Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 2014 / Notices 75187 

85,654, AeroTek, Longview, Texas. 

85,655, Human Technologies, Longview, 

Texas. 

I hereby certify that the aforementioned 

determinations were issued during the period 

of November 24, 2014 through November 28, 

2014. These determinations are available on 

the Department’s Web site www.tradeact/taa/ 

taa_search_form.cfm under the searchable 

listing of determinations or by calling the 

Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance toll 

free at 888–365–6822. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of 

December 2014. 

Michael W. Jaffe, 

Certifying Officer, Office of Trade Adjustment 

Assistance. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29508 Filed 12–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P 

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 

CORPORATION 

[MCC FR 14–09] 

Report on the Selection of Eligible 

Countries for Fiscal Year 2015 

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This report is provided in 

accordance with section 608(d)(1) of the 

Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, 

Public Law 108–199, Division D, (the 

‘‘Act’’), 22 U.S.C. 7708(d)(1). 

Dated: December 12, 2014. 

Thomas G. Hohenthaner, 

Vice President/General Counsel and 

Corporate Secretary (Acting), Millennium 

Challenge Corporation. 

Report on the Selection of Eligible 

Countries for Fiscal Year 2015 

Summary 

This report is provided in accordance 

with section 608(d)(1) of the 

Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as 

amended, Public Law 108–199, Division 

D, (the ‘‘Act’’) (22 U.S.C. 7707(d)(1)). 

The Act authorizes the provision of 

Millennium Challenge Account 

(‘‘MCA’’) assistance under section 605 

of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7704) to countries 

that enter into compacts with the United 

States to support policies and programs 

that advance the progress of such 

countries in achieving lasting economic 

growth and poverty reduction, and are 

in furtherance of the Act. The Act 

requires the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation (‘‘MCC’’) to determine the 

countries that will be eligible to receive 

MCA assistance for the fiscal year, based 

on their demonstrated commitment to 

just and democratic governance, 

economic freedom, and investing in 

their people, as well as on the 

opportunity to reduce poverty and 

generate economic growth in the 

country. The Act also requires the 

submission of reports to appropriate 

congressional committees and the 

publication of notices in the Federal 

Register that identify, among other 

things: 

1. The countries that are ‘‘candidate 

countries’’ for MCA assistance for fiscal 

year (‘‘FY’’) 2015 based on their percapita income levels and their eligibility 

to receive assistance under U.S. law, 

and countries that would be candidate 

countries but for specified legal 

prohibitions on assistance (section 

608(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(a))); 

2. The criteria and methodology that 

the Board of Directors of MCC (the 

‘‘Board’’) will use to measure and 

evaluate the policy performance of the 

‘‘candidate countries’’ consistent with 

the requirements of section 607 of the 

Act in order to select ‘‘MCA eligible 

countries’’ from among the ‘‘candidate 

countries’’ (section 608(b) of the Act (22 

U.S.C. 7707(b))); and 

3. The list of countries determined by 

the Board to be ‘‘MCA eligible 

countries’’ for FY 2015, with 

justification for eligibility determination 

and selection for compact negotiation, 

including with which of the MCA 

eligible countries the Board will seek to 

enter into MCA compacts (section 

608(d) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(d))). 

This is the third of the abovedescribed reports by MCC for FY 2015. 

It identifies countries determined by the 

Board to be eligible under section 607 

of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706) for FY 2015 

and countries with which the MCC will 

seek to enter into compacts under 

section 609 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7708), 

as well as the justification for such 

decisions. The report also identifies 

countries determined by the Board to be 

eligible for MCC’s Threshold Program 

under section 616 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 

7715). 

Eligible Countries 

The Board met on December 10, 2014, 

to select countries that will be eligible 

for MCA compact assistance under 

section 607 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706) 

for FY 2015. The Board selected the 

following countries as eligible for such 

assistance for FY 2015: Mongolia, 

Nepal, and the Philippines. The Board 

also reselected the following countries 

as eligible for FY 2015 MCA compact 

assistance—Benin, Lesotho, Liberia, 

Morocco, Niger, and Tanzania. Sierra 

Leone, which was not reselected for 

compact assistance, was selected as 

eligible for threshold assistance. Cote 

d’Ivoire was also selected as eligible for 

threshold assistance, and Guatemala 

was reselected for eligibility for 

threshold program funds from FY 2015. 

The Board also confirmed its support for 

MCC’s efforts to explore new 

partnerships in South Asia that could 

contribute to regional economic 

benefits. This is because, under the right 

circumstances, such a regional approach 

may present opportunities to take 

advantage of higher rates of return on 

investment and/or larger-scale 

reductions in poverty. 

Criteria 

In accordance with the Act and with 

the ‘‘Report on the Criteria and 

Methodology for Determining the 

Eligibility of Candidate Countries for 

Millennium Challenge Account 

Assistance in Fiscal Year 2015’’ 

formally submitted to Congress on 

September 18, 2014, selection was based 

primarily on a country’s overall 

performance in three broad policy 

categories: Ruling Justly, Encouraging 

Economic Freedom, and Investing in 

People. The Board relied, to the 

maximum extent possible, upon 

transparent and independent indicators 

to assess countries’ policy performance 

and demonstrated commitment in these 

three broad policy areas. The Board 

compared countries’ performance on the 

indicators relative to their income-level 

peers, evaluating them in comparison to 

either the group of low income 

scorecard countries (‘‘LIC’’) or the group 

of lower middle income scorecard 

countries (‘‘LMIC’’). 

The criteria and methodology used to 

assess countries on the annual 

scorecards are outlined in the ‘‘Report 

on the Criteria and Methodology for 

Determining the Eligibility of Candidate 

Countries for Millennium Challenge 

Account Assistance in Fiscal Year 

2015’’ (www.mcc.gov/pages/docs/doc/

report-selection-criteria-andmethodology-fy15). Scorecards 

reflecting each country’s performance 

on the indicators are available on MCC’s 

Web site at www.mcc.gov/scorecards. 

The Board also considered whether 

any adjustments should be made for 

data gaps, data lags, or recent events 

since the indicators were published, as 

well as strengths or weaknesses in 

particular indicators. Where 

appropriate, the Board took into account 

additional quantitative and qualitative 

information, such as evidence of a 

country’s commitment to fighting 

corruption, investments in human 

development outcomes, or poverty rates. 

For example, for additional information 

in the area of corruption, the Board 

considered how a country is evaluated 

by supplemental sources like 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

75188 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 2014 / Notices 

Transparency International’s Corruption 

Perceptions Index, the Global Integrity 

Report, Open Government Partnership 

status, and the Extractive Industry 

Transparency Initiative, among others, 

as well as on the defined indicator. The 

Board may also take into account the 

margin of error around an indicator, 

when applicable. In keeping with 

legislative directives, the Board also 

considered the opportunity to reduce 

poverty and promote economic growth 

in a country, in light of the overall 

information available, as well as the 

availability of appropriated funds. 

This was the sixth year the Board 

considered the eligibility of countries 

for subsequent compacts, as permitted 

under section 609(k) of the Act (22 

U.S.C. 7708(k)). The Board also 

considered the eligibility of countries 

for initial compacts. The Board sees the 

selection decision as an annual 

opportunity to determine where MCC 

funds can be most effectively invested 

to support poverty reduction through 

economic growth in relatively wellgoverned, poor countries. The Board 

carefully considers the appropriate 

nature of each country partnership—on 

a case by case basis—based on factors 

related to economic growth and poverty 

reduction, the sustainability of MCC’s 

investments, and the country’s ability to 

attract and leverage public and private 

resources in support of development. 

MCC’s engagement with partner 

countries is not open-ended, and the 

Board is very deliberate when 

determining eligibility for follow-on 

partnerships. In determining subsequent 

compact eligibility, the Board 

considered—in addition to the criteria 

outlined above—the country’s 

performance implementing its first 

compact, including the nature of the 

country’s partnership with MCC, the 

degree to which the country has 

demonstrated a commitment and 

capacity to achieve program results, and 

the degree to which the country has 

implemented the compact in accordance 

with MCC’s core policies and standards. 

To the greatest extent possible, this was 

assessed using pre-existing monitoring 

and evaluation targets and regular 

quarterly reporting. 

This information was supplemented 

with direct surveys and consultation 

with MCC staff responsible for compact 

implementation, monitoring, and 

evaluation. MCC published a Guide to 

the Supplemental Information Sheet 

(www.mcc.gov/pages/docs/doc/pubguide-to-supplemental-informationfy15) and a Guide to the Compact 

Survey Summary (www.mcc.gov/pages/ 

docs/doc/summary-compact-surveysummary-fy15) in order to increase 

transparency about the type of 

supplemental information the Board 

uses to assess a country’s policy 

performance and compact 

implementation performance. The 

Board also considered a country’s 

commitment to further sector reform, as 

well as evidence of improved scorecard 

policy performance. 

As with previous years, a number of 

countries that performed well on the 

quantitative elements of the selection 

criteria (i.e., on the policy indicators) 

were not chosen as eligible countries for 

FY 2015. FY 2015 was a particularly 

competitive year: seven countries were 

already working to develop compacts, 

multiple countries passed the scorecard 

(some for the first time), and funding 

was limited due to budget constraints. 

As a result, only three countries that 

passed the scorecard were newly 

selected for MCC compact eligibility, 

and two for the threshold program (one 

of which was Sierra Leone, moving from 

compact to threshold program 

eligibility). 

Countries newly selected for compact 

eligibility 

Using the criteria described above, 

Mongolia, Nepal, and the Philippines 

are the only candidate countries under 

section 606(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 

7705(a)) that were newly selected as 

eligible for MCA assistance for a 

compact under section 607 of the Act 

(22 U.S.C. 7706). 

Mongolia: After graduating to LMIC 

status in FY 2013, Mongolia has passed 

MCC’s scorecard criteria for two 

consecutive years and has shown 

improvement on the Control of 

Corruption indicator. It also remains a 

strong democracy in its region. Rapid 

growth in the mining sector has fostered 

recent economic growth; however, 27 

percent of the population live below the 

national poverty line, on par with 

countries such as Honduras or 

Nicaragua. The country successfully 

implemented its first compact, which 

focused on strengthening property 

rights, reducing non-communicable 

diseases, bolstering vocational 

education, reducing air pollution, and 

constructing an all-weather road to link 

markets. 

Nepal: Nepal has consistently passed 

the scorecard criteria for four 

consecutive years. Over the past year, 

Nepal held successful elections and 

made progress towards completing a 

draft constitution, thus demonstrating 

continued progress toward 

institutionalizing democratic 

governance. Nepal has also shown 

stronger policy performance as the 

political situation has stabilized, 

including improved performance on the 

Political Rights indicator. Selection for 

a compact offers Nepal a significant 

opportunity for poverty reduction in a 

critically important region. A compact 

investment will build on the economic 

analysis and development work 

completed during eligibility for the 

Threshold Program. 

Philippines: The Philippines once 

again met MCC’s scorecard criteria in 

FY 2015, despite graduating to LMIC 

status in FY 2012, where the standards 

are higher and therefore more difficult 

to meet. The Philippines’ improvement 

has been most notable on the Control of 

Corruption indicator, on which it 

improved from the 24th to 61st 

percentile in just three years. The 

country is on track to successfully 

complete its current compact, which 

focuses on reducing transportation costs 

through road rehabilitation, as well as 

bringing efficiencies to tax collection 

and investing in small-scale, 

community-driven development 

projects. 

Countries reselected to continue 

compact development 

Five of the countries selected as 

eligible for MCA compact assistance for 

FY 2015 were previously selected as 

eligible in FY 2014. These countries 

include Lesotho, Liberia, Morocco, 

Niger, and Tanzania. The Board 

reselected these countries based on their 

continued or improved policy 

performance since their prior selection. 

In FY15, unlike in FY14, Benin also 

meets the scorecard criteria, including 

passing the Control of Corruption 

hurdle. The Board reselected Benin as 

compact eligible, as well. 

Countries selected as eligible to receive 

threshold assistance 

The Board selected Cote d’Ivoire as 

eligible to receive threshold assistance. 

After years of working with MCC and 

MCC indicator institutions in order to 

strengthen their scorecard performance, 

Cote D’Ivoire went from passing 5 to 10 

indicators over the last two years, due 

to updating data and pursuing policy 

reforms linked to the scorecard. In FY 

2015, Cote D’Ivoire meets the minimum 

scorecard criteria for the first time, 

passing 10 indicators, including both 

hard hurdles. Selection for eligibility for 

threshold assistance will allow Cote 

d’Ivoire an opportunity to further 

strengthen its scorecard performance, 

and allow MCC the opportunity to work 

with the government on the country’s 

ongoing efforts in policy reform. 

The Board also selected Sierra Leone 

as eligible to receive threshold 

assistance. Sierra Leone has been 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 2014 / Notices 75189 

committed to reform and is a strong 

partner of MCC—taking numerous steps 

to improve transparency and fight 

corruption over 2014, even in the face 

of the Ebola crisis. Sierra Leone also 

continued to improve its overall 

scorecard performance by meeting 12 of 

20 indicators this year versus 11 of 20 

last year. However, Sierra Leone did not 

meet MCC’s scorecard criteria for the 

second year, again narrowly missing a 

passing score on the Control of 

Corruption indicator. By selecting Sierra 

Leone as eligible for threshold 

assistance, MCC aims to support the 

government in its efforts to continue its 

positive overall policy trajectory, while 

also allowing MCC to bolster Sierra 

Leone’s efforts by supporting continued 

institutional and policy reforms as the 

country emerges from its Ebola crisis. 

Countries reselected to continue 

developing threshold programs 

This year the Board reselected 

Guatemala as eligible to continue 

developing a threshold program. 

Guatemala continues to pass more than 

half of the scorecard overall by meeting 

11 of 20 indicators. It also continues to 

meet the Democratic Rights hurdle. 

Guatemala improved on the Control of 

Corruption indicator and currently 

performs on the median in the 50th

percentile. 

Ongoing review of partner countries’ 

policy performance 

Countries already implementing 

compacts do not need to be reselected 

each year in order to continue 

implementation. Once MCC makes a 

commitment to a country through a 

compact, MCC does not consider the 

country for reselection on an annual 

basis during the term of its compact. 

The Board emphasized the need for all 

partner countries to maintain or 

improve their policy performance. If it 

is determined that a country has 

demonstrated a significant policy 

reversal, MCC can hold it accountable 

by applying MCC’s Suspension and 

Termination Policy (www.mcc.gov/

pages/about/policy/policy-onsuspension-and-termination). 

Regional partnerships 

The Board also confirmed its support 

for MCC’s efforts to explore new 

partnerships in South Asia that could 

contribute to regional economic 

benefits. This is because, under the right 

circumstances, such a regional approach 

may present opportunities to take 

advantage of higher rates of return on 

investment and/or larger-scale 

reductions in poverty. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29567 Filed 12–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9211–03–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Alan T. Waterman Award Committee; 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 

463, as amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Alan T. Waterman Award 

Committee (1172). 

Date and Time: January 8, 2015, 8:30 a.m.– 

2:00 p.m. 

Place: NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 

1295, Arlington, Virginia 22230. 

Type of Meeting: Closed. 

Contact Person: Ms. Mayra Montrose, 

Program Manager, Room 1282, National 

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Arlington, VA 22230; Telephone: 703–292– 

8040. 

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice and 

recommendations in the selection of the Alan 

T. Waterman Award recipient. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate 

nominations as part of the selection process 

for awards. 

Reason for Closing: The proposals being 

reviewed include information of a 

proprietary or confidential nature, including 

technical information, financial data such as 

salaries, and personal information 

concerning individuals associated with the 

proposals. These matters are exempt under 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c), (4) and (6) of the Government 

in the Sunshine Act. 

Dated: December 12, 2014. 

Suzanne Plimpton, 

Acting, Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29553 Filed 12–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee; Open Committee 

Meetings; Correction 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Notice, correction. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) published a notice 

in the Federal Register on December 8, 

2014, (79 FR 72714) announcing the 

2015 meeting dates of the Federal 

Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. 

The notice incorrectly listed the year of 

the meetings. This document corrects 

this error. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madeline Gonzalez, by telephone at 

(202) 606–2858 or by email at pay-leavepolicy@opm.gov. 

Correction: The correct dates are as 

follows: 

Thursday, January 15, 2015 

Thursday, February 19, 2015 

Thursday, March 19, 2015 

Thursday, April 16, 2015 

Thursday, May 21, 2015 

Thursday, June 18, 2015 

Thursday, July 16, 2015 

Thursday, August 20, 2015 

Thursday, September 17, 2015 

Thursday October 15, 2015 

Thursday, November 19, 2015 

Thursday, December 17, 2015 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Sheldon Friedman, 

Chairman, Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29447 Filed 12–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–49–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

President’s Commission on White 

House Fellowships Advisory 

Committee: Closed Meeting 

AGENCY: President’s Commission on 

White House Fellowships, U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The President’s Commission 

on White House Fellowships (PCWHF) 

was established by an Executive Order 

in 1964. The PCWHF is an advisory 

committee composed of Special 

Government Employees appointed by 

the President. The Advisory Committee 

will meet in June to interview potential 

candidates for recommendation to 

become a White House Fellow. 

The meeting is closed. 

Name of Committee: President’s 

Commission on White House 

Fellowships Mid-Year Meeting. 

Date: January 26, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. 

Place: TBD. 

Agenda: The Commission will talk to 

current Fellows on how their 

placements are going and discuss 

progress on strategic goals and 

recruiting efforts. 

Location: TBD. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Y. Kaplan, 712 Jackson Place 

NW., Washington, DC 20503, and 

Phone: 202–395–4522. 

President’s Commission on White House 

Fellowships. 

Jennifer Y. Kaplan, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29556 Filed 12–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–44–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES