Statement of Determination

STATEMENT OF DETERMINATION

Application for Homeowners Assistance

1. In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.13, the senior official, or designee, of the Department of Defense has determined that this collection of information is needed prior to the expiration of the time periods under 5 CFR 1320, and that it is essential to the mission of the agency. The agency cannot reasonably follow the normal clearance procedures under 5 CFR 1320, since such procedures would delay compliance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

2. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics is submitting the subject requirement for emergency review and approval. This emergency submission is necessary and appropriate to implement the ARRA. The Department plans to expand its Homeowners Assistance Program, with $555 million in Recovery Act funds, dedicated to helping military families and DoD civilians who recently sold their homes at a loss. The expanded program will assist families forced to relocate due to base closures or normal assignment rotations. However, the most important aspect is that priority access to the funds will go to those who were wounded, ill or injured during deployment and survivors of those killed. If this data collection is not approved under an emergency process, it will impede the Department’s ability to comply with statutory requirements.

3. The information being requested is the minimum necessary to comply with the provisions of the ARRA. A notice will be published in the Federal Register prior to the submission of a subsequent information collection package to the Office of Management and Budget under regular processing timeframes.