Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 7567 

connection with work performed under 

that agreement. 

(d) Prior approval for outside 

employment. A NASA employee, other 

than a special Government employee, 

shall request and obtain approval before 

engaging in the following outside 

employment activities: 

(1) Teaching, speaking, writing, or 

editing, unless the subject matter 

pertains to the private interests of the 

employee, such as a hobby, cultural 

activity, or a professional pursuit 

unrelated to the employee’s official 

duties; 

(2) The practice of a profession or the 

rendering of professional consulting 

services; 

(3) The management or conduct of a 

business in which the employee or the 

employee’s spouse has an ownership 

interest, if that business performs, or 

may seek to perform, work (other than 

routine consumer transactions) for the 

Federal Government or for a NASA 

contractor, grantee, or other party to an 

agreement with NASA; 

(4) Holding State or local public 

office, whether by election or 

appointment; 

(5) Employment with a NASA 

contractor, subcontractor, or grantee; 

(6) Employment with a party to a 

Space Act agreement, Commercial 

Launch Act agreement, or other 

agreement to which NASA is a party 

pursuant to specific statutory authority; 

(7) Serving as an officer, trustee, or 

member of a board, directorate, or other 

such body of a for profit organization or 

of a nonprofit organization that is a 

prohibited source; or 

(8) Employment which involves the 

practice of a NASA-owned invention or 

the performance of experimental, 

developmental, research, design, or 

engineering work that relates to the 

official duties of such employee. 

(e) Prior approval requested by 

employee. Even when not required by 

paragraph (d) of this section, a NASA 

employee may request prior approval 

using the procedures set forth in this 

section. 

(f) Form of request for approval. A 

request for approval of outside 

employment shall be in writing and 

shall include the following: 

(1) The employee’s name and 

occupational title; 

(2) The nature of the employment, 

including a full description of the 

specific duties or services to be 

performed and a statement explaining 

any relationship between the outside 

activity and the official duties of the 

employee; 

(3) The name and address of the 

person or organization for which work 

will be done; 

(4) The estimated total time that will 

be devoted to the activity. If the 

employment is on a continuing basis, 

indicate the estimated number of hours 

per year; for other employment, indicate 

the anticipated beginning and ending 

date; 

(5) A statement as to whether the 

work can be performed entirely outside 

of the employee’s regular duty hours 

and, if not, the estimated number of 

hours of absence from work that will be 

required; 

(6) Whether the employee will receive 

compensation for the outside activity, 

and, if the employee is a covered 

noncareer employee as defined by 5 

CFR 2636.303, the amount of 

compensation to be received; and 

(7) A statement that the employee 

currently has no official duties 

involving a matter that affects the 

outside employer and will disqualify 

from future participation in matters that 

could directly affect the outside 

employer. 

(g) Approval of requests— (1) When 

required to obtain approval prior to 

commencing outside employment 

pursuant to paragraph (d) of this 

section, a NASA employee shall receive 

approval from the employee’s 

immediate supervisor. Additional 

authority to approve requests is as 

follows: 

(i) Center Directors and Deputy Center 

Directors shall receive approval by the 

Associate Administrator; 

(ii) Center employees shall receive 

approval from the Center Director or a 

person designated to act for the Center 

Director; and 

(iii) Headquarters employees shall 

receive approval from the employee’s 

Official-in-Charge. 

(2) Prior to approval, the Office of the 

General Counsel shall review requests 

by Headquarters employees, Center 

Directors, Deputy Center Directors, and 

Center Chief Counsel. All other requests 

shall be reviewed by the Center Chief 

Counsel’s office, and for Office of 

Inspector General employees, by the 

Counsel to the Inspector General. 

(3) Standard for approval. Approval 

will be granted unless a determination 

is made that the prospective outside 

employment is expected to involve 

conduct prohibited by statute or Federal 

regulation, including 5 CFR part 2635 

and this part. 

(4) Scope of approval. Approval will 

be for a period not to exceed five years. 

Upon a significant change in the nature 

or scope of the outside employment or 

in the employee’s NASA position, the 

employee shall submit a revised request 

for approval. 

(5) Notification of approval or 

disapproval. Employees will be notified 

in writing of the action taken on their 

requests. 

(6) Records of requests. All requests 

for approval will be maintained in the 

local human resources/personnel office 

where the requesting employee works, 

or alternatively by the local NASA legal 

office upon the determination of the 

Center Chief Counsel and by the Office 

of the General Counsel upon the 

determination of the General Counsel. 

Charles F. Bolden Jr., 

Administrator, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration. 

Walter M. Shaub, Jr., 

Director, United States Office of Government 

Ethics. 

[FR Doc. 2014–02212 Filed 2–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0094] 

RIN 0579–AD45 

Importation of Live Birds and Poultry, 

Poultry Meat, and Poultry Products 

From a Region in the European Union; 

Technical Amendment 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: In a final rule published in 

the Federal Register on March 29, 2013, 

and effective on April 15, 2013, we 

amended the regulations governing the 

importation of animals and animal 

products by recognizing 25 Member 

States of the European Union (EU) as 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS)-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region. In that rule, we 

established requirements for the 

importation of live birds and poultry, 

and poultry meat and products, from the 

APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade 

Region. In the final rule, it was not our 

intent to prohibit the importation of 

birds, poultry, and poultry meat and 

products from Member States of the 

APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade Region 

that conduct trade in poultry and 

poultry products with other regions that 

APHIS recognizes as being free of 

Newcastle disease and highly 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
7568 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the rule, supporting analyses, and 

comments we received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2009-0094. 

pathogenic avian influenza. It was also 

not our intent that the import 

requirements for cooked poultry meat 

and products from the APHIS-defined 

EU Poultry Trade Region not be 

equivalent with the requirements we 

apply to other regions whenever an 

outbreak of Newcastle disease or highly 

pathogenic avian influenza occurs in 

those regions. This document amends 

the regulations to reflect our original 

intentions. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 10, 

2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Javier Vargas, Case Manager, 

Regionalization and Evaluation, 

National Import Export Services, 

Veterinary Services, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–3300. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final 

rule 1 that was published in the Federal 

Register on March 29, 2013 (78 FR 

19080–19085, Docket No. APHIS–2009– 

0094), and effective on April 15, 2013, 

we amended the regulations governing 

the importation of animals and animal 

products by recognizing 25 Member 

States of the European Union (EU) as 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS)-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region. 

The rule was based on our 

determination that the region meets our 

requirements for being considered free 

of Newcastle disease and highly 

pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and 

established requirements for the 

importation of live birds and poultry, 

and poultry meat and products, from the 

APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade 

Region. 

As published, § 94.28(a)(3) requires 

that live birds and poultry from which 

poultry meat and products are derived 

and intended for export to the United 

States must only originate from within 

the APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade 

Region, and that the farms of origin 

must not have received live birds or 

poultry imported from outside the 

APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade 

Region. Similarly, § 94.28(b)(3) requires 

that live birds and poultry intended for 

export to the United States must only 

originate from within the APHISdefined EU Poultry Trade Region and 

that the farms of origin must not have 

received birds or poultry imported from 

outside the APHIS-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region. 

These import requirements are not 

consistent with how we regulate poultry 

imports from other countries and 

regions that we recognize as being free 

of Newcastle disease and HPAI. We 

allow such regions to import live birds 

and poultry, and poultry meat and 

products, from other regions that are 

also free of those diseases, and we 

intended the APHIS-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region to be able to do likewise. 

Therefore, in keeping with our 

original intention, we are removing 

paragraphs (a)(3) and (b)(3) in § 94.28. 

Paragraph § 94.28(a)(5) will be 

redesignated as § 94.28(a)(4) and 

paragraph § 94.28(b)(5) will be 

redesignated as § 94.28(b)(4). References 

to these paragraphs in paragraphs (c) 

and (d) of § 94.28 will be amended to 

reflect these changes. As a result, farms 

within the APHIS-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region will be able to export to 

the United States live birds and poultry 

originating from outside their region, as 

well as poultry meat and products that 

were derived from poultry originating 

from outside their region. 

However, § 94.28(a)(1) and (b)(1) will 

continue to require that live birds and 

poultry, and poultry meat and products, 

must not have been from regions or 

zones in which Newcastle disease or 

HPAI are considered to exist. Likewise, 

paragraphs (a)(2) and (b)(2) of § 94.28 

will continue to require that prior to 

export to the United States, live birds 

and poultry, and poultry meat and 

products, are not commingled with live 

birds and poultry, or poultry meat and 

products, from regions where Newcastle 

disease or HPAI are considered to exist. 

Additionally, live birds and poultry, 

and poultry meat and products, 

imported from the APHIS-defined EU 

Poultry Trade Region must be 

accompanied by a certificate indicating 

the zone of origin within that region. 

This requirement ensures they do not 

originate from restricted zones imposed 

within the APHIS-defined EU Poultry 

Trade Region due to outbreaks of 

Newcastle disease or HPAI. 

In addition, we intended that the 

import requirements for cooked poultry 

meat and products from the APHISdefined EU Poultry Trade Region be 

equivalent with the requirements we 

apply to other regions whenever an 

outbreak of Newcastle disease or HPAI 

occurs in those regions. Therefore, we 

are amending § 94.28(a)(1) by adding a 

statement that poultry meat and 

products are also allowed to be 

imported to the United States from the 

APHIS-defined EU Poultry Trade Region 

if accompanied by a certificate 

specifying that the articles were cooked 

and processed in accordance with the 

regulations in § 94.6(b)(3) or (b)(4). 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94 

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, 

Meat and meat products, Milk, Poultry 

and poultry products, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR 

part 94 as follows: 

PART 94—RINDERPEST, FOOT-ANDMOUTH DISEASE, NEWCASTLE 

DISEASE, HIGHLY PATHOGENIC 

AVIAN INFLUENZA, AFRICAN SWINE 

FEVER, CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER, 

SWINE VESICULAR DISEASE, AND 

BOVINE SPONGIFORM 

ENCEPHALOPATHY: PROHIBITED 

AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 94 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, 7781– 

7786, and 8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 

136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 

371.4. 

■ 2. Section 94.28 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. By revising the introductory text of 

paragraph (a)(1); 

■ b. By removing paragraph (a)(3) and 

redesignating paragraphs (a)(4) and 

(a)(5) as paragraphs (a)(3) and (a)(4), 

respectively; 

■ c. In newly designated paragraph 

(a)(4), by removing the reference ‘‘(a)(4)’’ 

and adding the reference ‘‘(a)(3)’’ in its 

place; 

■ d. By removing paragraph (b)(3) and 

redesignating paragraphs (b)(4) and 

(b)(5) as paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4), 

respectively; 

■ e. In newly designated paragraph 

(b)(4), by removing the reference 

‘‘(b)(4)’’ and adding the reference 

‘‘(b)(3)’’ in its place; 

■ f. By withdrawing the amendment to 

paragraph (c) published December 4, 

2013 (78 FR 73001); 

■ g. In paragraph (c), by removing the 

citation ‘‘§ 94.28(b)(5)’’ and adding 

‘‘paragraph (b)(4) of this section’’ in its 

place; and 

■ h. In paragraph (d), by removing the 

references ‘‘(a)(5)’’ and ‘‘(b)(5)’’ and 

adding the references ‘‘(a)(4)’’ and 

‘‘(b)(4)’’ in their place, respectively. 

The revision reads as follows: 

§ 94.28 Restrictions on the importation of 

poultry meat and products, and live birds 

and poultry, from the APHIS-defined EU 

Poultry Trade Region. 

(a) * * * 

(1) The poultry meat and products 

must not have been derived from birds 

and poultry that were in any of the 

following regions or zones, unless the 

birds and poultry were slaughtered after 

the periods described, or unless the 

poultry meat and products are 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 7569 

accompanied by a certificate specifying 

that the articles were cooked and 

processed in accordance with the 

regulations in § 94.6(b)(3) or (b)(4): 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of 

February 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–02768 Filed 2–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1071 

[Docket No: CFPB–2012–0020] 

RIN 3170–AA27 

Equal Access to Justice Act 

Implementation Rule 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On June 29, 2012, the 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(Bureau) published in the Federal 

Register an interim final rule 

implementing the Equal Access to 

Justice Act (EAJA or the Act). EAJA 

requires agencies that conduct adversary 

adjudications to award attorney fees and 

other litigation expenses to certain 

parties other than the United States in 

certain circumstances. EAJA also 

requires agencies that conduct adversary 

adjudications to establish procedures for 

the submission and consideration of 

applications for the award of fees and 

other expenses. After reviewing and 

considering the single public comment 

offered on its interim final rule, the 

Bureau adopts the interim final rule 

without change. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

March 12, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

R. Coleman, Senior Counsel, Legal 

Division, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552; (202) 435–7254. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Originally enacted in 1980, EAJA 

provides that ‘‘[a]n agency that conducts 

an adversary adjudication shall award, 

to a prevailing party other than the 

United States, fees and other expenses 

incurred by that party in connection 

with that proceeding, unless the 

adjudicative officer of the agency finds 

that the position of the agency was 

substantially justified or that special 

circumstances make an award unjust.’’ 5 

U.S.C. 504(a)(1). The Administrative 

Conference of the United States (ACUS) 

was charged with coordination of the 

procedural rules adopted by various 

agencies to implement EAJA. To carry 

out this responsibility, ACUS issued 

model rules implementing EAJA (46 FR 

32900, June 25, 1981), after receiving 

public comment on draft model rules 

(46 FR 15895, March 10, 1981). ACUS 

published revised model rules in 1986 

that reflected the amendments Congress 

made when it re-authorized the Act in 

1985. 51 FR 16659 (May 6, 1986), 

previously codified at 1 CFR part 315 

(1995); see Administrative Conference 

of the U.S., Federal Administrative 

Procedure Sourcebook at 419 (2d ed. 

1992). ACUS did not publish model 

rules reflecting amendments to the Act 

made since 1985 before ACUS was 

temporarily defunded in 1996. 

When drafting the interim final rule, 

the Bureau used the 1986 ACUS model 

rules as a point of departure, modifying 

them to put them in plain language, to 

reflect more recent amendments to the 

Act, and to make certain changes the 

Bureau believed were warranted for 

reasons explained in the section-bysection analysis published with the 

interim final rule. 

On June 29, 2012, the Bureau 

published its interim final rule 

implementing EAJA with a request for 

comment. 77 FR 39117. The interim 

final rule described each section of the 

rule and explained the basis of the rule 

with reference to the ACUS model rules, 

or those of other agencies, as 

appropriate. The comment period on the 

interim final rule ended on August 28, 

2012. After reviewing and considering 

the single public comment offered, the 

Bureau is now promulgating its final 

rule implementing EAJA. 

II. Legal Authority 

The Bureau promulgates the final rule 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 504(c)(1). 

III. Public Comment on the Interim 

Final Rule 

In response to the interim final rule, 

the Bureau received one letter from an 

individual consumer. The comment 

letter from the consumer did not contain 

any specific comments or suggestions 

pertaining to the interim final rule. 

Accordingly, the Bureau is adopting the 

interim final rule without change. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements 

As noted in publishing the Interim 

Final Rule, under the Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b), notice 

and comment is not required for rules 

of agency organization, procedure, or 

practice. As discussed in the preamble 

to the Interim Final Rule, the Bureau 

confirms its finding that this is a 

procedural rule for which notice and 

comment is not required. 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). 

V. Paperwork Reduction Act 

According to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.) the Bureau may not 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information as defined by the PRA and, 

notwithstanding any other provisions of 

law, persons are not required to respond 

to a collection of information unless it 

displays a current valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. The collections of information 

contained in this rule, and identified as 

such, have been approved by OMB and 

assigned the control number 3170–0040. 

A. Information Collection Requirements 

EAJA provides for payment of fees 

and expenses to eligible parties who 

have prevailed against the Bureau in 

certain administrative proceedings. In 

order to obtain an award, the statute and 

associated regulations (12 CFR part 

1071) require the filing of an application 

that shows that the party is a prevailing 

party and is eligible to receive an award 

under the Act. The Bureau regulations 

implementing the EAJA require 

applicants to submit certain information 

in their applications, as detailed in 12 

CFR part 1071, subparts B, C. The 

Bureau estimates that as many as 3 

applications may be filed annually with 

the Bureau and that it will take on 

average about 5 hours to complete and 

file an application for an award in 

accordance with the requirements of 12 

CFR part 1071, subparts B, C, for a total 

estimated annual burden of 15 hours. 

B. Comments 

The Bureau published a 60-day 

Federal Register notice on August 23, 

2013 (78 FR 52513). Comments were 

solicited 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 methods 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 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES