11948 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Notices 

5887, or via fax at 202–395–5167 or via 

Internet at 

Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and 

to Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov, Federal 

Communications Commission, or an email to PRA@fcc.gov. To view a copy of 

this information collection request (ICR) 

submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web 

page http://reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the 

Web page called ‘‘Currently Under 

Review’’, (3) click on the downwardpointing arrow in the ‘‘Select Agency’’ 

box below the ‘‘Currently Under 

Review’’ heading, (4) select ‘‘Federal 

Communications Commission’’ from the 

list of agencies presented in the ‘‘Select 

Agency’’ box, (5) click the ‘‘Submit’’ 

button to the right of the ‘‘Select 

Agency’’ box, and (6) when the list of 

FCC ICRs currently under review 

appears, look for the title of this ICR (or 

its OMB Control Number, if there is one) 

and then click on the ICR Reference 

Number to view detailed information 

about this ICR. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information or copies of the 

information collection(s), contact Judith 

B. Herman at 202–418–0214 or via the 

Internet at Judith-B.Herman@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–0986. 

Title: Competitive Carrier Line Count 

Report, WC Docket No. 05–337, CC 

Docket No. 96–45. 

Form Number: FCC Form 525. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Business or other for 

profit and not-for-profit institutions. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 1,923 respondents; 5,458 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: .5–6 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion, 

quarterly, and annual reporting 

requirements. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

Total Annual Burden: 27,328 hours. 

Annual Cost Burden: $1,093,120.00. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

impact. 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission is not requesting that 

the respondents submit confidential 

information to the FCC. Respondents 

may, however, request confidential 

treatment for information they believe to 

be confidential under 47 CFR 0.459 of 

the Commission’s rules. 

Needs and Uses: This collection is 

being submitted as a revision to a 

currently approved collection. In April 

2008, the Commission adopted an order 

that capped total annual competitive 

eligible telecommunications carrier 

(ETC) universal service high-cost 

support for each state at the level of 

support that competitive ETCs in that 

state were eligible to receive during 

March 2008 on an annualized basis. The 

Commission also adopted two limited 

exceptions from the application of the 

interim cap. First, a competitive ETC 

will not be subject to the interim cap to 

the extent it files cost data 

demonstrating that its costs meet the 

support threshold in the same manner 

as the incumbent local exchange carrier. 

The Commission plans to submit an 

additional revision to OMB at a later 

date seeking approval to collect 

competitive ETCs’ cost data. Second, the 

Commission also created a limited 

exception for competitive ETCs serving 

tribal lands or Alaska Native regions 

(covered location). High-Cost Universal 

Service Support; Federal-State Joint 

Board on Universal Service, WC Docket 

No. 05–337, CC Docket No. 96–45, FCC 

08–122. Competitive ETCs opting into 

the exception for Tribal lands or Alaska 

Native regions would have to file line 

counts on FCC Form 525 separately for 

covered and non-covered locations. 

Most competitive ETCs that serve these 

locations already have separate study 

area codes for the covered location, and 

this requirement will not increase their 

burden. A small number of competitive 

ETCs, however, may need to make a one 

time request for additional study area 

codes. Thereafter, these carriers will 

have to file an additional Form 525 for 

each additional study area code. 

Additionally, each competitive ETC 

opting into this exception will be 

required to file, each time it files line 

count data, a certification that the lines 

reflected in a particular filing are within 

a covered location. The competitive 

ETCs also will be required to maintain 

records showing how they determined 

that the lines were in a covered location. 

The Commission will not amend FCC 

Form 525 to incorporate the information 

requests related to this limited 

exception to the interim cap on highcost support. The Commission has 

reviewed the information collection and 

has revised the estimates that are 

detailed in the supporting statement. 

Additionally, the Commission is 

revising the collection to incorporate the 

reporting requirements of OMB 3060– 

0793 for the self-certification as a rural 

carrier requirement into this collection 

under OMB Control Number 3060–0986. 

The self-certification for rural carriers is 

rarely filed with the Commission, 

therefore, its incorporation into OMB 

3060–0986 will ease the Commission’s 

administrative burden for complying 

with information collection 

requirements. Upon OMB approval of 

this revision, the Commission will 

voluntarily discontinue OMB Control 

Number 3060–0793 and retain this one 

for OMB’s inventory. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. E9–6132 Filed 3–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act; Notice of Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: March 25, 2009—10 a.m. 

PLACE: 800 North Capitol Street, NW., 

First Floor Hearing Room, Washington, 

DC. 

STATUS: A portion of the meeting will be 

in Open Session and the remainder of 

the meeting will be in Closed Session. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Open Session 

1. Docket No. 02–15 Passenger Vessel 

Financial Responsibility—Request of 

Commissioner Brennan. 

2. FY 2008 Buy American Report to 

Congress. 

Closed Session 

1. Docket No. 04–09—American 

Warehousing of New York, Inc. v. The 

Port Authority of New York and New 

Jersey; Docket No. 05–03—American 

Warehousing of New York, Inc. v. The 

Port Authority of New York and New 

Jersey. 

2. Docket No. 07–01—APM Terminals 

North America, Inc. v. The Port 

Authority of New York and New Jersey 

v. Maher Terminals, LLC. 

3. Termination of RiverBarge 

Excursion Lines, Inc. Escrow 

Agreement. 

4. Internal Administrative Practices 

and Personnel Matters. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Karen V. Gregory, Secretary, (202) 523– 

5725. 

Karen V. Gregory, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–6268 Filed 3–18–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6730–01–P 

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND 

CONCILIATION SERVICE 

Labor Management Cooperation Act of 

1978 (Pub. L. 95–524) 

AGENCY: Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Notices 11949 

ACTION: Request for Public Comment on 

Draft Fiscal Year 2009, Program 

Guidelines/Application Solicitation for 

Labor-Management Committees. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service (FMCS) is 

publishing a draft Fiscal Year 2009 

Program Guidelines/Application 

Solicitation for the Labor-Management 

Cooperation Program. The program is 

supported by Federal funds authorized 

by the Labor-Management Cooperation 

Act of 1978, subject to annual 

appropriations. This solicitation 

contains a change in the deadline for 

accepting applications. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

address section below within 30 days 

from the date of this publication in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Michael Bartlett Federal 

Register Liaison, Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service, 2100 K Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20427. Comments 

may be submitted by fax at (202) 606– 

5345 or electronic mail (e-mail) to 

mbartlett@fmcs.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Linda Stubbs, Grants Management 

Specialist, FMCS 2100 K Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20427. Telephone 

number 202–606–8181, e-mail to 

lstubbs@fmcs.gov or fax at (202) 606– 

3434. 

Federal Mediation Conciliation Service 

Labor-Management Cooperation 

Program Application Solicitation for 

Labor-Management Committees FY2009 

A. Introduction 

The following is the draft Solicitation 

for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 cycle of 

the Labor-Management Cooperation 

Program as it pertains to the support of 

labor-management committees. These 

guidelines represent the continuing 

efforts of the Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service to implement the 

provisions of the Labor-Management 

Cooperation Act of 1978, which was 

initially implemented in FY1981. The 

Act authorizes FMCS to provide 

assistance in the establishment and 

operation of company/plant, area, 

public sector, and industry-wide labormanagement committees which: 

(A) Have been organized jointly by 

employers and labor organizations 

representing employees in that 

company/plant, area, government 

agency, or industry; and 

(B) Are established for the purpose of 

improving labor-management 

relationships, job security, and 

organizational effectiveness; enhancing 

economic development; or involving 

workers in decisions affecting their 

working lives, including improving 

communication with respect to subjects 

of mutual interest and concern. 

The Program Description and other 

sections that follow, as well as a 

separately published FMCS Financial 

and Administrative Grants Manual, 

make up the basic guidelines, criteria, 

and program elements a potential 

applicant for assistance under this 

program must know in order to develop 

an application for funding consideration 

for either a company/plant, area-wide, 

industry, or public sector labormanagement committee. Directions for 

obtaining an application kit may be 

found in Section H. A copy of the LaborManagement Cooperation Act of 1978, 

included in the application kit, should 

be reviewed in conjunction with this 

solicitation. 

B. Program Description 

Objectives 

The Labor-Management Cooperation 

Act of 1978 identifies the following 

seven general areas for which financial 

assistance would be appropriate: 

(1) To improve communication 

between representatives of labor and 

management; 

(2) To provide workers and employers 

with opportunities to study and explore 

new and innovative joint approaches to 

achieving organizational effectiveness; 

(3) To assist workers and employers 

in solving problems of mutual concern 

not susceptible to resolution within the 

collective bargaining process; 

(4) To study and explore ways of 

eliminating potential problems which 

reduce the competitiveness and inhibit 

the economic development of the 

company/plant, area, or industry; 

(5) To enhance the involvement of 

workers in making decisions that affect 

their working lives; 

(6) To expand and improve working 

relationships between workers and 

managers; and 

(7) To encourage free collective 

bargaining by establishing continuing 

mechanisms for communication 

between employers and their employees 

through Federal assistance in the 

formation and operation of labormanagement committees. 

The primary objective of this program 

is to encourage and support the 

establishment and operation of joint 

labor-management committees to carry 

out specific objectives that meet the 

aforementioned general criteria. The 

term ‘‘labor’’ refers to employees 

represented by a labor organization and 

covered by a formal collective 

bargaining agreement. These committees 

may be found at the plant (company), 

area, industry, or public sector levels. 

A plant or company committee is 

generally characterized as restricted to 

one or more organizational or 

productive units operated by a single 

employer. An area committee is 

generally composed of multiple 

employers of diverse industries as well 

as multiple labor unions operating 

within and focusing upon a particular 

city, county, contiguous multicounty, or 

statewide jurisdiction. 

An industry committee generally 

consists of a collection of agencies or 

enterprises and related labor union(s) 

producing a common product or service 

in the private sector on a local, state, 

regional, or nationwide level. A public 

sector committee consists of government 

employees and managers in one or more 

units of a local or state government, 

managers and employees of public 

institutions of higher education, or of 

employees and managers of public 

elementary and secondary schools. 

Those employees must be covered by a 

formal collective bargaining agreement 

or other enforceable labor-management 

agreement. In deciding whether an 

application is for an area or industry 

committee, consideration should be 

given to the above definitions as well as 

to the focus of the committee. 

In FY2009, competition will be open 

to company/plant, area, private 

industry, and public sector committees. 

Special consideration will be given to 

committee applications involving 

innovative or unique efforts. All 

application budget requests should 

focus directly on supporting the 

committee. Applicants should avoid 

seeking funds for activities that are 

clearly available under other Federal 

programs (e.g., job training, mediation of 

contract disputes, etc.). 

Required Program Elements 

1. Problem Statement—The 

application should have numbered 

pages and discuss in detail what 

specific problem(s) face the company/ 

plant, area, government, or industry and 

its workforce that will be addressed by 

the committee. Applicants must 

document the problem(s) using as much 

relevant data as possible and discuss the 

full range of impacts these problem(s) 

could have or are having on the 

company/plant, government, area, or 

industry. An industrial or economic 

profile of the area and workforce might 

prove useful in explaining the 

problem(s). This section basically 

discusses WHY the effort is needed. 

2. Results or Benefits Expected—By 

using specific goals and objectives, the 

application must discuss in detail 

11950 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Notices 

WHAT the labor-management 

committee will accomplish during the 

life of the grant. Applications that 

promise to provide objectives after a 

grant is awarded will receive little or no 

credit in this area. While a goal of 

‘‘improving communication between 

employers and employees’’ may suffice 

as one over-all goal of a project, the 

objectives must, whenever possible, be 

expressed in specific and measurable 

terms. Applicants should focus on the 

outcome, impacts or changes that the 

committee’s efforts will have. Existing 

committees should focus on expansion 

efforts/results expected from FMCS 

funding. The goals, objectives, and 

projected impacts will become the 

foundation for future monitoring and 

evaluation efforts of the grantee, as well 

as the FMCS grants program. 

3. Approach—This section of the 

application specifies HOW the goals and 

objectives will be accomplished. At a 

minimum, the following elements must 

be included in all grant applications: 

(a) A discussion of the strategy the 

committee will employ to accomplish 

its goals and objectives; 

(b) A listing, by name and title, of all 

existing or proposed members of the 

labor-management committee. The 

application should also offer a rationale 

for the selection of the committee 

members (e.g., members represent 70% 

of the area or company/plant 

workforce). 

(c) A discussion of the number, type, 

and role of all committee staff persons. 

Include proposed position descriptions 

for all staff that will have to be hired as 

well as resumes for staff already on 

board; noting, that grant funds may not 

be used to pay for existing employees; 

an assurance that grant funds will not be 

used to pay for existing employees; 

(d) In addressing the proposed 

approach, applicants must also present 

their justification as to why Federal 

funds are needed to implement the 

proposed approach; 

(e) A statement of how often the 

committee will meet (we require 

meetings at least every other month) as 

well as any plans to form subordinate 

committees for particular purposes; and 

(f) For applications from existing 

committees, a discussion of past efforts 

and accomplishments and how they 

would integrate with the proposed 

expanded effort. 

4. Major Milestones—This section 

must include an implementation plan 

that indicates what major steps, 

operating activities, and objectives will 

be accomplished as well as a timetable 

for WHEN they will be finished. A 

milestone chart must be included that 

indicates what specific 

accomplishments (process and impact) 

will be completed by month over the 

life of the grant using ‘‘month one’’ as 

the start date. The accomplishment of 

these tasks and objectives, as well as 

problems and delays therein, will serve 

as the basis for quarterly progress 

reports to FMCS. 

Applicants must prepare their budget 

narrative and milestone chart using a 

start date of ‘‘month one’’ and an end 

date of ‘‘month twelve’’ or ‘‘month 

eighteen’’, as appropriate. Thus, if 

applicant is seeking a twelve month 

grant, use figures reflecting month one 

through twelve. If applicant is seeking 

an eighteen month grant, use figures 

reflecting month one through eighteen. 

If the grant application is funded; FMCS 

will identify the start and end date of 

the grant on the Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF–424) form. 

5. Evaluation—Applicants must 

provide for either an external evaluation 

or an internal assessment of the project’s 

success in meeting its goals and 

objectives. An evaluation plan must be 

developed which briefly discusses what 

basic questions or issues the assessment 

will examine and what baseline data the 

committee staff already has or will 

gather for the assessment. This section 

should be written with the application’s 

own goals and objectives clearly in 

mind and the impacts or changes that 

the effort is expected to cause. 

6. Letters of Commitment— 

Applications must include current 

letters of commitment from all proposed 

or existing committee participants and 

chairpersons. These letters should 

indicate that the participants support 

the application and will attend all 

scheduled committee meetings. A 

blanket letter signed by a committee 

chairperson or other official on behalf of 

all members is not acceptable. We 

encourage the use of individual letters 

submitted on company or union 

letterhead represented by the 

individual. The letters should match the 

names provided under Section 3(b). 

7. Other Requirements—Applicants 

are also responsible for the following: 

(a) The submission of data indicating 

approximately how many employees 

will be covered or represented through 

the labor-management committee; 

(b) From existing committees, a copy 

of the existing staffing levels, a copy of 

the by-laws (if any), a breakout of 

annual operating costs and 

identification of all sources and levels of 

current financial support; 

(c) A detailed budget narrative that 

clearly identifies each line item and the 

estimated cost (a complete breakdown 

of each line item) based on policies and 

procedures contained in the FMCS 

Financial and Administrative Grants 

Manual; 

(d) An assurance that the labormanagement committee will not 

interfere with any collective bargaining 

agreements; 

(e) An assurance that committee 

meetings will be held at least every 

other month and that written minutes of 

all committee meetings will be prepared 

and made available to FMCS; and 

(f) An assurance that the maximum 

rate for an individual consultant paid 

from grant project can be no more than 

$950 for an eight-hour-day. The day 

includes preparation, evaluation and 

travel time. Also, time and effort records 

must be maintained. 

Selection Criteria 

The following criteria will be used in 

the scoring and selection of applications 

for award: 

(1) The extent to which the 

application has clearly identified the 

problems and justified the needs that 

the proposed project will address. 

(2) The degree to which appropriate 

and measurable goals and objectives 

have been developed to address the 

problems/needs of the applicant. 

(3) The feasibility of the approach 

proposed to attain the goals and 

objectives of the project and the 

perceived likelihood of accomplishing 

the intended project results. This 

section will also address the degree of 

innovativeness or uniqueness of the 

proposed effort. 

(4) The appropriateness of committee 

membership and the degree of 

commitment of these individuals to the 

goals of the application as indicated in 

the letters of support. 

(5) The feasibility and thoroughness 

of the implementation plan in 

specifying major milestones and target 

dates. 

(6) The cost effectiveness and fiscal 

soundness of the application’s budget 

request, as well as the application’s 

feasibility vis-a-vis its goals and 

approach. 

(7) The overall feasibility of the 

proposed project in light of all of the 

information presented for consideration; 

and 

(8) The value to the government of the 

application in light of the overall 

objectives of the Labor-Management 

Cooperation Act of 1978. This includes 

such factors as innovativeness, site 

location, cost, and other qualities that 

impact upon an applicant’s value in 

encouraging the labor-management 

committee concept. 

C. Eligibility 

Eligible grantees include state and 

local units of government, laborVerDate Nov<24>2008 17:07 Mar 19, 2009 Jkt 217001 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\20MRN1.SGM 20MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Notices 11951 

management committees (or a labor 

union, management association, or 

company on behalf of a committee that 

will be created through the grant), and 

certain third-party private non-profit 

entities on behalf of one or more 

committees to be created through the 

grant. Federal government agencies and 

their employees are not eligible. 

Third-party private, non-profit 

entities that can document that a major 

purpose or function of their 

organization is the improvement of 

labor relations are eligible to apply. 

However, all funding must be directed 

to the functioning of the labormanagement committee, and all 

requirements under Part B must be 

followed. Applications from third-party 

entities must document particularly 

strong support and participation from 

all labor and management parties with 

whom the applicant will be working. 

Applications from third-parties which 

do not directly support the operation of 

a new or expanded committee will not 

be deemed eligible, nor will 

applications signed by entities such as 

law firms or other third-parties failing to 

meet the above criteria. 

Successful grantees will be bound by 

OMB Circular 110 i.e. ‘‘contractors that 

develop or draft specifications, 

requirements, statements of work, and 

invitations for bids and/or requests for 

proposals shall be excluded (emphasis 

added from competing for such 

procurements). 

Applicants who received funding 

under this program in the last 6 years 

for committee operations are not eligible 

to re-apply. The only exception will be 

made for grantees that seek funds on 

behalf of an entirely different committee 

whose efforts are totally outside of the 

scope of the original grant. 

D. Allocations 

The FY2009 appropriation for this 

program is $650,000. The Grant Review 

Board will review submissions and 

make recommendations for awards 

based on merit without regard to 

category. 

In addition, to the competitive 

process identified in the preceding 

paragraph, FMCS will subject to funds 

availability, set aside a sum not to 

exceed thirty percent of its non-reserved 

appropriation to be awarded on a noncompetitive basis. These funds will be 

used only to support applications that 

have been solicited by the Director of 

the Service and are not subject to the 

dollar range noted in Section E. All 

funds returned to FMCS from a 

competitive grant award may be 

awarded on a non-competitive basis in 

accordance with budgetary 

requirements. 

E. Dollar Range and Length of Grants 

Awards to expand existing or 

establish new labor-management 

committees will be for a period of up to 

18 months. If successful progress is 

made during this initial budget period 

and all grant funds are not obligated 

within the specified period, these grants 

may, at the discretion of FMCS, be 

extended for up to six months. 

The dollar range of awards is as 

follows: 

—Up to $65,000 over a period of up to 

18 months for company/plant 

committees or single department 

public sector applicants; 

—Up to $125,000 per 18-month period 

for area, industry, and multidepartment public sector committee 

applicants. 

Additionally, FMCS reserves the right 

under special conditions to award 

supplemental (continuation) grants 

subject to funds availability. If awarded 

the additional amount is added to the 

current grant amount. 

Applicants are reminded that these 

figures represent maximum Federal 

funds only. If total costs to accomplish 

the objectives of the application exceed 

the maximum allowable Federal 

funding level and its required grantee 

match, applicants may supplement 

these funds through voluntary 

contributions from other sources. 

Applicants are also strongly encouraged 

to consult with their local or regional 

FMCS field office to determine what 

kinds of training may be available at no 

cost before budgeting for such training 

in their applications. A list of our field 

leadership team and their phone 

numbers may be obtained from the 

FMCS Web site (http://www.fmcs.gov) 

under ‘‘Who We Are’’. 

F. Cash Match Requirements and Cost 

Allowability 

All applicants must provide at least 

10 percent of the total allowable project 

costs in cash. Matching funds may come 

from state or local government sources 

or private sector contributions, but may 

not include other Federal funds. Funds 

generated by grant-supported efforts are 

considered ‘‘project income,’’ and may 

not be used for matching purposes. 

It is the policy of this program to 

reject all requests for indirect or 

overhead costs as well as ‘‘in-kind’’ 

match contributions. In addition, grant 

funds must not be used to supplant 

private or local/state government funds 

currently spent for committee purposes. 

Funding requests from existing 

committees should focus entirely on the 

costs associated with the expansion 

efforts. Also, under no circumstances 

may business or labor officials 

participating on a labor-management 

committee be compensated out of grant 

funds for time spent at committee 

meetings or time spent in committee 

training sessions. Applicants generally 

will not be allowed to claim all or a 

portion of existing full-time staff as an 

expense or match contribution. For a 

more complete discussion of cost 

allowability, applicants are encouraged 

to consult the FY2009 FMCS Financial 

and Administrative Grants Manual, 

which will be included in the 

application kit. 

G. Application Submission and Review 

Process 

The Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF–424) form must be 

signed by both a labor and management 

representative. In lieu of signing the SF– 

424 form, representatives may type their 

name, title, and organization on plain 

bond paper with a signature line signed 

and dated, in accordance with block 18 

of the SF–424 form. The individual 

listed as contact person in block 6 on 

the application form will generally be 

the only person with whom FMCS will 

communicate during the application 

review process. Please be sure that 

person is available once the application 

has been submitted. Additionally, it is 

the applicant’s responsibility to notify 

FMCS in writing of any changes (e.g. if 

the address or contact person has 

changed). 

We will accept applications beginning 

May 1, 2009, and continue to do so until 

August 15, 2009, or until all FY2009 

grant funds are obligated. Awards will 

be made by September 30, 2009. 

Proposals may be accepted at any time 

between April 1, 2009 and August 15, 

2009 but proposals received late in the 

cycle have a greater risk of not being 

funded due to unavailability of funds. 

Once your application has been 

received and acknowledged by FMCS, 

no applications or supplementary 

materials will be accepted thereafter. 

Applicants are highly advised to contact 

the FMCS Grants Program prior to 

committing any resources to the 

preparation of a proposal. 

An original application containing 

numbered pages, plus three copies, 

should be addressed to the Federal 

Mediation and Conciliation Service, 

Labor-Management Grants Program, 

2100 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20427. FMCS will not consider 

videotaped submissions or video 

attachments to submissions. FMCS will 

11952 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 53 / Friday, March 20, 2009 / Notices 

1FTC Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment 

must be accompanied by an explicit request for 

confidential treatment, including the factual and 

legal basis for the request, and must identify the 

specific portions of the comment to be withheld 

from the public record. The request will be granted 

or denied by the Commission’s General Counsel, 

consistent with applicable law and the public 

interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

confirm receipt of all applications 

within 10 days thereof. 

All eligible applications will be 

reviewed and scored by a Grant Review 

Board. The Board(s) will recommend 

selected applications for rejection or 

further funding consideration. The 

Director or his/her designee will finalize 

the scoring and selection process. All 

FY2009 grant applicants will be notified 

of results and all grant awards will be 

made by September 30, 2009. 

Applications that fail to adhere to 

eligibility or other major requirements 

will be administratively rejected by the 

Director or his/her designee. 

H. Contact 

Individuals wishing to apply for 

funding under this program should 

contact the Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service as soon as possible 

to obtain an application kit. Please 

consult the FMCS Web site (http:// 

www.fmcs.gov) to download forms and 

information. These kits and additional 

information or clarification can be 

obtained free of charge by contacting the 

Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

Service, Labor-Management Grants 

Program, 2100 K Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20427, Linda Stubbs at 

(202) 606–8181 (lstubbs@fmcs.gov). 

Please consult the FMCS Web site 

(http://www.fmcs.gov) to download 

forms and information. 

Fran Leonard, 

Chief Financial Officer, Federal Mediation 

and Conciliation Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–6042 Filed 3–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6732–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request; Extension 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The information collection 

requirements described below will be 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for review, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (‘‘PRA’’). The FTC is seeking public 

comments on its proposal to extend 

through May 31, 2012, the current PRA 

clearance for information collection 

requirements contained in its 

Telemarketing Sales Rule (‘‘TSR’’ or 

‘‘Rule’’). On November 26, 2008, OMB 

granted the FTC’s request for a shortterm extension of this clearance to May 

31, 2009, which focused on recent 

amendments to the Rule. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

electronically or in paper form. 

Comments should refer to 

‘‘Telemarketing Sales Rule: FTC File No. 

P994414’’ to facilitate the organization 

of comments. Please note that your 

comment—including your name and 

your state—will be placed on the public 

record of this proceeding, including on 

the publicly accessible FTC website, at 

(http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm). 

Because comments will be made 

public, they should not include any 

sensitive personal information, such as 

an individual’s Social Security Number; 

date of birth; driver’s license number or 

other state identification number, or 

foreign country equivalent; passport 

number; financial account number; or 

credit or debit card number. Comments 

also should not include any sensitive 

health information, such as medical 

records or other individually 

identifiable health information. In 

addition, comments should not include 

any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which is obtained 

from any person and which is privileged 

or confidential. . . .,’’ as provided in 

Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and Commission Rule 4.10(a)(2), 

16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing 

material for which confidential 

treatment is requested must be filed in 

paper form, must be clearly labeled 

‘‘Confidential,’’ and must comply with 

FTC Rule 4.9(c).1

Because paper mail addressed to the 

FTC is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening, please 

consider submitting your comments in 

electronic form. Comments filed in 

electronic form should be submitted by 

using the following weblink: (https:// 

secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRPRA) 

(and following the instructions on the 

web-based form). To ensure that the 

Commission considers an electronic 

comment, you must file it on the webbased form at the weblink (https:// 

secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRPRA). If this Notice appears at 

(http://www.regulations.gov/search/ 

index.jsp), you may also file an 

electronic comment through that 

website. The Commission will consider 

all comments that regulations.gov 

forwards to it. You may also visit the 

FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to 

read the Notice and the news release 

describing it. 

A comment filed in paper form 

should include the ‘‘Telemarketing 

Sales Rule: FTC File No. P994414’’ 

reference both in the text and on the 

envelope, and should be mailed or 

delivered to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, 

DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that 

any comment filed in paper form be sent 

by courier or overnight service, if 

possible, because U.S. postal mail in the 

Washington area and at the Commission 

is subject to delay due to heightened 

security precautions. 

The FTC Act and other laws the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives, 

whether filed in paper or electronic 

form. Comments received will be 

available to the public on the FTC 

website, to the extent practicable, at 

(http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of 

discretion, the Commission makes every 

effort to remove home contact 

information for individuals from the 

public comments it receives before 

placing those comments on the FTC 

website. More information, including 

routine uses permitted by the Privacy 

Act, may be found in the FTC’s privacy 

policy, at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/ 

privacy.shtm). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the proposed information 

requirements should be sent to Craig 

Tregillus, Attorney, Division of 

Marketing Practices, Bureau of 

Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 

Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., 

N.W., Room H-238, Washington, D.C. 

20580, (202) 326-2970. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal 

agencies must obtain approval from 

OMB for each collection of information 

they conduct or sponsor. ‘‘Collection of 

information’’ means agency requests or 

requirements that members of the public 

submit reports, keep records, or provide 

information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 

3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by 

section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 

FTC is providing this opportunity for 

public comment before requesting that 

OMB extend the existing paperwork