Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 63277

Points Dollars

23 .............................................. 506

24 .............................................. 528

25 .............................................. 550

26 .............................................. 660

27 .............................................. 770

28 .............................................. 880

29 .............................................. 990

30 .............................................. 1,100

31 .............................................. 1,210

32 .............................................. 1,320

33 .............................................. 1,430

34 .............................................. 1,540

35 .............................................. 1,650

36 .............................................. 1,760

37 .............................................. 1,870

38 .............................................. 1,980

39 .............................................. 2,090

40 .............................................. 2,200

41 .............................................. 2,310

42 .............................................. 2,420

43 .............................................. 2,530

44 .............................................. 2,640

45 .............................................. 2,750

46 .............................................. 2,860

47 .............................................. 2,970

48 .............................................. 3,080

49 .............................................. 3,190

50 .............................................. 3,300

51 .............................................. 3,410

52 .............................................. 3,520

53 .............................................. 3,630

54 .............................................. 3,740

55 .............................................. 3,850

56 .............................................. 3,960

57 .............................................. 4,070

58 .............................................. 4,180

59 .............................................. 4,290

60 .............................................. 4,400

61 .............................................. 4,510

62 .............................................. 4,620

63 .............................................. 4,730

64 .............................................. 4,840

65 .............................................. 4,950

66 .............................................. 5,060

67 .............................................. 5,170

68 .............................................. 5,280

69 .............................................. 5,390

70 .............................................. 5,500

8. In Section 845.15, paragraph (b) is

revised by changing the dollar amount

‘‘$750’’ to ‘‘$825.’’

PART 846—INDIVIDUAL CIVIL

PENALTIES

9. The authority citation for Part 846

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq., Pub. L.

100–34, Pub. L. 101–410, and Pub. L. 104–

134.

10. Section 846.14 is amended by

revising the first sentence of paragraph

(b) to read as follows:

§ 846.14 Amount of individual civil penalty.

* * * * *

(b) The penalty shall not exceed

$5,500 for each violation. * * *

[FR Doc. 97–31267 Filed 11–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 36

RIN 2900–AH73

Loan Guaranty: Electronic Payment of

Funding Fee

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the

VA loan guaranty regulations to require

that all funding fees (including late fees

and interest) for VA-guaranteed loans be

paid electronically through the

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

program. The adoption of the ACH

program will eliminate lost mail and

eliminate data errors resulting from

manual recording. Further accounting

reconciliation will be reduced. In

addition, banking costs will be reduced.

This document also corrects a

typographical error in the ‘‘Allowable

fees and charges: manufactured home

unit’’ section.

DATES: Effective date: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Judith Caden, Assistant Director for

Loan Policy (264), Loan Guaranty

Service, Veterans Benefits

Administration, Department of Veterans

Affairs, Washington, DC 20420, (202)

273–7368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 7,

1997, VA published in the Federal

Register (62 FR 24872) proposed

regulations that would require mortgage

lenders to pay all funding fees

(including late fees and interest) for VAguaranteed loans electronically through

the ACH program effective January 1,

1998. The regulations provide three

methods for making payments through

the ACH program and specify the

standard information the lender must

provide the collection agent when

submitting loan guaranty funding fees.

Please refer to the May 7, 1997, Federal

Register for a complete discussion of the

proposed amendments.

Public comments were requested on

the proposal. The comment period

ended July 7, 1997. VA received one

comment. The comment supported the

proposal. The commenter, the Financial

Management Service of the Department

of the Treasury, stated ‘‘that the

proposed rule change will bring

significant cost savings to VA’s internal

operations and provide cash

management savings to the Department

of the Treasury.’’

Based on the rationale set forth in the

proposal and this document, the

proposed rule is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Information collection and

recordkeeping requirements associated

with the final rule (38 CFR 36.4232,

36.4254, and 36.4312) have been

approved by OMB under the provisions

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44

U.S.C. 3501–3520) and have been

assigned OMB control number 2900–

0474. The information collection subject

to this rulemaking concerns the

requirement that lenders provide VA

information necessary to get set up on

the ACH system to pay the funding fee

electronically and the existing

requirement that lenders provide VA

certain standard information when

submitting loan guaranty funding fees.

Interested parties were invited to submit

comments on the collection of

information. However, no comments

were received regarding the collection

of information.

VA is not authorized to impose a

penalty on persons for failure to comply

with information collection

requirements which do not display a

current OMB control number, if

required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Secretary hereby certifies that

this final rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as they are

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. The rule

implements a program that will enhance

operations and be cost beneficial for all

participating lenders. Lenders will be

able to participate by having access to

a personal computer, and personal

computing is pervasive within the

industry. Lenders will also have the

option of paying funding fees by calling

an operator who will enter the

information into the ACH system for

them. Funding fees represent actions

that have insignificant impact on

lenders. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

605(b), this final rule is exempt from the

initial and final regulatory flexibility

analysis requirements of sections 603

and 604.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Program numbers are 64.114

and 64.119.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 36

Condominiums, Housing, Individuals

with disabilities, Loan programs—

housing and community development,

Manufactured homes, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Veterans.
63278 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Approved: September 3, 1997.

Hershel W. Gober,

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 38 CFR part 36 is amended as

set forth below.

PART 36—LOAN GUARANTY

1. The authority citation for part 36

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 3701–3704, 3707,

3710–3714, 3719, 3720, 3729, 3762, unless

otherwise noted.

2. In § 36.4232, paragraph (e)(1) is

amended by removing ‘‘(e)(4)’’ and

adding, in its place, ‘‘(e)(5)’’; paragraphs

(e)(2) and (e)(3) are amended by

removing ‘‘paragraphs (e)(4) and’’ and

adding, in its place, ‘‘paragraph’’; and

by redesignating paragraph (e)(4) as

paragraph (e)(5); by adding a new

paragraph (e)(4); and by revising the

parenthetical at the end of the section to

read as follows:

§ 36.4232 Allowable fees and charges;

manufactured home unit.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(4) The lender is required to pay to

the Secretary electronically through the

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

system the fees described in paragraphs

(e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section and any

late fees and interest due on them. This

shall be paid to a collection agent by

operator-assisted telephone, terminal

entry, or central processing unit-tocentral processing unit (CPU-to-CPU)

transmission. The collection agent will

be identified by the Secretary. The

lender shall provide the collection agent

with the following: authorization for

payment of the funding fee (including

late fees and interest) along with the

following information: VA lender ID

number; four-digit personal

identification number; dollar amount of

debit; VA loan number; OJ (office of

jurisdiction) code; closing date; loan

amount; information about whether the

payment includes a shortage, late

charge, or interest; veteran name; loan

type; sale amount; downpayment;

whether the veteran is a reservist; and

whether this is a subsequent use of

entitlement. For all transactions

received prior to 8:15 p.m. on a

workday, VA will be credited with the

amount paid to the collection agent at

the opening of business the next

banking day.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3729(a))

* * * * *

(The information collection requirements in

this section have been approved by the Office

of Management and Budget under control

numbers 2900–0474 and 2900–0516.)

3. Section 36.4254 is amended by

redesignating paragraphs (d)(4) and

(d)(5) as paragraphs (d)(5) and (d)(6),

respectively; by adding a new paragraph

(d)(4); and by adding a parenthetical at

the end of the section to read as follows:

§ 36.4254 Fees and charges.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(4) The lender is required to pay to

the Secretary electronically through the

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

system the fees described in paragraphs

(d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section and any

late fees and interest due on them. This

shall be paid to a collection agent by

operator-assisted telephone, terminal

entry, or CPU-to-CPU transmission. The

collection agent will be identified by the

Secretary. The lender shall provide the

collection agent with the following:

authorization for payment of the

funding fee (including late fees and

interest) along with the following

information: VA lender ID number; fourdigit personal identification number;

dollar amount of debit; VA loan

number; OJ (office of jurisdiction) code;

closing date; loan amount; information

about whether the payment includes a

shortage, late charge, or interest; veteran

name; loan type; sale amount;

downpayment; whether the veteran is a

reservist; and whether this is a

subsequent use of entitlement. For all

transactions received prior to 8:15 p.m.

on a workday, VA will be credited with

the amount paid to the collection agent

at the opening of business the next

banking day.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3729(a))

* * * * *

(The information collection requirements in

this section have been approved by the Office

of Management and Budget under control

number 2900–0474.)

4. Section 36.4312 is amended by

redesignating paragraph (e)(4) as

paragraph (e)(5); by adding a new

paragraph (e)(4); and by revising the

parenthetical at the end of the section to

read as follows:

§ 36.4312 Charges and fees.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(4) The lender is required to pay to

the Secretary electronically through the

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

system the fees described in paragraphs

(e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section and any

late fees and interest due on them. This

shall be paid to a collection agent by

operator-assisted telephone, terminal

entry, or CPU-to-CPU transmission. The

collection agent will be identified by the

Secretary. The lender shall provide the

collection agent with the following:

authorization for payment of the

funding fee (including late fees and

interest) along with the following

information: VA lender ID number; fourdigit personal identification number;

dollar amount of debit; VA loan

number; OJ (office of jurisdiction) code;

closing date; loan amount; information

about whether the payment includes a

shortage, late charge, or interest; veteran

name; loan type; sale amount;

downpayment; whether the veteran is a

reservist; and whether this is a

subsequent use of entitlement. For all

transactions received prior to 8:15 p.m.

on a workday, VA will be credited with

the amount paid to the collection agent

at the opening of business the next

banking day.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3729(a))

* * * * *

(The information collection requirements in

this section have been approved by the Office

of Management and Budget under control

numbers 2900–0474 and 2900–0516.)

[FR Doc. 97–30709 Filed 11–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 966

Rules of Practice in Proceedings

Relative to Administrative Offsets

Initiated Against Former Employees of

the Postal Service

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Judicial Officer of the

Postal Service hereby revises the rules

of procedure governing the conduct of

hearings relative to administrative

offsets initiated by the Postal Service.

This revision transfers the authority to

pursue a claim from the Postal

Inspection Service to other Postal

Service officials, and expands the types

of debt that can be considered in these

proceedings. Part 966 is renamed to

reflect these changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 28, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Administrative Judge Norman D.

Menegat, (202) 268–2138.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Acting in

accordance with authority delegated

under 39 CFR 226.2(e)(1)(iv), the

Judicial Officer revises as set forth

below 39 CFR Part 966, the rules of

practice governing proceedings relative

to administrative offsets initiated by the

Postal Service. The rules in this part

apply to any hearing on the Postal

Service’s determination of the existence

or amount of a debt owed the Postal