Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 67609

1:30 p.m. Response rates and 

nonresponse in establishment surveys 

3:45 p.m. Development of an 

Employment Cost Index (ECI) 

excluding workers earning incentive 

pay 

4:45 p.m. Conclude (approximate time)

The meeting is open to the public. 

Any questions concerning the meeting 

should be directed to Margaret Johnson, 

Federal Economic Statistics Advisory 

Committee, on Area Code (202) 691–

5600. Individuals with disabilities, who 

need special accommodations, should 

contact Ms. Johnson at least two days 

prior to the meeting date.

Signed at Washington, DC the 3rd day of 

November 2004. 

Kathleen P. Utgoff, 

Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

[FR Doc. 04–25597 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

National Advisory Committee on 

Occupational Safety and Health; Notice 

of Meeting 

Notice is hereby given of the date and 

location of the next meeting of the 

National Advisory Committee on 

Occupational Safety and Health 

(NACOSH), established under section 

7(a) of the Occupational Safety and 

Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 656) to 

advise the Secretary of Labor and the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

on matters relating to the administration 

of the Act. NACOSH will hold a meeting 

on December 8, at the Holiday Inn, 

located at 550 C Street, SW., 

Washington, DC. The Meeting is open to 

the public and will begin at 9 a.m. and 

end at approximately 4 p.m. 

Agenda items will include updates on 

activities of both the Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) and the National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH), OSHA Health Targeting, and 

NIOSH Nanotechnology, as well as 

workgroup meetings and reports 

addressing Hispanic Outreach, Motor 

Vehicle Safety, and Emergency 

Response. 

Written data, views or comments for 

consideration by the committee may be 

submitted, preferably with 20 copies, to 

Wilfred Epps at the address provided 

below. Any such submissions received 

prior to the meeting will be provided to 

the members of the committee and will 

be included in the record of the 

meeting. Because of the need to cover a 

wide variety of subjects in a short 

period of time, there is usually 

insufficient time on the agenda for 

members of the public to address the 

committee orally. However, any such 

requests will be considered by the Chair 

who will determine whether or not time 

permits. Any request to make an oral 

presentation should state the amount of 

time desired, the capacity in which the 

person would apear, and a brief outline 

of the content of the presentation. 

Individuals with disabilities who need 

special accommodations should contact 

Veneta Chatmon (phone: 202–693–1912; 

fax; 202–693–1634) one week before the 

meeting. 

An official record of the meeting will 

be available for public inspection in the 

OSHA Technical Data Center (TDC) 

located in Room N2625 at the 

Department of Labor Building (202–

693–2350). For additional information 

contact: Wilfred Epps, Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA); Room N3641, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210 

(phone: 202–693–1857; fax: 202–693–

1641; e-mail: Epps.Wil@dol.gov); or 

check the National Advisory Committee 

on Occupational Safety and Health 

information pages located at http://

www.osha.gov/dop/nacosh/

nacosh.html.

Signed at Washington, DC this 10th day of 

November 2004. 

John L. Henshaw, 

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 

Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 04–25598 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–26–M

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 

CORPORATION 

[MCC FR 04–13] 

Report on the Selection of Eligible 

Countries for FY 2005

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge 

Corporation.

SUMMARY: Section 608(d) of the 

Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, Pub. 

L. 108–199 (Division D) requires the 

Millennium Challenge Corporation to 

publish a report that lists the countries 

determined by the Board of Directors of 

the Corporation to be eligible for 

assistance for Fiscal Year 2005. The 

Report is set forth below. 

Report: Report on the Selection of 

Eligible Countries for FY 2005. 

Summary 

This report is provided in accordance 

with Section 608(d) of the Millennium 

Challenge Act of 2003, 22 U.S.C.A. 

7707(d) (the ‘‘Act’’). 

The Act authorizes the provision of 

Millennium Challenge Account 

(‘‘MCA’’) assistance under section 605 

of the Act to countries that enter into 

compacts with the United States to 

support policies and programs that 

advance the prospects of such countries 

to achieve lasting poverty reduction and 

economic growth. The Act requires the 

Millennium Challenge Corporation 

(‘‘MCC’’) to take a number of steps to 

determine the countries that, based on 

their demonstrated commitment to just 

and democratic governance, economic 

freedom and investing in their people, 

will be eligible to receive MCA 

assistance during a fiscal year. These 

steps include the submission of reports 

to appropriate congressional committees 

and the publication of notices in the 

Federal Register that identify: 

1. The ‘‘candidate countries’’ for MCA 

assistance in a fiscal year (Section 

608(a) of the Act); 

2. The eligibility criteria and 

methodology that the MCC Board of 

Directors (the ‘‘Board’’) will use to select 

‘‘eligible countries’’ from among the 

‘‘candidate countries’’ (Section 608(b) of 

the Act); and 

3. The countries determined by the 

Board to be ‘‘eligible countries’’ for a 

fiscal year, the countries on the list of 

eligible countries with which the Board 

will seek to enter into MCA ‘‘Compacts’’

and a justification for such decisions 

(Section 608(d) of the Act). 

This is the third of the abovedescribed reports for FY 2005. It 

identifies countries determined by the 

Board to be eligible for MCA assistance 

in FY 2005 under section 605 of the Act 

and those that the Board will seek to 

enter into MCA Compacts under section 

609 of the Act, and the justification for 

such decisions.

Eligible Countries 

The MCC Board of Directors met on 

November 8, 2004, to select countries 

that will be eligible for FY 2005 MCA 

assistance under section 605 of the Act 

and will be invited to submit proposals 

for such assistance. The Board 

determined the following countries 

eligible for FY 2005 assistance: 

Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Georgia, 

Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, 

Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, 

Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and 

Vanuatu. 

In accordance with the Act and with 

MCC’s ‘‘Criteria and Methodology for 

Determining the Eligibility of Candidate 

Countries for Millennium Challenge 

Account Assistance in FY 2005,’’

submitted to the Congress on August 31, 

67610 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 

2004, selection was based on a country’s 

overall performance in relation to three 

broad policy categories: Ruling Justly, 

Encouraging Economic Freedom, and 

Investing in People. The Board relied on 

sixteen publicly available indicators to 

assess policy performance as the 

predominant basis for determining 

which countries would be eligible for 

assistance. Where appropriate, the 

Board took into account other data, such 

as trends and recent events since the 

indicators were published, and 

quantitative information as well as 

qualitative information to determine 

whether a country performed 

satisfactorily in relation to its peers in 

a given category, and other factors, 

including, inter alia, a country’s 

commitment to economic policies that 

promote private sector growth and the 

sustainable management of natural 

resources, and the rights of people with 

disabilities. The Board considered 

whether any adjustments should be 

made for data gaps, lags, trends, or 

strengths or weaknesses in particular 

indicators. 

Only one new country was selected 

for FY05: Morocco. Morocco performed 

above the median in relation to its peers 

on at least half of the indicators in each 

of the three policy categories and above 

the median on the corruption indicator 

specifically. Although Morocco was 

substantially below average on one 

economic indicator—Trade Policy—the 

Board decided that a positive eligibility 

determination was nonetheless justified 

based on positive trends and concrete 

actions taken by the Government of 

Morocco that were not fully reflected in 

the ‘‘point in time’’ indicator data. Since 

2000, Morocco has made significant 

efforts to liberalize its trade policy. 

Furthermore, in addition to the EU 

Agreement, which calls for the removal 

of all non-agricultural tariffs on trade 

between the two areas by 2012, Morocco 

recently concluded free trade 

agreements with Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, 

Tunisia and the United States. These 

agreements put Morocco in a select 

group of countries that have negotiated 

among the most liberal market access for 

goods and services and the highest 

standards of trade and investment rules. 

With the exception of Morocco, all of 

the countries selected were previously 

selected by the Board as eligible for 

FY04 MCA assistance: Armenia, Benin, 

Bolivia, Ghana, Georgia, Honduras, 

Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, 

Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri 

Lanka, and Vanuatu. These countries 

were re-endorsed by the Board on 

November 8, 2004, based on their 

continued performance since the May 

selection, most notably in the areas 

outlined in MCC’s Report on the 

Selection of MCA Eligible Countries for 

FY 2004, submitted to Congress on May 

7, 2004. The Board also determined that 

no material change has occurred in the 

performance of these countries on the 

selection criteria since the FY04 

selection that would justify removing 

them from the eligible country list. 

Selection for Compact Negotiation 

The Board also authorized the MCC to 

seek to negotiate an MCA Compact, as 

described in section 609 of the Act, with 

each of the eligible countries identified 

above that develops a proposal that 

justifies beginning such negotiations. 

MCC will initiate the process by inviting 

eligible countries to submit program 

proposals to MCC. MCC has posted 

guidance on the MCC Web site (http://

www.mcc.gov) regarding the 

development and submission of MCA 

program proposals. 

Submission of a proposal is not a 

guarantee that MCC will finalize a 

Compact with an eligible country. MCC 

will evaluate proposals and make 

funding decisions based on the potential 

for impacting poverty reduction through 

economic growth and other 

considerations. The quality of the initial 

proposal—including how well the 

country has demonstrated the 

relationship between the proposed 

priority areas and poverty reduction 

through economic growth—will be a 

determining factor, in addition to, the 

breadth of public support within the 

country for the proposal and the 

government’s commitment to continued 

policy improvement. An eligible 

country’s commitment and capacity to 

oversee effective implementation of the 

program will also be a factor in 

determining how quickly MCC can 

begin substantive discussions with a 

country on a Compact and will likely 

influence the speed with which a 

Compact can be negotiated as well as 

the amount and timing of any MCA 

assistance approved by the Board. 

Any MCA assistance provided under 

section 605 of the Act will be contingent 

on the successful negotiation of a 

mutually agreeable Compact between 

the eligible country and MCC and 

approval of the Compact by the Board.

Dated: November 12, 2004. 

Paul V. Applegarth, 

Chief Executive Officer, Millennium 

Challenge Corporation.

[FR Doc. 04–25554 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9210–01–P

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice 04–127] 

NASA Advisory Council; Notice of 

Establishment Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 

§§ 1 et seq.

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration (NASA). 

Explanation of Need: The 

Administrator of the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration 

has determined that the establishment 

of a NASA Robotic and Human 

Exploration of Mars Strategic 

Roadmapping Committee is necessary 

and in the public interest in connection 

with the performance of duties imposed 

upon NASA by law. This determination 

follows consultation with the 

Committee Management Secretariat, 

General Services Administration. 

Name of Committee: NASA Robotic 

and Human Exploration of Mars 

Strategic Roadmapping Committee. 

Purpose and Objective: The 

Committee will advise NASA 

Administrator on Mars exploration, 

including robotic exploration of Mars to 

search for evidence of life, to 

understand the history of the solar 

system, and to prepare for future human 

exploration. The Committee will draw 

on the expertise of its members and 

other sources to provide its advice and 

recommendations to the Agency. The 

Committee will hold meetings and make 

site visits as necessary to accomplish 

their responsibilities. The Committee 

will function solely as an advisory 

board and will comply fully with the 

provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. 

Lack of Duplication of Resources: The 

Committee’s functions cannot be 

performed by the agency, another 

existing committee, or other means such 

as a public meeting. 

Fairly Balanced Membership: The 

Committee will consist of a balance of 

experts from within the government, 

private industry, and academia. In 

addition, there may be additional 

experts selected for Subcommittees or 

Task Forces. Members of the Committee, 

Subcommittee or Task Forces will be 

chosen from among industry, academia, 

and government with recognized 

knowledge and expertise in specific 

areas across the NASA’s portfolio. Total 

membership will reflect a fairly 

balanced view. 

Duration: Ad hoc. 

Responsible NASA Official: Dr. Marc 

Allen, Advanced Planning and 

Integration Office, National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration, 300 E Street,