34552 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 135 / Thursday, July 16, 2009 / Notices 

by the ex–vessel value of crab debited 

from the allocation. Specific details on 

the Program’s cost recovery provision 

may be found in the implementing 

regulations set forth at 50 CFR 680.44. 

Fee Percentage 

Each year, NMFS calculates and 

publishes in the Federal Register the fee 

percentage according to the factors and 

methodology described in Federal 

regulations at § 680.44(c)(2). The 

formula for determining the fee 

percentage is the ‘‘direct program costs’’ 

divided by ‘‘value of the fishery,’’ where 

‘‘direct program costs’’ are the direct 

program costs for the Program for the 

previous fiscal year, and ‘‘value of the 

fishery’’ is the ex–vessel value of the 

catch subject to the crab cost recovery 

fee liability for the current year. 

The fee percentage has declined over 

time because of a variety of factors 

including the increasing value of the 

fishery due to increased total allowable 

catch limits for various crab species 

such as Bristol Bay red king crab 

(Paralithodes camtshaticus) and Bering 

Sea Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio), 

increased ex–vessel price per pound of 

crab relative to previous years, and 

decreased management costs relative to 

previous years primarily due to 

decreased staff and contract costs. 

Because by regulation the fee percentage 

is established in the first quarter of a 

crab fishery year based on the fishery 

value and the costs of the prior year, fee 

collections for any given year may be 

less than, or greater than, the actual 

costs and fishery value for that year. 

Using the fee percentage formula 

described above, the estimated 

percentage of costs to value for the 

2007/2008 and 2008/2009 crab fishing 

years was 3.0 percent and 1.05 percent, 

respectively. These fee levels have 

resulted in a fee collection greater than 

the actual management, data collection, 

and enforcement costs for the 2008/2009 

crab fishing year. Therefore, fee 

revenues remain to cover projected 

actual costs for 2009/2010. As a result, 

NMFS has determined that the fee 

percentage will be 0 percent for the 

2009/2010 crab fishing year. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862 et seq. 

Dated: July 9, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–16811 Filed 7–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 0907021106–91110–01] 

RIN 0648–ZC09 

Northeast Region Fishing Gear 

Exchange Project 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability. 

SUMMARY: Right, humpback and fin 

whales, which are listed as endangered 

under the Endangered Species Act, are 

occasionally injured or killed through 

incidental entanglement in fishing gear. 

Based on gear retrieved from entangled 

whales, interactions can occur with any 

component of the fishing gear, including 

buoy lines, groundlines, gillnet 

floatlines, and surface systems. 

Provisions of the Atlantic Large Whale 

Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) require 

that permit holders using trap/pot and 

gillnet gear comply with requirements 

designed to reduce the serious injury 

and mortality of large whales. One such 

gear modification requires the use of 

sinking groundlines. Other risk 

reduction measures include adding 

weak links to fixed fishing gear which 

can assist entangled whales in breaking 

free after an interaction has occurred. 

NMFS is providing financial 

assistance in the form of a grant to 

support the development and 

implementation of a fishing gear 

exchange project for Lobster 

Management Areas 2 and 3 in the 

Northeast Region. This document 

describes how to submit proposals for 

funding and how NMFS will determine 

which proposals will be funded; this 

document should be read in its entirety 

prior to the submission of a proposal. 

This project will support NOAA’s 

mission goal to protect, restore, and 

manage the use of coastal and ocean 

resources through an ecosystem 

approach to management. 

DATES: Applications must be 

postmarked, provided to a delivery 

service or received by http:// 

www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern 

Daylight Time on July 30, 2009. Use of 

U.S. Mail or another delivery service 

must be documented with a receipt. 

Please note that it may take Grants.gov 

up to two business days to validate or 

reject an application. Please keep this in 

mind when developing your submission 

timeline. 

ADDRESSES: The Full Funding 

Opportunity (FFO) announcement and 

application instructions for this grant 

program are available through the 

Grants.gov website at http:// 

www.grants.gov. For applicants without 

internet access, an application package 

may be obtained by contacting Amanda 

Johnson, NOAA’s National Marine 

Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional 

Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Suite 

04–400, Gloucester, MA 01930; Phone: 

978–282–8463, E–mail: 

Amanda.Johnson@noaa.gov. 

Applications should be submitted 

electronically through the Grants.gov 

website at http://www.grants.gov. Those 

applicants without internet access may 

submit a hard copy (by postal mail or 

commercial delivery) to: NMFS 

Northeast Regional Office, Attn: 

Amanda Johnson, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Suite 04–400, Gloucester, MA 

01930. No other methods of submission 

are permissible without explicit NOAA 

approval. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have any questions regarding this 

proposal solicitation, please contact 

Amanda Johnson at the NOAA/NMFS/ 

Northeast Regional Office, Protected 

Resources Division, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Suite 04–400, Gloucester, MA 

01930, by phone at 978–282–8463, or by 

email at Amanda.Johnson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The principal objective of the 

Northeast Region Fishing Gear Exchange 

Project is to implement a voluntary 

fishing gear exchange project in which 

participating fishing industry members 

regulated by the ALWTRP are provided 

with financial assistance to comply with 

the ALWTRP’s sinking groundline and 

weak link requirements. Another 

objective of this project is to develop a 

plan for recycling the collected floating 

groundline to ensure that none of the 

lines are returned to the ocean for any 

purpose, fishing or otherwise. A third 

objective is to work cooperatively with 

participating industry members to 

collect gear configuration information 

via a gear survey. 

For a proposal to be competitive, it 

must demonstrate a clear process for 

developing and implementing a 

successful fishing gear exchange project. 

This includes notifying, registering, and 

communicating with participating 

fishing industry members; 

approximating the amount of floating 

groundline to be exchanged and 

determining an assigned price per 

pound for the delivered groundline; 

working with gear manufacturers and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 135 / Thursday, July 16, 2009 / Notices 34553 

distributors to gain their participation in 

the project; determining appropriate 

times and locations for gear collections 

based on industry needs and responses; 

determining the appropriate methods to 

collect, handle, and recycle the 

collected floating groundline; and 

determining the appropriate methods to 

assist in the purchase of weak links. A 

number of floating groundline buyback 

and recycling projects have been 

completed or are on–going along the 

East Coast of the U.S. These have taken 

place in Maine, Massachusetts, and New 

York, as well as in the Mid–Atlantic 

region (including the states of New 

Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 

and a portion of North Carolina) and 

have been administered by a variety of 

groups, including non–profit 

organizations, state and federal 

government agencies. A successful 

proposal will incorporate the successful 

components of these projects. 

In addition, competitive proposals 

must demonstrate the applicant’s good 

rapport with the fishing industry in the 

Northeast Region and ability to handle 

a project of this magnitude. Proposals 

must also demonstrate the ability to 

maximize the percentage of the award 

funding that is spent assisting fishermen 

in complying with the ALWTRP 

requirements, based on the differences 

in costs of floating versus sinking line 

and on the costs of complying with 

weak link requirements. This includes 

gauging potential participation by 

eligible fishermen and, based on this 

and other costs of the project, 

determining the appropriate figure for 

reimbursing fishermen for the floating 

groundline they have brought forward to 

exchange (e.g., providing $1.50 per 

pound of line turned in, etc.). It also 

includes determining the most 

appropriate methods for providing 

assistance for participating fishermen to 

comply with weak link requirements. 

The project will also incorporate 

recordkeeping and information 

collection. Information must be 

collected related to participating 

fishermen to document the amount of 

line exchanged, among other 

components. Additionally, the project 

will include a gear survey that will help 

NMFS better quantify information about 

vertical lines. This information will 

assist in the management of fishing gear 

interactions with large whales. 

Electronic Access 

The full text of the Full Funding 

Opportunity announcement for this 

program can be accessed via the 

Grants.gov web site at http:// 

www.grants.gov. The announcement 

will also be available by contacting the 

program officials identified under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Applicants must comply with all 

requirements contained in the Full 

Funding Opportunity announcement. 

Statutory Authority 

The statutory authority for this project 

can be found at 16 U.S.C. 661 and 16 

U.S.C. 1881c. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance program number for this 

solicitation is 11.452, Unallied Industry 

Projects. 

Funding Availability 

NOAA anticipates that up to $3 

million may be available for this project 

in the NMFS fiscal year 2009 budget. A 

grant will be awarded for the amount of 

funding in its entirety to the successful 

applicant. Therefore, all proposals 

should be developed to request the 

entire $3 million. The exact amount of 

funds that may be awarded will be 

determined during pre–award 

negotiations between the applicant and 

NOAA representatives. Publication of 

this notice does not oblige NOAA to 

award any specific grant proposal or to 

obligate any available funds. If an 

application for a financial assistance 

award is selected for funding, NOAA 

has no obligation to provide any 

additional funding in connection with 

that award in subsequent years. 

Eligibility 

Eligible applicants are institutions of 

higher education, other nonprofits, 

commercial organizations, and state, 

local and Indian tribal governments. 

Federal agencies or institutions are not 

eligible to receive Federal assistance 

under this notice. 

Cost Sharing Requirements 

No cost sharing or matching is 

required for this project. 

Evaluation and Selection Procedures 

The general evaluation criteria and 

selection factors that apply to 

applications to this funding opportunity 

are summarized below. Further 

information about the evaluation criteria 

and selection factors can be found in the 

Full Funding Opportunity 

announcement. 

Evaluation Criteria for Projects 

The proposals will be evaluated and 

scored based on the following weighted 

criteria (each proposal can receive a 

total score between 1 and 5 points): 

1) Importance and/or relevance and 

applicability of the proposed project to 

the program goals (weight=30%): This 

criterion ascertains whether there is 

intrinsic value in the proposed work 

and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, 

regional, State, or local activities. For 

this competition, the proposal should 

demonstrate that the applicant has a 

clear knowledge and understanding of 

the purpose and relevance of the 

proposed work. It should also 

demonstrate an ability to provide 

economic assistance to the Northeast 

Region’s commercial fishing industry 

affected by the ALWTRP, while 

providing benefits to large whale 

species. For this criterion, reviewers 

will base their assessments on the 

following scoring system: 1 = lack of 

importance/relevance; 3 = intermediate 

level importance/relevance; 5 = very 

important/relevant. 

2) Technical/scientific merit 

(weight=35%): This criterion assesses 

whether the approach is technically 

sound and/or innovative, if the methods 

are appropriate, and whether there are 

clear project goals and objectives. The 

proposal should clearly address the 

program priorities and components that 

were discussed earlier in this document, 

including designing a gear survey in 

conjunction with NMFS. For this 

criterion, reviewers will base their 

assessments on the following scoring 

system: 1 = completely unsound, 

unlikely to meet the project’s objectives; 

3 = intermediately sound, reasonably 

likely to meet the project’s objectives; 5 

= extremely sound and likely to meet 

the project’s objectives. 

3) Overall qualifications of applicants 

(weight=10%): This ascertains whether 

the applicant possesses the necessary 

education, experience, training, 

facilities, and administrative resources 

to accomplish the project. For this 

competition, the proposal should 

demonstrate coordination with other 

agencies and groups that have 

conducted gear exchange projects in the 

past or are currently implementing such 

projects. For this criterion, reviewers 

will base their assessments on the 

following scoring system: 1 = lack of 

qualification and/or resources to 

accomplish project; 3 = intermediate 

level of qualification and/or resources to 

accomplish project; 5 = extremely 

qualified and able to accomplish 

project. 

4) Project costs (weight=15%): The 

budget is evaluated to determine if it is 

realistic and commensurate with the 

project needs and time–frame. For this 

competition, one project will be 

awarded the entire amount of available 

funding. Therefore, the budget should 

reflect the ability of the work to be 

completed with the funding amount and 


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34554 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 135 / Thursday, July 16, 2009 / Notices 

timing proposed. Additionally, the 

budget should maximize to the fullest 

extent possible the amount of financial 

assistance that is being provided to the 

fishermen who participate in the 

project. For this criterion, reviewers will 

base their assessments on the following 

scoring system: 1 = lack of information 

and detail provided, unrealistic; 3 = 

sufficient amount of information and 

detail provided, realistic; 5 = extremely 

informative, detailed, and realistic. 

5) Outreach and education 

(weight=10%): NOAA assesses whether 

this project provides a focused and 

effective education and outreach 

strategy regarding NOAA’s mission to 

protect the Nation’s natural resources. 

For this competition, the proposal 

should describe how outreach and 

education for this project will be 

conducted to maximize the number of 

gear exchange participants from the 

fishing industry. Collaborations with 

other agencies and partners to 

accomplish this component should also 

be described. The applicant should 

provide a draft gear survey with the 

proposal for evaluation and final 

approval by NMFS. For this criterion, 

reviewers will base their assessments on 

the following scoring system: 1 = 

insufficient outreach/education; 3 = 

adequate outreach/education; 5 = 

extremely effective outreach/education. 

Review and Selection Process 

Screening, review, and selection 

procedures will take place in 3 steps: 

initial evaluation, merit review, and 

final selection by the Selecting Official 

(i.e., the NMFS Regional Administrator 

in the Northeast). Initial evaluation of 

applications will be conducted to 

ensure that the submitted application 

packages contain the required forms and 

application elements and meet the 

eligibility criteria. 

Applications meeting the 

requirements of this solicitation will 

then undergo merit review. Each 

application will be reviewed by a 

minimum of three reviewers, who will 

independently evaluate and score 

proposals using the evaluation criteria 

provided in the ‘‘Evaluation Criteria for 

Projects’’ section. Merit reviewers will 

be federal employees with appropriate 

subject–matter expertise. The reviewers’ 

ratings will be used to produce a rank 

order of the proposals. 

After applications have undergone 

merit review, the Selecting Official will 

make the final decision regarding which 

applications will be recommended to 

the NOAA Grants Officer for funding 

based upon the numerical rankings and 

evaluations of the applications by the 

merit reviewers, as well as the selection 

factors set forth in the ‘‘Selection 

Factors for Projects’’ section. 

Selection Factors for Projects 

The Selecting Official shall award in 

the rank order of the review ratings 

unless the proposal is justified to be 

selected out of rank order based upon 

the following factors, where applicable: 

1. Availability of funding. 

2. Balance/distribution of funds: 

a. Geographically. 

b. By type of institutions. 

c. By type of partners. 

d. By research areas. 

e. By project types. 

3. Whether this project duplicates 

other projects funded or considered for 

funding by NOAA or other Federal 

agencies. 

4. Program priorities and policy 

factors. 

5. Applicant’s prior award 

performance. 

6. Partnerships and/or participation of 

targeted groups. 

7. Adequacy of information necessary 

for NOAA staff to make a NEPA 

determination and draft necessary 

documentation before recommendations 

for funding are made to the Grants 

Officer. 

Classification 

Executive Order 12373 

Applications under this program are 

subject to Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ Any applicant submitting an 

application for funding is required to 

complete item 16 on SF–424 regarding 

clearance by the State Single Point of 

Contact (SPOC) established as a result of 

EO 12372. To find out about and 

comply with a State’s process under EO 

12372, the names, addresses and phone 

numbers of participating SPOC’s are 

listed on the Office of Management and 

Budget’s home page at: http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/ 

spoc.html. 

Limitation of Liability 

In no event will NOAA or the 

Department of Commerce be responsible 

for proposal preparation costs if these 

programs fail to receive funding or are 

cancelled because of other agency 

priorities. Publication of this 

announcement does not oblige NOAA to 

award any specific project or to obligate 

any available funds. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Review 

NOAA must analyze the potential 

environmental impacts, as required by 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), for applicant projects or 

proposals which are seeking NOAA 

federal funding opportunities. Detailed 

information on NOAA compliance with 

NEPA can be found at the following 

NOAA NEPA website: http:// 

www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our 

NOAA Administrative Order 216–6 for 

NEPA, http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/ 

daos/216–6.htm, and the Council on 

Environmental Quality implementation 

regulations, http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/ 

regs/ceq/toclceq.htm. Consequently, as 

part of an applicant’s package, and 

under their description of their program 

activities, applicants are required to 

provide detailed information on the 

activities to be conducted, locations, 

sites, species and habitat to be affected, 

possible construction activities, and any 

environmental concerns that may exist 

(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous 

or toxic chemicals, introduction of non– 

indigenous species, impacts to 

endangered and threatened species, 

aquaculture projects, and impacts to 

coral reef systems). In addition to 

providing specific information that will 

serve as the basis for any required 

impact analyses, applicants may also be 

requested to assist NOAA in drafting of 

an environmental assessment, if NOAA 

determines an assessment is required. 

Applicants will also be required to 

cooperate with NOAA in identifying 

feasible measures to reduce or avoid any 

identified adverse environmental 

impacts of their proposal. The failure to 

do so shall be grounds for not selecting 

an application. In some cases if 

additional information is required after 

an application is selected, funds can be 

withheld by the Grants Officer under a 

special award condition requiring the 

recipient to submit additional 

environmental compliance information 

sufficient to enable NOAA to make an 

assessment on any impacts that a project 

may have on the environment. 

The Department of Commerce Pre– 

Award Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

The Department of Commerce Pre– 

Award Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This document contains collection– 

of–information requirements subject to 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 

The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 

424B, and SF–LLL and CD–346 has been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 


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Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with, a collection of 

information subject to the requirements 

of the PRA unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

Executive Order 12866 

This notice has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment are not required by the 

Administrative Procedure Act or any 

other law for rules concerning public 

property, loans, grants, benefits, and 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)). Because 

notice and opportunity for comment are 

not required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or 

any other law, the analytical 

requirements for the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are 

inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis has not been 

prepared. 

Dated: July 9, 2009. 

Gary Reisner, 

Director, Office of Management and Budget, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–16813 Filed 7–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Hydrographic Services Review Panel 

Membership Solicitation 

AGENCY: National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of extension of 

membership solicitation for 

Hydrographic Services Review Panel; 

correction. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration published 

a document in the Federal Register of 

June 29, 2009, entitled Hydrographic 

Services Review Panel Meeting. The 

title of the notice is incorrect. The 

correct title is Hydrographic Services 

Review Panel Membership Solicitation. 

The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 

soliciting nominations for membership 

on the Hydrographic Services Review 

Panel (the Panel), a Federal advisory 

committee. NOAA is extending the time 

period for submission of membership 

applications from Friday, June 26, 2009, 

to Friday, July 24, 2009. This notice 

responds to the Hydrographic Services 

Improvement Act Amendments of 2002, 

Public Law 107–372, which requires the 

Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Oceans and Atmosphere to solicit 

nominations for Panel membership. The 

Panel will advise the Under Secretary 

on matters related to the responsibilities 

and authorities set forth in section 303 

of the Hydrographic Services 

Improvement Act of 1998 and such 

other appropriate matters as the Under 

Secretary refers to the Panel for review 

and advice. To apply for membership on 

the Panel, applicants should submit a 

resume as indicated in the ADDRESSES

section. 

DATES: As noted in the June 26, 2009, 

Federal Register, resumes should be 

sent to the address, e-mail, or fax 

specified and must be received by July 

24, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit applications for 

membership on the Panel to Rebecca 

Arenson via mail, fax, or e-mail at: (1) 

Mail: Rebecca Arenson, Office of Coast 

Survey, National Ocean Service, NOAA 

(N/CS), 1315 East West Highway, Room 

6126, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Fax: 

301–713–4019, E-mail: 

Hydroservices.panel@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rebecca Arenson, Office of Coast 

Survey, National Ocean Service (NOS), 

NOAA (N/CS), 1315 East West Highway, 

Room 6126, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910; Telephone: 301–713–2780 x158, 

Fax: 301–713–4019; E-mail: 

Rebecca.Arenson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 33 

U.S.C. 883a, et seq., NOAA’s National 

Ocean Service (NOS) is responsible for 

providing nautical charts and related 

information for safe navigation. NOS 

collects and compiles hydrographic, 

tidal and current, geodetic, and a variety 

of other data in order to fulfill this 

responsibility. The Hydrographic 

Services Review Panel provides advice 

on topics such as ‘‘NOAA’s 

Hydrographic Survey Priorities,’’ 

technologies relating to operations, 

research, and development of data 

pertaining to: 

(a) Hydrographic surveying; 

(b) Nautical charting; 

(c) Water level measurements; 

(d) Current measurements; 

(e) Geodetic measurements; and 

(f) Geospatial measurements. 

The Panel has 15 voting members 

appointed by the Under Secretary of 

Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 

in accordance with section 105 of Public 

Law 107–372. Members are selected on 

a standardized basis, in accordance with 

applicable Department of Commerce 

guidance. The Co-Directors of the Joint 

Hydrographic Center and two other 

employees of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration serve as 

nonvoting members of the Panel. The 

Director, Office of Coast Survey, serves 

as the Designated Federal Official 

(DFO). This solicitation is to obtain 

candidate applications for one current 

voting vacancy on the Panel, and for 

five voting members whose terms expire 

January 1, 2010, and candidates for 

voting members who might resign at any 

time during 2009. Be advised that some 

voting members whose terms expire 

January 1, 2010, may be reappointed for 

another full term if eligible. 

Voting members are individuals who, 

by reason of knowledge, experience, or 

training, are especially qualified in one 

or more disciplines relating to 

hydrographic surveying, tides, currents, 

geodetic and geospatial measurements, 

marine transportation, port 

administration, vessel pilotage, and 

coastal or fishery management. An 

individual may not be appointed as a 

voting member of the Panel if the 

individual is a full-time officer or 

employee of the United States. Any 

voting member of the Panel who is an 

applicant for, or beneficiary of (as 

determined by the Under Secretary) any 

assistance under the Act shall disclose 

to the Panel that relationship, and may 

not vote on any other matter pertaining 

to that assistance. 

Voting members of the Panel serve a 

four-year term, except that vacancy 

appointments shall be for the remainder 

of the unexpired term of the vacancy. 

Members serve at the discretion of the 

Under Secretary and are subject to 

government ethics standards. Any 

individual appointed to a partial or full 

term may be reappointed for one 

additional full term. A voting member 

may serve until his or her successor has 

taken office. The Panel selects one 

voting member to serve as the Chair and 

another to serve as the Vice Chair. The 

Vice Chair acts as Chair in the absence 

or incapacity of the Chair but will not 

automatically become the Chair if the 

Chair resigns. Meetings occur at least 

twice a year, and at the call of the Chair 

or upon the request of a majority of the 

voting members or of the Under 

Secretary. Voting members receive 


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