Rural Utilities Service June 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

RUS published a notice in the Federal Register on February 18, 1997, at 62 FR 7205 that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, (108 Stat. 4954, Pub. L. 103-465, December 8, 1994), amended the ``Buy American'' provision, (7 U.S.C. 903 note) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) (the ``RE Act''). Under the amendment, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is authorized to determine which countries (``eligible countries'') are eligible to have their products receive the same treatment as manufactured and unmanufactured products produced in the United States. This notice revises the list of eligible countries for purchases made by telecommunications borrowers by adding new countries to the list to reflect the March 17, 2014, Federal Register Notice (FRN), ``Agreement on Government Procurement: Effective Date of Amendments, and the April 18, 2014 FRN, ``Agreement on Government Procurement: Effective Date of Amendments for Japan'', published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Please refer to the Federal Register notice published February 18, 1997, at 62 FR 7205, for additional information on RUS Buy American requirements.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) amends its regulations for the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP). This action is critical to immediately address three major items. First, the Agricultural Act of 2014 incorporates the IRP into the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (Con Act). Therefore the IRP will now be subject to the Con Act, Section 343(a)(13) ``rural and rural area'' definition. Second, the Agency is making the following changes based on an Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit: Removing part of the definition of revolved funds to eliminate public confusion on its applicability; providing stronger guidance on items that should be taken into consideration when approving subsequent loans; defining what is meant by promptly relending collections from loans made from the revolving loan fund account; and providing clarification when prior Agency concurrence is needed to make loans. Finally, the Agency is removing provisions for Rural Development Loan Fund (RDLF) servicing as there are no longer any active RDLF accounts.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $7 million in fiscal year 2014 (FY14) for competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs and, up to $1 million in FY14 for competitive grants to state entities to establish and support a revolving fund to provide a more cost-effective means of purchasing fuel where the fuel cannot be shipped by means of surface transportation. The grant funds to assist communities with extremely high energy costs may be used to acquire, construct, extend, upgrade, or otherwise improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities in which the average residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275 percent of the national average. The grant funds used to establish and support a revolving fund must be used to facilitate cost effective fuel purchases for persons, communities, and businesses in eligible areas. This notice describes the eligibility and application requirements, the criteria that will be used by RUS to award funding, and information on how to obtain application materials.