### 72929 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices

meeting. Additional information, including a map of the project site, is available by contacting the person listed in the **FOR FURTHER INFORMATION**
**CONTACT** section of this notice.

Public Comment Availability: Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the BIA address shown in the **ADDRESSES** section, during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Before including your address, telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment that your personal identifying information be withheld from public review, the BIA cannot guarantee that this will occur.

Authority: This notice is published in accordance with sections 1503.1 and 1506.6 of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508) implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321–4345 et seq. ), and the Department of the Interior National Environmental Policy Act Implementation Policy (43 CFR part 46), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

Dated: November 26, 2013. Kevin K. Washburn, Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013–29009 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR**

**Bureau of Ocean Energy Management**

**[MMAA 104000]**

**Notice of Availability of the Proposed Notice of Sale (NOS) for Eastern Gulf**  **of Mexico Planning Area (EPA) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas**  **Lease Sale 225 (EPA Sale 225)**

**AGENCY :**  Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Interior.

**ACTION :**  Notice of Availability of the Proposed Notice of EPA Sale 225.

**SUMMARY :**  BOEM announces the availability of the Proposed NOS for proposed EPA Sale 225. This Notice is published pursuant to 30 CFR 556.29(c) as a matter of information to the public. With regard to oil and gas leasing on the OCS, the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, provides affected States the opportunity to review the Proposed NOS. The Proposed NOS sets forth the proposed terms and conditions of the sale, including minimum bids, royalty rates, and rental rates.

**DATES :**  Affected States may comment on the size, timing, and location of proposed EPA Sale 225 within 60 days following their receipt of the Proposed NOS. The Final NOS will be published in the Federal Register at least 30 days prior to the date of bid opening. Bid opening currently is scheduled for March 19, 2014.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The Proposed NOS for EPA Sale 225 and a ‘‘Proposed Notice of Sale Package’’ containing information essential to potential bidders may be obtained from the Public Information Unit, Gulf of Mexico Region, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394. Telephone: (504) 736–

2519.

Agency Contact: Julie Conklin, Sale Coordination Branch Chief, Julie.Conklin@boem.gov.

Dated: November 15, 2013. Tommy P. Beaudreau, Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2013–28934 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE**

**Parole Commission**

**Sunshine Act Meeting**

**TIME AND DATE :**  12:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 10, 2013.

**PLACE :**  U.S. Parole Commission, 90 K Street NE., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC.

**STATUS :**  Closed.

**MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED :**  Determination on four original jurisdiction cases.

**CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION :**  Patricia W. Moore, Staff Assistant to the Chairman, U.S. Parole Commission, 90 K Street NE., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20530, (202) 346–7001.

Dated: December 2, 2013. J. Patricia W. Smoot, Acting General Counsel, U.S. Parole Commission. [FR Doc. 2013–29064 Filed 12–2–13; 4:15 pm]

**BILLING CODE 4410–31–P DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE** 

**Parole Commission**

**Sunshine Act Meeting**

**TIME AND DATE :**  10:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 10, 2013.

**PLACE :**  U.S. Parole Commission, 90 K Street NE., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC.

**STATUS :**  Open.

**MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED :**  Approval of August 8, 2013 minutes; reports from the Chairman, the Commissioners, and senior staff; Short Intervention For Success Program; Proposed Rulemaking Revising Conditions of Release update.

**CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION :**  Patricia W. Moore, Staff Assistant to the Chairman, U.S. Parole Commission, 90 K Street NE., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20530, (202) 346–7001.

Dated: December 2, 2013. J. Patricia W. Smoot, Acting General Counsel, U.S. Parole Commission. [FR Doc. 2013–29063 Filed 12–2–13; 4:15 pm]

**BILLING CODE 4410–31–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF LABOR**

**Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy** 

**AGENCY :**  Office of the Secretary, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.

**ACTION :**  Meeting notice.

**SUMMARY :**  Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: December 16, 2013; 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; U.S. Department of Labor, Secretary’s Conference Room, 200 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC.

Purpose: The meeting will include a review and discussion of current issues which influence U.S. trade policy. Potential U.S. negotiating objectives and bargaining positions in current and anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f)(2)(A), it has been determined that the meeting will be concerned with matters the disclosure of which would seriously compromise the Government’s negotiating objectives or bargaining positions. Therefore, the meeting is exempt from the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (relating to open meetings, public notice, public participation, and public availability of


### 72930 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 4, 2013 / Notices

documents). 5 U.S.C. App. Accordingly, the meeting will be closed to the public.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Anne M. Zollner, Chief, Trade Policy and Negotiations Division; Phone: (202)
693–4890.

Signed at Washington, DC, the 26 day of November, 2013. Carol Pier, Acting Deputy Under Secretary, International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013–29019 Filed 12–3–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4510–28–P**

**OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET** 

**Office of Federal Procurement Policy**

**Determination of Benchmark Compensation Amount for Certain**  **Executives and Employees**

**AGENCY :**  Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget.

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  The Office of Management and Budget is publishing the attached memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies announcing that $952,308 is the ‘‘benchmark compensation amount’’ for certain executives and employees in terms of costs allowable under Federal Government contracts during contractors’ fiscal year 2012. This determination is required under Section 39 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. 1127). The benchmark compensation amount applies to both defense and civilian agencies.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Raymond Wong, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, at 202–395–6805.

Joseph G. Jordan, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies FROM: Joseph G. Jordan, Administrator,

Office of Federal Procurement Policy SUBJECT: Determination of Benchmark

Compensation Amount for Certain Executives and Employees, Pursuant to Section 39 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. § 1127) This memorandum sets forth the benchmark compensation amount for employees of Federal Government contractors as required by Section 39 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. § 1127) for the purposes of section 4304(a)(16) of title 41 and section 2324(e)(1)(P) of title 10. The statutory benchmark amount (the ‘‘cap’’) limits the allowability of compensation costs under Federal Government contracts as implemented at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 31.205– 6(p). In less technical terms, the statute places a cap on the total annual compensation amount the Federal Government will reimburse a contractor for the compensation the contractor provides to each of its employees for work done pursuant to certain Federal Government contracts. This cap applies to the compensation of certain contractor senior executives on contracts with civilian agencies (i.e., agencies other than the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the United States Coast Guard), and the compensation of all contractor employees on contracts with defense agencies (i.e., DOD, NASA and Coast Guard), when the contractor is performing contracts that are of either acost-reimbursable nature or other costbased nature. It should be noted that, while the statute places a cap on the amount that the Federal Government will reimburse the contractor, the statute does not limit the amount of compensation that the contractor actually pays to its employees. Contractors can, and do, provide compensation to their employees that exceed the amount that is reimbursed by the Federal Government.

Section 39 of the OFPP Act sets out a formula for determining the cap amount. Specifically, the cap amount is set at the median (50th percentile) amount of compensation provided, over the most recent year for which data is available, to the five most highly compensated employees in management positions at each home office and each segment of all publicly-owned U.S. companies with annual sales over $50 million. The determination is based on analysis of data made available by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Compensation means the total amount of wages, salaries, bonuses, restricted stock, deferred and performance incentive compensation, and other compensation for the year, whether paid, earned, or otherwise accruing, as recorded in the employer’s cost accounting records for the year.

When the cap was raised to $693,951 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, the President called on Congress to repeal the current statutory formula and replace it with a lower, more sensible limit that is on par with what the Government pays its own executives and employees. Over the last several years, the Administration has strongly reiterated the need for reforms to the current statutory framework and Congress has considered several proposals to reform the compensation cap. To date, however, Congress has not revised the cap amount or the formula for adjusting the cap. Instead, Congress made only a modest change that expanded application of the statutory cap on defense contracts from the contractor’s senior executives to all of its employees (section 803 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013, Pub. L. 112–81, December 31, 2011). This expansion of the applicability of the cap to all contractor employees did not cover contracts with the civilian agencies, so the cap for those contracts remains applicable only to certain contractor senior executives, which is defined as the five most highly compensated employees in management positions at each home office and each segment of the contractor.

After consultation with the Director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, OFPP has determined, pursuant to the requirements of Section 39, that the FY 2012 cap amount for the compensation of a contractor employee covered by this provision is $952,308. (By comparison, the cap for FY 2011 was $763,029,which means that the statutorilymandated formula for calculating the cap has generated a one-year increase of nearly $190,000 in the amount that taxpayers are required to reimburse contractors for their compensation practices.) This amount applies to limit the costs of compensation for contractor employees that are reimbursed by the Government to the contractor for costs incurred on all contracts, after January 1, 2012 and in subsequent contractor FYs, unless and until revised by OFPP. This applies to covered contracts for both defense and civilian procurement agencies, as specified in Section 39. Additionally, as explained above, with regard to civilian agencies, the cap continues to cover compensation to the same limited number of contractor executives as did the Section 39 caps for FY 2011 and prior years. With regard to covered contracts awarded by DOD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, the cap covers compensation for all contractor employees. Consequently, the cap may apply to different groups of contractor employees, employed by the same contractor, if that contractor has contracts with both defense and civilian agencies.

Because Congress has not changed or replaced the statutory formula for setting the cap, the Administration is compelled by statute to raise the cap for another year in accordance with that