Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Notices 60491

person; and (d) if the other person is an

investment company, any investment

adviser of that company.

2. Rule 17a–8 under the Act generally

exempts from the prohibitions of section

17(a) mergers, consolidations, or

purchases or sales of substantially all of

the assets of registered investment

companies that are affiliated persons, or

affiliated persons of an affiliated person,

solely by reason of having a common

investment adviser, common directors,

and/or common officers, provided that

certain conditions set forth in the rule

are satisfied. Applicants believe that

they may not be able to rely on rule

17a–8 in connection with the

Reorganization because the Funds may

be deemed to be affiliated by reasons

other than those set forth in the rule.

Applicants state that the Balanced

Portfolio of Pathway owns more than

5% of the outstanding voting securities

of each of the Funds and did not use

mirror or pass-through voting when it

voted its Corporate Bond shares in favor

of the Reorganization.

3. Section 17(b) of the Act provides,

in relevant part, that the Commission

may exempt a transaction from the

provisions of section 17(a) if the

evidence establishes that the terms of

the proposed transaction, including the

consideration to be paid or received, are

reasonable and fair and do not involve

overreaching on the part of any person

concerned, and that the proposed

transaction is consistent with the policy

of each registered investment company

concerned and with the general

purposes of the Act.

4. Applicants request an order under

section 17(b) of the Act exempting them

from section 17(a) to the extent

necessary to consummate the

Reorganization. Applicants submit that

the Reorganization satisfies the

standards of section 17(b) of the Act.

Applicants also state that the Board,

including the Independent Trustees,

determined that the participation of

each Fund in the Reorganization is in

the best interests of each Fund and its

shareholders and that such participation

will not dilute the interests of

shareholders of each Fund. Applicants

further state that the terms of the

Reorganization are fair and reasonable

and do not involve overreaching. Ina

ddition, applicanats state that the

Reorganization will be based on the

Funds’ relative net asset values.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Investment Management, under delegated

authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–26034 Filed 10–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Announcement of SBA Export

Express—a New Pilot Loan Guaranty

Program for Exporters

Department of Commerce statistics

indicate that small businesses with

fewer than 20 employees represent

approximately 65 percent of all

exporters in the U.S. The SBA

recognizes that many of these exporters

have financing needs that are too small

to be met profitably by traditional

lending sources. SBA is mandated

under the Small Business Act to

increase the access of small businesses

to capital for the purpose of fostering

international trade. To that end, the

Agency has developed a pilot loan

guaranty program called SBA Export

Express. This pilot will streamline the

processing of small export loans by

allowing a lender to use its own

documents based on its use of

established and proven credit review

and analysis procedures for loans of

similar size and type. SBA Export

Express is a sub-program of

SBAExpress, conforming to its already

established policies and procedures. Its

difference from SBAExpress lies in its

exclusive focus on existing and

potential small business exporters.

To be eligible for this pilot loan

guaranty program, an applicant must

demonstrate that loan proceeds will

enable their company to enter a new

export market or expand an existing

export market. To fulfill this

requirement, a business plan must be

submitted to the lender with

information provided to establish a

reasonable likelihood of expanded

export sales. In addition, applicants

must have been in operation, though not

necessarily in exporting, for at least 12

months.

SBA Export Express proceeds are to

be used by small businesses to develop

or expand their export markets. SBA

Export Express proceeds may be used to

finance: standby letters of credit that are

used as bid or performance bonds;

revolving lines of credit for export

purposes; term loans; and other

financing to enable small business

concerns, including small business

export trading companies and export

management companies, to develop

foreign markets. Proceeds may also be

used for the acquisition, construction,

renovation, modernization,

improvement or expansion of

productive facilities or equipment to be

used in the United States in the

production of goods or services

involved in international trade.

To encourage participating lenders to

address more aggressively the needs of

small business exporters, SBA’s percent

of loan guaranty under SBAExpress will

be the same as that for the regular 7(a)

loans, or currently 75 percent (80

percent if the loan amount is $100,000

or less). The maximum loan amount

eligible for SBA Export Express will be

$150,000.

Recognizing that technical assistance

can be crucial to the success of small

business exporters, the SBA Export

Express program requires a technical

assistance component, delivered

through the SBA personnel at U.S.

Export Assistance Centers (USEACs).

This assistance may include training

offered by: the Export Trade Assistance

Partnership (ETAP) Program;

International Trade Centers (located at

Small Business Development Centers);

Service Corps of Retired Executives;

District Export Councils; or the Export

Legal Assistance Network (E-LAN).

Participation in the SBA Export

Express program will be granted to any

lender that has been approved for

participation in SBAExpress. SBA

Export Express will adopt the

abbreviated SBAExpress loan

application, which will be submitted to

the Agency’s centralized processing

center in Sacramento. The processing

center will determine the borrower’s

eligibility and issue a SBA loan number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

Kirwin of SBA at 202–205–7261.

Dated: July 17, 2000.

Jeanne Sclater,

Associate Deputy Administrator for Capital

Access.

[FR Doc. 00–25992 Filed 10–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Request and

Comment Request

In compliance with Public Law 104–

13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995, SSA is providing notice of its

information collections that require

submission to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB). SSA is soliciting

comments on the accuracy of the

agency’s burden estimate; the need for

60492 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Notices

the information; its practical utility;

ways to enhance its quality, utility and

clarity; and on ways to minimize burden

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

I. The information collection listed

below will be submitted to OMB within

60 days from the date of this notice.

Therefore, comments and

recommendations regarding the

information collection would be most

useful if received by the Agency within

60 days from the date of this

publication. Comments should be

directed to the SSA Reports Clearance

Officer at the address listed at the end

of this publication. You can obtain a

copy of the collection instrument by

calling the SSA Reports Clearance

Officer on (410) 965–4145, or by writing

to him.

1. Request for Replacement SSA–

1099/SSA–1042S Social Security

Benefits Statement—0960–0583. The

information requested by the Social

Security Administration (SSA) via the

Internet will be used to verify identity

and to provide replacement copies of

Form SSA–1099/SSA–1042, which are

needed to prepare Federal tax returns.

This Internet option to request a

replacement SSA–1099/SSA–1042 will

eliminate the need for a phone call to

a teleservice center or a visit to a field

office. The respondents are beneficiaries

who request a replacement SSA–1099/

1042 via the Internet.

Number of Respondents: 7,000.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 5

minutes.

Estimated Average Burden: 583 hours.

II. The information collections listed

below have been submitted to OMB for

clearance. Written comments and

recommendations on the information

collections would be most useful if

received within 30 days from the date

of this publication. Comments should be

directed to the SSA Reports Clearance

Officer and the OMB Desk Officer at the

addresses listed at the end of this

publication. You can obtain a copy of

the OMB clearance packages by calling

the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on

(410) 965–4145, or by writing to him.

1. Application of Circuit Court Law—

0960–0581. SSA regulations at 20 CFR

404.985 and 416.1485 inform claimants

of their right to request that a published

Acquiescence Ruling (AR) be applied to

a prior determination when we make a

determination or decision on a claim

between the date of the Circuit Court

decision and the date we publish the

AR. The regulations also specify that

claimants can request that the AR be

applied to a prior determination or

decision by submitting a statement that

demonstrates how the AR could change

the prior determination or decision.

SSA will use the information provided

in the statement to readjudicate the

claim, if the claimant demonstrates the

Ruling could change the prior

determination. Claimants may use Form

SSA–795, Statement of Claimant or

Other Person (OMB No. 0960–0045), to

request and support application of a

published AR to the prior determination

or decision. The respondents are

claimants whose determinations or

decisions on their claims may be

affected by an AR.

Number of Respondents: 100,000.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 17

minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 28,333

hours.

2. Statement for Determining

Continuing Eligibility, Supplemental

Security Income Payment-0960–0145.

SSA uses Form SSA–8202–F6 to

conduct low- and middle-error-profile

(LEP–MEP) telephone or face-to-face

interviews with Supplemental Security

Income (SSI) recipients and

representative payees. The information

collected during the interview is used to

determine whether SSI recipients have

met and continue to meet all statutory

and regulatory requirements for SSI

eligibility and whether they have been

and are still receiving the correct

payment amount. The respondents are

recipients of SSI benefits or their

representative payees.

Number of Respondents: 920,000

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 17

minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 260,667

hours.

(SSA Address)

Social Security Administration,

DCFAM, Attn: Frederick W.

Brickenkamp 1–A–21 Operations

Bldg., 6401 Security Blvd.,

Baltimore, MD 21235

(OMB Address)

Office of Management and Budget,

OIRA, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,

New Executive Office Building,

Room 10230, 725 17th St.,

NW.,Washington, DC 20503

Dated: October 4, 2000.

Frederick W. Brickenkamp,

Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security

Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–25982 Filed 10–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3440]

Culturally Significant Objects Imported

for Exhibition Determinations:

‘‘Dangerous Curves: The Art of the

Guitar’’

AGENCY: United States Department of

State.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

following determinations: Pursuant to

the authority vested in me by the Act of

October 19, 1965 [79 Stat. 985, 22 U.S.C.

2459], the Foreign Affairs Reform and

Restructuring Act of 1998 [112 Stat.

2681 et seq.], Delegation of Authority

No. 234 of October 1, 1999 [64 FR

56014], and Delegation of Authority No.

236 of October 19, 1999 [64 FR 57920],

as amended by Delegation of Authority

No. 236–3 of August 28, 2000 [65 FR

53795], I hereby determine that the

objects to be included in the exhibit,

‘‘Dangerous Curves: The Art of the

Guitar,’’ imported from abroad for the

temporary exhibition without profit

within the United States, are of cultural

significance. These objects are imported

pursuant to loan agreements with

foreign lenders. I also determine that the

temporary exhibition or display of the

exhibit objects at the Museum of Fine

Arts, Boston, Massachusetts from on or

about November 5, 2000, to on or about

February 24, 2001, is in the national

interest. Public Notice of these

determinations is ordered to be

published in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information, including a list of

exhibit objects, contact Paul W.

Manning, Attorney-Adviser, Office of

the Legal Adviser, 202/619–5997, and

the address is Room 700, United States

Department of State, 301 4th Street,

SW., Washington, DC 20547–0001.

Dated: September 29, 2000.

Helena Kane Finn,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational

and Cultural Affairs, United States

Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–26090 Filed 10–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–08–P