Agencies and Commissions November 5, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NITRD Subcommittee will hold a virtual public meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Act of 1991 and the launching of the High-Performance Computing and Communications Program, now known as the NITRD Program. One of the key parts of this legislation was to establish an effective mechanism to coordinate HPC, networking, and information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) undertaken by the agencies of the Federal Government. The legislation also expanded Federal funding support for HPC and IT R&D to ensure continued technological leadership in these areas by the United States. The Act aimed to provide U.S. researchers and educators, as well as government and the public, with the advanced computing and information resources they needed for achievement of personal, business, and public goals. The NITRD mission has expanded over the last three decades as the capabilities of advanced computing, networking, and IT technologies increased dramatically. Join us as we recognize and celebrate the origins and expansion of America's IT innovation highway.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act in the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

ODNI provides notice of a revision to a Privacy Act system of records at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC). This notice revises the system of records titled Continuous Evaluation Records, also identified as ODNI/NCSC-003. This notice is necessary to inform the public of revisions to the notice summary, system purpose, categories of individuals covered, and supplementary information about the records that the agency maintains. This revised notice to the Continuous Evaluation (CE) Records system adds one-time record checks of employment applicants in addition to the previous uses of CE for enrolled individuals. CE is a personnel security investigative process used to review the continued eligibility of individuals who have been determined eligible for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. Individuals subject to CE include current Executive Branch employees, detailees, contractors, and other sponsored individuals who are cleared for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. The Departments and Agencies (D/A) that sponsor these individuals for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position ``enroll'' the individuals (enrollees) by electronically entering their identifying information into the CE System, an information technology system that conducts automated checks of security-relevant information. All D/As are required to submit their qualifying populations for CE automated record checks. D/As may choose to develop a CE system of their own, or subscribe to CE services provided by another agency. NCSC will provide CE services to subscribing agencies via the ODNI CE System. The CE System conducts automated checks of government and commercial databases and, based on personnel security business rules, transmits electronic alerts and reports to the subscribing agency. Databases queried in the CE process are those that contain security- relevant information, e.g., government-owned financial, law enforcement, terrorism, foreign travel, and current clearance status information. Credit bureau records and commercially-aggregated publically available data are also used. On receipt of an electronic alert or report, authorized personnel security officials at the subscribing agency verify that the alert or report received pertains to the enrollee (the subject of the electronic queries). Where the agency verifies that the alert or report pertains to the enrollee, authorized personnel security officials review the nature of the alert or report to determine the need for further investigation, as dictated by Federal Investigative Standards requirements. Information obtained through any follow-on investigation is considered in adjudicating the enrollee's continued eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. The ODNI CE System retains the enrollment information (personal identifiers provided by the subscribing agency to facilitate ongoing CE checks for individuals who are enrolled in the CE System. The system does not retain the records returned from the electronic database queries beyond the time needed to ensure proper electronic delivery to the subscribing agency. Data necessary to implement CE business rules, to perform program assessments, and to satisfy auditing requirements will be retained. D/ As conducting CE will adhere to the principles articulated in Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 6, Continuous Evaluation. SEAD 6 establishes policy and provides high-level guidance and requirements specific to the personnel security investigative process. The CE System is being revised to now also conduct one-time electronic record checks for initial vetting of individuals seeking Executive Branch employment that requires eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. Employment applicants receiving one-time checks of security-relevant information are not enrolled in the CE System for ongoing record checks, and personal identifiers and records returned are only retained in the system for the time needed to ensure proper electronic delivery to the subscribing agency.

Notice is hereby given that under the authority and in furtherance of the objectives of agency regulations, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Comptroller General of the United States (the sponsors) have agreed to continue an advisory committee to consider and recommend accounting standards and principles for the federal government. Copies can be obtained by contacting FASAB at (202) 512-7350.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel regulations by revising the TN Americas LLC, TN-32 Dry Storage Cask listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment No. 1 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1021. The renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment No. 1 revises the certificate of compliance's conditions and technical specifications to address aging management activities related to the structures, systems, and components of the dry storage system to ensure that these will maintain their intended functions during the period of extended storage operations. The scope of the Certificate of Compliance No. 1021 renewal includes spent fuel storage cask models TN-32, TN-32A, and TN-32B.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Integrated Circuits, Chipsets, and Electronic Devices, and Products Containing the Same, DN 3574; the Commission is soliciting comments on any public interest issues raised by the complaint or complainant's filing pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is issuing this final rule to amend the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to make a needed technical amendment. This technical amendment is to remove regulatory text regarding contract administration for exercising options that was incorrectly addressed in previous rulemaking.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on: potential improvements to the voluntary Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework (Framework), including evaluating what triggers its activation, its scope of participants, whether existing Framework elements can be strengthened, any gaps that need to be addressed, and whether the public would benefit from codifying some or all of the Framework; ways to enhance the information available to the Commission through the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) during disasters and network outages to improve situational awareness; and communications resiliency strategies for power outages, including improved coordination between communications service providers and power companies and deploying onsite backup power or other alternative measures to reduce the frequency, duration, or severity of power-related disruptions to communications services.