Office of the Secretary June 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to rescind the Statement of Policy titled ``Public Participation in Rule Making,'' published in the Federal Register on July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804) that requires agencies in USDA to follow the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures even in situations where the APA does not require it. The Statement of Policy implemented a 1969 recommendation by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), which urged Congress to amend the APA to remove the exemption from the notice-and-comment requirement for rulemakings relating to ``public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts,'' adding that agencies should follow the notice-and-comment procedures pending amendment of the APA. In proposing to rescind the Statement of Policy, USDA notes that in the more than 40 years since ACUS made its recommendation, Congress has not amended the APA to implement it. Moreover, USDA has determined in this time that the advantages of implementing the ACUS recommendation do not outweigh the disadvantages, such as increased costs and delayed implementation imposed on USDA programs. The proposed change would not result in USDA forgoing notice-and-comment rulemaking for all regulatory actions relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts, rather the proposed change would grant USDA agencies the discretion to determine the appropriateness of notice-and- comment rulemaking for this class of rulemakings.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Defense Policy Board (hereafter referred to as ``the DPB'').