[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7748-7749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3870]


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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. 
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 multifamily rental housing funded through 
USDA's Rural Rental Housing Program. This information will contribute 
to a better understanding of how USDA housing programs help to provide 
adequate and affordable rental housing for low-income residents in 
rural areas.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 23, 1998 to be 
assured of consideration.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Leslie Whitener, Food 
Assistance, Poverty, and Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural Economics 
Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Room S2079, 1800 M. St., NW, Washington, DC. 20036-5831, 202-694-5444.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Application for ERS collection of information on multifamily 
rental housing funded through USDA's Rural Rental Housing Program.
    Type of Request: Approval to collect information on multifamily 
rental housing funded through USDA's Rural Rental 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, particularly as they relate to low-income residents; and (3) 
investigation of the potential effects of Federal policy changes on 
rural housing programs and housing needs in rural communities. Housing 
has a major influence on the quality of life of rural residents, and 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 low-income and 
other rural residents.
    USDA's Rural Rental Housing Section 515 Program provides affordable 
rental housing to very low-, low-, and moderate-income rural families; 
elderly residents; and persons with disabilities. The Program employs a 
public-private partnership by providing loans to developers to 
construct or renovate modest-cost rental complexes and cooperative 
buildings in rural areas. These loans are direct, competitive mortgage 
loans made to individuals, partnerships, for-profit corporations, 
nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and others to provide 
affordable multifamily rental housing in rural areas. The long-term, 
low percentage loans provided by this Program allow the debt service on 
the property to be sufficiently low to support below market rents 
affordable to low-income tenants. Tenants pay basic rent or 30 percent 
of adjusted income, whichever is greater. Those living in substandard 
housing are given first priority for tenancy. Since 1963, the Program 
had funded construction of 515,000 units in 26,000 rental housing 
projects across the country. Appropriations for this Program total $150 
million in fiscal year 1998.
    While the Department maintains a national account tracking system 
and a local project information system, information on the impact of 
the Rural Rental Housing Program on the community and on the tenants 
served by the Program is difficult to obtain on a national basis. The 
data collection effort proposed here will provide a unique information 
base by soliciting information from a sample of property managers who 
oversee multifamily rental housing financed by USDA's Rural Rental 
Housing Program. The survey will interview property managers to 
ascertain general housing conditions within their projects, 
neighborhood quality, access to services, and demographic, employment, 
and income information on tenants. This information will help to fill a 
serious gap in our understanding of the effects of rental housing 
programs on low-income rural residents and their communities, and will 
provide USDA and other policy makers with sound information to help 
evaluate current programs and develop more effective rural housing 
policies.
    The Economic Research Service, working with Washington State 
University's Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, will conduct 
a telephone survey of property managers overseeing multifamily rental 
housing funded through USDA's Section 515 Program. Property managers to 
be interviewed will be selected from a simple random national sample of 
current property managers, taken from USDA's Rural Development 
administrative records. Survey data will be collected using Computer-
Assisted

[[Page 7749]]

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 for 
statistical purposes and reported only in aggregate or statistical 
form.
    Information to be obtained from property managers includes: rental 
property characteristics, general conditions within the properties, 
neighborhood quality, access to amenities and local services, property 
managers' experiences with USDA's Rural Development staff, demographic, 
employment, and income information on tenants, and tenant satisfaction. 
No existing data sources, including USDA administrative data, U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development's Property Owners and 
Managers Survey, or the Bureau of the Census' American Housing Survey, 
provide the level of detail necessary to adequately explore these 
issues for USDA's Rural Rental Housing 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 
their communities.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this data 
collection is estimated to average 15 minutes per completed interview, 
including time for listening to instructions, gathering data needed, 
and responding to questionnaire items.
    Respondents: Property managers who currently oversee multifamily 
rental housing funded under USDA's Rural Rental Housing Section 515 
Program.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 250 hours
    Information concerning the data collection can be obtained from 
Leslie Whitener, Food Assistance, Poverty and Well-Being Branch, Food 
and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Room S2079, 1800 M. St., NW, Washington, DC. 
20036-5831, 202-694-5444.

Comments

    Comments are invited on (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information including the validity of the methodology and 
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 Leslie Whitener, Food Assistance, 
Poverty and Well-Being Branch, Food and Rural Economics Division, 
Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room S2079, 
1800 M. St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036-5831. 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.
Betsey Kuhn,
Director, Food and Rural Economics Division.
[FR Doc. 98-3870 Filed 2-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-18-P