Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 65 / Monday, April 6, 2015 / Notices 18353 

discussing issues that justify closing a 

meeting or portions of a meeting, in 

accordance with 19 U.S.C. 2155(f). 

Throughout the year, members are 

requested to review sensitive trade 

policy information and provide 

comments regarding trade negotiations. 

In addition to their other advisory 

responsibilities, at the conclusion of 

negotiations of any trade agreement, all 

committees are required to provide a 

report on each agreement to the 

President, Congress, and USTR. 

Committee Membership Information 

All committee members are appointed 

by, and serve at the discretion of the 

Secretary and the USTR. Committee 

appointments are typically for a period 

of approximately 4 years, but the 

Secretary and USTR may renew an 

appointment for an additional term or 

appoint a member to fill out the 

remainder of someone’s term. All 

committee members must be a U.S. 

citizen and must represent a U.S. entity 

with an interest in agricultural trade, 

and must not be registered with the 

Department of Justice under the Foreign 

Agents Registration Act. To attend most 

meetings, committee members must 

have a current security clearance. New 

members will be guided in how to apply 

for a security clearance and their 

appointment will be contingent on 

successful completion of the 

investigation. Committee members serve 

without compensation and are not 

reimbursed for their travel expenses. No 

person may serve on more than one 

USDA advisory committee at the same 

time unless a specific exception is 

granted by the USDA Committee 

Management Officer. No entity may 

have more than one representative on 

any single trade advisory committee. 

Nominations and Appointments of 

Members 

Nominations for APAC and ATAC 

membership are open to individuals 

representing U.S. entities with an 

interest in agricultural trade without 

regard to race, color, religion, sex, 

national origin, age, mental or physical 

handicap, marital status, or sexual 

orientation. Equal opportunity practices 

in accordance with the U.S. Government 

policies will be followed in all 

appointments to the Committee. To 

ensure that the recommendations of the 

Committee have taken into account the 

needs of the diverse groups served by 

USDA, membership shall include to the 

extent possible, individuals with 

demonstrated ability to represent 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities. Members should have 

expertise and knowledge of agricultural 

trade as it relates to policy and 

commodity specific issues. Members 

will normally come from an entity with 

an interest in agriculture, and will serve 

as a Representative, presenting the 

views and interests of a particular U.S. 

entity that has an interest in the subject 

matter of the committee. 

However, should a member be 

appointed primarily for his or her 

expertise, and not as a representative of 

an interest group, he or she shall be 

designated as a Special Government 

Employee (SGE). SGEs are subject to 

specific provisions of the ethics laws if 

they are appointed because of their 

personal knowledge, background, or 

expertise. USDA will assist SGEs in 

disclosing their financial interest and 

will provide ethics training on an 

annual basis. Appointments are made of 

individuals only and are not 

transferrable. No person, company, 

producer, farm organization, trade 

association, or other entity has a right to 

membership on a committee. In making 

appointments, every effort will be made 

to maintain balanced representation on 

the committees with representation 

from producers, farm and commodity 

organizations, processors, traders, and 

consumers. Geographical diversity on 

each committee will also be sought. 

Nominations: Nominating a person to 

serve on any of the committees requires 

submission of a current resume for the 

nominee and the following form: AD– 

755 (Advisory Committee Membership 

Background Information, OMB Number 

0505–0001), available on the Internet at: 

http://www.fas.usda.gov/trade-advisorycommittees-applying-membership. A 

cover letter should also be submitted 

indicating the specific committee for 

which the individual is being 

nominated, why the nominee wants to 

be a committee member, his or her 

qualifications for membership, and how 

the submitter learned about this call for 

nominations. The cover letter should 

also include the statements required 

below related to Federally Registered 

Lobbyists and Foreign Firms. If 

applicable, a sponsor letter on the nonFederal governmental entity’s letterhead 

that contains a brief description of the 

manner in which international trade 

affects the entity and why the applicant 

should be considered for membership. 

Forms may also be requested by sending 

an email to ATACs@fas.usda.gov, or by 

phone at (202) 720–4934. 

Federally Registered Lobbyists: All 

nominees must provide a statement 

confirming their lobbyist status. 

Pursuant to the Revised Guidance on 

the Appointment of Lobbyists to Federal 

Advisory Committees, Boards and 

Commissions, published by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) on 

August 13, 2014, federally-registered 

lobbyists are no longer prohibited from 

serving on the advisory committees in a 

representative capacity. In light of 

OMB’s recent policy clarification that 

the eligibility restriction does not apply 

to advisory committee members who are 

specifically appointed to represent the 

interests of a nongovernmental entity, a 

recognizable group of persons or 

nongovernmental entities (an industry 

sector, labor unions, environmental 

groups, etc.), or state or local 

governments. The lobbyist prohibition 

continues to apply to persons serving on 

advisory committees in their individual 

capacity (e.g., SGEs). 

Foreign Firms: If the nominee is to 

represent an entity or corporation with 

ten percent or greater non-U.S. 

ownership, the nominee must state the 

extent to which the organization or 

interest to be represented by the 

nominee is owned by non-U.S. citizens, 

organizations, or interests and 

demonstrate at the time of nomination 

that this ownership interest does not 

constitute control and will not adversely 

affect his or her ability to serve as an 

advisor on the U.S. agriculture advisory 

committee for trade. 

Dated: March 24, 2015. 

Suzanne Palmieri, 

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07499 Filed 4–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Information Collection; Civil Rights 

Compliance Review Record—Federally 

Assisted Programs 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Forest Service is seeking comments 

from all interested individuals and 

organizations on the renewal of the 

information collection, Civil Rights 

Compliance Review Record—Federally 

Assisted Programs. 

With this renewal, the Agency has 

changed the name of the information 

collections from Equal Opportunity 

Compliance Review Record to Civil 

Rights Compliance Review Record— 

Federally Assisted Programs. 

DATES: Comments must be received in 

writing on or before June 5, 2015 to be 

assured of consideration. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 


tkelley on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
18354 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 65 / Monday, April 6, 2015 / Notices 

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this 

notice should be addressed to USDA 

Forest Service Washington Office, Office 

of Civil Rights, Mail Stop 1142, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–1142. 

Comments also may be submitted via 

facsimile to 703–605–5174 or by email 

to pjackman@fs.fed.us. 

The public may inspect comments 

received at USDA Forest Service 

Washington Office, during normal 

business hours. Visitors are encouraged 

to call ahead to facilitate entry to the 

building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat 

Jackman, Civil Rights, by phone at 202– 

205–0989, or via email at pjackman@

fs.fed.us. Individuals who use a TTY 

may call 711 or the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339, 24 

hours a day, every day of the year, 

including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Civil Rights Compliance Review 

Record—Federally Assisted Programs 

OMB Number: 0596–0215 

Type of Request: Extension with no 

change 

Abstract: All Federal agencies must 

comply with equal opportunity laws: 

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, as amended; 

• Title IX of the Education 

Amendments Act of 1972; 

• The Age Discrimination Act of 

1975, as amended; 

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973, as amended; and 

• Executive orders prohibiting 

discrimination in the delivery of all 

programs and services to the public. 

Federal agencies and entities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

are prohibited from discriminating. 

Federal financial assistance is defined 

as, ‘‘Federal monies given by grants, 

cooperative agreements, commercial 

special use permits, training, loan/

temporary assignment of Federal 

personnel, or loan/use of Federal 

property at below market value.’’ 

The equal opportunity laws require 

agencies to conduct compliance reviews 

to ensure that entities receiving Federal 

Financial Assistance from the 

government are adhering to the nondiscrimination statutes. The statutes 

require that prior to awarding support or 

issuing permits, the Federal government 

shall conduct pre-award reviews to 

ensure that potential recipients 

understand their responsibilities to 

provide services equitable pursuant to 

the law. Thereafter, during the 

partnership with the Agency, on-going 

monitoring will take place to ensure the 

public is being served without any 

barriers or discrimination. The 

compliance review tool consists of three 

forms, used consecutively during the 

same review. 

Forest Service employees will use 

form FS–1700–0006A, Civil Rights 

Compliance Review Record—Federally 

Assisted Programs, to collect 

information regarding actions taken by 

recipients of Federal financial assistance 

to ensure the public receives services 

without discrimination or barriers to 

access, and that recipients’ employees 

understand their role in ensuring equal 

access to services. Collection will occur 

during face-to-face meetings or 

telephone interviews conducted by 

Forest Service employees as part of the 

pre-award and Post-award process. The 

pre-award interview will take place 

prior to the award of a grant, signing of 

a cooperative agreement, letting of 

commercial special use permit, or 

similar activity. The post award 

interview will take place once every five 

years, or upon report/discovery of 

discrimination. 

Forest Service employees will use 

form FS–1700–0006B, Civil Rights 

Compliance Review Record—Federally 

Assisted Programs, (Post-Award Review 

Interview of an Employee of the 

Recipient) to collect information from 

an employee of the recipient’s program 

to assess their awareness of Civil Rights 

responsibilities to ensure the public 

receives services without discrimination 

or barriers to access. This aids in 

determining if recipients’ have advised 

and trained employees of their customer 

service and Civil Rights compliance 

role. Collection will occur during faceto-face meetings or interviews 

conducted by Forest Service employees 

as part of the post award process. The 

Post-award interview will take place 

once every five years, or upon report/

discovery of discrimination. 

Forest Service employees will use 

form FS–1700–0006C, Civil Rights 

Compliance Review Record—Federally 

Assisted Programs, (Post-Award Review 

Interview of a Participant) to collect 

information from the public or 

customers of the recipients of Federal 

financial assistance to determine if the 

public is receiving services without 

discrimination or barriers to access. 

Collection will occur during face-to-face 

interviews conducted by Forest Service 

employees as part of the post award 

process. The Post-award interview will 

take place once every five years, or upon 

report/discovery of discrimination. 

The information collected will only 

be shared with other Federal agencies 

who share in the financial assistance 

activities with the Forest Service. 

Monitoring reviews have been a 

responsibility of the Federal government 

since 1964. Without the ability to 

monitor recipients of Federal financial 

assistance, the Forest Service would not 

be able to ensure compliance with laws 

and statutes. The Agency would not be 

aware of potential violations, thereby 

resulting in potential discriminatory 

practices. 

Estimate of Annual Burden: 1 hour. 

Type of Respondents: Recipients of 

Federal financial assistance. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 11,000. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: One. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 11,000. 

Comment is invited on: (1) Whether 

this collection of information is 

necessary for the stated purposes and 

the proper performance of the functions 

of the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

request for Office of Management and 

Budget approval. 

Dated: March 27, 2015. 

Robert Velasco II, 

Associate Deputy Chief, Business Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07736 Filed 4–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–549–502] 

Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes 

and Tubes From Thailand: Preliminary 

Results of Antidumping Duty 

Administrative Review; 2013–2014 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(the Department) is conducting an 

administrative review of the 


tkelley on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES