25168 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 87 / Wednesday, May 5, 2004 / Notices 

1Following enactment of the Act, Treasury 

promptly issued interim guidance on the make 

available requirement and other provisions of the 

Act. See for example, 67 FR 76206 (December 11, 

2002). This interim guidance was superceded by 

Treasury’s interim final rules and notice and 

comment rulemaking. Treasury’s final regulations 

implementing the make available requirements of 

section 103(c)(1) are located at 31 CFR 50.20–24. 

See also 68 FR 59720 (October 17, 2003).

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone (202) 

366–2323. Fax (202) 493–2180. Other 

information about the VISA can be 

found on MARAD’s Internet Web Page 

at http://www.marad.dot.gov.

Authority: 49 CFR 1.66.

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Dated: April 30, 2004. 

Joel C. Richard, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration.

[FR Doc. 04–10202 Filed 5–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Departmental Offices; Treasury’s 

Decision To Extend the Terrorism Risk 

Insurance Act’s ‘‘Make Available’’

Requirement

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury, 

Departmental Offices.

ACTION: Notice; Request for Comments.

SUMMARY: Title I of the Terrorism Risk 

Insurance Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–297) 

requires that, from the date of enactment 

(November 26, 2002) through the last 

day of Program Year 2 (December 31, 

2004), each insurer must make 

available, in all of its property and 

casualty insurance policies, coverage for 

insured losses under the Act. In this 

regard, the Act requires that such 

insurance coverage must not differ 

materially from the terms, amounts and 

other coverage limitations applicable to 

losses arising from events other than 

acts of terrorism. In addition, the Act 

requires the Secretary of the Treasury 

(Treasury) to determine, no later than 

September 1, 2004, whether to extend 

these statutory make available 

requirements through Program Year 3 

(December 31, 2005). To obtain 

additional information to assist 

Treasury in its determination, the 

Treasury solicits public comment on the 

questions listed below.

DATES: Comments must be in writing 

and received by June 4, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments by e-mail to 

triacomments@do.treas.gov. Please 

include your name, affiliation, address, 

e-mail address, and telephone number. 

All submissions should be captioned 

‘‘Comments on Make Available 

Determination.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mario Ugoletti, Acting Director, Office 

of Financial Institutions Policy, 202–

622–0715; Roy Woodall, Senior 

Insurance Analyst, Office of Financial 

Institutions Policy, 202–622–5171; U.S. 

Treasury Department (not toll-free 

numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 26, 2002, President Bush 

signed into law the Terrorism Risk 

Insurance Act of 2002 (the Act). The Act 

was effective immediately. Title I of the 

Act established a temporary federal 

program of shared public and private 

compensation for insured commercial 

property and casualty insured losses 

resulting from an act of terrorism as 

defined by the Act. The Act authorized 

Treasury to administer and implement 

the three year Terrorism Risk Insurance 

Program which ends on December 31, 

2005. 

Section 103(c)(1) of the Act requires 

each entity that meets the definition of 

an insurer under the Act to (A) make 

available, in all of its property and 

casualty insurance polices coverage for 

insured losses; and (B) make available 

property and casualty insurance 

coverage for insured losses that does not 

differ materially from the terms, 

amounts, and other coverage limitations 

applicable to losses arising from events 

other than acts of terrorism. These 

requirements apply from the date of 

enactment (November 26, 2002) through 

the last day of Program Year 2 

(December 31, 2004).1

In addition, section 103(c)(2) of the 

Act requires Treasury to determine, no 

later than September 1, 2004, whether to 

extend the ‘‘make available’’

requirements of section 103(c)(1) 

through Program Year 3 (December 31, 

2005). (Regardless of whether the make 

available requirements are extended by 

Treasury through Program Year 3, we 

note that the overall Program and the 

Act’s federal backstop for insured losses 

for acts of terrorism continue though 

December 31, 2005.) The Treasury 

determination on whether to extend the 

make available requirements through 

Program Year 3 is to be based on the 

factors referred to in section 108(d)(1) of 

the Act. The factors referred to in 

section 108(d)(1) are: 

• The ‘‘effectiveness of the Program;’’

• The ‘‘likely capacity of the property 

and casualty insurance industry to offer 

insurance for terrorism risk after 

termination of the Program’’ and 

• The ‘‘availability and affordability 

of such insurance for various 

policyholders, including railroads, 

trucking, and public transit.’’

Pursuant to the Act, Treasury is now 

considering whether to extend the make 

available requirements in section 

103(c)(1)(A) and (B) to Program Year 3. 

As noted above, section 103(c)(2) 

provides that Treasury base this 

determination ‘‘on the factors referred to 

in section 108(d)(1)’’. Section 108(d) of 

the Act requires Treasury to conduct a 

study and prepare a report to Congress 

by June 30, 2005 relating to the 

termination of the Program; the factors 

described in section 108(d)(1) (and 

cross-referenced by section 103 of the 

Act) are keyed directly to the overall 

effectiveness of the Program and how 

the insurance industry might respond 

after the termination of the Program. To 

better enable Treasury to evaluate the 

overall effectiveness of the Act as 

required by section 108(d), Treasury is 

in the process of conducting a series of 

nationally representative surveys of 

insurers and policyholders. 

The section 103(c) determination of 

whether to extend the make available 

requirements, and its timing, differ from 

the purpose and timing of the study and 

report required by section 108(d), but 

the Act requires Treasury to base the 

make available determination on the 

factors referenced in section 108(d)(1). 

Treasury’s data collection from the 

surveys we are conducting as part of our 

overall evaluation of the Program for 

purposes of the study under section 

108(d) will only be partially complete 

by the time a decision on extending the 

make available requirement must be 

made. In addition, the make available 

requirement of section 103(c) comprises 

only one component of the overall 

Program. Thus, as Treasury considers 

whether to extend the make available 

requirement into Program Year 3, we are 

particularly interested in any specific 

way, or ways, in which the make 

available requirement has worked or 

affected the overall operation of the 

Program and whether this ties into the 

factors described in section 108(d)(1). 

To facilitate a determination by 

Treasury within the required time frame 

on whether to extend the make available 

requirement into Program Year 3, 

Treasury solicits general comments from 

the public as well as specific responses 

to the following questions, including 

submission of any relevant empirical 

data in support of such comments 

where appropriate and available.

I. Effectiveness of the Make Available 

Requirement in the Context of the 

Overall Program 

1.1 Has the make available 

requirement contributed to the overall 

effectiveness of the Program over the 

first two years of the Program? In 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 87 / Wednesday, May 5, 2004 / Notices 25169

particular, has the make available 

requirement been effective in making 

terrorism insurance coverage available 

and more affordable to the insurance 

marketplace in general, to large 

corporate policyholders, and to small 

business policyholders? (We specifically 

seek information on terrorism coverage 

for railroads, trucking and public transit 

in response to this question.) 

1.2 How would the effectiveness of 

the Program be affected during Program 

Year 3 (where the federal backstop for 

terrorism insurance is still maintained 

under the Act) if the make available 

requirement is not extended? Would 

policyholders still be able to obtain 

terrorism risk insurance (under what 

terms and conditions) and would the 

affordability be impacted if the 

requirement is not extended? Compare 

your response to the preceding 

questions to what you believe would be 

the effectiveness of the Program if the 

make available requirement is extended 

into 2005. 

1.3 Has Treasury’s implementation 

of the make available requirement 

contributed to the effectiveness of the 

Program? In particular, has the make 

available requirement resulted in 

businesses being provided with useful 

information and the enhanced ability to 

compare prices for terrorism risk 

insurance across a number of providers? 

Given the experience with the make 

available requirement since enactment 

and policyholders’ decisions on 

whether to purchase coverage provided 

by the Act, are there other approaches 

to implementing the make available 

requirement that are worth considering? 

1.4 How would a decision on 

extending or not extending the make 

available requirement affect 

policyholders’ understanding of their 

options regarding the availability of 

terrorism risk insurance coverage in 

Program Year 3 (e.g., that the federal 

backstop for terrorism risk insurance is 

still in force)? Would one course of 

action be better understood by 

policyholders than other options? 

II. The Relationship Between the Make 

Available Requirement and the Likely 

Capacity of Property and Casualty 

Insurers To Offer Coverage for 

Terrorism Risk After Termination of 

the Program 

2.1 What is the relationship between 

the make available requirement and an 

insurer’s capacity to offer terrorism risk 

insurance coverage? How has the make 

available requirement affected or 

interacted with the available capacity of 

property and casualty insurers to 

provide terrorism risk insurance 

coverage during the course of the 

Program to date? Has the make available 

requirement led to any build-up in 

capacity? 

2.2. How would a Treasury decision 

to extend or not to extend the make 

available requirement affect or interact 

with the capacity of property and 

casualty insurers (including the 

availability of reinsurance) in terms of 

offering terrorism risk insurance 

coverage in Program Year 3? In addition, 

would there be any effect on insurers’

decision to offer terrorism risk 

insurance coverage beyond 2005 that 

could be associated with a decision to 

extend or not to extend the make 

available requirement during Program 

Year 3? 

III. Operational Issues 

3.1 What would be the regulatory 

impact at the state level (e.g. on filings 

with the state regulator of policy forms 

or exclusions) if the make available 

requirement were extended through 

Program Year 3 (2005)? Similarly, what 

would be the regulatory impact at the 

state level if the make available 

requirement were not extended through 

Program Year 3? 

3.2 Are there other operational 

issues that Treasury should consider as 

part of determining whether or not to 

extend the make available requirement 

through Program Year 3?

Dated: April 28, 2004. 

Wayne A. Abernathy, 

Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions.

[FR Doc. 04–10151 Filed 5–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4811–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request for Form 1116

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, 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 proposed 

and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is 

soliciting comments concerning Form 

1116, Foreign Tax Credit.

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before July 6, 2004, to be 

assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Glenn P. Kirkland, Internal Revenue 

Service, room 6411, 1111 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the form and instructions 

should be directed to Carol Savage at 

Internal Revenue Service, room 6407, 

1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20224, or at (202) 622–

3945, or through the Internet at 

CAROL.A.SAVAGE@irs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Foreign Tax Credit. 

OMB Number: 1545–0121. 

Form Number: 1116. 

Abstract: Form 1116 is used by 

individuals (including nonresident 

aliens), estates, or trusts who paid 

foreign income taxes on U.S. taxable 

income, to compute the foreign tax 

credit. This information is used by the 

IRS to determine if the foreign tax credit 

is properly computed. 

Current Actions: There are no changes 

being made to Form 1116 at this time. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents:

442,425. 

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 6 

hours, 33 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,897,886. 

The following paragraph applies to all 

of the collections of information covered 

by this notice: 

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. 

Books or records relating to a collection 

of information must be retained as long 

as their contents may become material 

in the administration of any internal 

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and 

tax return information are confidential, 

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103. 

Request for Comments: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of