67078 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

8 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

9 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First

Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC

20426.

From FERC’s home page on the

Internet, this information is available in

both the Commission Issuance Posting

System (CIPS) and the Records and

Information Management System

(RIMS).

—CIPS provides access to the texts of

formal documents issued by the

Commission since November 14, 1994.

—CIPS can be accessed using the

CIPS link or the Energy Information

Online icon. The full text of this

document is available on CIPS in ASCII

and WordPerfect 8.0 format for viewing,

printing, and/or downloading.

—RIMS contains images of documents

submitted to and issued by the

Commission after November 16, 1981.

Documents from November 1995 to the

present can be viewed and printed from

FERC’s Home Page using the RIMS link

or the Energy Information Online icon.

Descriptions of documents back to

November 16, 1981, are also available

from RIMS-on-the-Web; requests for

copies of these and other older

documents should be submitted to the

Public Reference Room.

User assistance is available for RIMS,

CIPS, and the web site during normal

business hours from our Help line at

(202) 208–2222 (e-mail to

WebMaster@ferc.fed.us) or the Public

Reference Room at (202) 208–1371 (email to

public.referenceroom@ferc.fed.us).

During normal business hours,

documents can also be viewed and/or

printed in FERC’s Public Reference

Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC

web site are available. User assistance is

also available.

VIII. Effective Date and Congressional

Notification

This Final Rule will take effect

January 28, 2002. The Commission has

determined, with the concurrence of the

Administrator of the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs of

the Office of Management and Budget,

that this rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’

within the meaning of section 251 of the

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996.8 The Commission

will submit the Final Rule to both

Houses of Congress and the General

Accounting Office.9

List of Subjects

18 CFR Part 141

Electric power, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

18 CFR Part 385

Administrative practice and

procedure. Electric power, Penalties,

Pipelines, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

By the Commission.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

In consideration of the foregoing, the

Commission amends parts 141 and 385,

Chapter I, Title 18, of the Code of

Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 141—STATEMENTS AND

REPORTS (SCHEDULES)

1. The authority citation for part 141

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 79; 16 U.S.C. 791a828c, 2601–2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C.

7101–7352.

2. Section 141.61 is revised, to read as

follows:

§ 141.61 FERC Form No. 423, Monthly

report of cost and quality of fuels for

electric plants.

(a) Who must file. Every electric

power producer having electric

generating plants with a stream-electric

generating capacity of 50 megawatts or

greater during the reporting month must

file with the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission for each such plant the

FERC Form No. 423, ‘‘Monthly Report of

Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric

Plants,’’ pursuant to the General

Instructions set out in this form.

(b) When to file and what to file. This

report must be filed on or before the

45th day after the end of each reporting

month. This report must be filed with

the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission as prescribed in § 385.2011

of this chapter and as indicated in the

General Instructions set out in this form,

and must be properly completed and

verified. Filing on electronic media

pursuant to § 385.2011 of this chapter

will be required commencing with the

report required to be submitted for the

reporting month of January 2002.

PART 385—RULES OF PRACTICE AND

PROCEDURE

3. The authority citation for part 385

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 551–557; 15 U.S.C.

717–717z, 3301–3432; 16 U.S.C 791a-825r,

2601–2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101–

7352; 49 U.S.C. 60502; 49 App. U.S.C. 1–85

(1988).

4. Section 385.2011 is amended by

adding paragraph (a)(8), to read as

follows:

§ 385.2011 Procedures for filing on

electronic media (Rule 2011).

(a) * * *

(8) FERC Form No. 423, Monthly

Report of Cost and Quality of Fuels for

Electric Plants.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–32006 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Parts 416 and 422

RIN 0960–AF31

Supplemental Security Income;

Disclosure of Information to Consumer

Reporting Agencies and Overpayment

Recovery Through Administrative

Offset Against Federal Payments

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Final rules.

SUMMARY: We are modifying our

regulations dealing with the recovery of

supplemental security income (SSI)

overpayments made under title XVI of

the Social Security Act (the Act). The

modifications reflect statutory authority

for the Social Security Administration

(SSA) to selectively refer information

about SSI overpayments to consumer

reporting agencies and to recover SSI

overpayments through administrative

offset by the Department of the Treasury

against other Federal payments to which

the overpaid individual may be entitled.

These collection practices would be

limited to overpayments made to a

person after he or she attained age 18

that are determined to be otherwise

unrecoverable under section 1631(b) of

the Act after the individual ceases to be

a beneficiary under title XVI of the Act.

DATES: These regulations will be

effective on January 28, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patricia Hora, Social Insurance

Specialist, Office of Process and

Innovation Management, Social Security

Administration, 2109 West Low Rise

Building, 6401 Security Boulevard,

Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, (410) 965–

7183 or TTY (410) 966–5609 for

information about these rules. For

information on eligibility or claiming

benefits, call our national toll-free

number, 1–800–772–1213 or TTY 1–

800–325–0778 or visit our Internet site,

Social Security Online, at http://

www.ssa.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

1631(b) of the Act prescribes the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 67079

methods SSA may use to recover SSI

overpayments. Until enactment of Pub.

L. 106–169 on December 14, 1999, SSA

was not authorized to use certain tools

found in 31 U.S.C. Chapter 37 to recover

title XVI program overpayments.

Section 203 of Pub. L. 106–169

amended section 1631(b) of the Act to

permit SSA to use for SSI overpayments

several of the debt collection practices

that have been available for use

regarding social security benefit

overpayments under title II of the Act.

Among other things, these practices

include reporting delinquent debts to

consumer reporting agencies and

recovering debts by administrative offset

against other Federal payments to which

the overpaid person is entitled. Under

section 1631(b) of the Act, these

additional practices may be used only if

the SSI overpayment was made to a

person after he or she attained age 18

and the overpayment has been

determined to be otherwise

unrecoverable under section 1631(b) of

the Act after the overpaid person is no

longer entitled to benefits under title

XVI of the Act.

Before we will refer information to

consumer reporting agencies or refer an

SSI overpayment to the Department of

the Treasury for administrative offset,

we will send the overpaid person a

notice that explains the individual’s

statutory rights regarding the referral.

Specifically, we will send the overpaid

person written notice (or, in the case of

an individual for whom we do not have

a current address, take reasonable action

to locate and send written notice)

describing, among other things, the

amount and nature of the overpayment,

the action that we propose to take, and

the overpaid person’s rights to request

us to review the debt and to inspect or

copy our records about the

overpayment. We will also explain in

the notice that the overpaid person has

at least 60 calendar days to present

evidence that all or part of the

overpayment is not past-due or not

legally enforceable, or enter into a

written agreement to pay the

overpayment.

In these final rules, we set forth our

policies on referral of information on

title XVI overpayment debts to

consumer reporting agencies and

referral of such debts to the Department

of the Treasury for administrative offset.

In the future, as we make the necessary

systems changes and develop policies

and procedures to enable us to use

additional debt collection tools for

recovery of SSI overpayments, we will

make further modifications to our

overpayment recovery rules.

Explanation of Changes to Regulations

We are adding a new § 416.590 to our

regulations to explain that we will use

the additional tools authorized by

section 1631(b) of the Act when the title

XVI program overpayments occurred

after the individual attained age 18, and

the overpayment has been determined

to be otherwise unrecoverable under

section 1631(b) of the Act after the

individual is no longer entitled to

benefits under title XVI of the Act.

Section 416.590 also contains the

criteria under which we determine that

an overpayment is otherwise

unrecoverable under section 1631(b) of

the Act. An overpayment will be

determined to be unrecoverable when

all of the following conditions are met:

• We completed our billing sequence

(i.e., we have sent the overpaid person

an initial notice of the overpayment, a

reminder notice, and a past-due notice)

or suspended or terminated collection

activity in accordance with applicable

rules, such as the Federal Claims

Collection Standards in 31 CFR 903.2 or

903.3;

• There is no installment payment

agreement, or the overpaid person has

failed to pay in accordance with such an

agreement for two consecutive months;

• We cannot collect the overpayment

by adjusting benefits payable to

individuals other than the overpaid

person.

For purposes of § 416.590, if the

overpaid person is a member of an

eligible couple that is legally separated

and/or living apart, we will deem

unrecoverable from the overpaid

person’s spouse that part of the

overpayment which the overpaid

person’s spouse did not receive.

Adjustment of benefits will be waived

for the overpaid person’s spouse when

that spouse is without fault (as defined

in § 416.552) and waiver is requested

under these circumstances. See

§ 416.554.

In these final rules, we made one

change in new § 416.590(b)(1) from the

version published in the Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking of October 23,

2000 (65 FR 63221). We deleted the

terms ‘‘the Federal Claims Collection

Standards in 4 CFR 104.2 or 104.3’’ and

inserted the terms ‘‘applicable rules,

such as the Federal Claims Collection

Standards in 31 CFR 903.2 or 903.3.’’

The change reflects the revision and

relocation of the Federal Claims

Collection Standards within the Code of

Federal Regulations effective December

22, 2000. See 65 FR 70390–70406

(November 22, 2000). As revised, new

§ 416.590(b)(1) provides that we will

find an SSI overpayment to be

‘‘otherwise unrecoverable’’ under

section 1631(b) of the Act if, among

other things, we completed our billing

system sequence for the overpayment or

we suspended or terminated our

collection activity under the Federal

Claims Collection Standards that

applied at the time of the suspension or

termination.

As set out in the proposed rules, we

are adding to § 416.1403(a) (the list of

administrative actions that are not

initial determinations) new paragraphs

(18) and (19) to include our

determinations whether we will refer

information about an overpayment to

consumer reporting agencies and

whether we will refer the overpayment

to the Department of the Treasury for

offset against other Federal payments

due the overpaid person. Administrative

actions that are not initial

determinations may be reviewed by us,

but they are not subject to the

administrative review process provided

by subpart N of our regulations at 20

CFR part 416, and they are not subject

to judicial review under section

1631(c)(3) of the Act.

We are also expanding our existing

regulations in subpart D of part 422 to

cover SSI overpayments. Specifically,

we have revised § 422.301 to add

language to specify that the debt

collection tools in subpart D may be

used to recover title XVI program

overpayments the Commissioner has

determined, through § 416.590, to be

unrecoverable under section 1631(b) of

the Act. In § 422.305, we have revised

both the section title and paragraph (a).

The changes we are making to

§§ 422.301 and 422.305 will allow us to

apply to overpayments under both title

II and title XVI of the Act the rules in

subpart D on the referral of information

to consumer reporting agencies and

collection through administrative offset

by the Department of the Treasury.

In addition to the one change noted

above, these final rules contain several

non-substantive revisions to correct

minor typographical errors and to make

the regulations easier to read.

Public Comments

On October 23, 2000 we published a

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the

Federal Register at 65 FR 63221 and

provided a 60-day period for interested

individuals and organizations to

comment on the proposed rules. We

received comments from two

organizations. A summary of the

comments and our responses to them

follow.

Comment: One organization

recommended that we include language

in the notice advising individuals of

67080 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

their rights to request that we waive

collection of the overpayment. This

organization expressed concern that

individuals likely to be affected by our

new statutory authority to report

information on SSI overpayments to

consumer reporting agencies and collect

such debts through administrative offset

by the Department of the Treasury may

not realize that they may request waiver

at any time.

Response: We agree with the

organization. Before we will report

information on an SSI overpayment debt

to consumer reporting agencies and to

the Department of the Treasury for

administrative offset, we will send the

overpaid individual a notice in

accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(e) and

3716(a), advising him or her of our

plans to take those actions. See 20 CFR

422.305(b) and 422.310(c). In addition

to the information required by those

provisions, we will include language in

the notice advising the individual of his

or her right to request that we waive

collection of the overpayment. We will

inform the individual that if the

individual requests waiver within 60

days following the date of the notice, we

will not take the actions to report

information on the overpayment debt to

consumer reporting agencies or to

Treasury while we review the matter.

Under the usual waiver procedures, the

individual has the opportunity for a

prerecoupment personal conference

before waiver of collection can be

denied. If we then decide that waiver of

collection is not appropriate, we will

refer the overpayment information to

consumer reporting agencies and the

Department of the Treasury after we

notify the individual of our decision on

the waiver request. We do not need to

change our regulations in order to adopt

these practices.

Comment: One organization stated

that SSA should not apply the

additional debt collection activities in

subpart D of part 422 while an appeal

of the overpayment decision or waiver

decision is pending at any level of

appeal. The organization felt that the

reviews done by the field offices

(reconsideration and waiver) are cursory

because of the lack of staff.

Response: When an individual

submits a timely request for

reconsideration of the initial

overpayment decision and/or requests

waiver of collection of the overpayment,

we are precluded from taking any

recovery action until we render a

decision affirming the initial

determination and/or (after the

individual had the opportunity for a

prerecoupment personal conference)

denying the waiver request. See

Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682

(1979). We are not required to refrain

from taking collection action concerning

a title XVI overpayment debt after a

decision is issued on a request for

reconsideration of the initial

overpayment determination and/or after

a determination is made on a request for

waiver of recovery of the overpayment.

However, under the process adopted to

implement these final regulations we

would not select a title XVI

overpayment debt for referral to the

Department of the Treasury or consumer

reporting agencies while an

administrative appeal regarding that

debt is pending at any level of

adjudication on the fact or amount of

the overpayment or on waiver.

Comment: One organization asserted

that there are problems in our

administration of our programs that

cause overpayments. Among the

concerns are staffing in local offices,

training for our employees, and

documenting and acting on reports of

changes potentially affecting eligibility

or benefit amounts.

Response: Overpayments of benefits

occur for many reasons. We take our

responsibility for stewardship of the

programs that we administer very

seriously. That is why we constantly

track our payment accuracy and strive

to minimize overpayments. In addition,

we are pursuing several initiatives that

address the causes of overpayments and

other matters described in the concerns

and allegations conveyed by the

organization. Notwithstanding the

reasons for overpayments, we are

responsible for recovering as much of

the overpaid money as possible

consistent with the law.

Comment: One organization stated

that SSA should report information to

consumer reporting agencies in

accordance with the Fair Credit

Reporting Act (FCRA). Specifically, SSA

should use the credit reporting industry

standard Metro2 format for reporting to

consumer reporting agencies former SSI

recipients who owe delinquent debts. In

addition, SSA should use the automated

consumer dispute verification process,

which is a credit reporting industry

facility for reporting and resolving

consumer disputes about the credit

report. It also encouraged SSA to meet

with members of the organization to

ensure the consistent reporting of

accurate and complete information.

Response: Although the comment is

not directly pertinent to these rules, we

agree with the organization. We have

been reporting delinquent title II

overpayment debts to consumer

reporting agencies since 1998. We

realize the importance of reporting

complete and accurate information to

credit repositories. We have always

complied with the FCRA. Additionally,

SSA has been using both the Metro2

format and the automated consumer

dispute verification process suggested

by the commenter. In the Fall of 2000,

SSA staff met with members of the

credit reporting industry at workshops

sponsored by them. We also

communicate with members of the

credit reporting industry throughout the

year to remain current on the latest

standards.

Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has reviewed these proposed

rules in accordance with Executive

Order (E.O.) 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that these final regulations

will not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility

analysis, as provided in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, as amended, is not

required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

These final regulations will impose no

reporting or recordkeeping requirements

requiring OMB clearance.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 96.006, Supplemental Security

Income)

List of Subjects

20 CFR Part 416

Administrative practice and

procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability

benefits, Public assistance programs,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Supplemental Security

Income (SSI).

20 CFR Part 422

Administrative practice and

procedure, Organization and functions

(Government agencies), Social Security.

Dated: December 19, 2001.

Jo Anne B. Barnhart,

Commissioner of Social Security.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, we are amending subparts E

and N of part 416 and subpart D of part

422 of Chapter III of Title 20 of the Code

of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL

SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED,

BLIND AND DISABLED

1. The authority citation for subpart E

of part 416 continues to read as follows:

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 67081

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1601, 1602,

1611(c) and (e), and 1631(a)–(d) and (g) of the

Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5),

1381, 1381a, 1382(c) and (e), and 1383(a)–(d)

and (g)); 31 U.S.C. 3720A.

2. Section 416.590 is added to read as

follows:

§ 416.590 Are there additional methods for

recovery of title XVI benefit overpayments?

(a) General. In addition to the

methods specified in §§ 416.560,

416.570 and 416.580, we may recover an

overpayment under title XVI of the Act

from you under the rules in subpart D

of part 422, provided:

(1) The overpayment occurred after

you attained age 18;

(2) You are no longer entitled to

benefits under title XVI of the Act; and

(3) Pursuant to paragraph (b) of this

section, we have determined that the

overpayment is otherwise unrecoverable

under section 1631(b) of the Act.

(b) When we consider an overpayment

to be otherwise unrecoverable. We

consider an overpayment under title

XVI of the Act to be otherwise

unrecoverable under section 1631(b) of

the Act if all of the following conditions

are met:

(1) We have completed our billing

system sequence (i.e., we have sent you

an initial notice of the overpayment, a

reminder notice, and a past-due notice)

or we have suspended or terminated

collection activity under applicable

rules, such as, the Federal Claims

Collection Standards in 31 CFR 903.2 or

903.3.

(2) We have not entered into an

installment payment arrangement with

you or, if we have entered into such an

arrangement, you have failed to make

any payment for two consecutive

months.

(3) You have not requested waiver

pursuant to § 416.550 or § 416.582 or,

after a review conducted pursuant to

those sections, we have determined that

we will not waive collection of the

overpayment.

(4) You have not requested

reconsideration of the initial

overpayment determination pursuant to

§§ 416.1407 and 416.1409 or, after a

review conducted pursuant to

§ 416.1413, we have affirmed all or part

of the initial overpayment

determination.

(5) We cannot recover your

overpayment pursuant to § 416.570 by

adjustment of benefits payable to any

individual other than you. For purposes

of this paragraph, if you are a member

of an eligible couple that is legally

separated and/or living apart, we will

deem unrecoverable from the other

person that part of your overpayment

which he or she did not receive.

3. The authority citation for subpart N

of part 416 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b).

4. Section 416.1403 is amended by

removing the word ‘‘and’’ at the end of

paragraph (a)(16), removing the first

period in paragraph (a)(17), removing

‘‘See’’ and adding ‘‘see’’ in its place in

the parenthetical in paragraph (a)(17),

removing the second period at the end

of paragraph (a)(17) and adding a

semicolon in its place, and adding new

paragraphs (a)(18) and (19) to read as

follows:

§ 416.1403 Administrative actions that are

not initial determinations.

(a) * * *

* * * * *

(18) Determining whether we will

refer information about your

overpayment to a consumer reporting

agency (see §§ 416.590 and 422.305 of

this chapter); and

(19) Determining whether we will

refer your overpayment to the

Department of the Treasury for

collection by offset against Federal

payments due you (see §§ 416.590 and

422.310 of this chapter).

* * * * *

PART 422—ORGANIZATION AND

PROCEDURES

5. The authority citation for subpart D

of part 422 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 204(f), 205(a), 702(a)(5),

and 1631(b) of the Social Security Act (42

U.S.C. 404(f), 405(a), 902(a)(5), and 1383(b));

31 U.S.C. 3711(e); 31 U.S.C. 3716.

6. Section 422.301(b) is amended by

removing the words ‘‘title II’’ and by

removing ‘‘§ 404.527’’ and adding

‘‘§§ 404.527 and 416.590’’ in its place.

7. Section 422.305 is amended by

removing the reference to ‘‘title II’’ in

the heading and in paragraph (a).

[FR Doc. 01–31897 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 1

[TD 8973]

RIN 1545–AW09

Allocation of Loss With Respect to

Stock and Other Personal Property

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Final regulations and removal of

temporary regulations.

SUMMARY: This document contains final

Tax Regulations which remove

temporary regulations relating to the

allocation of loss recognized on the

disposition of stock and other personal

property. The loss allocation regulations

primarily will affect taxpayers that

claim the foreign tax credit and that

incur losses with respect to personal

property and are necessary to modify

existing guidance with respect to loss

allocation.

DATES: Effective dates: These regulations

are effective January 8, 2002.

Applicability Dates: For dates of

applicability, see §§ 1.865–1(f) and

1.865–2(e).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David A. Juster, (202) 622–3850 (not a

toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This document contains amendments

to 26 CFR part 1. On January 11, 1999,

final regulations (TD 8805, 1999–1 C.B.

371, the 1999 final regulations)

addressing the allocation of loss on the

disposition of stock (§ 1.865–2) and

amending the foreign tax credit passive

limitation grouping rules under § 1.904–

4(c) were published in the Federal

Register (64 FR 1505), together with

temporary regulations relating to the

allocation of loss on the disposition of

personal property other than stock

(§ 1.865–1T) and providing a special

matching rule with respect to the

allocation of certain stock losses

(§ 1.865–2T). A notice of proposed

rulemaking (REG–106905–98) crossreferencing the temporary regulations

was published in the Federal Register

for the same day (64 FR 1571). No

public hearing was requested or held.

One written comment responding to the

notice of proposed rulemaking was

received. After consideration of the

comment, the regulations are finalized

substantially as proposed, and the

corresponding temporary regulations are

removed. This Treasury decision also