51020 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 164 / Thursday, August 23, 2012 / Notices 

Appendix 2—Statement of Chairman 

Gary Gensler 

I support the proposed relief from the 

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

swaps provisions for certain electricity and 

electricity-related energy transactions 

between rural electric cooperatives; state, 

municipal, and tribal power authorities; and 

federal power authorities. 

Congress directed the CFTC, when it is in 

the public interest, to provide relief from the 

Dodd-Frank Act’s swaps market reform 

provisions for certain transactions between 

these entities. 

For decades, these entities have been 

recognized as performing a public service 

mission, a fundamentally different function 

than investor-owned utilities. The purpose of 

these entities is to provide their customers or 

cooperative members with reliable electric 

energy at the lowest cost possible. They have 

been largely exempt from regulation by the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

because of their government entity status or 

their not-for-profit cooperative status. 

The scope of the proposed relief extends 

only to non-financial electricity and 

electricity-related energy transactions for the 

generation, transmission and delivery of 

electric energy to customers. Such 

transactions must be intended for making or 

taking physical delivery of the underlying 

commodity. 

I look forward to receiving public comment 

on the proposed relief. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20589 Filed 8–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

Agency: Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (Bureau), as part of 

its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on a proposed 

information collection, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

The Bureau is soliciting comments 

concerning the information collection 

efforts relating to the collection titled, 

‘‘CFPB Office of Intergovernmental 

Affairs Outreach Activities.’’ The 

proposed collection has been submitted 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval. A copy 

of the submission, including copies of 

the proposed collection and supporting 

documentation, may be obtained by 

contacting the agency contact listed 

below. 

DATES: Written comments are 

encouraged and must be received on or 

before September 24, 2012 to be assured 

of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau’’ and the collection 

title below, to: 

• Agency: Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA 

Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, 

DC 20552; (202) 435–9011; and 

CFPB_Public_PRA@cfpb.gov. 

• OMB: Shagufta Ahmed, Office of 

Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 

Washington, DC 20503; (202) 395–7873. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information 

should be directed to the Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: 

PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552, (202) 435–9011 

or through the Internet at 

CFPB_Public_PRA@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: CFPB Office of 

Intergovernmental Affairs Outreach 

Activities. 

OMB Number: 3170–00xx. 

Type of Review: New generic 

collection. 

Abstract: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

(Dodd-Frank Act) contemplates that the 

Bureau will conduct outreach activities, 

as appropriate. See, e.g. 12 U.S.C. 5495; 

12 U.S.C. 5512(c)(1), 12 U.S.C. 5493(d), 

12 U.S.C. 5493(b)(2), 12 U.S.C. 

5511(c)(6). The Bureau’s Office of 

Intergovernmental Affairs seeks to 

conduct outreach by collecting 

information from state, local, and tribal 

governments related to the Bureau’s 

exercise of its functions under the 

Dodd-Frank Act. These governments 

interact closely with consumers and are 

critical partners in promoting 

transparency and competition in the 

marketplace, preventing unfair and 

unlawfully discriminatory practices, 

and enforcing consumer financial laws. 

The information collected through the 

Office of Intergovernmental Affairs 

Outreach Activities will be shared, as 

appropriate, within the Bureau in the 

exercise of its functions, such as the 

Bureau’s financial education, 

rulemaking, market monitoring, 

outreach to traditionally underserved 

populations, fair lending monitoring, 

supervision, and enforcement functions. 

The information collected may be 

used to form policies and programs 

presented to state, local, and tribal 

governments, as well as to other federal 

agencies and the general public. Nearly 

all information collection will involve 

the use of electronic communication or 

other forms of information technology 

and telephonic means. 

The Bureau received one comment 

letter on the proposed collection from a 

coalition of cities committed to local 

action for financial empowerment and 

consumer protection. The comment 

supported the Bureau’s proposal to 

formalize processes for information 

collection from local governments, 

noting that the proposed information 

collection would maximize efficiency of 

information sharing and minimize 

burden on cities. The letter 

recommended that the Bureau set up 

protocols to solicit information and 

develop a mechanism for local 

governments to provide information to 

the Bureau. The letter further 

recommended that the Bureau offer 

cities a distinct communication channel 

through which cities can obtain 

information from the Bureau and inform 

regulatory or enforcement actions. The 

Bureau notes that this regular and 

structured solicitation of information 

may help mitigate the effects of future 

ruptures in consumer financial markets 

by helping to facilitate effective 

monitoring of local markets for risks to 

consumers. 

Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal 

Governments. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 

1,600. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 2 

hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 3,200. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

The Bureau issued a 60-day Federal 

Register notice on April 30, 2012, 77 FR 

25438–39. Comments were solicited and 

continue to be invited on: (a) Whether 

the collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Bureau, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

Bureau’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and the 

assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 164 / Thursday, August 23, 2012 / Notices 51021 

Approved: August 17, 2012. 

Chris Willey, 

Chief Information Officer, Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20700 Filed 8–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection Requests; Federal Student 

Aid; Student Assistance General 

Provisions—Student Right To Know 

SUMMARY: The proposed changes to the 

current regulations require institutions 

to disclose the employment and 

placement rate, retention rate of firsttime, full-time undergraduate students, 

and completion and graduation rate data 

disaggregated by gender, race, and grant 

or loan assistance in addition to the 

currently required reporting to 

prospective and enrolled students and 

employees. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

22, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding burden and/or the collection 

activity requirements should be 

electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or mailed to U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 

20202–4537. Copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, 

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 04924. When you access 

the information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 

LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

Requests may also be electronically 

mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed 

to 202–401–0920. Please specify the 

complete title of the information 

collection and OMB Control Number 

when making your request. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) requires that 

Federal agencies provide interested 

parties an early opportunity to comment 

on information collection requests. The 

Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division, Privacy, Information 

and Records Management Services, 

Office of Management, publishes this 

notice containing proposed information 

collection requests at the beginning of 

the Departmental review of the 

information collection. The Department 

of Education is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) Is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Student Assistance 

General Provisions—Student Right to 

Know. 

OMB Control Number: 1845–0004. 

Type of Review: Extension. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 33,568. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 244,179. 

Abstract: Eligible participating postsecondary institutions are required to 

provide this Student Right-to-Know 

(SRK) information to all enrolled 

students, prospective students prior to 

their enrolling or entering into a 

financial obligation with the school as 

well as to institution’s employees. This 

information pertains to the completion, 

graduation and post-graduate study 

rates for students at a given institution. 

This information must be made through 

publications, mailings and electronic 

media. The SRK information is made 

available so that students and 

prospective students can be aware of the 

ability of students at that institution to 

complete a course of study as well as 

find employment or continuing 

education opportunities upon 

graduation. 

Dated: August 20, 2012. 

Stephanie Valentine, 

Acting Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and 

Records Management Services, Office of 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20775 Filed 8–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional 

Natural Gas and Other Petroleum 

Resources, Research and 

Development Program 2012 Annual 

Plan 

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of report availability. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy 

announces the availability of the 2012 

Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater 

and Unconventional Natural Gas and 

Other Petroleum Resources Research 

and Development Program on the DOE 

Web site at www.fossil.energy.gov/ 

programs/oilgas/ 

ultra_and_unconventional/ 

2012_annual_plan.pdf or in print form 

(see ‘‘Contact’’ below). 

The 2012 Annual Plan is in 

compliance with the Energy Policy Act 

of 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999B(e)(3) 

which requires the publication of this 

plan and all written comments in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elena Melchert, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, 

Mail Stop FE–30, 1000 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585 or 

phone: (202) 586–5600 or email to 

UltraDeepwater@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary [Excerpted From 

the 2012 Annual Plan p. iv] 

This 2012 Annual Plan is the sixth 

research plan for the Ultra-Deepwater 

and Unconventional Natural Gas and 

Other Petroleum Resources Research 

Program since the launch of the 

program in 2007. 

This plan continues the important 

shift in priorities towards safety and 

environmental sustainability that was 

initiated in the last plan, and is 

consistent with the President’s Office of 

Management and Budget directive for 

research that has significant potential 

public benefits. 

Onshore, research on Unconventional 

Resources will focus on protecting 

groundwater and air quality, 

understanding rock and fluid 

interactions, and integrated 

environmental protection, including 

water treatment technologies and water 

management. For Small Producers, the 

Program will focus on extending the life 

of mature fields in an environmentally 

sustainable way. 

Offshore, research on Ultra-Deepwater 

will focus on improved understanding 

of systems risk, reducing risk through 

the acquisition of real-time information 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES