[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 77146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26484]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Development Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Form ED-209, Revolving Loan Fund Financial Report

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on August 21, 2020 (85 FR 51677) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of 
Commerce.
    Title: Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Financial Report.
    OMB Control Number: 0610-0095.
    Form Number(s): ED-209.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 1,700.
    Average Hours per Response: 3 hours.
    Burden Hours: 5,100 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The EDA Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Program, 
authorized under section 209 of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3149), has served as an 
important pillar of EDA investment programs since the establishment of 
the RLF Program in 1975. The purpose of the RLF Program is to provide 
regions with a flexible and continuing source of capital, to be used 
with other economic development tools, for creating and retaining jobs 
and inducing private investment that will contribute to long-term 
economic stability and growth. EDA provides RLF grants to eligible 
recipients, which include State and local governments, Indian Tribes, 
and non-profit organizations, to operate a lending program that offers 
loans with flexible repayment terms, primarily to small businesses in 
distressed communities that are unable to obtain traditional bank 
financing. These loans enable small businesses to expand and lead to 
new employment opportunities that pay competitive wages and benefits.
    RLF recipients must submit to EDA Form ED-209, RLF Financial 
Report, which collects limited performance information that EDA uses to 
oversee and monitor RLF grants (13 CFR 307.14(a)). EDA currently 
requires Form ED-209 to be submitted on an annual basis for high-
performing RLFs and on a semi-annual basis for other RLFs.
    EDA recently awarded numerous new RLF grants. This has increased 
the estimated number of respondents that will be required to submit 
Form ED-209 and the estimated number of burden hours associated with 
Form ED-209. On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136), appropriating 
$1,500,000,000 in supplemental funds to EDA to ``prevent, prepare for, 
and respond to coronavirus . . . including for necessary expenses for 
responding to economic injury as a result of coronavirus.'' EDA used a 
significant portion of those funds to fund RLF grants. As a result, the 
number of respondents required to submit Form ED-209 will increase 
substantially. Although Form ED-209 is being extended without change, 
and the estimated amount of time required to complete Form ED-209 
remains unchanged at three hours, the estimated annual burden hours for 
Form ED-209 is increasing because of the increased number of RLF grants 
and respondents required to complete Form ED-209.
    Affected Public: EDA RLF grant recipients: State and local 
governments, Indian Tribes, and non-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Semi-annual and Annual.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of 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 and 
entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 
0610-0095.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-26484 Filed 11-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-34-P