Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 20 / Wednesday, January 30, 2008 / Notices 5599 

management and to the NRC without fear of 

retaliation, where concerns are promptly reviewed, 

given the proper priority, and appropriately 

resolved and timely feedback is provided. The NRC 

issued a Policy Statement, ‘‘Freedom of Employees 

in the Nuclear Industry to Raise Safety Concerns 

Without Fear of Retaliation’’ on May 14, 1996 [61 

FR 24336] and additional guidelines in Regulatory 

Issue Summary 2005–18, ‘‘Guidance for 

Establishing and Maintaining a Safety Conscious 

Work Environment’’ on August 25, 2005. 

to raise safety concerns to the NRC and 

to Mattingly Testing’s senior 

management without fear of retaliation. 

In addition, describe the actions it has 

taken and plans to take to ensure its 

employees understand the provisions of 

10 CFR 19.15, 10 CFR 30.7, and 10 CFR 

30.9. 

Copies of this information shall also 

be sent to the Assistant General Counsel 

for Materials Litigation and Enforcement 

at the same address above, and to the 

Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, 

611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, 

Arlington, Texas 76011–4005. 

After reviewing your response, the 

NRC will determine whether further 

action is necessary to ensure 

compliance with regulatory 

requirements. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Dated this 23rd day of January, 2008. 

Cynthia A. Carpenter, 

Director, Office of Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. E8–1645 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND 

BUDGET 

Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness 

Analysis of Federal Programs 

AGENCY: Office of Management and 

Budget. 

ACTION: Revisions to Appendix C of 

OMB Circular A–94. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Management 

and Budget revised Circular A–94 in 

1992. The revised Circular specified 

certain discount rates to be updated 

annually when the interest rate and 

inflation assumptions used to prepare 

the budget of the United States 

government were changed. These 

discount rates are found in Appendix C 

of the revised Circular. The updated 

discount rates are shown below. The 

discount rates in Appendix C are to be 

used for cost-effectiveness analysis, 

including lease-purchase analysis, as 

specified in the revised Circular. They 

do not apply to regulatory analysis. 

DATES: The revised discount rates are 

effective immediately and will be in 

effect through December 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert B. Anderson, Office of Economic 

Policy, Office of Management and 

Budget, (202) 395–3381. 

John H. Kitchen, 

Associate Director for Economic Policy, Office 

of Management and Budget. 

Attachment. 

Appendix C 

(Revised January 2008) 

Discount Rates for Cost-Effectiveness, 

Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses 

Effective Dates. This appendix is 

updated annually around the time of the 

President’s budget submission to 

Congress. This version of the appendix 

is valid for calendar year 2008. A copy 

of the updated appendix can be 

obtained in electronic form through the 

OMB home page at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/

a094/a94lappx-c.html, the text of the 

main body of the Circular is found at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

circulars/a094/a094.html, and a table of 

past years’ rates is located at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/

a094/DISCHIST-2008.pdf. Updates of 

the appendix are also available upon 

request from OMB’s Office of Economic 

Policy (202–395–3381). 

Nominal Discount Rates. A forecast of 

nominal or market interest rates for 

2008 based on the economic 

assumptions for the 2009 Budget are 

presented below. These nominal rates 

are to be used for discounting nominal 

flows, which are often encountered in 

lease-purchase analysis. 

NOMINAL INTEREST RATES ON TREASURY NOTES AND BONDS OF SPECIFIED MATURITIES

[In percent] 

3-Year 5-Year 7-Year 10-Year 20-Year 30-Year 

4.1 4.3 4.4 4.6 4.9 4.9 

Real Discount Rates. A forecast of real 

interest rates from which the inflation 

premium has been removed and based 

on the economic assumptions from the 

2009 Budget is presented below. These 

real rates are to be used for discounting 

constant-dollar flows, as is often 

required in cost-effectiveness analysis. 

REAL INTEREST RATES ON TREASURY NOTES AND BONDS OF SPECIFIED MATURITIES

[In percent] 

3-Year 5-Year 7-Year 10-Year 20-Year 30-Year 

2.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.8 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

5600 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 20 / Wednesday, January 30, 2008 / Notices 

Analyses of programs with terms 

different from those presented above 

may use a linear interpolation. For 

example, a four-year project can be 

evaluated with a rate equal to the 

average of the three-year and five-year 

rates. Programs with durations longer 

than 30 years may use the 30-year 

interest rate. 

[FR Doc. 08–416 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–M 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND 

BUDGET 

FY 2007 Pilot Program for Alternative 

Approaches to Performance and 

Accountability Reporting Open Forum 

AGENCY: Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). 

ACTION: Notice of open forum. 

SUMMARY: An open forum on the FY 

2007 Performance and Accountability 

Report (PAR) pilot will be held at the 

National Academy of Public 

Administration (NAPA) on April 14, 

2008 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The PAR 

pilot allows agencies to explore 

different formats to enhance the 

presentation of financial and 

performance information and make this 

information more meaningful and 

transparent to the public. As an 

alternative to the traditional PAR, 

agencies that participated in the pilot 

had to prepare and submit to OMB three 

component documents. The component 

documents included an Agency 

Financial Report (AFR), an Annual 

Performance Report (APR), and a 

Highlights document that presents 

performance and financial information 

in a summary fashion. The purpose of 

the forum is to obtain feedback from 

individual users and stakeholders 

regarding the results of the pilot. Those 

interested in participating should 

respond to the questions listed below by 

e-mail to either Regina Kearney at 

rkearney@omb.eop.gov, or Pat Harris at 

pharris@omb.eop.gov by close of 

business March 28, 2008. 

• Do the PAR pilot component 

documents (Annual Financial Report, 

Annual Performance Report, and 

Highlights): 

Æ Provide an enhanced presentation 

of the financial and performance 

information in a more transparent way 

(i.e., information is presented in a 

manner that is user friendly and easy 

enough for a novice reader to 

understand)? 

Æ Report financial and performance 

information more meaningfully (i.e., 

financial and performance data is 

reliable, relevant, and include 

measurable results linked to strategic 

goals)? 

Æ Tailor financial and performance 

information to meet stakeholder needs? 

Æ Report performance and financial 

results candidly and clearly articulate 

remedies to performance or financial 

shortfalls? 

• Are the PAR pilot component 

documents easily accessible via the web 

and are they easy to use? 

• Did the development of the PAR 

pilot component documents: 

Æ Improve internal and external 

communications? 

Æ Increase/decrease the burden on 

preparers? 

• What are individuals’

recommendations for improving 

performance and financial reporting? 

DATED: April 14, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 

12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The forum will be held in 

the National Academy of Public 

Administration (NAPA) building 

located at 900 7th Street, NW., Suite 

600, Washington, DC 20001. 

Due to potential delays in OMB’s 

receipt and processing of mail sent 

through the U.S. Postal Service, we 

encourage respondents to submit 

comments electronically to ensure 

timely receipt. We cannot guarantee that 

comments mailed will be received 

before the forum date. Electronic mail 

comments may be submitted to: 

rkearney@omb.eop.gov or 

pharris@omb.eop.gov. Please include 

‘‘PAR Pilot Open Forum’’ in the subject 

line and put the full body of your 

comments in the text of the electronic 

message and as an attachment. Please 

include your name, title, organization, 

postal address, telephone number, and 

e-mail address in the text of the 

message. Comments may also be 

submitted by mail at 725 17th St, NW., 

Room 6025, Washington, DC 20503. 

Please advise also if you will require 

any special accommodations in order to 

participate in the forum. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Regina Kearney, OMB Office of Federal 

Financial Management, 202–395–3993 

or E-mail: rkearney@omb.eop.gov. Pat 

Harris OMB Office of Performance and 

Personnel Management, at 202–395–

5018 or pharris@omb.eop.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Performance and Accountability Reports 

provide the public with agency financial 

and performance information. PARs are 

transparent tools Congress and the 

public can use to hold agencies 

accountable for their program 

performance and financial results. 

The FY 2007 PAR pilot, conducted 

from May 2007 to February 2008, was 

established so that agencies could 

explore different formats and 

timeframes for presenting financial and 

performance information and make this 

information more meaningful and 

transparent to the public. The pilot 

adjusted the timing for more detailed 

performance reporting, allowing the 

APR to coincide with the release of the 

President’s Budget. The pilot further 

required participating agencies to 

produce a Highlights document, which 

summarized key financial and 

performance information from the AFR 

and APR. 

Agencies who participated in the pilot 

include the Department of Health and 

Human Services, Department of 

Defense, Small Business 

Administration, Department of State, 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, Department of 

Homeland Security, National Science 

Foundation, Department of Energy, 

Denali Commission, Corporation for 

National Community Service and U.S. 

Agency for International Development. 

Dustin Brown, 

Deputy Assistant Director for Management. 

[FR Doc. E8–1573 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Investor 

Education and Advocacy, 

Washington, DC 20549–0213. 

Extension: 

Rule 611; OMB Control No. 3238–0600; 

SEC File No. 270–540. 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the collection of information 

summarized below. The Commission 

plans to submit this existing collection 

of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget for extension 

and approval. 

• (Rule 611 (17 CFR 242.611)—Order 

Protection Rule 

On June 9, 2005, effective August 29, 

2005 (see 70 FR 37496, June 29, 2005), 

the Commission adopted Rule 611 of 

Regulation NMS under the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et 

seq.) to require any national securities 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES