This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

22801 

Vol. 78, No. 74 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

13 CFR Chapter III 

[Docket No.: 130301184–3184–01] 

RIN 0610–XC001 

Request for Comments on Developing 

a Program To Provide Loan 

Guarantees to Small- or Medium-Sized 

Manufacturers 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Inquiry and Request 

for Comments. 

SUMMARY: The Economic Development 

Administration (EDA) seeks public 

comment on, how to design and 

structure loan guarantees for small- and 

medium-sized manufacturers through 

its authority under the Consolidated and 

Further Continuing Appropriations Act 

of 2012 (H.R. 2112, Pub. L. 112–55), 

which designated up to $5,000,000 from 

its Economic Adjustment Assistance 

Program appropriations for loan 

guarantees under Section 26 of the 

Stevenson-Wydler Technology 

Innovation Act of 1980 (the StevensonWydler Act) (15 U.S.C. 3721). 

Specifically, EDA is considering how to 

implement its statutory authority to 

establish a loan guarantee program for 

small- and medium-sized manufactures 

that encourages projects that re-equip, 

expand, or establish a manufacturing 

facility in the United States and that use 

innovative technology or processes in 

manufacturing. The loan guarantees 

should also be used to encourage the 

manufacture of innovative products, 

processes, or ideas developed by 

research funded in whole or in part by 

grants from the Federal government. 

EDA requests input from the public, 

through the specific questions listed 

below, on ways to structure this 

program, in order to assess the level of 

demand for such a program and the 

level of agency support necessary to 

institute a loan guarantee program 

consistent with the provisions of the 

Stevenson-Wydler Act. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 15, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods. All 

comments must include the title, 

‘‘Comments on Development of EDA 

Program to Provide Loan Guarantees to 

Manufacturers’’ and Docket No. 

130301184–3184–01. 

• Email: rfi@eda.gov. Include 

‘‘Comments on Development of EDA 

Program to Provide Loan Guarantees to 

Manufacturers’’ and Docket No. 

130301184–3184–01 in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Fax: (202) 482–5671, Attention: 

Office of Chief Counsel. Please indicate 

‘‘Comments on Development of EDA 

Program to Provide Loan Guarantees to 

Manufacturers’’ and Docket No. 

130301184–3184–01 on the cover page. 

• Mail: Economic Development 

Administration, Office of Chief Counsel, 

Suite 7325, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230. Please 

indicate ‘‘Comments on Development of 

EDA Program to Provide Loan 

Guarantees to Manufacturers’’ and 

Docket No. 130301184–3184–01 on the 

envelope. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Samantha Schasberger, Program 

Analyst, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

Economic Development Administration, 

1401 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 or via 

sschasberger@eda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Established under the Public Works and 

Economic Development Act of 1965, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) 

(PWEDA), EDA’s mission is to lead the 

Federal economic development agenda 

by promoting innovation and 

competitiveness, preparing American 

regions for growth and success in the 

worldwide economy. EDA partners with 

stakeholders throughout the United 

States to foster job creation, 

collaboration and innovation. EDA’s 

regulations, which are codified at 13 

CFR chapter III, implement the agency’s 

six economic development assistance 

programs authorized under PWEDA, as 

well as the Trade Adjustment 

Assistance for Firms Program, which are 

authorized under chapters 3, 4, and 5 of 

title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.). 

Section 26 of the Stevenson-Wydler 

Act, 15 U.S.C. 3721, authorizes EDA to 

issue loan guarantees to companies for 

small- or medium-sized manufacturers 

to finance projects that re-equip, 

expand, or establish a manufacturing 

facility in the United States to use an 

innovative technology or innovative 

process in manufacturing; manufacture 

an innovative technology product or an 

integral component of such a product; 

or, to commercialize an innovative 

product, process or idea developed by 

research funded in whole or in part by 

a grant from the Federal government. 

The Stevenson-Wydler Act, at 15 U.S.C. 

3721(s)(3), defines innovative 

technology as ‘‘a technology that is 

significantly improved as compared to 

the technology in general use in the 

commercial marketplace in the United 

States at the time the loan guarantee is 

issued.’’ In considering the definition of 

small or medium-sized manufacturers, 

EDA refers to the definitions for small 

businesses established by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) 

available at http://www.sba.gov/ 

category/navigation-structure/ 

contracting/contracting-officials/ 

eligibility-size-standards. EDA has not 

yet established this program, and seeks 

public comments, especially from 

lenders and manufacturers, on how best 

to do so. 

In addition to the questions in this 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

that are targeted to manufacturers and 

lending institutions, EDA seeks public 

comments on any aspect of structuring 

a loan guarantee program. Comments 

that identify potential impediments and 

make corresponding recommendations, 

as well as the commenter’s experiences 

in attempting, to access capital via loan 

guarantee programs will be instructive. 

Comments should be submitted to 

EDA as described in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. EDA will consider 

all comments submitted in response to 

this request for information (RFI) that 

are received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 

on May 15, 2013, as referenced under 

DATES. EDA will not accept public 

comments accompanied by a request 

that a part or all of the material be 

treated confidentially for any reason; 

EDA will not consider such comments 

and will return such materials to the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
22802 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 74 / Wednesday, April 17, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

commenter. All public comments in 

response to this RFI must be in writing 

(including fax or email) and will be a 

matter of public record. 

Questions 

For Lenders 

1. Are small- or medium-sized 

manufacturers a part of your ordinary 

portfolio of loans? If not, why not? 

2. What are the biggest impediments 

to a small- or medium-sized 

manufacturer receiving a loan from your 

lending institution? Are there types of 

manufacturers (company size, industry 

etc.) that you would be more hesitant to 

loan to than others? 

3. Would a new loan guarantee 

program make you more likely to lend 

to manufacturers especially small- or 

medium-sized manufacturers? If so, why 

and what increase in loan volume to 

these companies would you estimate 

would occur? 

4. If EDA established a new Federal 

loan guarantee program that offered loan 

guarantees for targeted loans for smallor medium-sized manufacturers to 

support the use or production of 

innovative technology (as defined 

above) how much of a guarantee would 

your lending institution need in order to 

be willing to offer loans for such 

purposes? Besides the level of the 

guarantee, are there any other 

requirements that you would have of the 

guarantee program in order to offer such 

loans? 

5. What would your lending 

institution require for a borrower to 

demonstrate that a market exists for an 

innovative technology product? 

6. With the support of a loan 

guarantee program, what size loans 

would you anticipate making to 

manufacturers who meet the definition 

of small- or medium-sized and would 

you use the loan proceeds to support the 

use or production of innovative 

technologies? 

7. If such a Federal program were 

created, what additional requirements 

would you require from the 

manufacturers, if any, to support such a 

loan? 

8. Have you ever participated in a 

loan guarantee program (for example, 

any guarantee program provided by 

SBA? If not, why not? If so, would you 

recommend this process to others? What 

was your experience with loan 

guarantee programs (including SBA loan 

guarantee programs)? 

For Manufacturers 

9. What is the largest sized 

manufacturer that you would consider 

calling a medium-sized manufacturer? 

10. Is access to capital an impediment 

for your development as a small- or 

medium-sized manufacturer? If so, why 

(specifically) and what is the size of 

your firm? 

11. If accessing capital is an 

impediment, is securing a loan via a 

new Federal loan guarantee program to 

support the use or production of 

innovative technologies a strategy that 

you would pursue in order to access 

capital? If not, why not? 

12. If you would pursue a loan, what 

size loan would be necessary to support 

your development needs? 

13. Given that the purpose of this 

program would be to support innovation 

by re-equipping, expanding or 

establishing a manufacturing facility in 

the U.S., what types of activities and 

outcomes would you use the loan to 

support? 

14. Have you ever used a loan 

guarantee program (for example, any 

guarantee program provided by the 

SBA)? If not, why not? If so, would you 

recommend this process to others? What 

was your experience with loan 

guarantee programs (including SBA loan 

guarantee programs)? 

General 

15. Are there any additional 

comments that you would like to offer 

about the proposal to establish a loan 

guarantee program that targets the use or 

production of innovative technologies 

for manufacturing? 

Dated: April 10, 2013. 

Matt Erskine, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic 

Development and Chief Operating Officer, 

Economic Development Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2013–08999 Filed 4–16–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0331; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–170–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; the Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

The Boeing Company Model 747–200B, 

747–200F, 747–300, 747SP, 747–400, 

and 747–400F series airplanes equipped 

with Rolls-Royce RB211–524 engines; 

and certain Model 767–300 series 

airplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce 

RB211–524 engines. This proposed AD 

was prompted by multiple reports of 

uncommanded thrust reverser unlock 

events. This proposed AD would require 

replacing certain relays and relay 

sockets, and doing wiring changes. For 

certain airplanes, this proposed AD 

would also require installing new relay 

panels, and removing and installing 

certain components. Additionally, this 

proposed AD would require, for certain 

airplanes, accomplishing concurrent 

actions, which include installing an 

additional locking system on the thrust 

reversers, installing an additional 

locking gearbox on each engine and 

modifying system wiring for in-flight 

fault indications of the thrust reverser 

system, and installing a second locking 

gearbox system on the thrust reversers. 

We are proposing this AD to prevent an 

uncommanded thrust reverser 

deployment during takeoff or in-flight 

resulting in decreased airplane control 

and performance, possible runway 

excursions, and failure to climb. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by June 3, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data 

& Services Management, P. O. Box 3707, 

MC 2H–65, Seattle, WA 98124–2207; 

phone: 206–544–5000, extension 1; fax: 

206–766–5680; Internet: https:// 

www.myboeingfleet.com. You may 

review copies of the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, WA. For information on 

the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS