January 11, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This interim rule describes the rules applicable to the offset of Federal nontax payments to collect delinquent debts owed to States pursuant to reciprocal agreements between the Secretary of the Treasury and the States. In addition to providing for the offset of Federal nontax payments, the reciprocal agreements will provide for the offset of State payments to collect delinquent, nontax Federal debts. The offsets described in this rule will be processed by the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). The Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) established TOP in order to centralize the process by which Federal payments are withheld or reduced (in other words, offset) to collect delinquent debts. This interim rule specifically applies to the centralized offset of Federal nontax payments by Federal disbursing officials to collect delinquent debts owed to States pursuant to reciprocal agreements. Therefore, this interim rule affects persons who owe delinquent debts to a State of the United States and who receive Federal payments. It also affects persons who owe delinquent, nontax Federal debts and who receive payments from States. This rule does not apply to collection of past-due support debts (see 31 CFR 285.1), the offset of Federal tax refund payments, the offset of Federal salary payments, or the offset of other Federal payments excluded from offset by law.

We are reproposing amendments to the rules that govern when a foreign private issuer may terminate the registration of a class of equity securities under section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') and the corresponding duty to file reports required under section 13(a) of the Exchange Act, and when it may cease its reporting obligations regarding a class of equity or debt securities under section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Under the current rules, a foreign private issuer may find it difficult to terminate its Exchange Act registration and reporting obligations despite the fact that there is relatively little interest in the issuer's U.S.- registered securities among United States investors. Moreover, currently a foreign private issuer can only suspend, and cannot terminate, a duty to report arising under section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Reproposed Exchange Act Rule 12h-6 would permit the termination of Exchange Act reporting regarding a class of equity securities under either section 12(g) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act by a foreign private issuer that meets a quantitative benchmark designed to measure relative U.S. market interest for that class of securities, which does not depend on a head count of the issuer's U.S. security holders. The reproposed benchmark would require the comparison of the average daily trading volume of an issuer's securities in the United States with that in its primary trading market. Because the Commission did not fully address this approach when it originally proposed Rule 12h-6, and because of other proposed changes to Rule 12h-6 not fully discussed in the original rule proposal, we are reproposing Rule 12h-6 and the accompanying rule amendments. These rule amendments would seek to provide U.S. investors with ready access through the Internet on an ongoing basis to material information about a foreign private issuer of equity securities that is required by its home country after it has exited the Exchange Act reporting system.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (collectively, the Agencies) are amending their rules regarding management interlocks to implement section 610 of the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 (FSRRA) and to correct inaccurate cross-references.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, as codified at 50 U.S.C. App. 531, prohibits a landlord from evicting a Service member (or the Service member's family) from a residence during a period of military service except by court order. The law as originally passed by Congress applied to dwellings with monthly rents of $2400 or less. The law requires the Department of Defense to adjust this amount annually to reflect inflation, and to publish the new amount in the Federal Register. We have applied the inflation index required by the statute. The maximum monthly rental amount for 50 U.S.C. App. 531(a)(1)(A)(ii) as of January 1, 2007, will be $2720.95.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its acquisition regulation to reflect a statutorily-mandated jurisdictional change for the agency Board of Contract Appeals from the Department of Transportation Board of Contract Appeals to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. DHS is also making several non-substantive amendments to its acquisition regulation in order to reflect organization changes.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces the availability of $2.5 million in funding for the 2007 Quality Samples Program (QSP). The purpose of this notice is to solicit applications for participation in the FY 2007 QSP. QSP is administered by personnel of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). This notice supercedes any prior notices concerning QSP.

This rule modifies a Class E area airspace area extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Hayward, WI. The effect of this rule is to provide appropriate controlled Class E airspace for aircraft departing from the executing instrument approach procedures to Hayward, WI and to segregate aircraft using instrument approach procedures in instrument conditions from aircraft operating in visual conditions.

This action corrects the legal description in the notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2006, (71 FR 70909), Docket No. FAA-2006-26311; Airspace Docket No. 06-AWP-19.

This action confirms the effective dale of a direct final rule that established the Class E airspace area at Newton Field, Jackman, ME (K59B) to provide for adequate controlled airspace for those aircraft using the new Helicopter Area Navigation (RNAV), 285 Instrument Approach Procedure to the Airport. This action also corrects a transposition error and editorial omission that appeared in the airspace description contained in the final rule that was published on Thursday, October 26, 2006.