Emergency Justification Memo

Ms. Rita Young
OMB Desk Officer
Office of Management and Budget
New Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Ms. Young:
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking an emergency
review of the Paperwork Reduction Act requirements for the Housing Counseling Program. The
Notices of Paperwork Submission (copies enclosed), proposed for immediate Federal Register
publication, explains the burden of the collection requirements and invites public comment on them.
This is a new information collection.
In compliance with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.13, this letter requests emergency
processing within 14 days from the date of publication. HUD has historically been required to
obligate housing counseling grants within 180 days of Congress’s enactment of appropriation act;
and due to unforeseen administrative delays, this emergency review is needed to fulfill Congress’s
intent for the Housing Counseling Program to expeditiously provide housing counseling grant funds
to support delivery of housing counseling services. This emergency review is necessary because the
use of normal clearance procedures is reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of
information that is needed to ensure proper collection of data in response to our FY 2021 Notice of
Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that is currently progressing through departmental clearance and will
be published within the next 30 days or less. The emergency review is also necessary so that HUDparticipating agencies may continue to provide housing counseling services to families facing
financial hardship including those seeking assistance in preventing rental eviction or mortgage
default as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you for your consideration and assistance.
Sincerely,

David L. Berenbaum
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Housing Counseling
Enclosures

www.hud.gov

espanol.hud.gov

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Internal HUD Distribution:

Identification Lines:
2502-NEW Emergency Letter 06012021

Correspondence
Code
Name

Originator
OPGA
A. WILLIAMS

Concurrence
OPGA
MCKEE

Date

06/17/2021

06/17/2021

Adrenace V. Williams

Official Record Copy

W.M.

Concurrence
HC
LAMBERT
Brenda Morsell
Lambet
7-1-2021

Concurrence
HC
CARMON

Concurrence

Concurrence

dc

7-7-2021

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Previous edition is obsolete.

form HUD-713.1 (02/03)