Emergency Justification Memo

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON, D.C.

TO:

Alex Goodenough, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

FROM:

Ryan Law, Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Privacy, Transparency, and Records

SUBJECT:

Justification for Homeowner Assistance Fund Program, 1505-0269

Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 C.F.R. §
1320.13, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) requests emergency processing for a
revision to the Homeowner Assistance Fund information collection request, OMB Control No.
1505-0269.
On March 11, 2021, the President signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”),
Pub. L. No. 117-2. Title III, Subtitle B, Section 3206 of the Act established the Homeowner
Assistance Fund and provides $9.961 billion for the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)
to make payments to States (defined to include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa), Indian tribes or tribally
designated housing entities, as applicable, and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands
(collectively the “eligible entities”) to mitigate financial hardships associated with the
coronavirus pandemic, including for the purposes of preventing homeowner mortgage
delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements
of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21, 2020, through qualified
expenses related to mortgages and housing.
Section 3206(c)(1) requires the eligible entities to use the funds for the purpose of preventing
homeowner mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy
services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship after January 21,
2020, through qualified expenses related to mortgages and housing. Section 3206(e)(1) provides
that not later than 45 days after March 11, 2021, the Secretary shall pay each eligible entity. To
date, eligible entities have generally received 10% of their allocations.
This emergency request is to clear three additional documents: The Homeowner Assistance Fund
Plan, Homeowner Assistance Fund Plan For Participants With Allocations Under $5M, and the
Sample Term Sheets (the “Template Documents”). These documents are essential planning and
implementation forms designed to ensure statutory compliance and the tailoring of discretionary
program policies to each jurisdiction’s needs. The completion of this process is a prerequisite to
an eligible entity receiving the remainder of its funds and, accordingly, the delivery of urgently
needed assistance to homeowners. This request cannot be cleared under normal procedures as
doing so would cause harm to homeowners due to further delays in receiving financial
assistance. As such, Treasury requests emergency processing and OMB approval on July 26,
2021 for clearance of the plan documents.