[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 212 (Thursday, October 31, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 56244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27904]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4066-N-03]


NOFA for FY 1996 Public and Indian Housing Tenant Opportunities 
Program; Notice of No Awards for FY 1996

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: NOFA for FY 1996 Public and Indian Housing Tenant Opportunities 
Program; Notice of No Awards for FY 1996.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: For reasons set forth in the Supplementary Information section 
of this document, this Notice advises the public that HUD will not 
award funds under the Public and Indian Housing Tenant Opportunities 
Program for FY 1996, until further notice.

DATES: October 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Priscilla S. Banks, Office of 
Community Relations and Involvement, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 4112, Washington, D.C. 
20410; telephone: (202) 708-3611. All Indian Housing applicants may 
contact Tracy Outlaw, Office of Native American Programs, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, S.W., Room B-133, 
Washington, D.C. 20410; telephone: (202) 755-0088. For hearing- and 
speech-impaired persons, these numbers may be accessed via TTY (text 
telephone) by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-
877-8339. (Other than the ``800'' TTY number, telephone numbers are not 
toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 3, 1996, HUD published in the 
Federal Register a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for FY 1996 
for the Public and Indian Housing Tenant Opportunities Program 
Technical Assistance (FR-4066-N-01). The NOFA announced the 
availability of approximately $15 million to eligible resident 
organizations to provide technical assistance and training activities 
under the TOP program. These funds were appropriated for TOP from the 
Omnibus Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996.
    On August 9, 1996, HUD published in the Federal Register (61 FR 
41646) an amendment to the July 3, 1996, NOFA which: (1) decreased the 
amount of funds made available for basic and additional grants for 
resident organizations; (2) correspondingly increased the amount of 
funds made available for the provision of technical assistance by 
national, regional, or statewide resident organizations (NROs/RROs/
SROs); and, (3) extended the eligibility and the application deadline 
to September 9, 1996, for NROs/RROs/SROs to apply for funding under the 
other requirements and criteria set out in the July 3, 1996 NOFA. The 
amendment also provided that NRO/RRO/SRO applicants who had previously 
submitted applications in accordance with the provisions in the July 3, 
1996 NOFA, were permitted to amend their applications prior to the 
extended deadline date of September 9, 1996.
    On September 20, 1996, the Congress issued a Conference Report (H. 
Rpt. 104-812) that accompanied H.R. 3666, the bill that appropriated 
funds for HUD (and other agencies) for FY 1997 and that was signed into 
law on September 26, 1996 (Public Law 104-204). The Conference Report 
stated: ``Funds for the Tenant Opportunity Program shall not be 
available for any purpose until the Secretary certifies that the 
program is working effectively. The conferees are concerned about 
reports of wasteful spending practices and allegedly fraudulent 
activities within the program, practices which put the program at risk 
of elimination altogether.'' (H. Rpt 104-812 at p. 59) Therefore, HUD 
is undertaking an evaluation of the TOP program's effectiveness and 
problems of concern to the Congress and will take corrective action 
upon confirmation of program deficiencies, in order to reduce and 
eliminate potential risks.
    HUD will issue a NOFA for FY 1997, after incorporating program 
revisions that are responsive to the Conference Report regarding the 
need for TOP program integrity and accountability. The NOFA will 
include the funding appropriations from both FY 1996 and FY 1997.

    Dated: October 24, 1996.
Christopher Hornig,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing Investments.
[FR Doc. 96-27904 Filed 10-30-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P