11004 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 28, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Postsecondary Education;

Borrower Defenses Regulations

Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory

Committee; Establishment

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of intent to establish the

Borrower Defenses Regulations

Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (Committee) for the William

D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct

Loan) Program, the Federal Family

Education Loan (FFEL) Program, and

the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins)

Program regulations.

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education

and the Office of Postsecondary

Education announce the intention to

establish the Borrower Defenses

Regulations Negotiated Rulemaking

Advisory Committee to create draft

proposed rules for borrower defenses in

the Direct Loan, FFEL, and Perkins

Programs.

DATES AND TIMES: The first meeting of

the Committee is expected to be held in

late March 1995. The specific time, date,

and location will be announced in a

subsequent notice prior to the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicki Meoli, Program Specialist, Policy

Development Division, Office of

Postsecondary Education, U.S.

Department of Education, Room 3053,

ROB–3, 600 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20202–5400.

Telephone: (202) 708–9406. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through

Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Secretary has determined that it is

necessary and in the public interest to

establish the Borrower Defenses

Regulations Negotiated Rulemaking

Advisory Committee. The Department of

Education (Department) has retained the

services of a professional mediator to

serve as a neutral convener and

facilitator for the negotiated rulemaking.

The Committee will be balanced and

represent all parties that will be affected

by these rules. The Committee will

include representatives of institutions of

higher education, higher education

organizations, student loan lenders,

guaranty agencies, loan servicers, legal

aid organizations, students, and the

Department. Administrative support for

the Committee will be provided by the

Office of Postsecondary Education.

Issues To Be Negotiated

The issues to be negotiated include

which acts or omissions of an

institution of higher education a

borrower may assert as defenses to a

demand for repayment of a loan made

under the Direct Loan, FFEL, and

Perkins Programs, and the consequences

of such defenses for the institution, the

Secretary, and, for FFEL Program loans,

for the lender and the guaranty agency.

The Committee may also negotiate

issues regarding whether administrative

procedures should be established to

adjudicate whether a borrower has a

valid defense and the effect the

adjudication would have on the rights

and liabilities of institutions, lenders,

guaranty agencies, and the Secretary.

Agenda for First Meeting

The draft agenda for the first meeting,

which will be organizational, follows:

(1) Welcoming remarks.

(2) Introduction of facilitator and

participants.

(3) Discussion of procedural ground

rules.

(4) General discussion of participants’

perspectives on substantive issues.

(5) Development of issue agendas or

drafts for subsequent meetings.

Structure of Committee

The ultimate goal of negotiated

rulemaking is to reach consensus among

all committee members through

discussion and negotiation among all

interested and affected parties,

including the Department. With this in

mind, the Department will conduct

these negotiations within a structure

that is designed to reach this goal fairly

and efficiently and give strong

consideration to the complex nature of

the issues to be negotiated. All members

of the Committee will be able to

participate in discussion and

negotiation. The Office of Postsecondary

Education has selected the members

because they, and the groups they

represent, will be affected by the final

rule. Thus, the widest possible variety

of interests will be represented in the

negotiating process while maintaining

the possibility of reaching informed

agreement.

The following list of organizations are

‘‘full’’ members of the Committee (some

organizations with similar interests have

joined as a coalition):

Department of Education

American Association of Community

Colleges

American Association of Cosmetology

Schools

American Association of State Colleges

and Universities

American Council on Education

Association of American Universities

Career College Association

Coalition of private non-profit multiState guaranty agencies

Consumer Bankers Association

Education Finance Council

Hispanic Association of Colleges and

Universities

Legal Services Team (a coalition)

National Association of Independent

Colleges and Universities

National Association of State

Universities and Land Grant Colleges

National Association of Student

Financial Aid Administrators

National Association for Equal

Opportunity in Higher Education/

United Negro College Fund (a

coalition)

National Council of Higher Education

Loan Programs

Sallie Mae

United States Student Association

Requests for Participation

If you feel you represent, or wish to

nominate someone who represents, a

significantly affected interest that is not

included in the above list, please send

a request for participation to Nicki

Meoli, Program Specialist, Policy

Development Division, Office of

Postsecondary Education, U.S.

Department of Education, Room 3053,

ROB–3, 600 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20202–5400, no later

than 30 days after the publication of this

notice.

The Application Must Include

1. Name of the applicant or nominee

and a description of the interest or

interests to be represented;

2. Evidence that the applicant or

nominee is authorized to represent

parties related to the interest or interests

the person proposes to represent;

3. A written commitment that the

applicant or nominee will actively

participate in good faith in the

development of the rule under

consideration; and

4. The reasons that the organizations

listed in the notice do not adequately

represent the interest or interests of the

person or organization submitting the

application or nomination.

Please note that participation in the

rulemaking process is not limited to

members of the Committee. Meetings

are open to the public so interested

parties may observe the negotiations,

and there will be an allotted public

comment period at each session for the

public to communicate their views.

There are expected to be a total of three

meetings held in the Washington

Metropolitan area. In addition, proposed
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 28, 1995 / Notices 11005

rules resulting from these negotiations

will be published in the Federal

Register with a comment period. The

Department expects to publish these

proposed rules by July 1, 1995. A final

rule will be published by December 1,

1995.

Dated: February 23, 1995.

Richard W. Riley,

Secretary of Education.

[FR Doc. 95–4875 Filed 2–27–95; 8:45 am]

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