Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 203 / Thursday, October 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules 54493 

PART 1651—DEATH BENEFITS 

3. The authority citation for part 1651 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8424(d), 8432(j), 

8433(e), 8435(c)(2), 8474(b)(5) and 8474(c)(1). 

4. Amend § 1651.1 to add the 

definition of ‘‘Administrative finding’’, 

in alphabetical order, in paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1651.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

Administrative finding means an 

evidence-based determination reached 

by a hearing, inquiry, investigation, or 

trial before an administrative agency of 

competent jurisdiction in any State, 

territory or possession of the United 

States. 

* * * * * 

5. Amend § 1651.6 to add a paragraph 

(d) to read as follows: 

§ 1651.6 Child or children. 

* * * * * 

(d) Parentage disputes. If the identity 

of the father or mother of a child is in 

dispute or otherwise unclear (e.g., only 

one parent is listed on a birth 

certificate), the purported child must 

submit to the TSP either: 

(1) A court order or other 

administrative finding establishing 

parentage; or 

(2) Documentation sufficient for 

establishing parentage under the law of 

the state in which the participant was 

domiciled at the time of death. 

PART 1653—COURT ORDERS AND 

LEGAL PROCESSES AFFECTING 

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN ACCOUNTS 

6. The authority citation for part 1653 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8435, 8436(b), 8437(e), 

8439(a)(3), 8467, 8474(b)(5) and 8474(c)(1). 

7. Amend § 1653.1 to add the 

definitions of ‘‘Payment date’’ and ‘‘TSP 

investment earnings or earnings’’, in 

alphabetical order in paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1653.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

* * * * * 

Payment date refers to the date on 

which earnings are determined and is 

generally two business days prior to the 

date of an award’s disbursement. 

* * * * * 

TSP investment earnings or earnings 

means both positive and negative fund 

performance attributable to differences 

in TSP fund share prices. 

* * * * * 

8. Amend § 1653.4 to revise paragraph 

(f)(3) and remove paragraph (f)(4) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1653.4 Calculating entitlements. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(3) If earnings are awarded and the 

rate is not specified, the Agency will 

calculate the amount to be awarded by: 

(i) Determining the payee’s award 

amount (e.g., the percentage or fraction 

of the participant’s account); 

(ii) Determining, based on the 

participant’s investment allocation as of 

the effective date of the court order, the 

number and composition of shares that 

the amount in paragraph (f)(3)(i) of this 

section would have purchased as of the 

effective date; and 

(iii) Multiplying the price per share as 

of the payment date by the number and 

composition of shares calculated in 

paragraph (f)(3)(ii) of this section. 

* * * * * 

§ 1653.5 [Amended] 

9. Amend § 1653.5 by removing the 

last sentence of paragraph (d). 

PART 1690—THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN 

10. The authority citation for part 

1690 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8474. 

10. Add § 1690.15 to read as follows: 

§ 1690.15 Freezing an account— 

administrative holds. 

(a) The TSP may freeze (e.g., place an 

administrative hold on) a participant’s 

account for any of the following reasons: 

(1) Pursuant to a qualifying retirement 

benefits court order as set forth in part 

1653 of this chapter; 

(2) Pursuant to a request from the 

Department of Justice under the 

Mandatory Victims Restitution Act; 

(3) Upon the death of a participant; 

(4) Upon suspicion or knowledge of 

fraudulent account activity or identity 

theft; 

(5) In response to litigation pertaining 

to an account; 

(6) For operational reasons (e.g., to 

correct a processing error or to stop 

payment on a check when account 

funds are insufficient); 

(7) Pursuant to a written request from 

a participant; and 

(8) For any other reason the TSP 

deems prudent. 

(b) An account freeze (i.e., 

administrative hold) prohibits a 

participant from withdrawing funds, 

including loans, from his or her 

account. The participant continues to 

have the capability to conduct all other 

transactions including making 

contributions, changing contribution 

allocations, and making interfund 

transfers. 

(c) The Agency will notify the 

participant that his or her account has 

been frozen unless it determines it 

prudent to not notify the participant 

that his of her account has been frozen. 

(d) A participant may block on-line 

and ThriftLine access to his or her 

account by writing to the TSP or by 

submitting a request at http:// 

www.tsp.gov. 

(e) A participant may remove a 

participant-initiated freeze 

(administrative hold) by submitting a 

notarized request to the TSP. 

[FR Doc. E9–25426 Filed 10–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6760–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Parts 321, 332, and 381 

[Docket No. FSIS–2008–0039] 

RIN 0583–AD37 

Cooperative Inspection Programs: 

Interstate Shipment of Meat and 

Poultry Products 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

that it will hold two public meetings on 

proposed regulations that it recently 

published to implement a new 

voluntary cooperative program under 

which State-inspected establishments 

with 25 or fewer employees will be 

eligible to ship meat and poultry 

products in interstate commerce (74 FR 

47648, September 16, 2009). To provide 

stakeholders with ready access to the 

public meetings, FSIS will conduct 

these meetings by teleconference. This 

notice provides information on the 

public meetings. 

DATES: The teleconferences will be held 

on October 27, 2009, from 12:30 p.m. to 

4:30 p.m. EST, and on November 5, 

2009, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: 

Registration: Pre-registration for these 

meetings is required. To pre-register, 

access the FSIS Web site, at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/News/ 

Meetings_&_Events/. Call-in information 

will be provided via e-mail to preregistered participants. We are also 

asking that anyone interested in making 

a public comment during the 


dcolon on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
54494 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 203 / Thursday, October 22, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

teleconference indicate so on the 

registration form. 

Public Comment: In addition to these 

teleconferences, interested persons may 

submit comments on the proposed rule 

on or before November 16, 2009, using 

either of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

Mail, including floppy disks or CD– 

ROMs, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, Room 2–2127 

George Washington Carver Center, 5601 

Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, MD 

20705, MAILSTOP 5272. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2008–0039. Comments received in 

response to this docket will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the FSIS Docket Room at the address 

listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical information: contact Philip 

Derfler, Assistant Administrator, Office 

of Policy and Program Development, at 

(202) 720–2709, or by fax at (202) 720– 

2025. 

For teleconference information: 

contact Sharon Randle, Public Affairs 

Specialist, Congressional and Public 

Affairs Office, by telephone at (202) 

720–6755, or by e-mail to 

sharon.randle@fsis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On September 16, 2009, FSIS 

published a proposed rule to implement 

a new voluntary cooperative program 

under which State-inspected 

establishments with 25 or fewer 

employees will be eligible to ship meat 

and poultry products in interstate 

commerce. In participating States, Stateinspected establishments that are 

selected, to take part in this program 

will be required to comply with all 

Federal standards under the Federal 

Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the 

Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), 

as well as with all State standards. 

Establishments selected for the 

proposed interstate shipment program 

will receive inspection services from 

State inspection personnel that have 

been trained in the enforcement of the 

FMIA and PPIA. Meat and poultry 

products produced under the program 

that have been inspected and passed by 

designated State personnel will bear an 

official Federal mark of inspection and 

will be permitted to be distributed in 

interstate commerce. FSIS will provide 

oversight and enforcement of the 

program. Section 11015 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act, enacted 

on June 18, 2008, (the 2008 Farm Bill), 

amended the FMIA and PPIA to provide 

for these cooperative programs. 

State participation in the proposed 

cooperative interstate shipment program 

will be limited to States that have 

cooperative State meat or poultry 

inspection programs under which 

products are produced for distributed 

solely within the State. Under the 

existing cooperative inspection 

programs, States enforce inspection and 

sanitation requirements that must be ‘‘at 

least equal to’’ those in the FMIA and 

the PPIA. Twenty-seven states have 

cooperative agreements to administer 

these meat or poultry products 

inspection programs. These States 

inspect about 1,900 small and very 

small establishments. 

Under the proposed regulations, 

establishments will apply for the new 

program through the States. FSIS will 

coordinate with States to select 

establishments to participate in the 

program. The proposed interstate 

shipment program is intended to 

supplement, not replace, the existing 

cooperative State inspection programs. 

II. Purpose of the Meeting and Agenda 

To provide the public with an 

opportunity to comment on the 

proposed rule, FSIS will hold two 

public meetings by teleconference. The 

first meeting will be held on October 27, 

2009, and the second will be held on 

November 5, 2009. The teleconference 

format is being used to provide 

individuals with easier access to the 

meeting, particularly those who may 

lack the resources or time to attend a 

meeting in person. The teleconference 

format is also economically beneficial to 

all stakeholders. Interested persons are 

encouraged to join the teleconference at 

or near the start time. FSIS may end the 

teleconference early if participants are 

no longer calling in to make comments. 

The agenda and other documents 

related to the meetings will be made 

available for viewing prior to the 

meeting at FSIS: http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/News/ 

Meetings_&_Events/. 

III. Transcripts 

As soon as the meeting transcripts are 

available, they will be accessible at 

http://www.regulations.gov. The 

transcripts may be viewed at FSIS 

Docket Room, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, Room 2–2127 George 

Washington Carver Center, 5601 

Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, MD 

20705. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, in an effort to 

ensure that the public and in particular 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities, are aware of this notice, 

FSIS will announce it on-line through 

the FSIS Web page located at: http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/ 

2009_Notices_Index/. FSIS also will 

make copies of this Federal Register 

publication available through the FSIS 

Constituent Update, which is used to 

provide information regarding FSIS 

policies, procedures, regulations, 

Federal Register notices, FSIS public 

meetings, and other types of information 

that could affect or would be of interest 

to our constituents and stakeholders. 

The Update is communicated via 

Listserv, a free e-mail subscription 

service delivered to industry, trade, and 

farm groups, consumer interest groups, 

allied health professionals, scientific 

professionals, and other individuals 

who have requested to be included. The 

Update also is available on the FSIS 

Web page. Through Listserv and the 

Web page, FSIS is able to provide 

information to a much broader, more 

diverse audience. 

In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail 

subscription service which provides 

automatic and customized access to 

selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news_and_events/email_subscription/. 

Options range from recalls, export 

information, regulations, directives, and 

notices. Customers can add or delete 

subscriptions themselves, and have the 

option to password protect their 

accounts. 

Done at Washington, DC, on October 20, 

2009. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator, FSIS. 

[FR Doc. E9–25522 Filed 10–20–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 


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