Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 48622-48623 [E9-22860]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Notices
CFR 404.1720(e) and 416.1520(e).
Accordingly, we are rescinding SSR 85–
3 as obsolete.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 96.001, Social SecurityDisability Insurance; 96.002, Social SecurityRetirement Insurance; 96.004, Social
Security-Survivors Insurance; and 96.006,
Supplemental Security Income)
Dated: July 30, 2009.
Michael J. Astrue,
Commissioner of Social Security.
[FR Doc. E9–22843 Filed 9–22–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments on
Annual Review of Country Eligibility
for Benefits Under the African Growth
and Opportunity Act
AGENCY: Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for
Comments.
mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY: The African Growth and
Opportunity Act Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (the ‘‘Subcommittee’’) is
requesting written public comments for
the annual review of the eligibility of
sub-Saharan African countries to receive
the benefits of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA). The
Subcommittee will consider these
comments in developing
recommendations on AGOA country
eligibility for the President. Comments
received related to the child labor
criteria may also be considered by the
Secretary of Labor for the preparation of
the Department of Labor’s report on
child labor as required under section
412(c) of the Trade and Development
Act of 2000. This notice identifies the
eligibility criteria that must be
considered under the AGOA, and lists
those sub-Saharan African countries
that are currently eligible for the
benefits of the AGOA, and those that are
currently ineligible for such benefits.
DATES: Public comments are due at the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) by noon, Monday, October 19,
2009.
USTR strongly prefers
electronic submissions made at https://
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR–2009–0034. See ‘‘Requirements
for Submission,’’ below. If you are
unable to make a submission at
www.regulations.gov, please contact
Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade
ADDRESSES:
VerDate Nov<24>2008
17:06 Sep 22, 2009
Jkt 217001
Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395–
6143 to make other arrangements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
procedural questions, please contact
Gloria Blue, Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,
Room F516, Washington, DC, 20508, at
(202) 395–3475. All other questions
should be directed to Constance
Hamilton, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Africa, Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395–
9514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
AGOA (Title I of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, Public Law
106–200) (19 U.S.C. 3721 et seq.), as
amended, authorizes the President to
designate sub-Saharan African countries
as beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries eligible for duty-free treatment
for certain additional products under
the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ‘‘1974
Act’’)), as well as for the preferential
treatment the AGOA provides for
certain textile and apparel articles.
The President may designate a
country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for both the
additional GSP benefits and the textile
and apparel benefits of the AGOA for
countries meeting certain statutory
requirements intended to prevent
unlawful transshipment of such articles,
if he determines that the country meets
the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1)
Section 104 of the AGOA; and (2)
section 502 of the 1974 Act. For 2009,
40 countries have been designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries. These countries, as well as
the 8 countries currently ineligible, are
listed below. Section 506A of the 1974
Act provides that the President shall
monitor and review annually the
progress of each sub-Saharan African
country in meeting the foregoing
eligibility criteria in order to determine
whether each beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country should continue to be
eligible, and whether each sub-Saharan
African country that is currently not a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country, should be designated as such a
country. Section 506A of the 1974 Act
requires that, if the President
determines that a beneficiary subSaharan African country is not making
continual progress in meeting the
eligibility requirements, he must
terminate the designation of the country
as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African
country.
The Subcommittee is seeking public
comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for the AGOA’s benefits. The
Subcommittee will consider any such
comments in developing
recommendations on country eligibility
for the President. Comments related to
the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in
making the findings required under
section 504 of the 1974 Act.
The following sub-Saharan African
countries were designated as beneficiary
sub-Saharan African countries in 2009:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Chad
Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Republic of Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Liberia
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Togo
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
The following sub-Saharan African
countries were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries in 2009:
Central African Republic
Republic of Cote d’Ivoire
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Somalia
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe
Requirements for Submissions:
Comments must be submitted in
English. To ensure the most timely and
E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM
23SEN1
mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Notices
expeditious receipt and consideration of
petitions, USTR has arranged to accept
on-line submissions via https://
www.regulations.gov. To submit
petitions via this site, enter docket
number USTR–2009–0034 on the home
page and click ‘‘search.’’ The site will
provide a search-results page listing all
documents associated with this docket.
Find a reference to this notice by
selecting ‘‘notice’’ under ‘‘Document
Type’’ on search-results page and click
on the link entitled ‘‘Submit a
Comment.’’ (For further information on
using the https://www.regulations,gov
Web site, please consult the resources
provided on the Web site by clicking on
‘‘Help’’ at the top of the home page.)
The https://www.regulations.gov Web
site provides the option of making
submissions by filling in a ‘‘General
Comments’’ field, or by attaching a
document. USTR prefers comments to
be submitted as attachments. When
doing this, it is sufficient to type ‘‘See
attached’’ in the ‘‘Comments’’ field.
Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or
Adobe Acrobat (pdf) are preferred.
Persons wishing to file comments
containing business confidential
information must submit both a
business confidential version and a
public version. Persons submitting
business confidential information
should write ‘‘See attached BC
comments’’ in the ‘‘Comment’’ field.
Any page containing business
confidential information must be clearly
marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’
on the top of that page. Persons
submitting a business confidential
comment must also submit a separate
public version of that comment with the
business confidential information
deleted. Persons should write ‘‘See
attached public version’’ in the
‘‘Comment’’ field of the public
submission. Submissions should not
attach separate cover letters; rather,
information that might appear in the
cover letter should be included in the
comments you submit. Similarly, to the
extent possible, please include any
exhibits, annexes, or other attachments
to a submission in the same file as the
submission itself and not as separate
files.
Public versions of all documents
relating to this review will be available
for review no latter than two weeks after
the due date at www.regulations.gov,
docket number USTR–2009–0034.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9–22860 Filed 9–22–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–D2–P
VerDate Nov<24>2008
17:06 Sep 22, 2009
Jkt 217001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2009–0001–N–21]
Proposed Agency Information
Collection Activities; Comment
Request
AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
SUMMARY: In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice
announces that the Information
Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted
below has been forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comment. The ICR describes
the nature of the information collection
and its expected burden. The Federal
Register notice with a 60-day comment
period soliciting comments on the
following collection of information was
published on June 26, 2009 (74 FR
30662).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before October 23, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Robert Brogan, Office of Safety,
Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS–
21, Federal Railroad Administration,
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 3rd Floor,
Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC 20590
(telephone: (202) 493–6292), or Ms.
Nakia Jackson, Office of Information
Technology, RAD–20, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave.,
SE., 3rd Floor, Mail Stop 35,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202)
493–6073). (These telephone numbers
are not toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2,
109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised
at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its
implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part
1320, require Federal agencies to issue
two notices seeking public comment on
information collection activities before
OMB may approve paperwork packages.
44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5,
1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On June 26, 2009,
FRA published a 60-day notice in the
Federal Register soliciting comment on
this ICR that the agency was seeking
OMB approval. 74 FR 30662. FRA
received no comments in response to
this notice.
Before OMB decides whether to
approve these proposed collections of
information, it must provide 30-days for
public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5
CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48623
OMB to approve or disapprove
paperwork packages between 30 and 60
days after the 30-day notice is
published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)-(c); 5 CFR
1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983,
Aug. 29, 1995. OMB believes that the
30-day notice informs the regulated
community to file relevant comments
and affords the agency adequate time to
digest public comments before it
renders a decision. 60 FR 44983, Aug.
29, 1995. Therefore, respondents should
submit their respective comments to
OMB within 30 days of publication to
best ensure having their full effect. 5
CFR 1320.12(c); see also 60 FR 44983,
Aug. 29, 1995.
The summary below describes the
nature of the information collection
requirement (ICR) and the expected
burden for the ICR being submitted for
clearance by OMB as required by the
PRA.
Title: Notice of Funding Availability
and Solicitation of Applications for
Grants under the Railroad Rehabilitation
and Repair Grant Program.
OMB Control Number: 2130–0580.
Type of Request: Regular Approval of
a Previously Approved Collection of
Information under Emergency Clearance
Procedures.
Affected Public: 39 States/Local
Governments.
Abstract: On September 30, 2008,
President Bush signed Public Law 110–
329, The Consolidated Security, Disaster
Assistance, and Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2009. As part of
this Act, Congress provided $20 million
in disaster relief funds to FRA to award
to States in one or more grants for
eligible projects related to repair and
rehabilitation of Class II and Class III
railroad infrastructure damaged by
hurricanes, floods, and other natural
disasters in counties for which the
President declared a major disaster
under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act of 1974. Approximately
$5 million of these funds remain
available for rehabilitation and repairs
of railroad right-of-way, bridges, signals,
and other infrastructure which are part
of the general railroad system of
transportation and primarily used by
railroads to move freight traffic. The
Secretary may retain up to one-half of
one (1) percent of these funds for the
oversight of the design and
implementation of projects funded by
grants under this Program. Funds
provided under this grant program may
constitute no more than 80 percent of
the total cost of a selected project, with
the remaining cost funded from other
sources. The funding provided under
these grants will be made available to
E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48622-48623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22860]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments on Annual Review of Country
Eligibility for Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (the ``Subcommittee'')
is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the
eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Subcommittee will
consider these comments in developing recommendations on AGOA country
eligibility for the President. Comments received related to the child
labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor for the
preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor as
required under section 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000.
This notice identifies the eligibility criteria that must be considered
under the AGOA, and lists those sub-Saharan African countries that are
currently eligible for the benefits of the AGOA, and those that are
currently ineligible for such benefits.
DATES: Public comments are due at the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) by noon, Monday, October 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers electronic submissions made at https://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0034. See ``Requirements
for Submission,'' below. If you are unable to make a submission at
www.regulations.gov, please contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary,
Trade Policy Staff Committee, at (202) 395-6143 to make other
arrangements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions, please
contact Gloria Blue, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th
Street, NW., Room F516, Washington, DC, 20508, at (202) 395-3475. All
other questions should be directed to Constance Hamilton, Deputy
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative, at (202) 395-9514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AGOA (Title I of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, Public Law 106-200) (19 U.S.C. 3721 et seq.),
as amended, authorizes the President to designate sub-Saharan African
countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries eligible for
duty-free treatment for certain additional products under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ``1974 Act'')), as well as for the
preferential treatment the AGOA provides for certain textile and
apparel articles.
The President may designate a country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for both the additional GSP benefits and the
textile and apparel benefits of the AGOA for countries meeting certain
statutory requirements intended to prevent unlawful transshipment of
such articles, if he determines that the country meets the eligibility
criteria set forth in: (1) Section 104 of the AGOA; and (2) section 502
of the 1974 Act. For 2009, 40 countries have been designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries. These countries, as well as
the 8 countries currently ineligible, are listed below. Section 506A of
the 1974 Act provides that the President shall monitor and review
annually the progress of each sub-Saharan African country in meeting
the foregoing eligibility criteria in order to determine whether each
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country should continue to be eligible,
and whether each sub-Saharan African country that is currently not a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, should be designated as such a
country. Section 506A of the 1974 Act requires that, if the President
determines that a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country is not making
continual progress in meeting the eligibility requirements, he must
terminate the designation of the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country.
The Subcommittee is seeking public comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for the AGOA's benefits. The Subcommittee will consider any
such comments in developing recommendations on country eligibility for
the President. Comments related to the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in making the findings required
under section 504 of the 1974 Act.
The following sub-Saharan African countries were designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2009:
Angola
Republic of Benin
Republic of Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Republic of Cape Verde
Republic of Cameroon
Republic of Chad
Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros
Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Republic of Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gabonese Republic
The Gambia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Guinea
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Republic of Kenya
Kingdom of Lesotho
Republic of Liberia
Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Malawi
Republic of Mali
Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Namibia
Republic of Niger
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Republic of Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Republic of Senegal
Republic of Seychelles
Republic of Sierra Leone
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Republic of Togo
Republic of Uganda
Republic of Zambia
The following sub-Saharan African countries were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in 2009:
Central African Republic
Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
State of Eritrea
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Somalia
Republic of Sudan
Republic of Zimbabwe
Requirements for Submissions: Comments must be submitted in
English. To ensure the most timely and
[[Page 48623]]
expeditious receipt and consideration of petitions, USTR has arranged
to accept on-line submissions via https://www.regulations.gov. To submit
petitions via this site, enter docket number USTR-2009-0034 on the home
page and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search-results page
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to
this notice by selecting ``notice'' under ``Document Type'' on search-
results page and click on the link entitled ``Submit a Comment.'' (For
further information on using the https://www.regulations,gov Web site,
please consult the resources provided on the Web site by clicking on
``Help'' at the top of the home page.)
The https://www.regulations.gov Web site provides the option of
making submissions by filling in a ``General Comments'' field, or by
attaching a document. USTR prefers comments to be submitted as
attachments. When doing this, it is sufficient to type ``See attached''
in the ``Comments'' field. Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) or
Adobe Acrobat (pdf) are preferred.
Persons wishing to file comments containing business confidential
information must submit both a business confidential version and a
public version. Persons submitting business confidential information
should write ``See attached BC comments'' in the ``Comment'' field. Any
page containing business confidential information must be clearly
marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Persons
submitting a business confidential comment must also submit a separate
public version of that comment with the business confidential
information deleted. Persons should write ``See attached public
version'' in the ``Comment'' field of the public submission.
Submissions should not attach separate cover letters; rather,
information that might appear in the cover letter should be included in
the comments you submit. Similarly, to the extent possible, please
include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments to a submission in
the same file as the submission itself and not as separate files.
Public versions of all documents relating to this review will be
available for review no latter than two weeks after the due date at
www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0034.
Carmen Suro-Bredie,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. E9-22860 Filed 9-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-D2-P
