60840 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 8, 2014 / Notices 

1Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). 

2See Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 

Feedback From the Financial Education Field (May 

13, 2013), http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/

201305_cfpb_OFE-request-for-informationreport.pdf. 

3Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 2011 

FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and 

Underbanked Households (September 2013), 

http://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey. 

4U.S. Government Accountability Office, Factors 

Affecting the Financial Literacy of Individuals with 

Limited English Proficiency, GAO–10–518 (May 21, 

2010), http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-518. 

5 Id. at 3. 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

[Docket No. CFPB–2014–0022] 

Proposed Language Access Plan for 

the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed plan with 

request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: Consistent with Executive 

Order 13166 (Aug. 11, 2000), the 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(Bureau or CFPB) is committed to 

providing persons with limited English 

proficiency (LEP) meaningful access to 

its programs and services. The Language 

Access Plan describes the Bureau’s 

policy and how the Bureau’s current 

language access activities are 

implemented across all of the Bureau’s 

operations, programs and services. The 

Bureau will review this plan every three 

years and revise it as necessary. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

Bureau’s programs and activities 

available to LEP persons and on steps 

that the Bureau could take to ensure that 

LEP persons have meaningful access to 

such services. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before January 6, 2015 to be assured 

of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

regarding the Proposed Language Access 

Plan, identified by title and by Docket 

No. CFPB–2014–0022, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (Attention: Office of 

Financial Education), 1700 G Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20552. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: 

Office of Financial Education), 1275 

First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002. 

Instructions: The Bureau encourages 

the early submission of comments. All 

submissions must include the document 

title and docket number. Because paper 

mail in the Washington, DC area and at 

the Bureau is subject to delay, 

commenters are encouraged to submit 

comments electronically. In general, all 

comments received will be posted 

without change to http://

www.regulations.gov. In addition, 

comments will be available for public 

inspection and copying at 1275 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20002, on 

official business days between the hours 

of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Standard 

Time. You can make an appointment to 

inspect the documents by telephoning 

202–435–7275. 

All submissions, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials, will become part of the public 

record and subject to public disclosure. 

Do not include sensitive personal 

information such as account numbers or 

Social Security numbers. Comments 

will not be edited to remove any 

identifying or contact information, such 

as name and address information, email 

addresses, or telephone numbers. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general inquiries, submission process 

questions or any additional information, 

please contact Monica Jackson, Office of 

the Executive Secretary, at 202–435– 

7275. For information about the 

Proposed Language Access Plan, please 

contact Dubis Correal, Office of 

Financial Education, at 202–435–7937. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

and Consumer Protection Act 1 (DoddFrank Act) established the Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection. Section 

1021 of the Dodd-Frank Act provides 

that the purpose of the Bureau is to 

‘‘implement, and where applicable, 

enforce Federal consumer financial law 

consistently for the purpose of ensuring 

that all consumers have access to 

markets for consumer financial products 

and services and that markets for 

consumer financial products and 

services are fair, transparent, and 

competitive.’’ 12 U.S.C. 5511. 

Listening and responding to 

consumers is central to the Bureau’s 

purpose of ensuring that all consumers 

have access to consumer financial 

products and services. Since its 

inception, the Bureau has provided 

consumers with numerous ways to 

make their voices heard. Consumers 

nationwide have engaged with the 

Bureau through public field hearings, 

listening events, roundtables, town 

halls, the Bureau’s Web site, 

consumerfinance.gov, and the Bureau’s 

Consumer Response function. The 

Bureau has also sought input from a 

range of financial education 

stakeholders about challenges 

consumers face, effective tools in 

overcoming those challenges, and what 

the Bureau can do to improve the 

financial decision-making process of 

consumers to help them better navigate 

the marketplace of financial products 

and services.2 This engagement 

strengthens the Bureau’s understanding 

of current issues in the consumer 

financial marketplace and informs its 

work. 

The Bureau understands that this 

engagement is incomplete without 

efforts to include Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP) persons (individuals 

who do not speak English as their 

primary language and who have a 

limited ability to speak, write, or 

understand English). According to a 

2010 Census Report, there are over 24 

million people in the United States who 

do not speak English ‘‘very well.’’ This 

includes people who classify 

themselves as speaking English ‘‘not 

well’’ and people who do not speak 

English at all. Studies by Federal 

agencies and other stakeholders have 

highlighted that receipt of materials in 

consumers’ native languages is essential 

to increasing these consumers’ 

knowledge about financial products and 

services. 

For instance, a study conducted by 

the FDIC 3 found that households that 

include a foreign-born noncitizen or 

where Spanish is the only language 

spoken are less likely to participate in 

the mainstream banking system. 

Household members who speak English 

as a second language, or who cannot 

read English, are particularly 

disadvantaged in their ability to review 

and understand financial documents 

and other important notifications. The 

Federal Trade Commission and 

immigrant advocacy organizations have 

also noted that some populations with 

limited English language skills are more 

susceptible to fraudulent and predatory 

practices.4 Further, the Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) examined 

the extent to which individuals with 

limited English proficiency are impeded 

in their financial literacy and conduct of 

financial affairs. The GAO’s report 

indicated that a lack of proficiency in 

English can create significant barriers to 

financial literacy and to conducting 

everyday financial affairs.5

Consistent with Executive Order 

13166 (Aug. 11, 2000) and the Bureau’s 

mission, the Bureau proposes to adopt 

the Proposed Language Access Plan to 

address meaningful access to Bureau 

services for LEP persons. The Bureau 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 8, 2014 / Notices 60841 

invites public comment on the Proposed 

Language Access Plan and on related 

matters, as described below, that may be 

of interest to the LEP community. 

II. Summary of Proposed Language 

Access Plan 

The Bureau considered the following 

factors in drafting the proposed 

Language Access Plan: (1) The number 

or proportion of LEP persons who 

would not receive the Bureau’s services 

absent efforts to remove language 

barriers; (2) The frequency and number 

of contacts by LEP persons with the 

Bureau’s services; (3) The nature and 

importance of the services provided by 

the Bureau to people’s lives; and (4) The 

resources available to the Bureau 

(including cost-benefit analysis) to 

provide services to LEP persons. Under 

the proposed Language Access Plan, the 

Bureau provides LEP individuals with 

access to information, services, 

activities, and programs through 

translating critical consumer-facing 

documents into select foreign languages 

and handling complaints from 

consumers about financial consumer 

products and services in over 180 

languages. The Bureau invites public 

comment on the proposed Language 

Access Plan. 

III. Related Matters of Interest 

The public is invited to comment on 

the Bureau’s programs and activities 

that are available to LEP persons and on 

steps the Bureau could take to ensure 

that LEP persons have meaningful 

access to such services. The Bureau will 

use the information gathered from this 

notice and other outreach efforts to 

improve access to these programs and 

activities. 

A. Language Access Task Force. The 

Bureau has created and is committed to 

its Language Access Task Force, a crossdivisional working group aimed at 

developing and executing a Bureauwide strategy to provide LEP consumers 

with meaningful access to information 

produced by the Bureau. The Task Force 

identifies and addresses barriers to 

language access, coordinates with 

internal and external stakeholders, 

ensures consistency within the Bureau 

in its communications with LEP 

individuals, and informs the Bureau’s 

work to engage LEP consumers. The 

Bureau seeks public comment on how 

the Task Force can best accomplish 

these goals. The Task Force will 

consider any comments it receives in 

setting its agenda and priorities among 

these four activities. The Task Force 

also seeks public comment on how the 

Bureau can effectively make LEP 

consumers aware of consumer financial 

protections available to them in the 

financial marketplace. 

B. Handling complaints from 

consumers about consumer financial 

products and services. The Bureau’s 

Office of Consumer Response 

(Consumer Response) hears directly 

from consumers about the challenges 

they face in the marketplace and brings 

consumers’ concerns to the attention of 

consumer financial product or service 

providers. Consumer Response 

currently accepts complaints about 

credit cards, mortgages, bank accounts 

and services, private student loans, 

vehicle and other consumer loans, 

credit reporting, money transfers, debt 

collection, payday loans, prepaid cards, 

credit repair and debt settlement 

services, title and pawn loans, and 

virtual currencies. The CFPB’s contact 

centers can assist consumers with 

complaints in over 180 languages, and 

consumers have the option to receive 

written communications in Spanish. 

The contact centers also accept inquiries 

from consumers on various consumer 

financial products and services, as well 

as CFPB news and operations. The 

Bureau works to respond to consumer 

inquiries or refer consumers to other 

regulators and resources, as needed. The 

Bureau seeks comments on ways it can 

improve access to the CFPB consumer 

complaint system by the LEP 

community. 

C. Incorporation of translation and 

interpretation in Bureau supervision 

and enforcement. The Bureau works to 

appropriately utilize translation and 

interpretation in the context of 

examinations and investigations. These 

services may be used for several 

purposes, for example interviews and 

other consultations with LEP consumer 

witnesses, whistleblowers, and 

employees of regulated entities; review 

of documents and recordings of phone 

calls; and with respect to critical 

settlement announcements. The Bureau 

seeks public comment on how to best 

incorporate translation and 

interpretation services in Bureau 

supervision and enforcement. 

D. Informing and educating 

consumers in the financial marketplace. 

One of the Bureau’s goals is to give 

consumers practical, actionable 

information about financial goals, 

decisions, products, and services to help 

consumers build the financial 

knowledge and skills that they need to 

make well-informed financial decisions 

for themselves and their families. For 

the LEP community, this includes 

access in consumers’ native languages to 

consumer education materials. The 

Bureau offers free printed financial 

education materials translated into other 

languages for LEP consumers, which are 

distributed by both the Bureau and 

other stakeholders. To date, CFPB has 

routinely translated its most critical and 

frequently requested documents into 

Spanish (http://promotions.usa.gov/

cfpbpubs.html). Certain publications are 

also available in Chinese, French, 

Haitian Cre ́ole, Tagalog, Chinese, 

Korean, and Vietnamese. The Bureau 

seeks comment on how to most 

effectively distribute printed financial 

education materials to LEP consumers. 

E. Digital Offering in Other 

Languages. The Bureau has an 

interactive online tool titled ‘‘AskCFPB’’ 

that gives consumers answers to over 

1,000 questions about financial products 

and services, including credit cards, 

mortgages, student loans, bank 

accounts, credit reports, payday loans, 

and debt collection. Ask CFPB is also 

available in Spanish. Additionally, 

consumers share the CFPB’s information 

and communicate with the Bureau 

through Facebook and Twitter. The 

Bureau currently posts and responds to 

select messages in English and Spanish 

at facebook.com/cfpbandtwitter.com/

cfpb. The Bureau seeks public comment 

on how to best provide valuable 

information to LEP communities online 

and through social media. 

F. Outreach and stakeholder 

engagement. The Bureau works with 

key stakeholders within LEP 

communities to ensure consumers are 

aware of Bureau resources and tools. 

The Bureau seeks comment on ways 

that it can improve and enhance its 

outreach and stakeholder engagement. 

The Bureau also seeks comment on how 

LEP consumers’ awareness of consumer 

protections affects their experience as 

consumers in the financial marketplace, 

and resources that LEP consumers 

utilize when navigating consumer 

financial products and services. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements 

This Proposed Language Access Plan 

articulates the Bureau’s commitment to 

providing persons with limited English 

proficiency meaningful access to its 

programs and services. It is therefore 

exempt from the notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act does not require an 

initial or final regulatory flexibility 

analysis. 5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a). 

The Bureau has determined that this 

Proposed Language Access Plan does 

not impose any new or revise any 

existing recordkeeping, reporting, or 

disclosure requirements on covered 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
60842 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 8, 2014 / Notices 

6Language Used in The United States 2007— 

American Community Survey Report—U.S. Census 

Bureau. According to the 2012 American 

Community Survey Report from the U.S. Census 

Bureau, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Haitian Cre ́ole, 

Tagalog, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese are the 

most common languages other than English that are 

spoken in the United States. 

7Language Used in The United States 2007— 

American Community Survey Report—U.S. Census 

Bureau. 

entities or members of the public that 

would be collections of information 

requiring OMB approval under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 

3501, et seq. 

Proposed Language Access Plan 

The text of the Proposed Language 

Access Plan follows: 

Consistent with Executive Order 

13166 (Aug. 11, 2000), this document 

establishes the Language Access Plan of 

the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) for addressing 

meaningful access to CFPB services for 

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) 

persons (individuals who do not speak 

English as their primary language and 

who have a limited ability to speak, 

write, or understand English). 

The CFPB is committed to improving 

the accessibility of its services to LEP 

persons. In developing its Language 

Access Plan, the CFPB engaged 

stakeholders to understand the 

opportunities to serve LEP persons and 

to ensure LEP individuals have access to 

the CFPB’s programs and services. 

To ensure meaningful access, the 

Bureau considers the following factors: 

(1) The number or proportion of LEP 

persons who would not receive the 

Bureau’s services absent efforts to 

remove language barriers; (2) The 

frequency and number of contact by LEP 

persons with the Bureau’s services; (3) 

The nature and importance of the 

services provided by the Bureau to 

people’s lives; and (4) The resources 

available to the Bureau (including costbenefit analysis) to provide services to 

LEP persons. 

The CFPB provides LEP individuals 

with access to information, services, 

activities, and programs through the 

following activities: 

1. Translating Consumer-Facing 

Documents 

The Bureau translates critical 

consumer-facing documents into the 

most frequently encountered languages, 

as established by U.S. Census Bureau 

data or based on specific issues affecting 

a particular group of LEP individuals. 

The Bureau publishes a wider range of 

consumer-facing documents in Spanish 

than other frequently encountered 

languages. 

Translating public-facing documents 

into the languages most frequently 

encountered 6 is important when 

reaching LEP individuals. Given that 

Hispanics constitute 16.7 percent of the 

nation’s total population, making them 

the nation’s largest ethnic or racial 

minority, and that 62 percent of people 

who speak a language other than 

English at home speak Spanish,7 the 

Bureau translates certain consumerfacing materials into Spanish. The CFPB 

has also translated brochures, fact sheets 

and other materials about certain topics 

into Chinese, French, French Cre ́ole, 

Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The 

Bureau audits translated materials to 

ensure quality and accuracy. 

2. Handling Complaints From 

Consumers About Consumer Financial 

Products and Services 

The Bureau’s Office of Consumer 

Response (Consumer Response) hears 

directly from consumers about the 

challenges they face in the marketplace 

and brings consumers’ concerns to the 

attention of consumer financial product 

or service providers. Consumer 

Response currently accepts complaints 

about credit cards, mortgages, bank 

accounts and services, private student 

loans, vehicle and other consumer 

loans, credit reporting, money transfers, 

debt collection, payday loans, prepaid 

cards, credit repair and debt settlement 

services, title and pawn loans, and 

virtual currencies. The CFPB’s contact 

centers can assist consumers with 

complaints in over 180 languages, and 

consumers have the option to receive 

written communications in Spanish. 

The contact centers also accept inquiries 

from consumers on various consumer 

financial products and services as well 

as CFPB news and operations. The 

Bureau works to respond to these 

inquiries or refers consumers to other 

regulators and resources, as needed. 

Dated: September 25, 2014. 

Richard Cordray, 

Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24122 Filed 10–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System 

[Docket Number DARS–2014–0030] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System, Department of 

Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System has submitted to 

OMB for clearance, the following 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by November 7, 

2014. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title, Associated Form, and OMB 

Number: Defense Federal Acquisition 

Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 

Appendix F, Material Inspection and 

Receiving Report; DD Form 250, DD 

Form 250c, DD Form 250–1; OMB 

Control Number 0704–0248. 

Type of Request: Extension. 

Number of Respondents: 92,500. 

Responses per Respondent: 25. 

Annual Responses: 2,352,941. 

Average Burden per Response: 5 

minutes. 

Annual Burden Hours: 209,804. 

Needs and Uses: This requirement 

provides for the collection of 

information related to material 

inspection and acceptance, shipping, 

and payment requests under 

Government contracts. DFARS 252.246– 

7000, Material Inspection and Receiving 

Report, is used in contracts that require 

separate and distinct deliverables and 

requires the contractor to prepare and 

furnish to the Government a material 

inspection and receiving report in a 

manner and to the extent required by 

DFARS Appendix F, primarily using 

Wide Area WorkFlow (WAWF) and the 

electronic WAWF Receiving Report. 

This information is used to process 

reports of inspection and receipt of 

materials, quality assurance, shipping, 

and contractor payment requests. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit entities and not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Jasmeet 

Seehra. 

Written comments and 

recommendations on the proposed 

information collection should be sent to 

Ms. Seehra at the Office of Management 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES