Justification for Emergency Processing

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20220

TO:

Shagufta Ahmed, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

FROM:

Ryan Law
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Privacy, Transparency, and Record
U.S. Department of the Treasury

SUBJECT:

Justification for Emergency Processing: Healthy Food Financing InitiativeFinancial Assistance Application (1559-0040)

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) requests Emergency
Processing of PRA Review in order to reinstate the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Number 1559-0040, Healthy Food Financing Initiative-Financial Assistance (HFFI-FA)
Application. The CDFI Fund receives an annual appropriation from Congress to fund HFFI-FA
awards was appropriated $22 million under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6). The
reinstatement of this OMB number for the HFFI-FA Application will allow the CDFI Fund to
provide HFFI-FA awards under the FY 2019 Community Development Financial Institutions
Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA Program) funding
rounds which are expected to open April 4, 2019.
If normal clearance procedures were followed, CDFI Fund would be unable to collect the '
necessary HFFI-FA applications and disburse the funds that Congress has appropriated for this
program during the 2019 funding round. Treasury requests approval of this reinstatement by
March 30, 2019 and has submitted a notice to the Federal Register soliciting public comments.
The CDFI Fund receives regular input from the financial institutions it serves and has taken all
practical steps to minimize the burden of collecting HFFI-FA applications. This includes
administering HFFI-FA awards in conjunction with the annual CDFI Program and NACA
Program application process to eliminate potential duplication.
Abstract
HFFI-FA provides financial assistance to Community Development Financial Institutions
(CDFIs) to finance products that expand the supply of and demand for nutritious foods. CDFIs
that receive HFFI-FA awards help to address the need for healthy food in underserved and low
income communities. Recipients utilize at least 75 percent of the amount of the award to provide
financing for healthy food retail outlets in food deserts and 100 percent of the amount of the
award to support healthy food activities, such as providing financing to support upgrades for an
existing retail store, or wholesale operations to offer an expanded range of healthy food choices,
or supporting a non-profit organization that expands the availability of healthy foods.

Burden Explanation
The estimated number of hours to complete the HFFI-FA Application is based on the number of
questions, character limits per question, and the complexity of the information that Applicants
are required to provide. The CDFI Fund estimates 30 Applicants will complete the HFFI-FA
Application and estimates that it will take each Applicant approximately 15 hours to complete
the Application. This results in total burden estimate of 450 hours. It is anticipated that Financial
Managers will complete the application for Applicants at a cost of $58.541 per hour for a total
estimate of $26,343.

I The hourly rate is based on the national estimate for the median hourly wage for Financial Managers according the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.b1s.gov/oes/curreneoes113031.htm)