Agencies and Commissions November 14, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to section 8(c)(2) and section 12(r)(3) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (Act) (45 U.S.C. 358(c)(2) and 45 U.S.C. 362(r)(3), respectively), the Board gives notice of the following: 1. The balance to the credit of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance (RUI) Account, as of June 30, 2007, is $119,250,233.05; 2. The September 30, 2007, balance of any new loans to the RUI Account, including accrued interest, is zero; 3. The system compensation base is $3,522,368,374.78 as of June 30, 2007; 4. The cumulative system unallocated charge balance is ($292,991,595.22) as of June 30, 2007; 5. The pooled credit ratio for calendar year 2008 is zero; 6. The pooled charged ratio for calendar year 2008 is zero; 7. The surcharge rate for calendar year 2008 is 1.5 percent; 8. The monthly compensation base under section 1(i) of the Act is $1,280 for months in calendar year 2008; 9. The amount described in section 1(k) of the Act as ``2.5 times the monthly compensation base'' is $3,200 for base year (calendar year) 2008; 10. The amount described in section 2(c) of the Act as ``an amount that bears the same ratio to $775 as the monthly compensation base for that year as computed under section 1(i) of this Act bears to $600'' is $1,653 for months in calendar year 2008; 11. The amount described in section 3 of the Act as ``2.5 times the monthly compensation base'' is $3,200 for base year (calendar year) 2008; 12. The amount described in section 4(a-2)(i)(A) of the Act as ``2.5 times the monthly compensation base'' is $3,200 with respect to disqualifications ending in calendar year 2008; 13. The maximum daily benefit rate under section 2(a)(3) of the Act is $61 with respect to days of unemployment and days of sickness in registration periods beginning after June 30, 2008.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is issuing an interim rule to define the municipality of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, as an area of application to the Guaynabo-San Juan, PR, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. This change is necessary because there are NAF FWS employees working in the municipality of Bayamon and the municipality is not currently defined to an NAF wage area.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) is amending its employee protection regulations to clarify the Commission's authority to impose a civil penalty upon a non-licensee contractor or subcontractor of a Commission licensee, or applicant for a Commission license who violates the NRC's regulations by discriminating against employees for engaging in protected activity. The NRC is also amending its employee protection regulations related to the operation of Gaseous Diffusion Plants to conform with the NRC's other employee protection regulations and to allow the NRC to impose a civil penalty on the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC or Corporation), as well as a contractor or subcontractor of USEC.

The Committee is extending through December 19, 2007 the period for making a determination on whether to request consultations with Honduras regarding imports of cotton, wool and man-made fiber socks (merged Category 332/432 and 632 part).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') has amended Commission Regulation 3.10 concerning the registration of firms located outside the U.S. that are engaged in intermediating commodity interest transactions on U.S. designated contract markets (``DCMs'') and U.S. derivative transaction execution facilities (``DTEFs'').\1\ The amended regulation codifies past actions of the Commission or its staff to permit certain foreign firms that limit their customers to foreign customers, and submit U.S. DCM and DTEF business on behalf of those customers for clearing on an omnibus basis through a registered futures commission merchant (``FCM''), to be exempt from registration as an FCM pursuant to section 4d of the Commodity Exchange Act (``Act''). The amended regulation similarly extends the relief from registration to those foreign persons acting in the capacity of an introducing broker (``IB''), commodity trading advisor (``CTA'') and commodity pool operator (``CPO'') solely on behalf of foreign customers.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), at the request of the Department of Justice (DoJ), in order to require contractors to have a code of ethics and business conduct, establish and maintain specific internal controls to detect and prevent improper conduct in connection with the award or performance of Government contracts or subcontracts, and to notify contracting officers without delay whenever they become aware of violations of Federal criminal law with regard to such contracts or subcontracts.