contributed, even in some small way, to the improvement of that golden age life.

Senator CLARK. Thank you very much.

One more statement and then we will close.

STATEMENT OF MARY C. COLLETTI, YOUR, INC., WEBSTER CITY,

IOWA

Ms. COLLETTI. I am Mary Colletti and I work for the community action agency. I am the new projects developer; I am also the public relations officer. I would just like to thank the people in Washington for their insight and foresight as related to public relations in CAA work. I have lots of gripes, but the one thing I am happy about is that they are recognizing it is very important to have a public relations program for the community action agencies. Since last year when we started, our public relations program has increased two times and are serving approximately 150 clients per month. We are now serving almost 400 a month just because the word is out. Now I wish we could have enough funds to be able to support our programs and have a little more administration for such things.

Senator CLARK. Thank you.

I think we are going to have one last statement here.

STATEMENT OF MYRTLE SIEVERTIEU, IDA GROVE, IOWA

Mrs. SIEVERTIEU. I am Mrs. Myrtle Sievertieu. I would like to bring something forward that I have been talking about for 7 yearsever since I moved from the farm to Ida Grove. My biggest problem, and it is a big problem for a lot of other people, is that I have seen my elderly neighbors over 65 years old-we put in applications sometimes to Grace Montgomery at our center where we are expected to get help with our yard work and snow shoveling in the wintertime. It is absolutely impossible to get dependable help to shovel our walks and porches and get us out of the house, after a heavy snowfall especially. After a very light snowfall maybe we can get a neighbor boy or someone to shovel and sweep, or maybe it is something that we can do ourselves.

When we have a heavy snowfall and we really need help, there is no one available. I have called Grace Montgomery on various occasions. I have been fairly successful in getting help to mow the yard or to rake leaves, but when it comes to shoveling snow it is just an impossible situation. School children can't come until the afternoon. They promise you faithfully that after school they will come and clean your walk, but when there is a heavy snowfall it just lays there and lays there until you go out and dig it off yourself. By that time it is an icy, impossible mess to clean off.

We have some wonderful facilities in this town and I am very proud of my town. I will back it 100 percent in every way I can, but when it comes to helping the elderly people clean their sidewalks in the wintertime, it is no good.

Senator CLARK. Thank you.

Mrs. SIEVERTIEU. I hate to say it, but I wish we could get some dependable snow shoveling here in the wintertime.

1

Thank you.

Senator CLARK. Thank you very much. It is hard to imagine snow in weather like this.

We are going to close now. I wonder if Congressman Bedell might have any further comments.

Representative BEDELL. I just want to thank you and the staff again for coming out here to Ida Grove.

Senator CLARK. Thank you.

With that we close our hearings. Thank you very much for coming. [Whereupon, at 4:32 p.m., the hearing was recessed.]

APPENDIXES

Appendix 1

LETTERS SUBMITTED BY THEODORE E. MURPHY1

ITEM 1. LETTER FROM THEODORE E. MURPHY TO L. D. ELWELL, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, MULTIPLE FAMILY HOUSING, FmHA, WASHINGTON, D.C., DATED APRIL 14, 1976

DEAR MR. ELWELL: You may recall that I visited with you at the Northwest Iowa Community Conference sponsored by Representative Berk Bedell, and on November 21, 1975, wrote a letter to you regarding rent supplements under section 8.

The 12 housing units for the elderly with limited incomes was completed on January 15, 1976, and was completely occupied in less than 1 week. It appears to be operating very satisfactorily.

Now our housing corporation group have requested FmHA to finance the development of 20 additional units. Our housing survey of Ida Grove of October 1975, and the list of applicants we already have for the additional units, indicates there will be no problem in filling up the units as soon as available.

Again we have the problem I mentioned in my conversation with you in October 1975 and in my letter of November 21, 1975, "We need assistance under section for rent supplements for a number of our prospective tenants."

In your reply to my letter to your office, you indicated there was much work being done about this matter with HUD and FmHA holding meetings and that a satisfactory solution could be worked out by March 1976.

We are much concerned and I would welcome a letter from your office bringing us up to date on this matter. Our board holds monthly meetings and I would like to present your reply to them.

Representative Bedell and his wife will be visiting in my home on April 24 and I will include this subject in our conversations.

Yours respectfully,

THEODORE E. MURPHY.

ITEM 2. LETTER FROM L. D. ELWELL TO THEODORE MURPHY, DATED MAY 12, 1976

DEAR MAYOR MURPHY: This will reply to your letter concerning the present status of the rental assistance payment program for low-income prospective tenants.

Our letter of December 2, 1975, indicated that we were working on the tandem approach of utilizing the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) section 8 and the Farmers Home Administration's (FmHA) section 515 rural rental loan authorization.

The FmHA and HUD representatives have been working together to develop a memorandum of understanding which proposes to eliminate the processing of dual applications to both HUD and FmHA to obtain section 8 rental assistance payments on new construction to be financed by FmHA. It is contemplated that FmHA will handle the complete application and processing on all new construction projects financed by FmHA section 515 loans. As the situation now exists, FmHA can consider your loan application for a section 515 loan to be operated

1 See statement, p. 205.

under plan II with interest credits the same as your previous project; however, when the proposed memorandum of understanding between HUD and FmHA is reached, there would be a possibility that the proposed project could be developed utilizing the tandem approach which may provide the rental assistance payment program you require to meet the needs of the low-income families in your community.

We suggest you contact our Iowa State director, Mr. Robert R. Pim, room 873, Federal Building, 210 Walnut, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, telephone 515-284-4121, who will be glad to keep you informed of changes within our rural rental housing program.

Sincerely,

L. D. ELWELL.

ITEM 3. LETTER FROM THEODORE E. MURPHY TO ROBERT R. PIM, IOWA STATE DIRECTOR, FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION, DES MOINES, IOWA, DATED AUGUST 6, 1976

DEAR MR. PIм: I am enclosing a copy of a letter I received from Mr. L. D. Elwell some months ago, relative to the rental assistance payment program.

In January 1976 the Ida Grove Low-Rent Housing Corp. completed 12 units of one- and two-bedroom apartments. They were filled within a week. No rental assistance was available from HUD or FmHA, so four of our tenants had to receive rental assistance from relatives.

Now we have been approved for 24 one bedroom units and we expect to have a letting on August 31. We know from the applicants we have on file that a number of them will need the rental assistance payment program for low-income tenants.

We have contacted HUD a number of times through the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council (SIMPCO) and the latest information is that we cannot qualify for low-rent assistance under section 8. If we are to receive any assistance for the low-income elderly in the Ida Grove area it will have to be through Farmers Home Administration program, so we urge you to give the fullest consideration to this matter.

If at all possible we would like to have a reply from your office before August 17 because on that date Senator Clark and his staff will hold a meeting in Ida Grove relative to the problems of elderly people, especially in the fields of housing and transportation.

Sincerely,

THEODORE E. MURPHY.

ITEM 4. LETTER FROM ROBERT R. PIM TO THEODORE MURPHY, DATED AUGUST 10, 1976

DEAR MAYOR MURPHY: In response to your inquiry dated August 6, 1976, it is our understanding that the memorandum of understanding which was referred to in Mr. Elwell's letter of May 12 has been signed by both agencies, and the implementation of the understanding now is contingent on both agencies issuing operating instructions to their field offices. As of this time we have not received any such instructions, and therefore do not have rent subsidy assistance available except as it is currently available through Housing and Urban Development section 8 program.

We anticipate that this program should be operational sometime in the near future, and our county offices will be informed as soon as it is available.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

R. R. PIM.