[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63068-63069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31079]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Economic Research Service
Notice of Intent To Seek Approval to Collect Information
AGENCY: Economic Research Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.L.
No. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5
CFR part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the
Economic Research Service's (ERS) intention to request approval for a
new information collection on the demographic and economic
characteristics of participants in USDA's Single Family Direct Loan
Rural Housing Program in order to better understand how this program
helps provide adequate and affordable housing for rural residents.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by January 30, 1998 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Linda Ghelfi or Leslie
Whitener, Food Assistance, Poverty, and Well-Being Branch, Food and
Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1800 M. St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5801, 202-694-
5420.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Application for ERS collection of information on
participants in USDA's Single Family Direct Loan Rural Housing Program.
Type of Request: Approval to collect information on participants in
USDA's Single Family Direct Loan Rural Housing Program.
Abstract: The Economic Research Service has the responsibility to
provide social and economic intelligence on changing rural housing
needs in the United States to help assess the relationship between
Federal housing assistance policies and rural development. Research
activities focus on three major objectives: (1) Identification of
trends in rural housing availability, affordability, and adequacy which
underlie an understanding of rural housing needs; (2) assessment of the
use and effectiveness of Federal housing assistance programs in rural
areas; and (3) investigation of the potential effects of Federal policy
changes on rural housing programs and the residents they serve. Housing
has an enormous influence on the quality of life of rural residents,
and rural housing is an important focus of the Department's rural
development efforts. Research findings are provided to public and
private decision-makers for use in developing and evaluating policies
and programs to insure that adequate and affordable housing is
available to rural residents.
The USDA, through its Rural Development Single Family Direct Loan
Housing Program, has provided billions of dollars to over 600,000 low-
income rural borrowers nationwide. The Department has only sporadic and
incomplete information on the residents that benefit from these program
outlays and what this program means for the stock of available,
affordable, and adequate single family housing in rural areas. The data
collection effort proposed here will provide a unique and detailed
information base on the characteristics of USDA's Section 502 Direct
Loan Program participants to help (1) assess the impact of this
housing-assistance program on rural residents and their communities and
(2) provide a better understanding of the effects of changing Federal
policies, such as welfare reform, on rural borrowers's participation in
the direct loan program. The survey will collect information from USDA-
assisted borrowers to determine their demographic, employment, income,
and housing characteristics; reliance on other public assistance
programs; and dependence on rural housing program funds. This
information will help to fill a serious gap in our understanding of the
nature of housing needs in rural areas and will provide USDA and other
policy makers with sound information to help evaluate current programs
and develop more effective rural housing policies. ERS, working with
Washington State University's Social and Economic Sciences Research
Center, will conduct a telephone survey of borrowers participating in
USDA's Section 502 Single Family Direct Loan Housing Program. Borrowers
to be interviewed will be selected from a simple random national sample
of recent borrowers who obtained loans during 1995, 1996, or 1997,
taken from USDA's Rural Development administrative records. Survey data
will be collected using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)
techniques, which are more efficient and less time consuming than
traditional written interview techniques. Responses are voluntary and
confidential. Survey data will be used with other data for statistical
purposes and reported only in aggregate or statistical form.
Information to be obtained from borrowers includes: characteristics
of current and past housing; housing problems; satisfaction with
current residence, neighborhood, and the USDA financing experience;
demographic characteristics of household members; education and
employment characteristics of borrowers; public assistance program
participation; and sources and amounts of household income. No existing
data sources, including USDA administrative data or the biennial
American Housing Survey, are sufficiently detailed to allow an in-depth
analysis of the relationships among these variables for participants in
the Section 502 program. These data and the research they will support
are vital to the Department's ability to assess the impact of its rural
housing programs on rural residents and rural community development.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this data
collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per completed interview,
including time for listening to instructions, gathering data needed,
and responding to questionnaire items.
Respondents: Homeowners who obtained a loan during 1995, 1996, and
1997 through USDA's Section 502 Single Family Direct Loan Program.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,000.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,000 hours. Copies
of information concerning the data collection can be obtained from
Linda Ghelfi or Leslie Whitener, Food Assistance, Poverty and Well-
Being Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M. St., NW, Washington,
D.C. 20036-5801, 202-694-5420.
Comments: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper functions of the
agency, including
[[Page 63069]]
whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
information including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden on
those who are to respond, such as through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques. Comments may be sent to Linda Ghelfi, Food Assistance,
Poverty and Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division,
Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M. St.,
NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5801. All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments
will also become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, D.C.
Thomas A. Carlin,
Deputy Director, Food and Rural Economics Division.
[FR Doc. 97-31079 Filed 11-25-97; 8:45 am]
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