Agencies and Commissions January 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is making efforts to reduce the paperwork burden. USAID invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following proposed and/or continuing information collections as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act for 1995. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed or continuing collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Dates: Submit comments on or before March 20, 2006. For Further Information Contact: Beverly Johnson, Bureau for Management, Office of Administrative Services. Information and Records Division, U.S. Agency for International Development, Room 2.07-106, RRB, Washington, DC 20523, (202) 712-1365 or via e-mail bjohnson@usaid.gov. Supplementary Information: OMB No.: OMB 412-NEW. Form No.: N/A. Title: Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program Application. Type of Review: New Information Collection. Purpose: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) requests comment on its Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program Application. The form will be used to apply for participation in the USAID Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Program. Firms interested in becoming a mentor firm must apply in writing to the USAID/OSDBU. The application shall be evaluated by the nature and extent of technical and managerial support proposed as well as the extent of financial assistance in the form of equity investment, loans, joint-venture support, and traditional subcontracting support proposed. The Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] agreement contains: (1) Name, address, phone, and E-mail of mentor and prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm(s) and a point of contact within both firms who will oversee the agreement; (2) Procedures for the mentor's voluntary withdrawal from the program including notification of the prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm and the USAID OSDBU. Withdrawal notification must be in writing, at least 30 days in advance of the mentor's intent to withdraw. (3) Procedures for a prot[eacute]g[eacute]'s voluntary withdrawal from the program. The prot[eacute]g[eacute] shall notify the mentor firm in writing at least 30 days in advance of the prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm's intent to voluntarily terminate the Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] agreement. The mentor shall notify OSDBU and the contracting officer immediately upon receipt of notice from the prot[eacute]g[eacute]; (4) A description of the type of developmental program that will be provided by the mentor firm to the prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm, to include a description of the subcontract work, a schedule for providing assistance, and criteria for evaluation of the prot[eacute]g[eacute]'s developmental success; (5) A listing of the number and types of subcontracts to be awarded to the prot[eacute]g[eacute] firm; (6) Program participation term; (7) Termination procedures; (8) Plan for accomplishing work should the agreement be terminated; and (9) Other terms and conditions, as appropriate.

The Commission hereby gives notice that it will proceed with a full review pursuant to section 751(c)(5) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)(5)) to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty order on gray portland cement and cement clinker from Mexico would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. A schedule for the review will be established and announced at a later date. For further information concerning the conduct of this review and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts, A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207).

The Federal Trade Commission announces the revised thresholds for interlocking directorates required by the 1990 amendment of Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Section 8 prohibits, with certain exceptions, one person from serving as a director or officer of two competing corporations if two thresholds are met. Competitor corporations are covered by Section 8 if each one has capital, surplus, and undivided profits aggregating more than $10,000,000, with the exception that no corporation is covered if the competitive sales of either corporation are less than $1,000,000. Section 8(a)(5) requires the Federal Trade Commission to revise those thresholds annually, based on the change in gross national product. The new thresholds, which take effect immediately, are $22,761,000 for Section 8(a)(1), and $2,276,100 for Section 8(a)(2)(A).

The Agency Announces its Upcoming Spring 2006 Solicited Grant Competition. The Solicited Grant competition is restricted to projects that fit specific themes and topics identified in advance by the Institute of Peace. The themes and topics for the Spring 2006 Solicited competition are: Solicitation A: Promoting Private Sector Economic Recovery in Countries Emerging from Violent Conflict Solicitation B: Electoral Politics and Islamic Political Parties and Groups in Muslim Majority Countries Deadline: March 1, 2006. Application Material Available on Request and at https://www.usip.org/grants.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a currently approved information collection requirement concerning change order accounting. This OMB clearance expires on April 30, 2006. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of the FAR, and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In this document, the Commission grants NECA's request to withdraw its Petition for Interim Waiver and Rulemaking (Petition) concerning the compensation of wireless TRS calls. The Commission grants the request without prejudice to NECA (or any other interested entity) filing a future petition of this issue.

The Federal Communications Commission, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13, and as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s). An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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.

A Petition for Declaratory Ruling regarding the Commission's carrier change verification rules was filed by a coalition of rural local exchange carriers (LEC Petitioners). Specifically, the LEC Petitioners asked the Commission to declare that certain carrier change verification actions do not violate the Commission's rules, which prohibits executing carriers from verifying the submission of a change request by a submitting carrier or causing an unreasonable delay in the execution of a change. In this document, the Commission denies the LEC Petitioners' request.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Survivor Death Benefits: OMB 3220-0031. Under Section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), lump-sum death benefits are payable to surviving widow and widowers, children and certain other dependents. Lump-sum death benefits are payable after the death of a railroad employee only if there are no qualified survivors of the employee immediately eligible for annuities. With the exception of the residual death benefit, eligibility for survivor benefits depend on whether the employee was ``insured'' under the RRA at the time of death. If a deceased employee was not so insured, jurisdiction of any survivor benefits payable is transferred to the Social Security Administration and survivor benefits are paid by that agency instead of the RRB. The collection obtains the information required by the RRB to determine entitlement to and amount of the survivor death benefits applied for. The RRB currently utilizes Form(s) AA-11a (Designation for Change of Beneficiary for Residual Lump-Sum), AA-21cert, (Application Summary and Certification), AA-21 (Application for Lump-Sum Death Payment and Annuities Unpaid at Death), G-131 (Authorization of Payment and Release of All Claims to a Death Benefit or Accrued Annuity Payment), and G- 273a (Funeral Director's Statement of Burial Charges), to obtain the necessary information. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain benefits. The RRB proposes non-burden impacting, editorial and formatting changes to Form G-273a and Form G-131. No other changes are proposed.