Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 166 / Monday, August 27, 2012 / Notices 51843 

performed ‘‘as a member of the 

uniformed services.’’ 

Statement as to How Petersen Differs 

From the Agency’s Policy 

The WEP is a modified formula for 

calculating the retirement or disability 

benefits of a person who receives a 

pension from noncovered work (i.e., 

work that is not defined as employment 

for Social Security purposes and where 

Social Security taxes were not deducted 

from the employee’s pay). The WEP 

applies to persons who attain age 62 or 

become eligible for disability benefits 

after 1985 and who first become eligible 

for a monthly payment (such as a civil 

service pension) after 1985 ‘‘which is 

based in whole or in part upon his or 

her earnings for service which did not 

constitute ‘employment’ as defined in’’ 

42 U.S.C. 410. 42 U.S.C. 

415(a)(7)(A)(III). The WEP applies to 

persons with noncovered employment 

in the CSRS which includes the civilian 

employment of a ‘‘dual status’’ National 

Guard technician. A formula is used to 

compute the person’s primary insurance 

amount (PIA), which then is used to 

compute the amount of the person’s 

Social Security benefits. 42 U.S.C. 

415(a)(7)(B); 20 CFR 404.213(c). The 

formula results in a lower Social 

Security benefit. 

Congress amended the WEP in 1994 

in Pub. L. 103–296, the Social Security 

Independence and Program 

Improvements Act of 1994 (the 

Independence Act). Section 308 of the 

Independence Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. 

415(a)(7)(A)(III), created a new 

exemption from the WEP, which applies 

to ‘‘a payment based wholly on service 

as a member of a uniformed service’’ as 

defined in 42 U.S.C. 410(m). We 

interpret the uniformed services 

exception to the WEP to mean that only 

monthly payments based on military 

service are exempt from the WEP. Under 

this interpretation, monthly payments 

that are based on noncovered civilian 

public employment, including that of 

National Guard technicians who work 

under the CSRS, are not exempt from 

the WEP. Moreover, the effect of the 

uniformed services exception to the 

WEP and the regulatory provision found 

at 20 CFR 404.213(e)(9) is to exempt 

from the WEP only military retirement 

pay based on reserve inactive duty 

training (IDT). Other kinds of military 

duty, such as active duty, already were 

not subject to the WEP because they 

have been covered employment since 

1956. The WEP does not apply to 

noncovered work before 1957. 

The legislative history of the 

uniformed services exception to the 

WEP explains that the purpose of the 

exception was to exempt military retired 

pay, based on noncovered IDT military 

duty, from application of the WEP. The 

exception was not intended to exempt 

any pension based on civilian work 

from application of the WEP. The Court 

of Appeals declined to consider the 

legislative history of the uniformed 

services exception because it found 

there was no ambiguity to the 

uniformed services exception. 

Explanation of How SSA Will Apply the 

Petersen Decision Within the Circuit 

Social Security old-age or disability 

applicants and beneficiaries who 

receive a CSRS pension based on 

noncovered work as dual status 

National Guard technicians, and who 

are permanent legal residents of a State 

within the Eighth Circuit, should have 

their Social Security benefits computed 

using the normal PIA, rather than the 

WEP PIA described in 42 U.S.C. 

415(a)(7) of the Act. A decisionmaker 

should not apply this AR to an 

applicant or beneficiary who is not a 

permanent legal resident of a State 

within the Eighth Circuit at the time of 

making the determination or decision to 

apply the WEP. Before we determine 

that the WEP does not apply, we must 

have evidence that an applicant’s or 

beneficiary’s CSRS pension is based on 

service as a dual status civilian 

technician with the National Guard. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21065 Filed 8–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 7994] 

Culturally Significant Objects Imported 

for Exhibition Determinations: ‘‘Plants 

of Virtue and Rocks by a Stream’’ by 

Shitao 

ACTION: Notice, correction. 

SUMMARY: On August 14, 2012, notice 

was published on pages 48582–3 of the 

Federal Register (volume 77, number 

157) of determinations made by the 

Department of State pertaining to the 

object ‘‘Plants of Virtue and Rocks by a 

Stream’’ by Shitao. The referenced 

notice is corrected here to change the 

name of the exhibition in which that 

object will appear to ‘‘The Artful 

Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and Politics in 

17th-Century China’’. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, including a listing 

of the exhibit object, contact Ona M. 

Hahs, Attorney-Adviser, Office of the 

Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State 

(telephone: 202–632–6473). The mailing 

address is U.S. Department of State, SA– 

5, L/PD, Fifth Floor (Suite 5H03), 

Washington, DC 20522–0505. 

Dated: August 21, 2012. 

J. Adam Ereli, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau 

of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–21019 Filed 8–24–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

[Docket No. FRA 2012–0006–N–10] 

Information Collection Requirements 

(ICRs) Forwarded to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB); 

Request for Comments. 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice 

announces that the Information 

Collection Requirements (ICRs) 

abstracted below have been forwarded 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and comment. The 

ICRs describes the nature of the 

information collection and their 

expected burden. The Federal Register 

notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on the following 

collection of information was published 

on June 12, 2012 (77 FR 35106). 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before September 26, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert Brogan, Office of Safety, 

Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS– 

21, Federal Railroad Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 17, 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6292), or Ms. Kimberly Toone, 

Office of Information Technology, RAD– 

20, Federal Railroad Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Mail Stop 35, 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 

493–6132). (These telephone numbers 

are not toll-free.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2, 

109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 

at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR Part 

1320, require Federal agencies to issue 

two notices seeking public comment on 

information collection activities before 

OMB may approve paperwork packages. 

44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 

1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On June 12, 2012, 


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