Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 2349 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051; 33 CFR 

1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.2. 

■ 2. Add § 165.T05–0021 to read as 

follows: 

§ 165.T05–0021 Safety Zone; Potomac 

River, Between Charles County, MD and 

King George County, VA. 

(a) Location. The following area is a 

safety zone: All navigable waters of the 

Potomac River, encompassed by a line 

connecting the following points 

beginning at 38°21′50.96′′ N, 

076°59′22.04′′ W, thence south to 

38°21′43.08′′ N, 076°59′20.55′′ W, thence 

west to 38°21′41.00′′ N, 076°59′34.90′′ 

W, thence north to 38°21′48.90′′ N, 

076°59′36.80′′ W, and east back to the 

beginning point, located between 

Charles County, MD and King George 

County, VA. These coordinates are 

based on datum NAD 83. 

(b) Definitions. As used in this 

section— 

Captain of the Port (COTP) means the 

Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector 

Maryland-National Capital Region. 

Designated representative means any 

Coast Guard commissioned, warrant, or 

petty officer, including a Coast Guard 

coxswain, petty officer, or other officer 

operating a Coast Guard vessel and a 

Federal, State, and local officer 

designated by or assisting the Captain of 

the Port Maryland-National Capital 

Region (COTP) in the enforcement of the 

safety zone. 

Marine equipment means any vessel, 

barge or other equipment operated by 

Skanska-Corman-McLean, Joint Venture, 

or its subcontractors. 

(c) Regulations. (1) Under the general 

safety zone regulations in subpart C of 

this part, except for marine equipment, 

you may not enter the safety zone 

described in paragraph (a) of this 

section unless authorized by the COTP 

or the COTP’s designated representative. 

(2) To seek permission to enter, 

contact the COTP or the COTP’s 

representative by telephone number 

410–576–2693 or on Marine Band Radio 

VHF–FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz). 

Those in the safety zone must comply 

with all lawful orders or directions 

given to them by the COTP or the 

COTP’s designated representative. 

(d) Enforcement officials. The U.S. 

Coast Guard may be assisted in the 

patrol and enforcement of the safety 

zone by Federal, State, and local 

agencies. 

(e) Enforcement period. The section 

will be enforced from 8 p.m. on January 

15, 2022, through 8 p.m. on January 22, 

2022. 

Dated: January 10, 2022. 

David E. O’Connell, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Sector Maryland-National Capital 

Region. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00705 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

41 CFR Part 105–70 

[FPMR Case 2022–01; Docket No. GSA– 

FPMR–2022–0004; Sequence No. 1] 

RIN 3090–AK53 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 

1986, Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, 

General Services Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996 and further amended by the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 

2015, this final rule incorporates the 

penalty inflation adjustments for the 

civil monetary penalties set forth in the 

United States Code, as codified in our 

regulations. 

DATES: Effective February 14, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Aaron Pound, Assistant General 

Counsel, General Law Division (LG), 

General Services Administration, 1800 F 

Street NW, Washington, DC 20405. 

Telephone Number 202–501–1460. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act 

of 1996 

To maintain the remedial impact of 

civil monetary penalties (CMPs) and to 

promote compliance with the law, the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 

410) was amended by the Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996 

(Pub. L. 104–134) to require Federal 

agencies to regularly adjust certain 

CMPs for inflation and further amended 

by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 

2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114–74). As 

amended, the law requires each agency 

to make an initial inflationary 

adjustment for all applicable CMPs, and 

to make further adjustments at least 

once every year thereafter for these 

penalty amounts. The Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996 further 

stipulates that any resulting increases in 

a CMP due to the calculated inflation 

adjustments shall apply only to 

violations which occur after the date the 

increase takes effect, i.e., thirty (30) days 

after date of publication in the Federal 

Register. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, 

agencies are required to adjust the level 

of the CMP with an initial ‘‘catch up’’, 

and make subsequent annual 

adjustments for inflation. Catch up 

adjustments are based on the percent 

change between the Consumer Price 

Index for Urban Consumers (CPI–U) for 

the month of October for the year of the 

previous adjustment, and the October 

2015 CPI–U. Annual inflation 

adjustments will be based on the 

percent change between the October 

CPI–U preceding the date of adjustment 

and the prior year’s October CPI–U. 

II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies 

Act of 1986 

In 1986, sections 6103 and 6104 of the 

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 

1986 (Pub. L. 99–501) set forth the 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 

1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute 

imposes a CMP and an assessment 

against any person who, with 

knowledge or reason to know, makes, 

submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or 

fraudulent claim or statement to the 

Government. The General Services 

Administration’s regulations, published 

in the Federal Register (61 FR 246, 

December 20, 1996) and codified at 41 

CFR part 105–70, set forth a CMP of up 

to $10,781 for each false claim or 

statement made to the agency. Based on 

the penalty amount inflation factor 

calculation, derived from originally 

dividing the June 2015 CPI by the June 

1996 CPI and making the CPI-based 

annual adjustment thereafter, after 

rounding we are adjusting the maximum 

penalty amount for this CMP to $11,001 

per violation. 

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

In developing this final rule, we are 

waiving the usual notice of proposed 

rulemaking and public comment 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
2350 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

1Office of Management and Budget, M–22–07, 

Implementation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments 

for 2022, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, at 1 (Dec. 15, 2021) (M–22–07). 

procedures set forth in the 

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 

553 (APA). The APA provides an 

exception to the notice and comment 

procedures when an agency finds there 

is good cause for dispensing with such 

procedures on the basis that they are 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest. We have 

determined that under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B) good cause exists for 

dispensing with the notice of proposed 

rulemaking and public comment 

procedures for this rule. Specifically, 

this rulemaking comports and is 

consistent with the statutory authority 

set forth in the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996, with no 

issues of policy discretion. Accordingly, 

we believe that opportunity for prior 

comment is unnecessary and contrary to 

the public interest, and we are issuing 

these revised regulations as a final rule 

that will apply to all future cases under 

this authority. 

IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. This is a not significant 

regulatory action and, therefore, was not 

subject to review under Section 6(b) of 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has reviewed this final rule in 

accordance with the provisions of E.O. 

12866 and has determined that it does 

not meet the criteria for a significant 

regulatory action. As indicated above, 

the provisions contained in this final 

rulemaking set forth the inflation 

adjustments in compliance with the 

Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996 for specific applicable CMPs. The 

great majority of individuals, 

organizations and entities addressed 

through these regulations do not engage 

in such prohibited conduct, and as a 

result, we believe that any aggregate 

economic impact of these revised 

regulations will be minimal, affecting 

only those limited few who may engage 

in prohibited conduct in violation of the 

statute. As such, this final rule and the 

inflation adjustment contained therein 

should have no effect on Federal or state 

expenditures. 

V. Congressional Review Act 

This rule is not a major rule under 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). Subtitle E of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (codified at 5 

U.S.C. 801–808), also known as the 

Congressional Review Act or CRA, 

generally provides that before a rule 

may take effect, the agency 

promulgating the rule must submit a 

rule report, which includes a copy of 

the rule, to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. GSA will submit a report 

containing this rule and other required 

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 

House of Representatives, and the 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. A major rule under the CRA 

cannot take effect until 60 days after it 

is published in the Federal Register. 

OIRA has determined that this is not a 

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). 

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Administrator of General Services 

certifies that this final rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small business 

entities. While some penalties may have 

an impact on small business entities, it 

is the nature of the violation and not the 

size of the entity that will result in an 

action by the agency, and the aggregate 

economic impact of this rulemaking on 

small business entities should be 

minimal, affecting only those few who 

have engaged in prohibited conduct in 

violation of statutory intent. 

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule imposes no new 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

necessitating clearance by OMB. 

List of Subject in 41 CFR Part 105–70 

Administrative hearing, Claims, 

Program fraud. 

Robin Carnahan, 

Administrator. 

Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105–70 is 

amended as set forth below: 

PART 105–70—IMPLEMENTATION OF 

THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL 

REMEDIES ACT OF 1986 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 105– 

70 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 31 U.S.C. 

3809. 

* * * * * 

§ 105–70.003 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 105–70.003 by— 

■ a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv) 

the amount ‘‘11,400’’ and adding 

‘‘12,100’’ in its place; and 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii) 

the amount ‘‘11,400’’ and adding 

‘‘12,100’’ in its place. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00732 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–81–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

46 CFR Part 506 

[Docket No. 22–02] 

RIN 3072–AC89 

Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary 

Penalties 

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Maritime 

Commission (Commission) is publishing 

this final rule to adjust for inflation the 

civil monetary penalties assessed or 

enforced by the Commission, pursuant 

to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (2015 Act). The 2015 Act requires 

that agencies adjust and publish their 

new civil penalties by January 15 each 

year. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 15, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Cody, Secretary; Phone: (202) 

523–5725; Email: secretary@fmc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

adjusts the civil monetary penalties 

assessable by the Commission in 

accordance with the 2015 Act, which 

became effective on November 2, 2015. 

Public Law 114–74, section 701. The 

2015 Act further amended the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990 (FCPIAA), Public Law 101–410, 

104 Stat. 890 (codified as amended at 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note), in order to improve 

the effectiveness of civil monetary 

penalties and to maintain their deterrent 

effect. 

The 2015 Act requires agencies to 

adjust civil monetary penalties under 

their jurisdiction by January 15 each 

year, based on changes in the consumer 

price index (CPI–U) for the month of 

October in the previous calendar year. 

On December 15, 2021, the Office of 

Management and Budget published 

guidance stating that the CPI–U 

multiplier for October 2021 is 1.06222.1


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