August 27, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is requesting comment on two related, but separate, reviews. First, the Bureau is conducting a review of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act) Rules consistent with the Regulatory Flexibility Act. As part of this review, the Bureau is seeking comment on the economic impact of the CARD Act Rules on small entities so that it can determine whether the rules should be continued without change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, to minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities. Second, the Bureau is conducting a review of the consumer credit card market, within the limits of its existing resources available for reporting purposes, pursuant to the CARD Act, and is seeking comment on a number of aspects of the consumer credit card market.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The information collection is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. Comments are encouraged and must be submitted (no later than October 26, 2020 to be assured of consideration.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) invites public comments on our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The collection of information is necessary for maintaining a current plot of U.S.-flag and U.S.-owned vessels. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

We are issuing this interim final rule with request for comments to revise our regulations on how we waive the recovery of certain overpayment debts. We will apply this interim final rule when an affected beneficiary requests waiver of certain overpayment debts that accrued during a portion of the COVID-19 pandemic period. Under this rule, we may waive recovery of these overpayment debts using a streamlined internal process. Since the overpayment debts at issue occurred because of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 national public health emergency, we can assume that these debts are not the fault of the affected beneficiaries due directly to our strategic decision to reprioritize workloads to stop manually processing certain actions, and it would be against equity and good conscience to collect them. In particular, qualifying overpayment debts include those incurred between March 1 to September 30, 2020 that we did not manually process as a result of our cession of certain activities, and that we identified by December 31. We expect that this interim final rule will allow us to maintain effective stewardship of the Social Security programs, while simultaneously ensuring that affected beneficiaries are not disadvantaged by our actions during this unprecedented national public health emergency.

The Administrator for the Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) has confirmed and approved, on an interim basis, new rate schedules VA-1-D, VA-2-D, VA-3-D, VA-4-D, DEP-1-D, DEP-2-D, DEP-3- D, DEP-4-D, AP-1-D, AP-2-D, AP-3-D, AP-4-D, NC-1-D, and Replacement-2- C. These rate schedules are applicable to Southeastern power sold to existing preference customers in the Virginia and North Carolina service area. The rate schedules are approved on an interim basis through September 30, 2025, and are subject to confirmation and approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on a final basis.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft NUREG, NUREG/CR-7002, ``Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies,'' Revision 1. This draft NUREG provides guidance to meet NRC requirements for development of evacuation time estimates (ETEs) to support emergency planning. This revision reflects the importance of various ETE model parameters based on the results of an applied research study on ETEs. The format and criteria provided in this document will support consistent application of the ETE methodology and will facilitate consistent NRC review of ETE studies. The NRC is soliciting public comment on the contemplated action and invites stakeholders and interested persons to participate. The NRC plans to hold a public meeting to promote full understanding of the contemplated action and facilitate public comment.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued 13 exemptions in response to requests from 12 licensees. The exemptions allow these licensees temporary relief from certain requirements under NRC regulations. The exemptions are in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE). The NRC is issuing a single notice to announce the issuance of the exemptions.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Difluoromethane (R-32) from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is establishing a new system of records to be maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 09-20-0180, ``Electronic Import Permit Program Portal (eIPP Portal).'' The system of records will be used by CDC to monitor the importation of infectious biological agents, infectious substances, and vectors of human disease.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Ocean Service (NOS) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Coral Reef Conservation Program's (CRCP's) final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). On August 20, 2020, the NOS Acting Assistant Administrator signed the ROD, which constitutes the agency's final decision.

DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a second interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require an offeror to represent annually, after conducting a reasonable inquiry, whether it uses covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services. The new annual representation in the provision implements a section of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

The FAA is correcting an airworthiness directive (AD) that published in the Federal Register. That AD applies to certain Leonardo S.p.A. (Leonardo) Model AB139, AW139, AW169, and AW189 helicopters. As published, one service bulletin reference in the AD is incorrect. This document corrects that error. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

This document contains final regulations under sections 245A and 954 of the Internal Revenue Code (the ``Code'') that limit the deduction for certain dividends received by United States persons from foreign corporations under section 245A and the exception to subpart F income under section 954(c)(6) for certain dividends received by controlled foreign corporations. This document also contains final regulations under section 6038 of the Code regarding information reporting to facilitate administration of the final regulations. The guidance relates to changes made to the applicable law by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted on December 22, 2017. This document finalizes proposed regulations published on June 18, 2019, and removes temporary regulations published on the same date.