16758 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 67 / Tuesday, April 8, 1997 / Notices

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This action is exempted from review

by the Office of Management and

Budget under Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 12372

This program is listed in the Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance under

Nos. 10.550 and 10.570 and is subject to

the provisions of Executive Order

12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials (7 CFR part

3015, subpart V, and final rule-related

notices published at 48 FR 29114, June

24, 1983 and 49 FR 22676, May 31,

1984.)

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This notice imposes no new reporting

or recordkeeping provisions that are

subject to Office of Management and

Budget review in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3507). This action is not a rule

as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612) and thus is

exempt from the provisions of that Act.

Legislative Background

Section 310 of Public Law (Pub. L.)

102–375, the Older Americans Act

Amendments of 1992, amended section

311(a)(4) of the Older Americans Act of

1965, 42 U.S.C. 3030a(a)(4), to require

the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain

an annually programmed level of

assistance equal to the greater of: (1) The

current appropriation divided by the

number of meals served in the

preceding fiscal year; or (2) 61 cents per

meal adjusted annually beginning with

Fiscal Year 1993 to reflect changes in

the Consumer Price Index. Section

311(c)(2) of the Older Americans Act (42

U.S.C. 3030a(c)(2)) was amended to

provide that the final reimbursement

claims must be adjusted so as to utilize

the entire program appropriation for the

fiscal year for per-meal support.

However, the Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act of 1996 (Pub. L.

104–37) imposed, for Fiscal Year 1996

and succeeding years, the same NPE rate

management requirements as applied to

Fiscal Year 1994. That is, Title IV,

Domestic Food Programs, of the

Appropriations Act provides that ‘‘. . .

hereafter notwithstanding any other

provision of law, for meals provided

pursuant to the Older Americans Act of

1965, a maximum rate of reimbursement

to States will be established by the

Secretary, subject to reduction if

obligations would exceed the amount of

available funds, with any unobligated

funds to remain available only for

obligation in the fiscal year beginning

October 1, 1996.’’

Notwithstanding the initial rates

established by the Older Americans Act,

the Department is required to comply

with the spending clause of the U.S.

Constitution and 31 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)(A)

(known as the Antideficiency Act),

which prohibit the obligation or

expenditure of funds in excess of the

available appropriation. Thus the

Department is required to establish (and

if necessary, adjust) rates in such a

manner as to not exceed the program

appropriation.

Fiscal Year 1996 Level of Assistance

Based on its projection of the number

of meals to be claimed during the fiscal

year, and in light of constitutional and

statutory prohibitions on obligating or

spending funds in excess of the

available appropriation, the Department

announced an initial per-meal

reimbursement rate of $.5864 for Fiscal

Year 1996, the highest rate which it

believed could be sustained throughout

the fiscal year. This initial level of permeal assistance was announced in the

March 18, 1996 Federal Register (61 FR

10983).

The Department’s meal service

projection for Fiscal Year 1996 assumed

a slightly higher rate of growth than

occurred in the preceding fiscal year.

This initial per-meal support level of

$.5864 was sustained throughout Fiscal

Year 1996, and thus no adjustment was

necessary to keep expenditures within

the limit of the $150 million NPE

appropriation established by Pub. L.

104–37. Funds in the amount of $5.5

million were not paid out for Fiscal

Year 1996 and will, in accordance with

the legislative mandate in Pub. L. 104–

37, be carried over into Fiscal Year 1997

and expended in per-meal

reimbursement for that year.

Fiscal Year 1997 Initial Level of

Assistance

It is the Department’s goal to establish

the highest rate that can be sustained

throughout the fiscal year so as to

maximize the flow of program funds to

States during the fiscal year. However,

the Department wants also to minimize

the possibility of a rate reduction and

the hardship it causes to program

operators. In order to guard against the

need for a reduction, the Department,

once again, has projected a slightly

higher rate of growth in meal service

than occurred in the preceding fiscal

year. Based on its projections, the

Department announces an initial permeal support level of $.5857, which will

not be increased, and which will be

decreased only if necessary to keep

expenditures within the limit of the

$140 million NPE Fiscal Year 1997

appropriation established by Pub. L.

104–180 and the $5.5 million available

from Fiscal Year 1996. Any of these

funds not paid out for Fiscal Year 1997

reimbursement will, in accordance with

Pub. L. 104–180, remain available

through Fiscal Year 1998. In the

unlikely event that the rate needs to be

decreased, States will be notified

directly.

Dated: March 27, 1997.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator, Food and Consumer Service.

[FR Doc. 97–8913 Filed 4–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

BROADCASTING BOARD OF

GOVERNORS

Sunshine Act Meeting

DATE AND TIME: April 15, 1997; 9:00 a.m.

PLACE: Cohen Building, Room 3321, 330

Independence Ave., SW., Washington,

DC 20547.

CLOSED MEETING: The members of the

Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)

will meet in closed session to review

and discuss a number of issues relating

to U.S. Government-funded nonmilitary

international broadcasting. They will

address internal procedural, budgetary,

and personnel issues, as well as

sensitive foreign policy issues relating

to potential options in the U.S.

international broadcasting field. This

meeting is closed because if open it

likely would either disclose matters that

would be properly classified to be kept

secret in the interest of foreign policy

under the appropriate executive order (5

U.S.C. 552b.(c)(1)) or would disclose

information the premature disclosure of

which would be likely to significantly

frustrate implementation of a proposed

agency action. (5 U.S.C. 552b.(c)(9)(B)).

In addition, part of the discussion will

relate solely to the internal personnel

issues of the BBG or the International

Broadcasting Bureau. (5 U.S.C. 552b.(c)

(2) and (6)).

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Persons interested in obtaining more

information should contact Brenda

Thomas at (202) 401–3736.

Dated: April 4, 1997.

David W. Burke,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 97–9105 Filed 4–4–97; 2:14 pm]

BILLING CODE 82301–01–M