Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Notices 38885

amended criteria from that in the

February 8, 2000, document and again

solicits applications for this advisory

committee.

Structure of Committee

The Committee will consist of one

U.S. Customs representative and up to

eight industry members, selected to

fairly balance the points of view to be

represented and functions to be

performed. The Deputy Commissioner

of the U.S. Customs Service will be the

Customs representative and will chair

the Committee. The Deputy

Commissioner may designate another

official to serve in his absence as Acting

Chairperson for purposes of presiding

over a meeting of the Committee or

performing any other duty of the

chairperson. Two senior managers

representing the Office of Finance and

the Office of Field Operations of the

U.S. Customs Service will serve as

technical representatives to the

chairperson. The Committee will be in

existence unless, or until, such time as

its establishment is repealed by

Congress.

Industry Members Sought

Industry members will be selected by

the Commissioner of Customs from

parties in various sectors of the

transportation industry that directly pay

COBRA user fees. The parties include

operators of any of the following:

railways, trucks, barges, commercial

cargo vessels, commercial passenger

vessels, general aviation, and passenger

aircraft.

Whenever possible, the Commissioner

will seek to select two members from

among passenger aircraft operators and

one member each from operators of

railways, trucks, barges, commercial

cargo vessels, commercial passenger

vessels and general aviation. Additional

passenger aircraft operators may be

selected as members if the other sectors

do not have a qualified applicant.

No person who is required to register

under the Foreign Agents Registration

Act or representative of a foreign

principal may serve on the Advisory

Committee.

It is noted that certain criteria set

forth in the prior notice published

soliciting applicants for the Customs

COBRA Fees Advisory Committee have

been amended. In particular,

membership on the Committee is now

restricted to parties who directly pay

COBRA user fees. Thus, trade

associations and similar transportation

industry representatives are eliminated

from possible membership on the

Committee.

Also, the amended criteria make clear

that a party who serves on another

advisory committee is ineligible for

membership on the Customs COBRA

Fees Advisory Committee if the other

advisory committee is chartered by the

Department of the Treasury, including

any separate bureau, service or other

office within the Department of the

Treasury.

Applicants must demonstrate

professional or personal qualifications

relevant to the purpose, functions and

tasks of the Committee. Appointments

will be made with the objective of

creating a diverse and balanced body

with a variety of interests, backgrounds

and viewpoints. Accordingly, because

members will be selected based on their

individual credentials and

qualifications, membership on the

Committee will be personal to the

appointees; members will not be

allowed to designate alternates to

represent them at Committee meetings.

Members will not be paid

compensation, nor will they be

considered Federal employees for any

reason. No per diem, transportation or

other expenses will be reimbursed for

the cost of attending meetings of the

Committee, regardless of the location.

Meetings

Except when there are special

meetings, no more than four meetings

will be held during a two-year period,

in accordance with the Federal

Advisory Committee Act. Regular

meetings will be held at six-month

intervals. An occasional special meeting

may be held at the discretion of the

chairperson and the members.

Meetings are open to public observers,

including the press, unless special

procedures have been followed to close

a meeting to the public. In the event of

an unavoidable absence of a member at

a meeting, even though an alternate may

not represent a member, a representative

of the member’s organization may

attend the session as a nonparticipating

observer, even if the meeting is closed

to the public.

Meetings will generally be held at the

U.S. Customs Service Headquarters in

Washington, D.C. On occasion, meetings

may be held outside of Customs

Headquarters, generally at a Customs

port.

Terms of Service

Initially, half the members (or as close

to half as possible) will be appointed for

a term of twelve months and the

remainder of the members will be

appointed for a term of twenty-four

months. For example, should the

Committee consist of seven industry

members, three will be appointed for a

term of twelve months and four will be

appointed for a term of twenty-four

months. Thereafter, members will serve

for a period of twenty-four months.

Members who served on the Committee

during a prior term or terms are eligible

to reapply for membership. However, it

is expected that approximately half of

the seats on the Committee will be filled

with new members.

Applications for Membership

Any interested person wishing to

serve on the Customs COBRA Fees

Advisory Committee must provide the

following: a statement of interest and

reasons for application together with a

complete professional biography or

resume. In addition, applicants must

state in their applications that they

agree to submit to pre-appointment

security and tax checks. There is no

prescribed format for the application.

Applicants may send a cover letter

describing their interest and

qualifications, along with a resume.

Applications that were previously

received for membership on the

Committee will need to be resubmitted

for consideration under this document.

Dated: June 16, 2000.

Raymond W. Kelly,

Commissioner of Customs.

[FR Doc. 00–15780 Filed 6–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Advisory Committee on Structural

Safety of Department of Veterans

Affairs Facilities, Notice of Meeting

The Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA), in accordance with Public Law

92–463, gives notice that a meeting of

the Advisory Committee on Structural

Safety of Department of Veterans Affairs

Facilities (Committee) will be held on:

Thursday, June 22, 2000: 10 a.m. to 5

p.m.

Friday, June 23, 2000: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The location of the meeting will be

811 Vermont Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC, Room 460 on June 22,

2000, and Room 442 on June 23, 2000.

The purpose of the Committee is to

advise the Secretary on matters of

structural safety in the construction and

remodeling of VA facilities and to

recommend standards for use by VA in

the construction and alteration of

facilities as prescribed under Section

8105 of Title 38, United States Code.

On June 22, the Committee will

review the developments in the field of

38886 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Notices

structural design, as they relate to

seismic safety of buildings, and fire

safety issues. On June 23, the Committee

will vote on structural and fire safety

issues for inclusion in VA’s standards.

Both meetings will be open to the

public. It will be necessary for those

wishing to attend to contact Krishna K.

Banga, Senior Structural Engineer,

Facilities Quality Service, Office of

Facilities Management, Department of

Veterans Affairs Central Office (phone

202–565–9370) prior to the meeting.

Dated: June 12, 2000.

By Direction of the Secretary.

Marvin R. Eason,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–15802 Filed 6–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–M