Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 9869 

MPVs and VSP–515 is the vehicle 

eligibility number assigned to 1997 

through 2001 RHD Jeep Cherokee MPVs 

admissible under this notice of final 

decision. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A) and 

(b)(1); 49 CFR 593.8; delegations of authority 

at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8. 

Issued on February 27, 2009. 

Claude H. Harris, 

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 

[FR Doc. E9–4808 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

Release of Waybill Data 

The Surface Transportation Board has 

received a request from GATX Rail 

(WB512–14–12/16/08), for permission 

to use certain data from the Board’s 

Carload Waybill Samples. A copy of this 

request may be obtained from the Office 

of Economics, Environmental Analysis, 

and Administration. 

The waybill sample contains 

confidential railroad and shipper data; 

therefore, if any parties object to these 

requests, they should file their 

objections with the Director of the 

Board’s Office of Economics, 

Environmental Analysis, and 

Administration within 14 calendar days 

of the date of this notice. The rules for 

release of waybill data are codified at 49 

CFR 1244.9. 

Contact: Scott Decker, (202) 245– 

0330. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–4747 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund 

Capital Magnet Fund 

AGENCY: Community Development 

Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. 

Department of the Treasury. 

ACTION: Request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: This notice invites comments 

from the public on issues regarding how 

the Community Development Financial 

Institutions (CDFI) Fund should design, 

implement, and administer the Capital 

Magnet Fund, as set forth in Section 

1339 of the Federal Housing Enterprises 

Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 

1992 (the Act), which was added 

through Section 1131(b) of the Housing 

and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. All 

materials submitted will be available for 

public inspection and copying. 

DATES: All comments and submissions 

must be received by May 5, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent by 

mail to: Deputy Director of Policy and 

Programs, CDFI Fund, U.S. Department 

of the Treasury, 601 13th Street, NW., 

Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005; 

by e-mail to cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov; or 

by facsimile at (202) 622–7754. Please 

note this is not a toll free number. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Information regarding the CDFI Fund 

and the Capital Magnet Fund may be 

downloaded from the CDFI Fund’s Web 

site at http://www.cdfifundgov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Capital Magnet Fund was established 

through the Housing and Economic 

Recovery Act of 2008, which added 

Section 1339 of the Federal Housing 

Enterprises Financial Safety and 

Soundness Act of 1992 (the Act), 12 

U.S.C. 4569. Through the Capital 

Magnet Fund, the CDFI Fund will carry 

out a competitive grant program for 

CDFIs and nonprofit organizations (if 

one of their principal purposes is the 

development or management of 

affordable housing) to attract private 

capital for and increase investment in 

the development, preservation, 

rehabilitation, and purchase of 

affordable housing for primarily 

extremely low-, very low-, and lowincome families; and economic 

development activities or community 

service facilities (such as day care 

centers, workforce development centers, 

and health care clinics) which in 

conjunction with affordable housing 

activities will implement a concerted 

strategy to stabilize or revitalize a lowincome area or underserved rural area. 

Section 1339 established the Capital 

Magnet Fund as a program that will be 

administered by the CDFI Fund. 

The CDFI Fund invites and 

encourages comments and suggestions 

germane to the mission, purpose, and 

implementation of the Capital Magnet 

Fund. The CDFI Fund is particularly 

interested in comments in the following 

areas: 

Eligible Use of Funds 

Section 1339(c) of the Act states that 

Capital Magnet Fund grants shall be 

used to attract private capital for and 

increase investment in: (a) The 

development, preservation, 

rehabilitation, or purchase of affordable 

housing for primarily extremely low-, 

very low-, and low-income families; and 

(b) economic development activities or 

community service facilities, such as 

daycare centers, workforce development 

centers, and health care clinics, which 

in conjunction with affordable housing 

activities implement a concerted 

strategy to stabilize or revitalize a lowincome area or underserved rural area. 

Section 1339(f) of the Act states that 

grant amounts awarded from the Capital 

Magnet Fund may be used in 

furtherance of the purposes above, 

including for the following eligible uses: 

(1) To provide loan loss reserves; 

(2) To capitalize a revolving loan 

fund; 

(3) To capitalize an affordable housing 

fund; 

(4) To capitalize a fund to support 

economic development activities or 

community service facilities, as 

described in Section 1339(c)(2) of the 

Act; and 

(5) For risk-sharing loans. 

The CDFI Fund welcomes comments 

on issues relating to the eligibility of 

certain activities, particularly with 

respect to the following questions: 

(a) What definition should the CDFI 

Fund use to assess what constitutes 

‘‘affordable housing?’’ What 

affordability thresholds or restrictions 

(if any) should the Fund require, and for 

how long a period should these be in 

place? 

(b) How should ‘‘primarily’’ be 

defined, as such term is used in Section 

1339(c)(l)? What are the appropriate 

minimum levels of targeting that each 

project should be required to achieve 

(e.g., 50 percent of housing units are 

affordable to low-income persons, 20 

percent of housing units are available to 

extremely low-income persons, etc.)? 

(c) How should ‘‘preservation’’ be 

defined, as such term is used in Section 

1339(c)(1)? Should it include the refinancing of single- or multi-family 

mortgages as eligible activities? 

(d) How should ‘‘rehabilitation’’ be 

defined, as such term is used in Section 

1339(c)(1)? 

(e) Capital Magnet Fund grants may 

be used to finance economic 

development activities and/or 

community service facilities ‘‘in 

conjunction with affordable housing 

activities.’’ 

(i) What restrictions (if any) should 

the CDFI Fund place on the percentage 

of award dollars that an awardee may 

apply towards economic development 

activities and/or community service 

facilities (e.g., no more than 20 percent 

of a total award)? 

(ii) Should the CDFI Fund support 

economic development activities/ 

community service facilities in 

conjunction with affordable housing 

activities financed by sources other than 

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9870 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 

Capital Magnet Fund grants (e.g., LowIncome Housing Tax Credits; Hope VI; 

or private sources) or solely in 

conjunction with Capital Magnet Fund 

grants? 

(iii) How should the CDFI Fund 

define ‘‘in conjunction with’’? For 

example, does this mean on the same 

premises, in a separate property 

adjoining the premises, contiguous to or 

within the census tract where the 

premises is located, or within a certain 

distance from the premises? (iv) How 

should the CDFI Fund define 

‘‘concerted strategy’’? 

Eligible Grantees 

Section 1339(e) of the Act states that 

Capital Magnet Fund grants may only be 

made to: (a) A CDFI that has been 

certified by the CDFI Fund; or (b) a 

nonprofit organization having as one of 

its principal purposes the development 

or management of affordable housing. 

How should the CDFI Fund define 

‘‘principal purpose,’’ with respect to 

determining whether one of an entity’s 

principal purposes is the development 

or management of affordable housing? 

Applications 

The CDFI Fund welcomes comments 

pertaining to the content of the 

application materials, the timing of 

award rounds, and the application 

scoring and review protocols 

particularly with respect to the 

following questions: 

(a) Are there other competitive award 

programs, Federal or otherwise, upon 

which the CDFI Fund should model the 

Capital Magnet Fund’s application 

scoring and review protocols? 

(b) Should the CDFI Fund divide 

applicants among different pools so that 

they compete only among organizations 

at the same capacity level (similar to the 

Core and SECA designations for the 

CDFI Program)? 

(c) Should the CDFI Fund accept 

applications on an annual basis or more 

often (e.g., twice a year)? 

(d) Section 1339(j)(2)(D)(ii) requires 

‘‘a prioritization of funding based upon: 

(1) The ability to use such funds to 

generate additional investments; 

(2) Affordable housing need (taking 

into account the distinct needs of 

different regions of the country); and 

(3) Ability to obligate amounts and 

undertake activities so funded in a 

timely manner.’’ With respect to this 

particular requirement: 

(i) How should the CDFI Fund 

quantify each of the three priority 

factors? For each of the three factors, 

what should applicants be required to 

present and/or address as part of their 

application materials? 

(ii) Should this prioritization be 

incorporated into the standard scoring 

of the application (e.g., by weighting 

certain questions more heavily) or 

should there be separate ‘‘priority 

points’’ specific to each of the three 

criteria? 

Geographic Diversity 

Section 1339(h)(2)(A) of the Act 

states: ‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury 

shall seek to fund activities in 

geographically diverse areas of 

economic distress, including 

metropolitan and undeserved rural areas 

in every State.’’ Section 1 339(h)(2)(B) 

provides that objective criteria of 

economic distress may include: 

(1) The percentage of low-income 

families or the extent of poverty; 

(2) The rate of unemployment or 

underemployment; 

(3) The extent of blight and 

disinvestment; 

(4) Projects that target extremely 

low-, very low-, and low-income 

families in or outside a designated 

economic distress area; or 

(5) Any other criteria designated by 

the Secretary of the Treasury. 

The CDFI Fund welcomes comments 

on issues relating to geographic 

diversity, particularly with respect to 

the following questions: 

(a) What objective criteria of 

economic distress should the CDFI 

Fund adopt? 

(1) If the percentage of low-income 

families is selected as an objective 

criterion of economic distress, what is 

the appropriate minimum level (e.g., 

census tracts where the median family 

income is at or below 80 percent of the 

applicable area median family income)? 

(2) If poverty rate is selected as an 

objective criterion of economic distress, 

what is the appropriate minimum level 

(e.g., census tracts with at least a 20 

percent poverty rate)? 

(3) If unemployment or 

underemployment is selected as an 

objective criterion of economic distress, 

what is the appropriate minimum level 

(e.g., census tracts with an 

unemployment rate at least 1.5 times the 

national average)? 

(4) If ‘‘blight’’ or ‘‘disinvestment’’ is 

selected as an objective criterion of 

economic distress, how should they be 

defined? 

(5) Are there additional criteria of 

distress, other than those specifically 

listed in Section 1339(h)(2)(B), that the 

CDFI Fund should consider? For 

example, is there a measure specific to 

housing that should be considered (e.g., 

the ratio of renters to homeowners in a 

community; percentage of vacant 

properties in a community; or 

percentage of substandard properties in 

a community)? 

(6) Are there special populations 

facing economic distress or with high 

housing needs that the Fund should 

consider? Are there particular measures 

that should not be used because they 

may inadvertently disadvantage certain 

populations? If so, provide examples of 

particular households or communities 

that would not qualify under specific 

definitions. 

(b) How should the CDFI Fund define 

‘‘rural areas’’? For example, is a rural 

area any census tract that is not located 

in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA)? 

Respondents should discuss how a 

particular definition would enable the 

program to best ensure funding to 

people in rural areas, and discuss 

whether there are particular measures 

that should not be used because they 

may inadvertently disadvantage certain 

populations (i.e., provide examples of 

particular households or communities 

that would not qualify under specific 

definitions). 

(c) Should the CDFI Fund ensure that, 

in any given award round, there is a 

project located in every state? Should 

the CDFI Fund ‘‘skip over’’ otherwise 

higher rated applicants to ensure that 

this geographic diversity goal is met? 

(d) Section 1339(j)(2)(D)(i) of the Act 

requires that ‘‘funds be fairly distributed 

to urban, suburban, and rural areas.’’ 

How can the CDFI Fund best achieve 

this outcome? 

Leverage of Funds 

Section 1339(h)(3) of the Act states: 

‘‘Each grant from the Capital Magnet 

Fund awarded under this section shall 

be reasonably expected to result in 

eligible housing, or economic and 

community development projects that 

support or sustain an affordable housing 

project funded by a grant under this 

section whose aggregate costs total at 

least 10 times the grant amount.’’ 

The CDFI Fund welcomes comments 

regarding how applicants would be able 

to demonstrate a leveraging ratio of 10:1 

of ‘‘total aggregate costs,’’ particularly 

with respect to the following questions: 

(a) What documentation should be 

required to demonstrate a leveraging 

ratio of 10:1 of ‘‘total aggregate costs’’? 

(b) How should this 10:1 standard be 

measured (e.g., on a project-by-project 

basis for each project funded, or on a 

collective basis for all projects 

financed)? 

(c) Is there a timing consideration as 

to when the CDFI Fund should release 

its award dollars (e.g., not until all other 

sources of financing have been 

secured)? 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 43 / Friday, March 6, 2009 / Notices 9871 

Commitment for Use Deadline 

Section 1339(h)(4) of the Act states: 

‘‘Amounts made available for grants 

under this section shall be committed 

for use within 2 years of the date of such 

allocation.’’ The CDFJ Fund welcomes 

comments regarding how the term 

‘‘committed’’ should be defined, and 

how it can be verified, for the purposes 

of this requirement. 

Prohibited Uses 

Section 1339(h)(5)–(6) of the Act lists 

prohibited uses with respect to grants 

awarded under this program. 

Are there any additional prohibitions 

or limitations that should be applied? 

For example, there are no stated 

limitations regarding the portions of 

Capital Magnet Fund grants that may be 

retained by the awardee to cover 

operating costs. Should the CDFJ Fund 

permit a set portion of awards to cover 

operating costs? If so, what percentage 

of the funds should be allowed? Should 

awardees be restricted in the level of 

fees they charge to sub recipients/endusers? 

Accountability of Recipients and 

Grantees 

Section 1339(h)(8) of the Act provides 

for accountability standards with 

respect to tracking the use of award 

dollars, as well as remedies in the event 

that an awardee misuses funds. 

The CDFI Fund welcomes comments 

on how to administer awards and 

monitor the deployment of funds 

awarded under the Capital Magnet 

Fund, particularly with respect to the 

following questions: 

(a) What documentation should be 

required to demonstrate that funds 

awarded under the Capital Magnet Fund 

have been committed? 

(b) What types of documentation 

should be required to demonstrate 

completion of projects? 

(c) What types of documentation 

should be required to demonstrate 

satisfaction of the affordability 

requirement related to housing 

developed, preserved, rehabilitated, or 

purchased with the support of Capital 

Magnet Fund awards? 

(d) What support, if any, would 

applicants and awardees like to see from 

the CDFI Fund at the post-award stage? 

(e) What specific industry standards 

for impact measures (units produced, 

percentage of units affordable to lowincome persons; time to complete; etc.) 

should the CDFI Fund adopt for 

evaluating and monitoring projects 

funded under the Capital Magnet Fund? 

General Comments 

The Fund is interested in comments 

regarding the types of affordable 

housing projects or activities for which 

applicants anticipate applying under the 

Capital Magnet Fund. Please detail the 

specific activity (development, 

preservation, rehabilitation, purchase, 

etc.), the populations served by this 

activity, the applicant’s role in the 

activity, the sources of finance used to 

complete each activity, and the 

preferred time frame of grants received 

under the Capital Magnet Fund. 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4569. 

Dated: February 27, 2009. 

Donna J. Gambrell. 

Director, Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund. 

[FR Doc. E9–4648 Filed 3–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–70–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

[Docket ID: OTS–2009–0001] 

Open Meeting of the OTS Minority 

Depository Institutions Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury, 

Office of Thrift Supervision. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The OTS Minority Depository 

Institutions Advisory Committee 

(MDIAC) will convene its first meeting 

on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in 

Conference Room 6A of the Office of 

Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. 

Eastern Time. The meeting will be open 

to the public. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at 9:30 

a.m. Eastern Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC in 

Conference Room A. The public is 

invited to submit written statements to 

the MDIAC by any one of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail address: 

Commaffairs@ots.treas.gov; or 

• Mail: To Cassandra McConnell, 

Designated Federal Official, Office of 

Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552 in triplicate. 

The agency must receive statements 

no later than March 18, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cassandra McConnell, Designated 

Federal Official, (202) 906–5750, Office 

of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20552. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By this 

notice, the Office of Thrift Supervision 

is announcing that the OTS Minority 

Depository Institutions Advisory 

Committee will convene its first meeting 

on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in 

Conference Room 6A at the Office of 

Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC, beginning at 9:30 a.m. 

Eastern Time. The meeting will be open 

to the public. Because the meeting will 

be held in a secured facility with 

limited space, members of the public 

who plan to attend the meeting, and 

members of the public who require 

auxiliary aid, must contact the Office of 

Community Affairs at 202–906–7891 by 

5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, 

March 18, 2009, to inform OTS of their 

desire to attend the meeting and to 

provide the information that will be 

required to facilitate entry into the OTS 

building. To enter the building, 

attendees should provide their full 

name, e-mail address, date of birth, 

social security number, organization, 

and country of citizenship. The purpose 

of the meeting is to advise OTS on ways 

to meet the goals established by section 

308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, 

Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 

(FIRREA), Public Law 101–73, Title III, 

103 Stat. 353, 12 U.S.C.A. 1463 note. 

The goals of section 308 are to preserve 

the present number of minority 

institutions, preserve the minority 

character of minority-owned institutions 

in cases involving mergers or 

acquisitions, provide technical 

assistance, and encourage the creation 

of new minority institutions. The 

MDIAC will help OTS meet those goals 

by providing informed advice and 

recommendations regarding a range of 

issues involving minority depository 

institutions. 

Dated: March 3, 2009. 

By the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

Montrice Godard Yakimov, 

Managing Director, Compliance and 

Consumer Protection. 

[FR Doc. E9–4814 Filed 3–3–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6720–01–P 

U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND 

SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION 

Notice of Open Public Hearing 

AGENCY: U.S.-China Economic and 

Security Review Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of open public hearing— 

March 24, 2009, Washington, DC. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the 

following hearing of the U.S.-China 

Economic and Security Review 

Commission. 

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