(a) Increase capacity for vaccine 

distribution, including cold storage, 

vehicle, transportation, and other 

equipment expenses. 

(b) Provide medical supplies and 

equipment to increase medical surge 

capacity, including personal protective 

equipment and laboratory equipment. 

(c) Reimburse for health care-related 

revenue lost during the COVID–19 

pandemic, including revenue losses 

incurred prior to the awarding of the 

grant through March 13, 2020. Requests 

for this category must include a 

certification from a certified public 

accountant (CPA) that the calculation of 

health care-related lost revenue 

requested is accurate and in alignment 

with previous years’ revenue. When 

calculating lost revenue, CPAs may use 

budgeted revenues if the budget(s) and 

associated documents covering calendar 

year 2020 were established and 

approved on or before March 13, 2020. 

To be considered an approved budget, 

the budget must have been ratified, 

certified, or adopted by the applicant’s 

financial executive or executive officer 

as of that date, and the CPA will be 

required to attest that the budget was 

established and approved on or before 

March 13, 2020. The CPA certification 

must also definitively state that these 

lost revenues have not been reimbursed 

from other Federal or state resources. 

(d) Increase telehealth capabilities, 

including the purchase of and training 

needed for provider and end-user 

telehealth equipment, telehealth 

software, telehealth electronic security 

upgrades, electronic health records, data 

sharing capacity, video and 

teleconference services, and other 

underlying health care information 

systems. 

(e) Construct or renovate temporary or 

permanent structures to provide health 

care services, such as vaccine 

administration, testing, and facility 

modifications. Examples of facilities 

offering health care services include 

health care clinics, hospitals, medical 

offices, outpatient facilities, mobile 

health clinics, mental/behavioral health, 

and addiction treatment centers, 

assisted and skilled living facilities, 

rehabilitation facilities, urgent care, 

telehealth facilities, and wellness 

centers. Any construction work 

completed with grant funds under this 

award shall meet the Davis-Bacon Act 

conditions set forth in section 9003(f) of 

the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103(f)). 

(f) Support staffing needs for vaccine 

administration and/or testing. Requests 


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for this category must include a 

certification from a certified public 

accountant (CPA) that these staffing 

expenses have not been reimbursed 

from other Federal or state resources. 

(g) Support facility, equipment, and 

operating expenses associated with food 

banks and food distribution facilities, 

including transportation, vehicles, food 

storage, and other equipment. Operating 

expenses are limited to the grant award 

period and pre-award cost period. 

(h) To pay professional service fees 

and charges, but only when such 

expenses are a necessary part of a 

facility or project allowable under this 

Notice, are a secondary part of the grant 

amount requested, and when the 

Agency agrees that the amounts are 

reasonable and customary for the type of 

facility and— 

(i) The professional service provider 

is selected through a qualificationsbased selection process; or 

(ii) The professional service provider 

is the project architect, project engineer, 

environmental professional, 

environmental consultant, or legal 

counsel, in which case a competitive 

qualifications-based procurement 

process is not required. 

(i) To pay for pre-award costs 

incurred between March 13, 2020 and 

the proposed project start date for any 

eligible category in paragraph D.(1)(a) 

through (h) of this section. Applicants 

should note that any pre-award 

activities related to construction or 

renovation costs must still adhere to 

requirements specified in this Notice, 

including Davis-Bacon Act requirements 

and all Agency environmental 

requirements as specified in 7 CFR part 

1970. 

(2) Track Two, Impact funds must be 

used to support the long-term 

sustainability of rural health care. Longterm sustainability is defined as 

improved health outcomes, improved 

access to quality health care, and 

creating/maintaining sustainable 

economic development for small 

communities. Often, health care is the 

key economic driver for small rural 

communities and the closures of these 

facilities creates negative ripple effects 

throughout the regional economy. 

Projects funded under Track Two, 

Impact funds must define how the 

proposed project will contribute to 

improving rural health care access, rural 

health outcomes, and/or the economic 

viability of rural health care. Track Two, 

Impact applicants may request and use 

grant funding for one or more of the 

following activities: 

(a) Establish or scale a regional 

partnership or consortium of 

community leaders and health care 

partners to plan, implement, and 

evaluate a model(s) to support solving 

regional health care problems and the 

long-term sustainability of rural health 

care. Health care networks can be an 

effective strategy to help small rural 

health care providers align resources, 

achieve economies of scale and 

efficiencies, share decision-making 

authority, collaboratively address 

community challenges, and create 

impactful, innovative solutions as a 

group rather than single providers. 

(b) Establish or scale an evidencebased model and disseminate lessons 

learned for possible replication in other 

small communities and regions. 

(c) Identify a health-related problem 

within the applicant’s region, develop 

and implement a method and solution 

to overcome the problem and conduct a 

program evaluation to examine health 

related outcomes, long-term 

sustainability, and replicability. 

Implementation may include 

construction or other related expenses 

that adhere to requirements specified in 

this Notice. 

The Agency encourages, but does not 

require, that applicants consider the 

following high need topical areas: 

development of integrated health care 

models, reducing facility bypass 

whether through telemedicine or 

business plan adjustments, telehealth, 

electronic health data sharing, 

workforce development, transportation, 

paramedicine, obstetrics, behavioral 

health, farmworker health care, 

cooperative home care, and supporting 

health care as a small community, 

anchor institution. 

(d) Establish a methodology to 

calculate summary impact measures or 

an estimated return on investment for 

the grant funds requested, including job 

creation/retention numbers, and 

improving quality of life. 

(e) Cover the cost of technical 

assistance to assist with one or more 

aspects of project implementation, 

project evaluation, data sharing, and/or 

reporting requirements. 

(f) Cover indirect costs in an amount 

up to a federally negotiated indirect cost 

rate. A copy of the current rate 

agreement must be provided with the 

application. Applicants without a 

negotiated indirect cost rate, except for 

those non-Federal entities described in 

Appendix VII to Part 200—States and 

Local Government and Indian Tribe 

Indirect Cost Proposals, paragraph 

(D)(1), may use the de minimis rate of 

10 percent of modified total direct costs. 

Lead applicants may not request 

indirect costs on behalf of any other 

consortium member. 

(g) Make sub-awards in the form of a 

grant, cooperative agreement, or 

contract, as appropriate, to other 

members of the consortium or other 

service providers such as technical 

assistance providers. If a grant or 

cooperative agreement is awarded, the 

organization receiving the subaward is a 

subrecipient (see 2 CFR 200.1), and the 

recipient is responsible for complying 

with all applicable requirements of 2 

CFR part 200, including provisions for 

making and monitoring an award. If a 

contract is awarded, the organization 

receiving the subaward is a contractor, 

and the recipient is responsible for 

following its written procurement 

procedures and complying with the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation. Both 

subrecipients and contractors are 

required to comply with all applicable 

laws and regulations, including 

performance and financial reporting, as 

described in their award document. 

(h) To pay professional service fees 

and charges associated with the grant 

request if the Agency agrees that the 

amounts are reasonable and customary 

for the type of facility and 

(i) the professional service provider is 

selected through a qualifications-based 

selection process; or 

(ii) the professional service provider 

is the project architect, project engineer, 

appraiser, environmental professional, 

environmental consultant, or legal 

counsel, in which case a competitive 

qualifications-based procurement 

process is not required. 

(3) Grant funds must not be used to 

reimburse for the following purposes: 

(a) Expenses or losses that have been 

reimbursed from any other sources or 

that other sources are obligated to 

reimburse. 

(b) Expenses related to staffing needs 

may not exceed an annual salary of 

$100,000, as prorated over the 

applicable time period. This limitation 

is placed on cash compensation and 

does not include other health care or 

retirement plan compensation. 

(c) Construction, renovation, 

purchase, or acquisition costs for 

facilities located in nonrural areas. 

(d) Purchase or acquisition costs for 

facilities or property. 

(e) Pay for existing indebtedness 

unrelated to the COVID–19 pandemic. 

Refinance may be eligible for Track 

One, Recovery applicants for short-term 

debt incurred for an eligible purpose 

outlined in paragraph D. (1) above. 

(f) With exception for eligible preaward costs for Track One, Recovery 

applicants, paying obligations 

incurred before the beginning date or 

after the ending date of the grant 

agreement; and 


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(g) Any purpose prohibited in 2 CFR 

part 200 or 2 CFR part 400. 

V. Application Submission Information 

A. Request Application Package 

Entities wishing to apply for 

assistance may download the 

application documents and 

requirements outlined in this NOFA 

from the ERHC Grant Program web page: 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/erhc. 

Track One, Recovery applicants must 

submit application packages to the 

USDA Rural Development office in their 

state. Applications will be processed by 

the USDA Rural Development State 

Office in the state where the applicant’s 

project is located. For project activities 

located in more than one state, the 

applicant’s headquarters location will 

determine the applicable USDA Rural 

Development State Office. Agency state 

office contact information is available at 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/stateoffices. 

Track Two, Impact applicants must 

submit application packages to the 

USDA Rural Development office in the 

state in which the applicant 

organization is headquartered. If a Track 

Two applicant is headquartered in the 

District of Columbia, the applicant must 

submit its application package to the 

USDA Rural Development National 

Office and the application will be 

processed by the USDA Rural 

Development Maryland/Delaware State 

Office. 

B. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

For Track One, Recovery applicants, 

the applicable USDA Rural 

Development State Office will conduct 

an initial review, rating, and selection of 

complete applications received by the 

date established in this Notice, 

according to the selection criteria in this 

Notice. Subsequent application reviews, 

rankings, and selections will occur for 

all complete applications until funding 

has been fully utilized. Complete 

applications must contain all parts 

necessary for the Agency to determine 

applicant and project eligibility, ensure 

environmental and architectural 

requirements are met, calculate a 

priority score, and rank the application 

in order to be considered. Track One, 

Recovery, applications deemed 

incomplete as of the date established in 

this Notice will compete for any 

remaining funding once the applicant 

submits a complete application. For as 

long as funding remains available, the 

applicable USDA Rural Development 

State Office will work with Track One, 

Recovery applicants to reach a complete 

application status. 

For Track Two, Impact applicants, the 

applicable USDA Rural Development 

State Office will conduct initial 

eligibility reviews. The USDA Rural 

Development National Office will 

coordinate application reviews, 

rankings, and selections based on the 

information received by the Agency as 

of the deadline established in this 

Notice. 

The application for Track One and 

Track Two funding must include the 

following: 

(a) A summary page, double-spaced 

between items, listing the following 

(this information should not be 

presented in narrative form): 

(1) Track of funding requested: Track 

One, Recovery or Track Two, Impact; 

(2) Applicant’s name; 

(3) Amount of grant request, and 

(4) Project description, no more than 

three sentences summarizing applicant 

entity, location of assistance, and 

purpose and use of the grant funds. 

(b) A detailed Table of Contents 

containing page numbers for each 

component of the application. 

(c) One executed complete 

application. This includes the SF–424 

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance,’’ 

and SF–424A ‘‘Budget Information— 

Non-Construction Programs’’ or SF– 

424C ‘‘Budget Information— 

Construction Programs.’’ 

(d) Organizational documents that 

demonstrate the applicant is an eligible 

entity as described in Section IV. 

Eligibility Information. Nonprofits must 

provide articles of organization, 

incorporation, or association; by-laws; 

evidence of good standing; and evidence 

of ties to the local rural community. 

Ties to the local rural community may 

be demonstrated through: (1) Close 

association with, or controlled by a local 

unit of government; (2) Broad-based 

ownership and control by members of 

the community, as demonstrated 

through a listing and description of 

board members; and/or (3) Substantial 

public funding as demonstrated through 

pledged taxes, local government 

sources, or community-wide fundraising 

campaign. 

(e) Evidence of eligibility. Applicants 

must submit sufficient documentation 

to demonstrate how the health care 

facility(ies) or project to be funded 

through this grant primarily serves rural 

areas, is located in a rural area, and 

serves a population with a median 

household income below the poverty 

line or applicable percentage defined in 

this Notice. This submission must 

describe the proposed facility or project 

and its service area, including: 

(1) Location of facility, including 

population demographics of that 

location. 

(2) Description of area and number 

and demographics (if known) of 

populations to be served, sufficiently 

detailed to verify Project Location 

Eligibility as outlined in Section IV. 

Eligibility Information of this Notice; 

and 

(3) Evidence that the facility or project 

will primarily serve rural residents. 

(f) A written budget narrative 

providing a detailed project budget, 

which also includes the following 

information: 

(1) The amount of funds requested 

from each Eligible Use of Grant 

category, with a description of how the 

figure was calculated. 

(2) A breakdown of project cost 

demonstrating the percentage of total 

project costs that this grant assistance 

will cover. This grant will cover a 

portion of total project costs as outlined 

in this Notice, and dependent on 

population and median household 

income. 

(3) The time period for which this 

assistance is requested. All awards are 

limited to up to a 36-month grant period 

based upon the complexity of the 

project. In limited circumstances and 

only with prior Agency approval, the 

Agency may grant a no cost extension to 

the grant period. Under no circumstance 

shall the grant period extend beyond 

five full fiscal years past the award date. 

For planning purposes, applicants 

should assume that the proposed grant 

period will begin no earlier than 

November 1, 2021 and should end no 

later than 36 months following that 

date. Eligible pre-award costs may be 

requested for costs incurred between 

March 13, 2020, and the project start 

date. If you receive an award, your grant 

period will be revised to begin on the 

actual date of award—the date the grant 

agreement is executed by the Agency— 

and your grant period end date will be 

adjusted accordingly. 

(g) Environmental information 

necessary to support the Agency’s 

environmental finding. Required 

information can be found in 7 CFR part 

1970. 

(h) For projects involving 

construction, a preliminary architectural 

feasibility report or engineering 

documentation, completed in 

accordance with Agency guidelines in 

RD Instruction 1942–A, Guide 6. 

(i) Description and certification of 

applicant’s cost share sources. For Track 

One, Recovery applicants seeking funds 

for lost health care-related revenue or 

staffing associated with COVID–19 

vaccines and/or testing, the applicant’s 


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required cost share can be the 

applicable percentage of lost health care 

revenue and actual staffing expenses. 

(j) Three years of the most recent 

audits or financial statements, including 

a current balance sheet and income and 

expense statement. If audits are not 

available, applicants may provide this 

information on Forms RD 442–7, 

‘‘Operating Budget,’’ including 

projected cash flow; RD 442–2, 

‘‘Statement of Budget, Income and 

Equity,’’ and RD 442–3 ‘‘Balance Sheet.’’ 

(k) Intergovernmental Review 

comments, if applicable, from the local 

planning district commission. 

(l) Certification of Non-Lobbying 

Activities. 

(m) Standard Form LLL, ‘‘Disclosure 

of Lobbying Activities,’’ if applicable. 

(n) Certification regarding any known 

relationship or association with an 

Agency employee in accordance with 7 

CFR part 1900, subpart D. 

(o) For applicants requesting funds 

under Track One, Recovery, a written 

narrative that includes: 

(1) Description of how the assistance 

requested will broaden access to 

COVID–19 vaccines, COVID–19 testing, 

health care services and/or food bank or 

food distribution assistance in rural 

communities. 

(2) If requesting funds for lost health 

care revenue or for staffing needs, a CPA 

issued certification stating that: 

(a) No funds requested have been 

reimbursed from other Federal or state 

sources. 

(b) No funds requested are obligated 

to be reimbursed from other Federal or 

state sources; and 

(c) Funds requested are reasonable, 

appropriate, and align with actual or 

anticipated costs and/or lost revenues 

during the grant period. 

(q) For applicants requesting funds 

under Track Two, Impact, provide a 

written narrative that addresses the 

following: 

(1) Organizational Capacity and 

Strength of Consortium 

(a) Evidence of an agreement 

formalizing a consortium for purposes 

of this grant funding. The agreement 

must address the negotiated 

arrangements for administering the 

grant funding to meet an applicant’s 

project goals and the roles and 

responsibilities of each consortium 

member to comply with the 

administrative, financial, and reporting 

requirements of the grant and all other 

applicable Federal regulations and 

policies. This agreement must be signed 

by an authorized representative of the 

lead entity applicant and an authorized 

representative of each partnering 

consortium entity. 

(b) Describe the actual composition of 

the consortium members and how each 

member is appropriate and needed to 

successfully accomplish project 

activities. 

(c) Describe the abilities and 

contributions of the lead applicant 

organization and other consortium 

members. Provide a brief overview such 

as each organization’s current mission, 

scope of current activities, demonstrated 

experience serving rural populations, 

key personnel to manage the award 

project, and access to financial practices 

and systems to ensure that Federal 

funds can be properly accounted for and 

managed. 

(d) Evidence and description of how 

the consortium will maintain ties to the 

local rural community(ies). If the lead 

applicant is located in an urban area, 

describe the geographical relationship to 

the proposed rural service population, 

and plans to ensure that rural 

populations are served. Urban 

applicants must describe how they will 

ensure a high degree of local rural 

control in the project. At least 66% 

(two-thirds) of consortium members 

must be located in a rural area and 

primarily serve a rural area as defined 

by this Notice. 

(e) Describe how the consortium will 

impact rural community(ies) and 

providers, and how the network will 

strengthen its relationship with the 

community and region it serves. 

(f) Identify the project director for the 

award (or strategy for hiring), along with 

key activities and approximate 

percentage of time to be devoted to this 

project. 

(2) Workplan and Proposed Budget 

(a) Provide a project work plan that 

clearly illustrates the consortium’s 

goals, strategies, activities, and 

measurable outcomes proposed during 

the entire period of performance. The 

work plan must identify the individual 

or organization responsible for carrying 

out each activity, include a timeline for 

the period of performance, and illustrate 

its relation to the COVID–19 pandemic. 

(b) Provide a complete, consistent, 

and detailed budget presentation for up 

to a three-year period of performance 

through the submission of the SF–424A 

budget form and a Budget Narrative that 

justifies the appropriateness of the 

requested funds. The budget should be 

reasonable in relation to the objectives, 

the complexity of the activities, and the 

anticipated results. The budget narrative 

should logically and clearly document 

how and why each line item request 

(such as personnel, travel, equipment, 

contractual service, etc.) supports the 

goals and activities of the proposed 

award-funded activities. 

(3) Evaluation, Impact, and Replicability 

(a) Describe how the proposed 

progress toward meeting program goals 

contributes to the long-term 

sustainability of rural health care by 

improving rural health care access, 

improving rural health outcomes, and 

sustaining health care as an economic 

driver for the rural community or 

region. 

(b) Describe how progress toward 

meeting program goals and 

determination of a return on investment 

will be tracked, measured, and 

evaluated. How will this assessment 

contribute to the consortium’s quality 

improvement efforts and sustainability 

beyond the period of Federal funding? 

(c) Explain a process for evaluating 

how the consortium’s resources will be 

leveraged and utilized to increase access 

to health care services, improve rural 

health outcomes, and/or support health 

care as a key economic driver for small 

communities. Include a discussion 

regarding the consortium’s plan for any 

necessary data collection efforts 

amongst members of the consortium, as 

well as any plans to solicit or provide 

technical assistance to support these 

efforts. 

(d) Identify factors and strategies that 

will lead to project viability, 

sustainability of the consortium’s 

activities after Federal funding ends, 

and establishment of an evidence-based 

model for dissemination of lessons 

learned for future replication. 

C. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) for Award 

Management (SAM) 

Grant applicants must obtain a Dun 

and Bradstreet Data Universal 

Numbering System (DUNS) number and 

register in the System for Award 

Management (SAM) prior to submitting 

an application pursuant to 2 CFR 

25.200(b). In addition, an entity 

applicant must maintain registration in 

SAM at all times during which it has an 

active Federal award or an application 

or plan under consideration by the 

Agency. The applicant must ensure that 

the information in the database is 

current, accurate, and complete. 

Applicants must ensure they complete 

the Financial Assistance General 

Certifications and Representations in 

SAM. Similarly, all recipients of Federal 

financial assistance are required to 

report information about first-tier 

subawards and executive compensation 

in accordance to 2 CFR part 170. So long 

as an entity applicant does not have an 


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exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b), the 

applicant must have the necessary 

processes and systems in place to 

comply with the reporting requirements 

should the applicant receive funding. 

See 2 CFR 170.200(b). 

An applicant, unless excepted under 

2 CFR 25.110(b), (c), or (d), is required 

to: 

(a) Be registered in SAM before 

submitting its application; 

(b) Provide a valid DUNS number in 

its application; and 

(c) Continue to maintain an active 

SAM registration with current 

information at all times during which it 

has an active Federal award or an 

application or plan under consideration 

by a Federal awarding agency. 

The Federal awarding agency may not 

make a federal award to an applicant 

until the applicant has complied with 

all applicable DUNS and SAM 

requirements and, if an applicant has 

not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time the Federal 

awarding agency is ready to make a 

Federal award, the Federal awarding 

agency may determine that the 

applicant is not qualified to receive a 

Federal award and use that 

determination as a basis for making a 

Federal award to another applicant. 

As required by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), all 

grant applications 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 number at 1–866– 

705–5711 or via internet at http://

fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Additional 

information concerning this 

requirement can be obtained on the 

Grants.gov website at http://

www.grants.gov. Similarly, applicants 

may register for SAM at https://

www.sam.gov or by calling 1–866–606– 

8220. 

The applicant must provide 

documentation that they are registered 

in SAM and their DUNS number. If the 

applicant does not provide 

documentation that they are registered 

in SAM and their DUNS number, the 

application will not be considered for 

funding. 

You no longer must complete the 

following forms for acceptance of a 

federal award. This information is now 

collected through your registration or 

annual recertification in SAM.gov in the 

Financial Assistance General 

Certifications and Representations 

section: 

• Form AD–1047, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and 

Other Responsibility Matters-Primary 

Covered Transactions.’’ 

• Form AD–1048, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, 

Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion. 

Lower Tier Covered Transactions.’’ 

• Form AD–1049, ‘‘Certification 

Regarding Drug-Free Workplace 

Requirements (Grants).’’ 

• Form AD–3031, ‘‘Assurance 

Regarding Felony Conviction or Tax 

Delinquent Status for Corporate 

Applicants.’’ 

D. Instructions and Resources 

Instructions and additional resources 

for compiling and submitting an 

application are available on the 

Emergency Rural Health Care Grant 

Program web page at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/erhc. 

E. Submission Dates and Times 

The deadline date for applications to 

be considered for funding is specified in 

the DATES section at the beginning of 

this notice. 

VI. Application Review Information 

Applications will first be reviewed to 

determine if they meet the eligibility 

requirements in this Notice. If an 

application is deemed ineligible, the 

application will not be processed, 

evaluated, or scored. The Agency will 

notify ineligible applicants in writing 

regarding the reason(s) for ineligibility. 

Applications deemed eligible will be 

evaluated based on the criteria below. 

Complete applications received by the 

deadline specified in this Notice will be 

scored and ranked to determine which 

applications are funded. Eligible and 

complete Track One, Recovery 

applications received after the deadline 

specified in this Notice will be reviewed 

and processed according to the criteria 

below for as long as funding remains 

available. 

The Agency will review each grant 

application to determine eligibility. The 

applicant may be asked to provide 

additional information or 

documentation to assist the Agency 

with this determination. 

A. Evaluation Criteria 

Applications will be evaluated based 

only on the information provided in the 

application. References to websites or 

publications will not be reviewed, so 

full documentation and support of 

application criteria is encouraged. 

Scoring and ranking of applications will 

be a function of the criteria below. 

(1) Track 1, Recovery applicants will 

receive a score based on the criteria 

below (maximum 100 points): 

a. Distressed Communities/ 

Communities below the poverty line 

threshold priority. 15 points will be 

given for facilities located in distressed 

communities according to the EIG index 

or communities below the poverty line. 

For applications supporting two or more 

facility locations, these priority points 

will only be given if 50 percent or more 

of the requested award funds will 

support distressed communities or those 

communities below the poverty line. 

EIG’s Distressed Community Map can be 

found here: https://

ruraldevelopment.maps.arcgis.com/ 

apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=

06a26a91d074426d944d22715a90311e. 

Maximum 15 points will be given. 

b. Income priority. If the median 

household income of the facility’s 

service area is below the higher of the 

poverty line or— 

i. 60 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 20 points. 

ii. 70 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 15 points. 

iii. 80 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 10 points; or 

iv. 90 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 5 points. 

c. Population priority. If the facility is 

located in a rural community having a 

population, according to the most recent 

decennial census, of— 

i. 5,000 or less: 15 points. 

ii. 5,001 to 10,000: 10 points; or 

iii. 10,001 to 15,000: 5 points. 

d. COVID–19 vaccine administration 

or testing priority. 20 points will be 

given to applications that directly 

support activities to administer COVID– 

19 vaccines or conduct COVID–19 

testing. Maximum 20 points will be 

given. 

e. COVID–19 Impacts priority. 20 

points will be given to applications with 

projects located in one of the top 10 

percent of counties or county 

equivalents based upon county risk 

score in the United States. The risk 

score is calculated based on COVID–19 

confirmed cases (per 10,000 

population); Distressed Communities 

Index (DCI); Job Loss Projections 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics data) and the 

Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) 

Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). 

Counties that qualify for the COVID–19 

impact priority points are listed on the 

RD web page at https://

www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. For 

applications supporting two or more 

facility locations, these priority points 

will only be given if 50 percent or more 

of the requested award funds will 

support these high COVID–19 impact 


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counties. Maximum 20 points will be 

given. 

f. Equity priority. 10 points will be 

given to applications with projects 

located in a community with a score of 

0.75 or above according to the CDC’s 

Social Vulnerability Index. Applicants 

may verify whether projects qualify for 

these priority points by viewing the RD 

web page at https://www.rd.usda.gov/ 

priority-points. For applications 

supporting two or more facility 

locations, these priority points will only 

be given if 50 percent or more of the 

requested award funds will support 

these communities identified for 

priority points through the CDC’s Social 

Vulnerability Index. Maximum 10 

points will be given. 

(2) Track Two, Impact applicants will 

receive a score based on the criteria 

below (maximum score 100 points): 

a. Distressed Communities/ 

Communities below the poverty line 

threshold priority. 10 points will be 

given for facilities or projects targeting 

distressed communities according to the 

EIG index or communities below the 

poverty line. For applications 

supporting two or more facility 

locations, these priority points will only 

be given if 50 percent or more of the 

requested award funds will support 

distressed communities or those 

communities below the poverty line. 

EIG’s Distressed Community Map can be 

found here: https://

ruraldevelopment.maps.arcgis.com/ 

apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=

06a26a91d074426d944d22715a90311e. 

Maximum 10 points will be given. 

b. Income priority. If the median 

household income of the project’s 

service area is below the higher of the 

poverty line or— 

i. 60 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 15 points. 

ii. 70 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 12 points. 

iii. 80 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 9 points; or 

iv. 90 percent of the State 

nonmetropolitan median household 

income: 6 points. 

c. Population priority. If the project or 

facility(ies) will be located in a rural 

community having a population, 

according to the most recent decennial 

census, of— 

i. 5,000 or less: 10 points. 

ii. 5,001 to 10,000: 6 points; or 

iii. 10,001 to 15,000: 3 points. 

d. Need, Methodology, and 

Innovation (maximum 25 points). The 

Agency will utilize a panel of internal 

and/or external qualified reviewers to 

assess need, methodology, and 

innovation along the following factors: 

i. The extent to which the application 

clearly describes the purpose of the 

proposed project, the local/regional 

health care environment and how the 

need was identified, expected outcomes, 

focus area(s) and the aim(s) the project 

would support. 

ii. The extent to which the applicant 

describes an innovative approach to 

address the need, goals, and objectives 

and the appropriateness of the proposed 

strategy. 

iii. The extent to which the 

applicant’s project will provide 

demonstrable impact to rural 

community(ies) and the health care 

community. 

Maximum 25 points will be given. 

e. Organizational Capacity and 

Strength of Consortium (maximum 15 

points). The Agency will utilize a panel 

of internal and/or external qualified 

reviewers to assess organizational 

capacity and strength of consortium 

along the following factors: 

i. Clarity of the roles and 

responsibilities for each consortium 

member and the extent to which the 

network members demonstrate the 

strength of their mutual commitment in 

carrying out the planning activities. 

ii. The extent to which the application 

identifies the composition, capacity, 

and expertise of each consortium 

member and successfully connects this 

expertise to the consortium members’ 

(and project director’s) proposed 

responsibilities. 

iii. The extent to which the 

application describes the geographical 

relationship with the rural service 

population. Urban-based applicants also 

must demonstrate how the rural 

population will be served, and that a 

high degree of local rural control of the 

project will be maintained. 

iv. Strength of the relationship 

between the consortium and the 

community or region it serves. Degree to 

which the consortium collaborates with 

appropriate organizations in the 

community to fulfill the goals of the 

consortium and the project. 

v. Strength and qualifications of the 

project director, who will dedicate an 

appropriate amount of their time to the 

program and be responsible for 

monitoring the program and ensuring 

award activities are carried out. This 

element includes measuring the 

effectiveness of the application in 

clearly demonstrating how the project 

director’s role contributes to the success 

of the network. 

Maximum 15 points will be given. 

f. Workplan and Proposed Budget 

(maximum 10 points). The Agency will 

utilize a panel of internal and/or 

external qualified reviewers to assess 

the workplan and proposed budget 

along the following factors: 

i. The feasibility of activities and 

objectives identified in the work plan 

including measurable outcomes and the 

extent to which the expected outcomes 

this program will accomplish by the end 

of the period of performance. 

ii. The reasonableness of the proposed 

budget for each year of the period of 

performance in relation to the 

objectives, the complexity of the project 

activities, and the anticipated results. 

Maximum 10 points will be given. 

g. Evaluation, Impact, and 

Replicability (maximum 10 points). The 

Agency will utilize a panel of internal 

and/or external qualified reviewers to 

assess evaluation, impact, and 

replicability along the following factors: 

i. The clarity and appropriateness of 

the proposed goals, objectives, strategy 

to calculate summary impact measures 

and/or return on investment, and extent 

to which project activities would result 

in achieving the proposed goals 

outlined in the work plan. The extent to 

which measures are able to be tracked, 

to assess whether the program objectives 

will be met and the extent to which 

these can be attributed to the program. 

ii. The appropriateness and strength 

of data collection efforts from the lead 

applicant as well as other members of 

the consortium, including any plans to 

solicit or provide technical assistance to 

support data collection efforts. 

iii. The appropriateness and strength 

of the proposed process for evaluation. 

iv. The extent to which the applicant 

clearly identifies factors and strategies 

that will lead to viability and 

sustainability of the network beyond 

Federal funding, and after the program 

ends. The clarity and reasonableness of 

proposed steps to disseminate lessons 

learned and encourage replication 

where appropriate. 

Maximum 10 points will be given. 

h. Equity priority (maximum 5 points) 

will be given to applications with 

projects located in a community with a 

score of 0.75 or above according to the 

CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index. For 

applications supporting two or more 

project locations, these priority points 

will only be given if 50 percent or more 

of the requested award funds will 

support these communities identified 

for priority points through the CDC’s 

Social Vulnerability Index. Applicants 

may verify whether projects qualify for 

these priority points through a link on 

the RD website. 

Maximum 5 points will be given. 


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44342 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 153 / Thursday, August 12, 2021 / Notices 

B. Review and Selection Process 

All complete applications will be 

competed/ranked as specified above. 

Due to the competitive nature of this 

program, applications receiving the 

same score will be competed/ranked 

based on the Income priority score, and 

then if necessary, the Population 

priority score. A complete application 

contains all information requested by 

this Notice and is sufficient to allow the 

determination of eligibility, score, rank, 

and compete the application for 

funding, subject to funds available. 

USDA Rural Development State Offices 

will work with Track One, Recovery 

applicants to obtain a complete 

application for as long as funding 

remains available. 

For Track One, Recovery applicants, 

determinations of eligibility, scoring, 

and ranking will occur at the applicable 

USDA Rural Development State Office 

where the project is located. 

Applications will compete for available 

funding allocated to the applicable 

USDA Rural Development State Office. 

If no funding remains available at the 

applicable State Office, the project will 

compete for available funding held in 

the USDA Rural Development National 

Office reserve. 

For Track Two, Impact applicants, 

eligibility determinations will occur at 

the applicable USDA Rural 

Development State Office where the 

lead applicant is headquartered. If a 

Track Two applicant is headquartered 

in the District of Columbia, the 

applicant must submit its application 

package to the USDA Rural 

Development National Office and the 

application will be processed by the 

USDA Rural Development Maryland/ 

Delaware State Office. The USDA Rural 

Development National Office will 

coordinate the application review, 

ranking, and selection for Track Two, 

Impact applications. These applications 

will be evaluated by an Application 

Review Panel consisting of qualified 

health care experts using the criteria 

described in Section VI Application 

Review Information of this Notice. Panel 

members will be selected by the Agency 

and will be qualified to evaluate the 

type of work proposed by the applicant. 

If you are interested in serving as a nonFederal independent panel reviewer and 

have expertise as it relates to rural 

health care, please send a resume 

addressing relevant qualifications and 

experience to communityfacilities@

usda.gov no later than October 1, 2021. 

In accordance with 2 CFR 200.206, 

the Agency will conduct a review of risk 

posed by applicants. For Track One, 

Recovery and Track Two, Impact 

applications that exceed $250,000, the 

Agency will review and consider any 

information about the applicant that is 

in the designated integrity and 

performance system accessible through 

SAM, currently the Federal Awardee 

Performance and Integrity Information 

System (FAPIIS). Applicants have the 

option to review information in FAPIIS 

and comment on any information about 

itself that a Federal awarding agency 

previously entered. The Agency will 

consider any comments by the 

applicant, in addition to the other 

information in FAPIIS, in making a 

judgment about the applicant’s integrity, 

business ethics, and record of 

performance under Federal awards 

when completing the review of risk 

posed by applicants. 

Applicants selected for funding will 

be provided a Letter of Conditions. 

Upon acceptance of the conditions, the 

applicant will sign and return to the 

processing office Forms RD 1942–46, 

‘‘Letter of Intent to Meet Conditions’’, 

and RD 1940–1, ‘‘Request for Obligation 

of Funds.’’ The grant is approved on the 

date an Agency signed copy of Form RD 

1940–1, ‘‘Request for Obligation of 

Funds,’’ is mailed to the applicant. 

Prior to the disbursement of grant 

funds, applicants approved for funding 

will be required to sign an Agency 

approved Grant Agreement, meet any 

pre-disbursement conditions outlined in 

the Letter of Conditions, and meet the 

applicable Statutory or Regulatory 

authority for this action listed in Section 

I. Funding Opportunity Description. 

In the event the application is not 

approved, the applicant will be notified 

in writing of the reasons for rejection 

and provided applicable review and 

appeal rights in accordance with 7 CFR 

part 11. 

VII. Federal Awarding Administration 

Information 

For Track One, Recovery grant 

recipients, the USDA Rural 

Development State Office in the state 

where the applicant’s project is located 

will administer the selected awards. For 

Track Two, Impact grant recipients, the 

USDA Rural Development State Office 

in the state where the lead applicant is 

headquartered will administer the 

selected awards. Agency state office 

contact information is available at 

https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/stateoffices. 

As outlined in the letter of conditions 

and grant agreement issued by the 

Agency, grant recipients will be 

required to provide annual financial 

statements in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 200 as adopted by the Agency in 2 

CFR part 400. Grant recipients will also 

provide performance and financial 

monitoring and reporting information in 

accordance with 2 CFR part 200, subpart 

D, ‘‘Post Federal Award Requirements.’’ 

VIII. Federal Awarding Agency 

Contacts 

Jamie Davenport: USDA Rural 

Development, Community Facilities 

Program. Telephone: (202) 720–0002, 

email: Jamie.Davenport@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities that require 

alternative means for communication 

should contact the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at 

(202) 720–2600 (voice). 

IX. Other Information 

A. Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

chapter 35), USDA requested that the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) conduct an emergency review by 

July 16, 2021 of a new information 

collection that contains the Information 

Collection and Recordkeeping 

requirements contained in this notice. 

In addition to the emergency 

clearance, the regular clearance process 

is hereby being initiated to provide the 

public with the opportunity to comment 

under a full comment period, as the 

Agency intends to request regular 

approval from OMB for this information 

collection. Comments from the public 

on new, proposed, revised, and 

continuing collections of information 

help us assess the impact of our 

information collection requirements and 

minimize the public’s reporting burden. 

Comments may be submitted regarding 

this information collection by the 

following method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and, in the 

‘‘Search’’ box, type in the Docket No. 

RHS–21–CF–0009. A link to the Notice 

will appear. You may submit a comment 

here by selecting the ‘‘Comment’’ button 

or you can access the ‘‘Docket’’ tab, 

select the ‘‘Notice,’’ and go to the 

‘‘Browse & Comment on Documents’’ 

Tab. Here you may view comments that 

have been submitted as well as submit 

a comment. To submit a comment, 

select the ‘‘comment’’ button, complete 

the required information, and select the 

‘‘Submit Comment’’ button at the 

bottom. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘FAQ’’ link 

at the bottom. Comments on this 

information collection must be received 

by October 12, 2021. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 153 / Thursday, August 12, 2021 / Notices 44343 

Copies of all forms, regulations, and 

instructions referenced in this NOFA 

may be obtained from RHS. Data 

furnished by the applicants will be used 

to determine eligibility for program 

benefits. Furnishing the data is 

voluntary; however, the failure to 

provide data could result in program 

benefits being withheld or denied. 

Comments are invited on (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of burden including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronical, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

OMB Control Number: 0575–0200. 

Title: American Rescue Plan Act 

Emergency Rural Health Care (ERHC) 

Grant Program. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

Abstract: The American Rescue Plan 

Act Emergency Rural Health Care Grant 

Program was authorized by the 

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to 

assist rural hospitals and local 

communities broaden access to COVID– 

19 vaccines, health care services, and 

food assistance through food banks and 

food distribution facilities, and projects 

supporting the long-term sustainability 

of rural health care. As authorized 

under Section 1002 of the American 

Rescue Plan Act, funds will be made 

available to eligible applicants to offer 

support for rural health care services in 

the form of immediate relief, longerterm funding to advance ideas and 

solutions to support long-term 

sustainability of rural health, and 

provide expeditious relief to address the 

current economic conditions arising 

from the COVID–19 emergency. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 3.70 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Public bodies, 

nonprofits, and Federally recognized 

Tribes. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

3,392. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 16. 

Estimated Number of Total Annual 

Responses: 54,300. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden and 

Record Keeping Hours on Respondents: 

201,272 hours. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from MaryPat Daskal, 

Chief, Branch 1, Rural Development 

Innovation Center, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. 

SW Washington, DC 20250. Phone: 202– 

720–7853. 

All responses to this information 

collection and recordkeeping notice will 

be summarized and included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

B. Civil Rights 

Programs referenced in this Notice are 

subject to applicable Civil Rights Laws. 

These laws include the Equal Credit 

Opportunity Act, Title VI of the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII of the Civil 

Rights Act of 1968, and Section 504 of 

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

C. Intergovernmental Review 

The Emergency Rural Health Care 

Grant Program is subject to Executive 

Order 12372, ‘‘Intergovernmental 

Review of Federal Programs.’’ Submit 

one copy of the application to the State 

government single point of contact, if 

one has been designated, at the same 

time as application submission to the 

Agency. If the project is located in more 

than one state, submit a copy to each 

applicable state government single point 

of contact. Go to https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf for 

state office contact information. 

Applications from Federally recognized 

Indian tribes are not subject to this 

requirement. 

D. Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

Executive Order 13175 requires 

federal agencies to consult and 

coordinate with tribes on a governmentto-government basis on policies that 

have tribal implications. USDA’s Office 

of Tribal Relations and Rural 

Development hosted a tribal 

consultation held virtually on May 4, 

2021. The virtual meeting consisted of 

more than 120 participants, 30 of whom 

identified as Tribal Leaders or their 

proxies. USDA attendees included the 

Director of the Office of Tribal 

Relations, the Acting Administrator of 

RD’s Rural Housing Service, RD’s Chief 

Innovation Officer, and RD’s National 

Native American Coordinator. 

Tribal leaders expressed strong 

interest in broad flexibility of program 

design, allowing use of funds for 

construction, and offering grant sizes 

considerably larger than the existing 

average Community Facilities grant of 

$30,000 to support sizable, long-lasting 

impacts. Leaders highlighted specific 

needs around behavioral health, 

workforce development, data 

availability, food sovereignty, poverty, 

substance use disorders, and other 

infrastructure needs such as broadband 

and water. Leaders expressed concern 

that the cost-sharing requirements 

imposed in the statute may be too 

burdensome and highlighted the need 

for streamlined applications and limited 

reporting and federal data collection 

requirements. 

This NOFA takes into consideration 

Tribal leader comments, particularly 

with respect to award size and use of 

funds. Cost-sharing requirements are 

mandated in the American Rescue Plan 

Act. 

E. Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act 

All applicants, in accordance with 2 

CFR part 25, must have a DUNS/UEI 

number, which can be obtained at no 

cost via a toll-free request line at (866) 

705–5711 or online at http://

fedgov.dnb.com/webform. All recipients 

of Federal financial assistance are 

required to report information about 

first-tier sub-awards and executive total 

compensation in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 170. 

F. Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights laws and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (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; the USDA 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
44344 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 153 / Thursday, August 12, 2021 / Notices 

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

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.ocio.usda.gov/document/ 

ad-3027, 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. 

Chadwick Parker, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17199 Filed 8–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meeting of the 

Washington Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil 

Rights. 

ACTION: Announcement of meetings. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission) and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act that 

the Washington Advisory Committee 

(Committee) will hold a series of 

meetings via web teleconference on the 

dates and times listed below for the 

purpose of reviewing the latest draft of 

their report on police use of force and 

barriers to accountability. 

DATES: These meetings will be held on: 

• Wednesday, September 8, 2021, from 

1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Pacific Time 

• Tuesday, September 28, 2021, from 

12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Pacific Time 

• Wednesday, October 13, 2021, from 

2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Pacific Time 

• Tuesday, November 2, 2021, from 

1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Pacific Time 

• Wednesday, December 1, 2021, from 

1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Pacific Time 

• Tuesday, December 14, 2021, from 

12:00 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time 

September 8th PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/4c6xw35m 

September 28th PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/93ccfkc9 

October 13th PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/2yhy6d37 

November 2nd PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/yesrus3h 

December 1st PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/37axray6 

December 14th PUBLIC WEBEX 

REGISTRATION LINK: https://

tinyurl.com/yjj5whrf 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brooke Peery, Designated Federal 

Officer (DFO), at bpeery@usccr.gov or by 

phone at (202) 701–1376. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members 

of the public may listen to the 

discussion. This meeting is available to 

the public through the public WebEx 

registration link listed above. An open 

comment period will be provided to 

allow members of the public to make a 

statement as time allows. The 

conference call operator will ask callers 

to identify themselves, the organization 

they are affiliated with (if any), and an 

email address prior to placing callers 

into the conference room. Callers can 

expect to incur regular charges for calls 

they initiate over wireless lines, 

according to their wireless plan. The 

Commission will not refund any 

incurred charges. Callers will incur no 

charge for calls they initiate over landline connections to the toll-free 

telephone number. Persons with hearing 

impairments may also follow the 

proceedings by first calling the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 and 

providing the Service with the 

conference call number and conference 

ID number. 

Members of the public are also 

entitled to submit written comments; 

the comments must be received in the 

Regional Programs Unit within 30 days 

following the meeting. Written 

comments may be emailed to Brooke 

Peery at bpeery@usccr.gov. Persons who 

desire additional information may 

contact the Regional Programs Unit 

Office/Advisory Committee 

Management Unit at (202) 701–1376. 

Records generated from this meeting 

may be inspected and reproduced at the 

Regional Programs Unit Office, as they 

become available, both before and after 

the meeting. Records of the meeting will 

be available at: https://

www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/ 

FACAPublicViewCommitteeDetails?id=

a10t0000001gzkZAAQ 

Please click on the ‘‘Meeting Details’’ 

and ‘‘Documents’’ links. Persons 

interested in the work of this Committee 

are also directed to the Commission’s 

website, http://www.usccr.gov, or may 

contact the Regional Programs Unit 

office at the above email address. 

Agenda 

I. Welcome & Roll Call 

II. Approval of Minutes 

III. Discussion of Report Draft 

IV. Public Comment 

V. Adjournment 

Dated: August 9, 2021. 

David Mussatt, 

Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17270 Filed 8–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meetings of the 

Maryland Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Commission on Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission), and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), that a briefing of the Maryland 

Advisory Committee to the Commission 

will convene by WebEx virtual platform 

and conference call at 12:00 p.m. (ET) 

on Monday, September 13, 2021. The 

purpose of the meeting is continue 

planning on the water affordability 

project. 

DATES: Monday, September 13, 2021; 

12:00 p.m. (ET) 

Public Web Conference Link (video and 

audio): Link: https://bit.ly/3kFNC9A; 

password, if needed: USCCR–MD 

If Phone Only: 1–800–360–9505; Access 

code: 199 638 6973# 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Evelyn Bohor at ero@usccr.gov or by 

phone at 202–381–8915. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting is available to the public 

through the web link above. If joining 

only via phone, callers can expect to 

incur charges for calls they initiate over 

wireless lines, and the Commission will 

not refund any incurred charges. 

Individuals who are deaf, deafblind and 

hard of hearing may also follow the 

proceedings by first calling the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 and 

providing the Service with conference 

details found through registering at the 

web link above. To request additional 

accommodations, please email 

bdelaviez@usccr.gov at least 7 days prior 

to the meeting. 


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