Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 15561 

information in dispute will have the 

information in dispute clearly noted and 

a copy of the concise statement 

furnished, setting forth its reasons for 

not making the requested changes, if 

SIGAR chooses to file such a statement. 

A copy of the individual’s statement, 

and if it chooses, SIGAR’s statement, 

will be sent to any prior transferee of the 

disputed information who is listed on 

the accounting required by 5 U.S.C. 

552a(c). 

§ 9301.19 Schedule of fees. 

(a) Prohibitions against charging fees. 

Individuals will not be charged for: 

(1) The search and review of the 

record; 

(2) Any copies of the record produced 

as a necessary part of the process of 

making the record available for access; 

or 

(3) Any copies of the requested record 

when it has been determined that access 

can only be accomplished by providing 

a copy of the record through the mail. 

(b) Waiver. The Privacy Officer may, 

at no charge, provide copies of a record 

if it is determined that the production 

of the copies is in the interest of the 

Government. 

(c) Fee schedule and method of 

payment. Fees will be charged as 

provided below except as provided in 

paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. 

(1) Duplication of records. Records 

will be duplicated at a rate of $.10 per 

page for copying of 4 pages or more. 

There is no charge for copying fewer 

pages. 

(2) Where it is anticipated that the 

fees chargeable under this section will 

amount to more than $25, the person 

making the request shall be notified of 

the amount of the anticipated fee or 

such portion thereof as can readily be 

estimated. In instances where the 

estimated fees will greatly exceed $25, 

an advance deposit may be required. 

The notice or request for an advance 

deposit shall extend an offer to the 

person requesting to consult with the 

Privacy Officer in order to reformulate 

the request in a manner which will 

reduce the fees, yet still meet the needs 

of individuals making the request. 

(3) Fees must be paid in full prior to 

issuance of requested copies. In the 

event the person requesting is in arrears 

for previous requests copies will not be 

provided for any subsequent request 

until the arrears have been paid in full. 

(4) Remittances shall be in the form 

either of a personal check or bank draft 

drawn on a bank in the United States, 

or a postal money order. Remittances 

shall be made payable to the order of the 

Treasury of the United States and 

mailed or delivered to the Privacy 

Officer, Office of the Special Inspector 

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 

2530 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 

22202. 

(5) A receipt for fees paid will be 

given upon request. 

Dated: March 12, 2012. 

Steven J Trent, 

Acting Inspector General, Special Inspector 

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6335 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–L9–P 

SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR 

AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION 

5 Part 9302 

RIN 3460–AA02 

Requests for Testimony or the 

Production of Records in a Court or 

Other Proceedings in Which the United 

States Is Not a Party 

AGENCY: Special Inspector General for 

Afghanistan Reconstruction. 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: This interim final rule 

establishes procedures for the public to 

obtain the production or disclosure of 

information and documents of Special 

Inspector General for Afghanistan 

Reconstruction (SIGAR) in connection 

with legal proceedings in which neither 

the United States nor the SIGAR is a 

party. It sets forth the procedures used 

when determining whether SIGAR 

employees will be permitted to testify or 

provide records relating to their official 

duties when they are subpoenaed or 

otherwise requested to testify. The rule 

also specifies the criteria that SIGAR 

officials are to use when deciding 

whether to allow an employee to testify 

or provide records. 

DATES: This interim final rule is 

effective March 16, 2012. Written 

comments may be submitted by April 

16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

to Hugo Teufel, Acting General Counsel, 

email: hugo.teufel.civ@mail.mil, Special 

Inspector General for Afghanistan 

Reconstruction, Arlington, Virginia. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Hugo Teufel, Acting General Counsel, at 

(703) 703–545–5990, email: 

hugo.teufel.civ@mail.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On January 28, 2008, the President 

signed into law the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 

(Pub. L. 110–181), which created the 

Special Inspector General for 

Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). 

Under 5 U.S.C. 301, heads of Executive 

or military departments may prescribe 

regulations governing the conduct of its 

employees and the custody, use, and 

preservation of the department’s 

records, papers, and property. Many 

departments and agencies have 

promulgated such regulations to provide 

procedures for the disclosure of official 

records and information. 

Generally, these are termed Touhy 

regulations, after the Supreme Court’s 

decision in United States ex rel. Touhy 

v. Regan, 340 U.S. 462 (1951). In that 

case, the Supreme Court held that an 

agency employee could not be held in 

contempt for refusing to disclose agency 

records or information when following 

instructions of his or her supervisor 

regarding the disclosure that were 

issued pursuant to agency regulations. 

As such, an agency’s Touhy regulations 

are the instructions agency employees 

are to follow when those employees 

receive requests or demands to testify or 

otherwise disclose agency records or 

information. 

SIGAR’s proposed Touhy regulations 

provide generally that employees of 

SIGAR may not disclose documents or 

information in response to a demand or 

order of a court or any other authority 

without first being authorized by the 

agency to do so. The purpose of these 

regulations is to conserve valuable 

agency resources, protect SIGAR 

employees from becoming enmeshed in 

litigation, and to protect sensitive 

Government information and decision 

making processes within the confines of 

the law. In order to establish procedures 

to facilitate public interaction with 

SIGAR, SIGAR is issuing proposed and 

interim final regulations. 

II. The Interim Final Rule 

This interim final rule establishes 

procedures governing the disclosure of 

information and records in connection 

with court litigation and certain other 

types of proceedings. 

III. Procedural Requirements 

This interim final rule is generally 

similar to the Touhy procedures 

concerning the disclosure of 

information in litigation that have been 

adopted by other agencies. Further, this 

rule relates to agency management and 

personnel. Accordingly, SIGAR has 

determined that notice and public 

procedure thereon are impracticable, 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B). For the same reasons, 

SIGAR has determined that this interim 

rule should be issued without a delayed 

effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 


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15562 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

553(d)(3). Nevertheless, SIGAR will 

consider any public comments on this 

interim final rule before issuing its final 

rule. 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. chapter 6) do not apply. 

It has been determined that this 

rulemaking is not a significant 

regulatory action for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, a 

regulatory impact analysis is not 

required. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 9302 

Courts, Government employees, 

Freedom of information, Government 

employees. 

Authority and Issuance 

■ For the reasons set forth above, 5 CFR 

chapter LXXXIII is amended to add part 

9302 to read as follows: 

PART 9302—REQUESTS FOR 

TESTIMONY OR THE PRODUCTION OF 

RECORDS IN A COURT OR OTHER 

PROCEEDINGS IN WHICH THE UNITED 

STATES IS NOT A PARTY 

Authority: Pub. L. 110–181 (Jan. 28, 2008), 

Section 1229 (122 Stat. 378–85), as amended, 

and Section 842 (122 Stat. 234–36), 10 U.S.C. 

2302 note; and 5 U.S.C. 301. 

§ 9302.1 SIGAR Touhy regulations. 

(a) Applicability. (1) This section sets 

forth the policies and procedures of the 

Special Inspector General for 

Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR or 

the agency) regarding the testimony of 

employees and former employees as 

witnesses and the production or 

disclosure of SIGAR documents or 

information for use in legal proceedings 

in which the United States is not a party 

and where the demand is pursuant to a 

subpoena, order or request (collectively 

referred to in this section as a 

‘‘demand’’). 

(2) This section does not apply to any 

legal proceeding in which an employee 

is to testify while on leave status 

regarding facts or events that are 

unrelated to the official business of 

SIGAR. 

(3)(i) Nothing in this section affects 

the rights and procedures governing 

public access to agency records 

pursuant to the Freedom of Information 

Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or the Privacy Act 

(5 U.S.C. 552a). 

(ii) Demands in legal proceedings in 

which the United States is not a party 

for the production of SIGAR records or 

information, or for the testimony of 

SIGAR employees, regarding 

information or documents that are 

protected by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 

552a), the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 

1905) or other statutes, must satisfy the 

requirements for disclosure set forth in 

those statutes and the applicable 

regulations of this part, before the 

records may be provided or testimony 

given. 

(4) This section is intended to provide 

guidance for the internal operations of 

SIGAR and to inform the public about 

SIGAR procedures concerning service of 

process upon SIGAR and its responses 

to demands. The procedures specified 

in this section, or the failure of any 

SIGAR employee to follow the 

procedures specified in this section, are 

not intended to, do not, and may not be 

relied upon to create a right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at 

law by a party against the United States. 

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this 

section: 

Agency counsel means: SIGAR’s 

General Counsel or his or her designee. 

Demand means a subpoena, order or 

request for testimony, documents or 

information related to, or for possible 

use in, a legal proceeding in which the 

United States is not a party. 

Document means any record or other 

property, no matter what media, and 

including copies thereof, held by 

SIGAR, including without limitation, 

letters, Emails, telegrams, memoranda, 

facsimiles, reports, studies, calendar 

and diary entries, maps, graphs, 

pamphlets, notes, charts, tabulations, 

analyses, statistical or informational 

accumulations, summaries of meetings 

and conversations, film impressions, 

magnetic tapes and sound or 

mechanical reproductions. 

Employee means all employees or 

officers of SIGAR, including (for the 

purpose of this section only) contractors 

and any other individuals who have 

been appointed by, or are subject to the 

supervision, jurisdiction or control of 

SIGAR. The procedures established 

within this subpart also apply to former 

employees of SIGAR where specifically 

stated in this section. 

General Counsel means the General 

Counsel of SIGAR. 

Legal proceeding means all pretrial, 

trial and post-trial stages of all judicial 

or administrative actions, hearings, 

investigations, arbitrations or similar 

proceedings before courts, commissions, 

boards, grand juries, or other tribunals, 

foreign or domestic. This term includes 

all phases of discovery as well as 

responses to informal requests by 

attorneys or others involved in legal 

proceedings seeking interviews or the 

like. 

Official business means the 

authorized business of SIGAR as stated 

in the ‘‘National Defense Authorization 

Act for Fiscal Year 2008,’’ Pub. L. 110– 

181 (Jan. 28, 2008), Section 1229 (122 

Stat. 378–85), as amended, and Section 

842 (122 Stat. 234–36), 10 U.S.C. 2302 

note. 

Testimony means an employee’s 

statement in any form, including 

testifying before a court or other tribunal 

or board, giving depositions, interviews, 

telephonic, televised, videoconference 

or videotaped statements, and providing 

written responses to interrogatories, 

admission requests or other discovery. 

(c) SIGAR policy. (1) SIGAR was 

established by Section 1229 of the 

National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2008, Public Law 110–181 

(January 28, 2008), as a wartime or 

overseas contingency operation 

oversight agency of the United States 

Government’s Executive Branch. 

SIGAR’s Inspector General is appointed 

by the President of the United States. 

See Pub. L. 110–181, Section 1229(c). 

SIGAR performs oversight of 

Afghanistan reconstruction and security 

programs, operations and contracts to 

prevent and detect waste, fraud and 

abuse pursuant to Sections 1229 and 

842 of Public Law 110–181. The records 

of an inspector general frequently 

contain sensitive law enforcement 

information that is protected from 

disclosure or obtained under guarantees 

of confidentiality. 

(2) In appropriate cases, the agency 

counsel shall notify the United States 

Department of Justice (DOJ) of the 

demand and coordinate with the DOJ to 

file any appropriate motions or other 

pleadings. 

(3) No current or former employee 

shall, in response to a demand, produce 

any SIGAR documents, provide 

testimony regarding any information 

relating to or based upon SIGAR 

documents, or disclose any information 

or produce materials acquired as part of 

the performance of that employee’s 

official duties or official status, in a 

legal proceeding in which the United 

States is not a party, without the prior 

written authorization of the General 

Counsel. See United States ex rel. 

Touhy v. Ragen, 340 U.S. 462 (1951); 

and 5 U.S.C. 301 (‘‘The head of an 

Executive department or military 

department may prescribe regulations 

for the government of his department, 

the conduct of its employees, the 

distribution and performance of its 

business, and the custody, use, and 

preservation of its records, papers, and 

property. This section does not 

authorize withholding information from 

the public or limiting the availability of 

records to the public.’’) 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 15563 

(d) Procedures for demand for 

testimony or production of documents. 

(1) A written demand directed to 

SIGAR for the testimony of a SIGAR 

employee or for the production of 

documents shall be served in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or 

applicable state procedures, as 

appropriate. If the demand is served by 

the U.S. mails, it should be addressed to 

the General Counsel, Special Inspector 

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 

2530 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 

22202–3940. If the demand is served by 

overnight delivery service or courier, it 

should be directed to the General 

Counsel, Special Inspector General for 

Afghanistan Reconstruction, 2530 

Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202– 

3940. SIGAR’s acceptance of a demand 

shall not constitute an admission or 

waiver of any objection with respect to 

the propriety of jurisdiction, service of 

process, venue, or any other defense in 

law or equity available under applicable 

law. 

(2) A subpoena or other demand for 

testimony directed to an employee or 

former employee shall be served in 

accordance with the Federal Rules of 

Civil or Criminal Procedure or 

applicable State procedure; and a copy 

of the subpoena or demand shall be 

delivered to the General Counsel. 

(3)(i) Touhy Request. In court cases in 

which the United States or SIGAR is not 

a party, where the giving of testimony 

or the production of documents by 

SIGAR, or a current or former employee 

is desired, a verified statement 

(declaration under penalty of perjury) 

by the litigant or his counsel, setting 

forth the information with respect to 

which the testimony or production is 

desired (‘‘Touhy Request’’), must be 

submitted in order to obtain a decision 

concerning whether such testimony or 

production will be authorized by 

SIGAR. The Touhy Request should 

include: the title of the legal proceeding, 

the court or other forum, the requesting 

party’s interest in the legal proceeding, 

a statement whether other evidence 

reasonably suited to the requester’s 

needs is not otherwise available, and, if 

testimony is requested, the subject 

matter and intended use of the 

testimony, a statement whether 

document(s) could be provided in lieu 

of testimony to satisfy the request, and 

a statement that the requester will 

submit a check for costs of duplication 

at commercially reasonable rates to 

SIGAR if the request is granted. The 

purpose of these requirements is to 

assist the General Counsel in making a 

fair and informed decision under 

governing law regarding whether 

testimony or the production of 

document should be authorized and 

under what conditions, if any. 

Permission to testify or produce 

documents will be limited to the areas 

of proposed testimony described in the 

Touhy Request. 

(ii) Agency counsel may consult or 

negotiate with an attorney for a party or 

the party, if not represented by an 

attorney, to refine or limit a demand so 

that compliance is less burdensome or 

to obtain information necessary to make 

the determination required by paragraph 

(e) of this section. Failure of the 

requester to cooperate in good faith to 

enable the General Counsel to make an 

informed determination under this 

subpart may serve as a basis for denying 

the Touhy Request. 

(iii) A determination under this 

section to comply or not to comply with 

the Touhy Request is without prejudice 

to the agency’s assertion of privilege, 

lack of relevance, technical deficiency, 

or any other objection to the demand. 

(4)(i) Employees shall immediately 

refer all inquiries and demands made to 

SIGAR or its employees to the General 

Counsel. 

(ii) An employee who receives a 

demand shall forward the demand to 

the General Counsel, who will 

determine the agency’s response to the 

demand under this section. 

(e) Factors to be considered by the 

General Counsel with respect to a Touhy 

Request. (1) In deciding whether to 

authorize the release of official 

information or the testimony of SIGAR 

personnel concerning official 

information (hereafter referred to as the 

‘‘disclosure’’), the General Counsel shall 

consider the following factors: 

(i) Whether the demand is unduly 

burdensome to the agency or otherwise 

inappropriate under the applicable rules 

of discovery, evidence and procedure 

governing the litigation in which the 

demand arose, balanced against the 

need for the specific testimony or 

documents sought; 

(ii) Whether the demand is 

appropriate under the relevant 

substantive law of privilege and 

disclosure of Government information, 

or seeks information or documents 

protected from disclosure under the 

Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 

552(b), the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, 

or the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. App.; 

(iii) Whether the demand would 

interfere with SIGAR’s statutory 

mandate stated in the ‘‘National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008,’’ 

Pub. L. 110–181 (Jan. 28, 2008), Section 

1229 (122 Stat. 378–85), as amended; 

Pub. L. 110–181, Section 842 (122 Stat. 

234–36), 10 U.S.C. 2302 note; or the 

Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. App.; 

(iv) Whether the demand would be in 

the public interest; 

(v) The extent to which the time of 

employees for conducting official 

agency business would be 

compromised; 

(vi) Whether the request demonstrates 

that the information requested is 

relevant and material to the action 

pending, genuinely necessary to the 

proceeding, unavailable from other 

sources, and reasonable in scope; and 

(vii) Whether other similar requests 

are likely to have a deleterious 

cumulative effect on the expenditure of 

agency time and resources. 

(2) Among those demands and 

requests in response to which 

compliance will ordinarily not be 

authorized are those with respect to 

which any of the following factors 

exists: 

(i) The requested disclosure elicits 

information or documents protected by 

a statute, Executive Order or regulation, 

including but not limited to Section 7(b) 

of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 3, section 7(b), 

or other prohibition from disclosure; 

(ii) The requested disclosure would 

interfere with ongoing enforcement 

proceedings, compromise constitutional 

rights, reveal the identity of an 

intelligence source, confidential 

informant or undercover agent, or 

disclose trade secrets or similar 

confidential commercial or financial 

information. 

(iii) The integrity of the 

administrative and deliberative 

processes of SIGAR would be 

jeopardized; 

(iv) The requested disclosure would 

not be appropriate under the rules of 

procedure governing the pending 

litigation or matter in which the 

demand arose; 

(v) The requested disclosure is not 

appropriate under the relevant 

substantive law concerning privilege; or 

(vi) The requested disclosure, except 

when production is in camera, would 

reveal information properly classified or 

other matters exempt from unrestricted 

disclosure. 

(3) All decisions granting or denying 

a Touhy Request must be in writing and, 

if a denial, provide the grounds for the 

decision in summary form based on one 

or more of the factors listed above. 

(f) Requests for opinion or expert 

testimony. (1) Pursuant to 5 CFR 

2635.805, an employee shall not 

provide, with or without compensation, 

opinion or expert testimony in any 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES
15564 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

proceeding before a court or agency of 

the United States in which the United 

States is a party or has a direct and 

substantial interest, except on behalf of 

the United States or a party represented 

by the Department of Justice, without 

written approval of agency counsel. 

(2) Upon a showing by the requestor 

of exceptional need or unique 

circumstances, the General Counsel 

may, in writing, grant authorization for 

an employee, or former employee, to 

appear and testify. 

(3) Any expert or opinion testimony 

by a former employee of SIGAR shall be 

excepted from the restriction under 5 

CFR 2635.805 where the testimony 

involves only general expertise gained 

while employed at SIGAR. 

(g) Procedures when agency counsel 

directs an employee not to testify or 

provide documents. (1) If agency 

counsel determines that an employee or 

former employee should not comply 

with a subpoena or other request for 

testimony or the production of 

documents, agency counsel will so 

inform the employee and the requesting 

party who submitted the demand. 

(2) If, despite the determination of the 

agency counsel that testimony should 

not be given or documents not be 

produced, a court of competent 

jurisdiction or other tribunal orders the 

employee or former employee to testify 

and/or produce documents, the 

employee shall promptly notify the 

General Counsel of such Order. 

(i) If agency counsel determines that 

no further legal review of, appeal from, 

or challenge to, the Order will be 

sought, agency counsel shall promptly 

inform the employee or former 

employee of said determination. 

(ii) If SIGAR determines to challenge 

an Order directing testimony or the 

production of documents in litigation in 

which the United States is not a party, 

the employee should not comply with 

the Order. The employee should appear 

at the time and place as commanded in 

the order or subpoena. If legal counsel 

cannot appear on behalf of the 

employee, the employee should produce 

a copy of this section and respectfully 

inform the Court or other legal tribunal 

that he/she has been advised by the 

General Counsel not to provide the 

requested testimony or documents 

pursuant to the decision of the United 

States Supreme Court in United States 

ex rel. Touhy v. Ragen, 340 U.S. 462 

(1951), and this section. Agency counsel 

will coordinate with the DOJ to file such 

motions or other pleadings that may be 

deemed appropriate in the 

circumstances, such as, for example, a 

notice to remove the case from state 

court to Federal court, or a motion to 

quash or modify the subpoena, or a 

motion for a protective order. 

(h) Fees. In the event that a Touhy 

Request is granted, SIGAR may charge 

reasonable fees to parties seeking 

official information or records. Such 

fees are calculated to reimburse the 

Government for the expense of 

providing such information or records, 

and may include the costs of time 

expended by SIGAR employees to 

process and respond to the request; 

attorney time for reviewing the request 

and any responsive records and for 

related legal work in connection with 

the request; and reasonable expenses 

generated by materials and equipment 

used to search for, produce, and copy 

the responsive information or records. 

Dated: March 12, 2012. 

Steven J Trent, 

Acting Inspector General, Special Inspector 

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6306 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–L9–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 1735 

RIN 0572–AC24 

Expansion of 911 Access Loans and 

Loan Guarantees 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) is adopting as a final rule, 

without change, an interim rule to 

implement the Expansion of 911 as 

authorized by Section 315 of the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act) as 

provided for in Section 6107 of the 

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 

2008 (2008 Farm Bill). The interim rule 

codified the Secretary’s authority to 

make loans in five areas of eligibility to 

expand or improve 911 access and 

integrated emergency communications 

systems in rural areas for the 

Telecommunications Loan Program. 

DATES: Effective on March 16, 2012, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 76 FR 56091–56094 on 

September 12, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Villano, Assistant Administrator, 

Telecommunications Program, USDA— 

Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., STOP 1590, 

Room 5151–S, Washington, DC 20250– 

1590. Telephone number: (202) 720– 

9554, Facsimile: (202) 720–0810. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

A. Introduction 

The Agency improves the quality of 

life in rural America by providing 

investment capital for deployment of 

rural telecommunications infrastructure. 

Financial assistance is provided to rural 

utilities; municipalities; commercial 

corporations; limited liability 

companies; public utility districts; 

Indian tribes; and cooperative, 

nonprofit, limited-dividend, or mutual 

associations. In order to achieve the goal 

of increasing economic opportunity in 

rural America, the Agency finances 

infrastructure that enables access to a 

seamless, nationwide 

telecommunications network. With 

access to the same advanced 

telecommunications networks as its 

urban counterparts, especially 

broadband networks designed to 

accommodate distance learning, 

telework, and telemedicine, rural 

America will eventually see improving 

educational opportunities, health care, 

economies, safety and security, and 

ultimately higher employment. The 

Agency shares the assessment of 

Congress, State and local officials, 

industry representatives, and rural 

residents that broadband service is a 

critical component to the future of rural 

America and modern emergency 

communications capabilities are critical 

to the safety and security of all 

Americans. The Agency is committed to 

ensuring that rural America will have 

access to affordable, reliable, 

telecommunications and broadband 

services and to provide a healthy, safe, 

and prosperous place to live and work. 

B. Regulatory History 

Following the September 11, 2001, 

attacks on the United States, significant 

Congressional attention was placed on 

weaknesses in the nation’s emergency 

communications capabilities. The 

ability of rural communities, carriers 

and emergency responders to keep up 

with changing communications 

technologies was and continues to be a 

concern of emergency response 

professionals. Interoperability; or the 

ability of emergency responders from 

various agencies and jurisdictions to 

communicate with each other is also a 

pressing national need. 

In 2002, the Congress gave the RUS 

statutory authority to ‘‘to expand or 

improve 911 access and integrated 

emergency communications systems in 

rural areas’’ in section 315 of the RE Act 

(6102 of the 2002 Farm Security and 

Rural Investment Act of 2002). No 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES