December 2, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Announcement 2005-80, Global Settlement Initiative.

Notice is hereby given that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') will hold a public roundtable meeting at which invited participants will discuss global markets-related issues in the financial services and commodity markets. Participants will be announced at a later date.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is issuing a final rule exempting a new system of records entitled the Terrorist Screening Records System (TSRS) (JUSTICE/FBI-019) from subsections (c)(3) and (4); (d)(1), (2), (3), and (4); (e)(1), (2), (3), (5), and (8); and (g) of the Privacy Act, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and (k). The FBI published a system of records notice for JUSTICE/FBI-019 and a proposed rule implementing these exemptions on July 28, 2005, at 70 FR 43661 and 43715. The listed exemptions are necessary to avoid interference with the law enforcement, intelligence, and counterterrorism functions and responsibilities of the FBI and the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). This document addresses public comments on both the proposed rule and the system of records notice.

This notice announces the appointment of members of the Performance Review Boards (PRBs) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA PRBs ensure meaningful distinctions in performance as they review Senior Executive Service (SES) performance appraisals and make recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding final performance ratings, performance awards, salary, and Presidential Rank Awards for SES members.

In response to a request from Nucor Corporation, a U.S. domestic producer of carbon steel plate, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbon steel plate from Taiwan. See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 70 FR 42028 (July 21, 2005) (Initiation Notice). The period of review (POR) covered June 1, 2004 through May 31, 2005. We are now rescinding this review because there is no evidence the respondent had any reviewable U.S. transactions during the POR.

On February 4, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the initiation of a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on honey from Argentina covering the period December 1, 2003, to December 31, 2004. See Honey From Argentina: Initiation of New Shipper Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, (New Shipper Initiation), 70 FR 5965 (February 4, 2005). This review covers one exporter, El Mana S.A. (El Mana) of Argentina. For the reasons discussed below and in an our accompanying Rescission Memorandum, we are rescinding this new shipper review in its entirety.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is amending its benefit valuation regulation by adopting more current mortality assumptions. The mortality assumptions prescribed under PBGC's regulations to be used to value benefits for non-disabled (``healthy'') participants are taken from the 1983 Group Annuity Mortality (GAM-83) Tables. The PBGC published a final rule adopting these tables in 1993, noting that many private-sector insurers used the GAM-83 Tables when setting group annuity prices. At that time, the PBGC also said that it intended to keep each of its individual valuation assumptions in line with those of private-sector insurers, and to modify its mortality assumptions whenever it is necessary to do so to achieve consistency with the private insurer assumptions. This rule updates those assumptions by replacing a version of the GAM-83 Tables with a version of the GAM-94 Tables. The updated mortality assumptions will better conform to those used by private-sector insurers in pricing group annuities.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is removing the regulation applicable to the status of specific products; Group A streptococcus. FDA is removing the regulation because the existing requirement for Group A streptococcus organisms and derivatives is both obsolete and a perceived impediment to the development of Group A streptococcus vaccines. The regulation was written to apply to a group of products that are no longer on the market. We are taking this action as part of our continuing effort to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulations on industry and to revise outdated regulations without diminishing public health protection. We are issuing the removal directly as a final rule because it is noncontroversial, and there is little likelihood that we will receive any significant adverse comments. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, we are publishing a companion proposed rule under our usual procedures for notice and comment in the event that we receive any significant adverse comments on the direct final rule. If we receive any significant adverse comments that warrant terminating the direct final rule, we will consider such comments on the proposed rule in developing the final rule.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its adjudication regulations concerning payment of dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for certain non- service-connected deaths and the rate of DIC payable to a surviving spouse for either service-connected or non-service-connected deaths. The purpose of this final rule is to clarify VA's interpretation of two similar statutes that provide for payments to the survivors of veterans who were, at the time of death, in receipt of or entitled to receive disability compensation for service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a specified period prior to death. This rule also reorganizes and revises the regulations governing surviving spouses' DIC rates and revises the Board of Veterans' Appeals rule concerning the effect of unfavorable decisions during a veteran's lifetime on claims for death benefits by the veteran's survivors.

On May 12, 2005, EPA published in the Federal Register the final ``Rule to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone'' (Clean Air Interstate Rule or CAIR). The CAIR requires certain upwind States to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and/or sulfur dioxide (SO2) that significantly contribute to nonattainment of, or interfere with maintenance by, downwind States with respect to the fine particle and/or 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Subsequently, EPA received 11 petitions for reconsideration of the final rule. In this notice, EPA is announcing its decision to reconsider four specific issues in the CAIR and is requesting comment on those issues. The EPA is seeking comment only on the aspects of the CAIR specifically identified in this notice. We will not respond to comments addressing other provisions of the CAIR or any related rulemakings.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.