24446 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

n1 years; thereafter the immediate annuity

rate shall apply.

(4) For benefits for which the deferral

period is y years (y is an integer and y > n1

+ n2), interest rate i3 shall apply from the

valuation date for a period of y ¥ n1 ¥ n2

years, interest rate i2 shall apply for the

following n2 years, interest rate i1 shall apply

for the following n1 years; thereafter the

immediate annuity rate shall apply.

TABLE I

[Lump sum valuations]

Rate

set

For plans with a valuation date Immediate annuity rate

(percent)

Deferred annuities (percent)

On or after Before i1 2i2 i3 n1 n2

* * * * * * *

32 ..... 06–1–96 07–1–96 5.00 4.25 4.00 4.00 7 8

Annuity Valuations

In determining the value of interest factors

of the form v0:n (as defined in § 2676.13(b)(1))

for purposes of applying the formulas set

forth in § 2676.13 (b) through (i) and in

determining the value of any interest factor

used in valuing annuity benefits under this

subpart, the plan administrator shall use the

values of it prescribed in the table below.

The following table tabulates, for each

calendar month of valuation ending after the

effective date of this part, the interest rates

(denoted by i1, i2, * * *, and referred to

generally as it) assumed to be in effect

between specified anniversaries of a

valuation date that occurs within that

calendar month; those anniversaries are

specified in the columns adjacent to the

rates. The last listed rate is assumed to be in

effect after the last listed anniversary date.

TABLE II

[Annuity valuations]

For valuation

dates occurring in the

month—

The values of it are:

it for t = it for t = it for t =

* * * * * * *

June 1996 .... .0620 1–20 .0475 >20 N/A N/A

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 9th day

of May 1996.

Martin Slate,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 96–12125 Filed 5–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 685

RIN 1840–AC19

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan

Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Final regulations.

SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan

Program regulations to add the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) control

number to a section of the regulations.

The section contains information

collection requirements approved by

OMB. Under the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, no persons are required to

respond to a collection of information

unless it displays a valid OMB control

number. The Secretary takes this action

to inform the public that these

requirements have been approved and

affected parties must comply with them.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations are

effective on July 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rachel Edelstein, Program Specialist,

Direct Loan Policy Group, Policy

Development Division, U.S. Department

of Education, 600 Independence Avenue

SW. (Room 3053, ROB–3), Washington,

D.C. 20202. 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: Final

regulations for the William D. Ford

Federal Direct Loan Program were

published in the Federal Register on

December 1, 1995 (60 FR 61820).

Compliance with information collection

requirements in a section of these

regulations was delayed until those

requirements were approved by OMB

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995. OMB approved the information

collection requirements in the

regulations on November 24, 1995. The

information collection requirements in

these regulations will therefore become

effective with all of the other provisions

of the regulations on July 1, 1996.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

It is the practice of the Secretary to

offer interested parties the opportunity

to comment on proposed regulations.

However, the publication of OMB

control numbers is purely technical and

does not establish substantive policy.

Therefore, the Secretary has determined

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), that public

comment on the regulations is

unnecessary and contrary to the public

interest.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 685

Administrative practice and

procedure, Colleges and universities,

Education, Loan programs—education,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Student aid, Vocational

education.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 24447

1See Postal Ratemaking in a Time of Change: A

Report by the Joint Task Force on Postal

Ratemaking (June 1, 1992).

2The American Bankers Association, American

Business Press, Advertising Mail Marketing

Association, Direct Marketing Association, Inc.,

Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Federal Express

Corporation, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Major

Mailers Association, Mail Order Association of

America, Magazine Publishers of America,

Newspaper Association of America, National

Newspaper Association, the Commission’s Office of

the Consumer Advocate, Parcel Shippers

Association, Time Warner, Inc., United Parcel

Service, and the United States Postal Service

submitted comments in response to the Notice.

Some of these comments were not timely filed,

primarily owing to extraordinarily adverse weather

conditions on the date they were due. In order to

avoid prejudice to any party who wished to

comment, the Commission has considered all

comments received.

Dated: May 8, 1996.

David A. Longanecker,

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary

Education.

The Secretary amends Part 685 of

Title 34 of the Code of Federal

Regulations as follows:

PART 685—WILLIAM D. FORD

FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM

1. The authority citation for Part 685

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et. seq, unless

otherwise noted.

§ 685.209 [Amended]

2. Section 685.209 is amended by

revising the OMB control number

following the section to read as follows:

‘‘(Approved by the Office of

Management and Budget under control

number 1840–0672).’’

[FR Doc. 96–11944 Filed 5–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

POSTAL RATE COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3001

[Docket No. RM95–4; Order No. 1110]

Rules of Practice and Procedure

AGENCY: Postal Rate Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth

amendments to the Commission’s rules

of practice and procedure that provide

for expedited consideration of requests

of the United States Postal Service to:

conduct market tests of new postal

services in order to develop information

necessary to support a permanent mail

classification change; adopt, on a

provisional basis, mail classification

and associated rate changes that

supplement, but do not alter, existing

rates and mail classifications; and adopt

permanent but narrowly focused mail

classification changes that supplement,

but do not alter, existing rates and mail

classifications. In addition to these

amendments, the final rule adopts

provisions that allow the Postal Service

to use a multi-year test period for the

purpose of demonstrating the financial

viability of potential new services that

are the subject of a concurrent Postal

Service request.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These rules are effective

May 15, 1996 through May 15, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen L. Sharfman, Legal Advisor,

Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H Street

NW., Suite 300, Washington DC 20268–

0001 (telephone: 202/789–6820).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

October 27, 1995, the Commission

published a notice of proposed

amendments to its rules of practice and

procedure designed to facilitate

expedited consideration of Postal

Service requests to: (1) Conduct market

tests of new postal services in order to

develop information necessary to

support a permanent mail classification

change; (2) adopt, on a provisional

basis, mail classification and associated

rate changes that supplement, but do

not alter, existing rates and mail

classifications; and (3) adopt permanent

but narrowly focused mail classification

changes that supplement, but do not

alter, existing rates and mail

classifications. The proposed

amendments also include provisions

that would permit the Postal Service to

request the Commission’s use of a multiyear test period for the purpose of

demonstrating the financial viability of

potential new services that are the

subject of a concurrent Postal Service

request. 60 FR 54981–89 (October 27,

1995). The Commission’s proposed

rules pursue specific recommendations

of the Joint Task Force on Postal

Ratemaking,1 and are responsive to a

majority of the initiatives requested by

the Postal Service in a petition

submitted to the Commission on April

13, 1995. Id. at 54981.

The Commission received 17 sets of

comments in response to the Notice of

October 27.2 The commenters present

divergent views on both the substance

of the Commission’s proposed rules and

the propriety of adopting them in the

current proceeding. Additionally,

several commenters suggest that the

Commission pursue other initiatives in

this proceeding that were originally

recommended by the Joint Task Force

Report and proposed in the Postal

Service’s petition. In view of these

diverse statements of position, it is

appropriate to begin with a discussion

of the considerations bearing on the

Commission’s determination to adopt

new rules at this time in four areas, on

a five-year trial basis.

I. Considerations Bearing on Adoption

of Proposed Rules

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

published on October 27, the

Commission announced its

determination to promulgate draft rules

which would implement a majority, but

not all, of the seven procedural

initiatives contained in the Postal

Service’s Petition of April 13, 1995. 60

FR 54981. The Commission found that

four of the initiatives offered the greatest

promise for procedural improvement in

the near term. Accordingly, the

Commission published draft rules of

procedure governing market tests,

limited-duration provisional service

changes, minor classifications changes,

and multi-year test periods for new

services. With regard to the remaining

three Postal Service initiatives—rules

for limited scope rate cases, rate bands

for competitive services, and Negotiated

Service Agreements—the Commission

concluded that their consideration

should be deferred for various reasons,

but stated that each of the areas merits

further study and deliberation in

subsequent proceedings. Id. at 54981,

54985.

The Deferred Postal Service Proposals

Several commenters ask the

Commission to take up one or more of

the three remaining initiatives, either in

this proceeding or by initiating another

rulemaking in the near future. Time

Warner urges the Commission to

reconsider the determination to defer

consideration of rules for establishing

rate bands for competitive services and

rules providing for contract rates; Parcel

Shippers Association comments that

adoption of procedures allowing rate

bands and negotiated service contracts

is crucial to the competitive posture of

the Postal Service. Advertising Mail

Marketing Association, Dow Jones &

Company, Magazine Publishers of

America, and Mail Order Association of

America comment in favor of initiating

a proceeding in the near future to

consider one or more of the three

deferred initiatives. The Postal Service

states that it would have preferred that

all its proposals be addressed in this

proceeding, but urges the Commission

to issue a further rulemaking on the

remaining initiatives now that Docket

No. MC95–1 has been concluded.

The Commission continues to believe

that limited scope rate cases, rate bands,

and Negotiated Service Agreements

present issues that are qualitatively