Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 2014 / Notices 78133 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

[Docket No. SSA–2014–0075] 

Rate for Assessment on Direct 

Payment of Fees to Representatives in 

2015 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration 

(SSA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are announcing that the 

assessment percentage rate under 

sections 206(d) and 1631(d)(2)(C) of the 

Social Security Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 

406(d) and 1383(d)(2)(C), is 6.3 percent 

for 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey C. Blair, Associate General 

Counsel for Program Law, Office of the 

General Counsel, Social Security 

Administration, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, 

Phone: (410) 965–3157, email Jeff.Blair@

ssa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A 

claimant may appoint a qualified 

individual as a representative to act on 

his or her behalf in matters before the 

Social Security Administration. If the 

individual was represented either by an 

attorney or by a non-attorney 

representative who has met certain 

prerequisites, the Act provides that we 

may withhold up to 25 percent of the 

past-due benefits and use that money to 

pay the representative’s approved fee 

directly to the representative. 

When we pay the representative’s fee 

directly to the representative, we must 

collect from that fee payment an 

assessment to recover the costs we incur 

in determining and paying 

representatives’ fees. The Act provides 

that the assessment we collect will be 

the lesser of two amounts: A specified 

dollar limit; or the amount determined 

by multiplying the fee we are paying by 

the assessment percentage rate. 

(Sections 206(d), 206(e), and 1631(d)(2) 

of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 406(d), 406(e), and 

1383(d)(2).) 

The Act initially set the dollar limit 

at $75 in 2004 and provides that the 

limit will be adjusted annually based on 

changes in the cost-of-living. (Sections 

206(d)(2)(A) and 1631(d)(2)(C)(ii)(I) of 

the Act, 42 U.S.C. 406(d)(2)(A) and 

1383(d)(2)(C)(ii)(I).) The maximum 

dollar limit for the assessment currently 

is $91, as we announced in the Federal 

Register on October 29, 2014 (79 FR 

64455). 

The Act requires us each year to set 

the assessment percentage rate at the 

lesser of 6.3 percent or the percentage 

rate necessary to achieve full recovery of 

the costs we incur to determine and pay 

representatives’ fees. (Sections 

206(d)(2)(B)(ii) and 1631(d)(2)(C)(ii)(II) 

of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 406(d)(2)(B)(ii) and 

1383(d)(2)(C)(ii)(II).) 

Based on the best available data, we 

have determined that the current rate of 

6.3 percent will continue for 2015. We 

will continue to review our costs for 

these services on a yearly basis. 

Dated: December 18, 2014. 

Peter D. Spencer, 

Deputy Commissioner for Budget, Finance, 

Quality, and Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30332 Filed 12–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

2015 Special 301 Review: Identification 

of Countries Under Section 182 of the 

Trade Act of 1974: Request for Public 

Comment and Announcement of 

Public Hearing 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Request for written submissions 

from the public and announcement of 

public hearing. 

SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act 

of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242) 

requires the United States Trade 

Representative (Trade Representative) to 

identify countries that deny adequate 

and effective protection of intellectual 

property rights (IPR) or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. The provisions of Section 

182 are commonly referred to as the 

‘‘Special 301’’ provisions of the Trade 

Act. The Trade Act requires the Trade 

Representative to determine which, if 

any, of these countries to identify as 

Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, 

policies, or practices that are the basis 

of a country’s identification as a Priority 

Foreign Country can be subject to the 

procedures set out in sections 301–305 

of the Trade Act. 

In addition, the Office of the United 

States Trade Representative (USTR) has 

created a ‘‘Priority Watch List’’ and 

‘‘Watch List’’ to assist the 

Administration in pursuing the goals of 

the Special 301 provisions. Placement of 

a trading partner on the Priority Watch 

List or Watch List indicates that 

particular problems exist in that country 

with respect to IPR protection, 

enforcement, or market access for 

persons that rely on intellectual 

property protection. Trading partners 

placed on the Priority Watch List are the 

focus of increased bilateral attention 

concerning the problem areas. 

USTR chairs the Special 301 

Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff 

Committee (Subcommittee). The 

Subcommittee reviews information from 

many sources, and consults with and 

makes recommendations to the Trade 

Representative on issues arising under 

Special 301. Written submissions from 

interested persons are a key source of 

information for the Special 301 review 

process. In 2015, USTR again will 

conduct a public hearing as part of the 

review process as well as offer the 

opportunity, as described below, for 

hearing participants to provide 

additional information relevant to the 

review. At the conclusion of the 

process, USTR will publish the results 

of the review in a ‘‘Special 301’’ Report. 

USTR is hereby requesting written 

submissions from the public concerning 

foreign countries that deny adequate 

and effective protection of intellectual 

property rights or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. USTR requests that 

interested parties provide the 

information described below in the 

‘‘Public Comments’’ section, and 

identify whether a particular trading 

partner should be named as a Priority 

Foreign Country under Section 182 of 

the Trade Act or placed on the Priority 

Watch List or Watch List. Foreign 

governments that have been identified 

in previous Special 301 Reports or that 

are nominated for review in 2015 are 

considered interested parties, and are 

invited to respond to this request for 

public submissions. Interested parties, 

including foreign governments, wishing 

to submit information to be considered 

during the review or testify at the public 

hearing must adhere to the procedures 

and deadlines set forth below. 

Dates/Deadlines: The schedule and 

deadlines for the 2015 Special 301 

review are as follows: 

Friday, February 6, 2015—Deadline 

for interested parties, except foreign 

governments, to submit written 

comments, notice of intent to testify at 

the Special 301 Public Hearing, and 

hearing statements. 

Friday, February 13, 2015—Deadline 

for foreign governments to submit 

written comments, notice of intent to 

testify at the Special 301 Public Hearing, 

and, although not mandatory, any 

prepared hearing statements. 

Tuesday, February 24, 2015—Public 

Hearing—The Special 301 

Subcommittee will hold a Public 

Hearing for interested parties, including 

representatives of foreign governments, 

at the offices of the International Trade 

Commission, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC. No later than Friday, 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
78134 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 2014 / Notices 

February 20, 2015, USTR will confirm 

the date and location of the hearing and 

provide the schedule at www.ustr.gov. 

Friday, February 27, 2015—Deadline 

for submitting post-hearing written 

comments. Interested parties may 

provide written comments after the 

hearing. To ensure consideration, 

comments must be received no later 

than Friday, February 27, 2015. Please 

submit additional written comments 

electronically via www.regulations.gov, 

docket number USTR–2014–0025. 

On or about April 30, 2015—USTR 

will publish the 2015 Special 301 

Report within 30 days of the publication 

of the National Trade Estimate (NTE) 

Report. 

Procedures/Addresses: All written 

comments, notices of intent to testify at 

the public hearing, hearing statements 

and post-hearing written responses must 

be in English and submitted 

electronically via www.regulations.gov, 

docket number USTR–2014–0025. 

Please specify ‘‘2015 Special 301 

Review’’ in the ‘‘Type Comment’’ field. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan F. Wilson, Director for 

Intellectual Property and Innovation, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative, at Special301@

ustr.eop.gov. Information on the Special 

301 annual review is also available at 

www.ustr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background 

USTR requests that interested persons 

identify through the process outlined in 

this notice those countries whose acts, 

policies, or practices deny adequate and 

effective protection for intellectual 

property rights or deny fair and 

equitable market access to U.S. persons 

who rely on intellectual property 

protection. 

Section 182 further requires the Trade 

Representative to identify any act, 

policy, or practice of Canada that affects 

cultural industries, is adopted or 

expanded after December 17, 1992, and 

is actionable under Article 2106 of the 

North American Free Trade Agreement 

(NAFTA). The public is invited to 

submit views relevant to this aspect of 

the review. 

Section 182 requires the Trade 

Representative to identify all such acts, 

policies, or practices within 30 days of 

the publication of the National Trade 

Estimate (NTE) Report. In accordance 

with this statutory requirement, USTR 

will publish the annual Special 301 

Report on or about April 30, 2015. 

2. Comments From the Public 

a. Requirements for Written Comments 

To facilitate the review, written 

comments should be as detailed as 

possible and provide all necessary 

information for identifying and 

assessing the effect of the acts, policies, 

and practices. USTR requests that 

interested parties provide specific 

references to laws, regulations, policy 

statements, executive, presidential or 

other orders, administrative, court or 

other determinations that should factor 

in the review. USTR also requests that, 

where relevant, submissions mention 

particular regions, provinces, states, or 

other subdivisions of a country in which 

an act, policy, or practice is believed to 

warrant special attention. Finally, 

submissions proposing countries for 

review should include data, loss 

estimates, and other information 

regarding the economic impact on the 

United States, U.S. industry and the 

U.S. workforce caused by the denial of 

adequate and effective intellectual 

property protection. Comments that 

include quantitative loss claims should 

be accompanied by the methodology 

used in calculating such estimated 

losses. 

b. Filing Instructions 

Comments must be in English. All 

comments should be sent electronically 

via www.regulations.gov, docket number 

USTR–2014–0025. To submit 

comments, locate the docket (folder) by 

entering the number USTR–2014–0025 

in the ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’ window 

at the www.regulations.gov home page 

and click ‘‘Search.’’ The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Locate the reference to this notice by 

selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document 

Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link 

entitled ‘‘Comment Now!.’’ USTR 

requests that comments be provided in 

an attached document, and that the file 

be named according to the following 

protocol, as appropriate: Commenter 

Name or Organization_2015 Special 301 

Review_Comment or Notice of Intent to 

Testify or Hearing Testimony. Please 

include the following information in the 

‘‘Type Comment’’ field: ‘‘2015 Special 

301 Review’’ and whether the 

submission is a comment, a request to 

testify at the public hearing, or hearing 

testimony. Please submit documents 

prepared in (or compatible with) 

Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat 

(.pdf) formats. If the submission was 

prepared in a compatible format, please 

indicate the name of the relevant 

software application in the ‘‘Type 

Comment’’ field. For further information 

on using the www.regulations.gov Web 

site, please select ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of any 

page. 

3. Public Hearing 

a. Notice of Public Hearing 

The Special 301 Subcommittee will 

hold a public hearing on February 24, 

2015, at the offices of the International 

Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 

Washington, DC, at which interested 

parties, including representatives of 

foreign governments, may appear. The 

hearing will be open to the public. 

Please consult www.ustr.gov on or after 

February 20, 2015, to confirm the date 

and location of the hearing, and to 

obtain copies of the hearing. USTR also 

will post the transcript and recording of 

the hearing on the site as soon after the 

hearing as possible. 

b. Submission of Notice of Intent To 

Testify and Hearing Statements 

Prepared oral testimony before the 

Special 301 Subcommittee must be 

delivered in person, in English, and will 

be limited to five minutes. Subcommitte 

member agencies may ask questions 

following the prepared statement. 

Interested parties, except foreign 

governments, wishing to testify at the 

hearing must submit a ‘‘Notice of Intent 

to Testify’’ and ‘‘Hearing Statement’’ to 

www.regulations.gov (following the 

procedures set forth in ‘‘Filing 

Instructions’’ above). The filing deadline 

is Friday, February 7, 2015. The Notice 

of Intent to Testify must include the 

name of the witness, name of the 

organization (if applicable), address, 

telephone number, fax number, and 

email address. A Hearing Statement 

must accompany the Notice of Intent to 

Testify. There is no requirement 

regarding the length of the Hearing 

Statement; however, the content of the 

testimony must be relevant to the 

Special 301 Review. 

All interested foreign governments 

that wish to testify at the hearing must 

submit a ‘‘Notice of Intent to Testify’’ to 

www.regulations.gov (following the 

procedures set forth in ‘‘Filing 

Instructions’’ above). The Notice of 

Intent to Testify must be filed by Friday, 

February 14, 2015, and include the 

name of the witness, name of the 

organization (if applicable), address, 

telephone number, fax number, and 

email address. Although not mandatory, 

government witnesses may submit a 

Hearing Statement when filing the 

Notice of Intent to Testify. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 2014 / Notices 78135 

4. Business Confidential Information 

A person requesting that information 

contained in a comment submitted by 

that person be treated as confidential 

business information must certify that 

such information is business 

confidential and would not customarily 

be released to the public by the 

submitter. The filenames of both 

documents should reflect their status— 

‘‘BCI’’ for the business confidential 

version and ‘‘PUBLIC’’ for the public 

version. In the document, confidential 

business information must be clearly 

designated as such, the submission must 

be marked ‘‘BUSINESS 

CONFIDENTIAL’’ at the top and bottom 

of the cover page and each succeeding 

page, and the submission should 

indicate, via brackets, the specific 

information that is confidential. 

Additionally, the submitter should write 

‘‘Business Confidential’’ in the ‘‘Type 

Comment’’ field. Anyone submitting a 

comment containing business 

confidential information must also 

submit, as a separate submission, a nonbusiness confidential version of the 

submission, indicating where the 

business confidential information has 

been redacted. The non-business 

confidential version will be placed in 

the docket at www.regulations.gov and 

be available for public inspection. 

5. Inspection of Comments 

USTR will maintain a publicly 

accessible docket for the 2015 Special 

301 Review. This public file will 

include all non-business confidential 

comments, notices of intent to testify, 

and hearing statements that USTR 

receives from the public, including 

foreign governments, in conjunction 

with the 2015 Special 301 Review. 

Comments will be placed in the docket 

upon receipt and be open to public 

inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13. 

Comments containing confidential 

business information are exempt from 

public inspection in accordance with 15 

CFR 2006.15. However, USTR will 

require submission of non-business 

confidential versions of such 

documents, as described above, and will 

post non-business confidential versions 

to the public docket. Comments may be 

viewed at www.regulations.gov by 

entering docket number USTR–2014– 

0025 in the search field on the home 

page. 

Susan F. Wilson, 

Director for Intellectual Property and 

Innovation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30312 Filed 12–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F5–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–1149] 

Clarification of Policy Regarding 

Designated Aircraft Dispatcher 

Examiners 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Policy Revision. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

revision to policy contained in FAA 

Order 8900.1, regarding the 

qualification, authority, and limitations 

of Designated Aircraft Dispatcher 

Examiners (DADEs). This policy 

revision will be published in 8900.1, 

Volume 3, chapter 13, sections 1 

through 4, and Volume 5, Chapter 5, 

Section 10. This policy provides 

guidance to FAA employees on the 

responsibilities, qualifications, and 

oversight of DADEs under 14 CFR part 

183. Under this revision, the FAA is 

clarifying its policy regarding the 

qualifications, privileges, and 

limitations of these designees, in 

addition to establishing guidelines for 

DADEs when testing applicants for an 

Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate. 

DATES: This policy will ultimately be 

published in conjunction with policy 

related to Aircraft Dispatcher 

Certification Courses, which is posted 

for public comment in docket number, 

FAA–2014–0820. These two sets of 

policy are somewhat interrelated. 

Therefore we will hold publication of 

this policy revision until the conclusion 

of the comment period and subsequent 

adjudication of comments, to the draft 

Aircraft Dispatcher Certification policy 

contained in FAA–2014–0820. The 

comment period for the Aircraft 

Dispatcher Certification policy will 

close on February 22, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: For information on where to 

obtain copies of rulemaking documents 

and other information related to this 

final policy, see ‘‘How To Obtain 

Additional Information’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Theodora Kessaris,, New Program 

Implementation and Technical Support 

Branch, Air Transportation Division, 

Flight Standards Service, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone: 202– 

267–8166; facsimile: 202–267–5229; 

email: Theodora.kessaris@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On November 8, 2011, the FAA 

announced the availability of a 

proposed revision to policy contained in 

FAA Order 8900.1, regarding the 

qualification, authority, and limitations 

of Designated Aircraft Dispatcher 

Examiners (DADEs). The public was 

provided with a total of 90 days in 

which to provide comment to the 

proposed revision. The initial comment 

period, which was 30 days, was 

extended to 90 days at the public’s 

request. The FAA has carefully 

considered the comments submitted by 

the public and incorporated them into 

this DADE policy revision as 

appropriate. This policy revision takes 

into consideration comments received 

in this docket during the period 

between November 8, 2011 and 

February 8, 2012. A table containing the 

FAA’s disposition of those comments 

has also been provided in this docket. 

The FAA will hold publication of this 

DADE policy revision in Order 8900.1, 

until such time as it can be published 

simultaneously with the policy related 

to Aircraft Dispatcher Certification 

Courses, which is currently available for 

public in docket number FAA–2014– 

0820. Final publication of the DADE 

policy revision contained in this docket, 

as well as the Aircraft Dispatcher 

Certification Course policy contained in 

docket number FAA–2014–0820, will be 

announced by Notice which will be 

published on Flight Standards 

Information Management System Web 

site at http://fsims.faa.gov. When 

published, the Notice will also be 

available at http://www.faa.gov/

regulations_policies/orders_notices. A 

copy of the final draft of the policy 

related to DADEs is available for review 

in the assigned docket for the Order at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC on December 15, 

2014. 

John Barbagallo, 

Deputy Director, FAA Flight Standards 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30230 Filed 12–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES