[Federal Register: August 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 158)]
[Notices]
[Page 47581-47585]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14au08-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
[Docket No.: 0808071081-81082-01]
Solicitation of Proposals and Applications for the FY 2008
Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity Pursuant to Act
of June 30, 2008, Public Law 110-252, 122 Stat. 2323 (2008)
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice and request for applications.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 703 of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3233), EDA announces
general policies and application procedures for the FY 2008
Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity. This
investment assistance will help devise long-term economic redevelopment
strategies and carry out implementation activities and public works
projects to address economic development challenges in regions impacted
by the Midwest storms and floods or other recent natural disasters.
DATES: Proposals (also known as pre-applications) are accepted on a
continuing basis and applications are invited and processed as
received. Generally, up to two months are required for EDA to reach a
final decision after receipt of a complete application that meets all
requirements. Proposals or applications (as appropriate) received after
the date of publication of this notice will be processed in accordance
with the requirements set forth herein until superseded by the terms of
a federal funding opportunity (FFO) announcement posted on http://
www.grants.gov and publication of the related notice in the Federal
Register.
Pre-Application and Application Submission Requirements: Proponents
are advised to read carefully the instructions contained in the
complete FFO announcement for this request for proposals and
applications, and in the Pre-Application for Investment Assistance
(Form ED-900P) and Application for Investment Assistance (Form ED-
900A). Please note that the requirements for the pre-application are
different from the requirements for the application. It is the sole
responsibility of the proponent to ensure that the pre-application or
application (as appropriate) is complete and received by EDA. The
content of the pre-application or the application (as appropriate) is
the same for paper submissions as it is for electronic submissions. EDA
will not accept facsimile transmissions of pre-applications or
applications.
For projects under this notice and request for proposals and
applications, a pre-application normally is required. However, given
the exigent circumstances that exist as a result of the Midwest storms
and floods and other recent natural disasters, the EDA regional office
may in some circumstances waive the pre-application requirement for
applicants in those affected regions and allow those applicants to
submit an application only (no pre-application). Therefore, please
contact the appropriate EDA regional office listed below for
instructions as to whether you need to complete a pre-application or an
application. The regional office staff will provide application
instructions.
All relevant forms may be accessed and downloaded at the following
Web sites: (i) Forms ED-900P and ED-900A at http://www.eda.gov/
InvestmentsGrants/Application.xml; (ii) Standard Forms (SF) at either
[[Page 47582]]
www.grants.gov or at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/
Application.xml; and (iii) Department of Commerce (CD) forms at http://
ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/Electronic_Forms/index.htm.
Proponents are advised that in October 2008, EDA anticipates
introducing a single-step application process that will obviate use of
the current Forms ED-900P and ED-900A. At that time, EDA will publish
new application procedures in line with the new single-step application
in the Federal Register and will post information about those
procedures at http://www.eda.gov.
Addresses and Telephone Numbers for EDA's Regional Offices: If you
have a project that will be located in one of the disaster-impacted
regions declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) (Stafford Act),
please contact the appropriate regional office listed below.
Economic Development Administration, Atlanta Regional Office, 401 West
Peachtree Street, NW., Suite 1820, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, Telephone:
(404) 730-3002, Fax: (404) 730-3025, Serves: Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Economic Development Administration, Austin Regional Office, 504 Lavaca
Street, Suite 1100, Austin, Texas 78701, Telephone: (512) 381-8144,
Fax: (512) 381-8177, Serves: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Texas.
Economic Development Administration, Chicago Regional Office, 111 North
Canal Street, Suite 855, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Telephone: (312) 353-
7706, Fax: (312) 353-8575, Serves: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Muscatine and Scott counties, Iowa.
Economic Development Administration, Denver Regional Office, 410 17th
Street, Suite 250, Denver, Colorado 80202, Telephone: (303) 844-4714,
Fax: (303) 844-3968, Serves: Colorado, Iowa (excluding Muscatine and
Scott counties), Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Economic Development Administration, Philadelphia Regional Office,
Curtis Center, 601 Walnut Street, Suite 140 South, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19106, Telephone: (215) 597-4603, Fax: (215) 597-1063,
Serves: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and
West Virginia.
Economic Development Administration, Seattle Regional Office, Jackson
Federal Building, Room 1890, 915 Second Avenue, Seattle, Washington
98174, Telephone: (206) 220-7660, Fax: (206) 220-7669, Serves: Alaska,
American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Marshall
Islands, Micronesia, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Republic
of Palau and Washington.
Application Submission Formats: Pre-applications or applications
may be submitted either (i) in paper (hardcopy) format at the
applicable regional office address provided below; or (ii)
electronically in accordance with the procedures provided on
www.grants.gov.
Paper Submissions: Under this competitive solicitation, a proponent
may submit a completed pre-application or application (as appropriate)
to the applicable regional office listed above under ``Addresses and
Telephone Numbers for EDA's Regional Offices.'' A proponent advised by
the regional office to complete a pre-application should download and
print copies of the Form ED-900P and the Form SF-424 (Application for
Federal Assistance) at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/
Application.xml, complete Parts I, II and III of Form ED-900P and Form
SF-424, and attach the project narrative statement requested in section
IV.B.1. of the FFO announcement. The narrative statement should be
clearly labeled to identify each addressed topic listed in section
IV.B.1. of the FFO announcement. A proponent advised to complete an
application should follow the instructions provided by the regional
office at the time it is so advised.
Proponents choosing this option must submit one (1) original and
two (2) copies of the completed pre-application or application (as
appropriate) via postal mail, shipped overnight or hand-delivered to
the applicable regional office, unless otherwise directed by EDA staff.
Department of Commerce mail security measures may delay receipt of
United States Postal Service mail for up to two weeks. Therefore,
proponents who wish to submit paper applications are advised to use
guaranteed overnight delivery services.
Electronic Submissions: Proponents may submit pre-applications or
applications (as appropriate) electronically in accordance with the
instructions provided by the EDA regional office and the instructions
provided at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp.
The preferred file format for electronic attachments (e.g., the project
narrative statement and exhibits to Form ED-900P) is portable document
format (PDF); however, EDA will accept electronic files in Microsoft
Word, WordPerfect, Lotus or Excel formats.
Applicants should access the following link for assistance in
navigating www.grants.gov and for a list of useful resources: http://
www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_help.jsp. If you do not find an
answer to your question under ``Applicant FAQS'' at http://
www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp, try consulting the
Applicant User Guide. If you still cannot find an answer to your
question, contact www.grants.gov via e-mail at support@grants.gov or
telephone at 1-800-518-4726. The hours of operation for www.grants.gov
are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (ET) (except for Federal holidays).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or for a
paper copy of the complete FFO announcement, contact the appropriate
EDA regional office listed above. EDA's Internet Web site at
www.eda.gov also contains additional information on EDA and its
programs.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information: With funding made available through the
Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity, EDA intends to
award investments in regions experiencing severe economic distress as a
result of flooding, storms or tornadoes such as those experienced in
the Midwest, or other recent natural disasters. Pursuant to this
notice, EDA solicits proposals and applications for Economic Adjustment
Assistance investments under the Public Works and Economic Development
Act of 1965, as amended (PWEDA) (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.). Through the
Economic Adjustment Assistance program (CFDA No. 11.307), selected
applicants will utilize EDA's flexible set of program tools to develop
and implement on a regional basis long-term economic redevelopment
strategies for the recently disaster-impacted regions in the United
States.
The Economic Adjustment Assistance program can provide a wide range
of technical, planning and infrastructure assistance in regions
experiencing adverse economic changes that may occur suddenly or over
time. This program is designed to respond
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adaptively to pressing economic recovery issues, and is well suited to
help address challenges such as those faced by the regions affected by
the Midwest storms and floods and other recent natural disasters.
Assistance can support development of a strategy (through a ``strategy
grant'') to alleviate economic dislocation caused by the disaster or
support project implementation (through an ``implementation grant''),
such as funding improvements for infrastructure.
EDA recognizes that urgent infrastructure rebuilding needs exist
throughout the regions affected by recent natural disasters. In
addition, tensions often arise in the wake of a disaster between
advocates of immediate infrastructure rebuilding and advocates of
rebuilding infrastructure pursuant to a long-term redevelopment
strategy. In EDA's experience with post-disaster recovery, the most
effective long-term infrastructure rebuilding efforts are based on a
long-term development or redevelopment strategy, established either
before or after the disaster. For this reason, EDA encourages the
submission of applications geared to the development and implementation
of long-term, regionally-based, collaborative economic redevelopment
strategies. In addition, EDA will regard applications for
infrastructure that are substantively supported by such a strategy as
more competitive and worthy of funding than applications for
infrastructure that are not so supported. Applications for rebuilding
damaged infrastructure that are not demonstrably supported by a long-
term plan will not be viewed as competitive. EDA will evaluate and
select applications according to the information set out below under
``Evaluation Criteria.''
This notice and request for proposals and applications is pursuant
to Act of June 30, 2008, Public Law 110-252, 122 Stat. 2323 (2008).
Please access the separate FFO announcement posted at www.grants.gov on
February 21, 2008 for information regarding funding priorities,
application and selection processes, time frames and evaluation
criteria for EDA's regular Economic Adjustment Assistance and Public
Works investments, which are funded under the FY 2008 Consolidated
Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 110-161, 121 Stat. 1844 (2007)). Additional
information may be found on EDA's Internet Web site at http://
www.eda.gov. EDA will evaluate and select applications according to the
information set forth below under ``Evaluation Criteria'' and ``Funding
Priorities'' and in section V. of the FFO announcement.
Electronic Access: The complete FFO announcement for the FY 2008
Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity is available at
www.grants.gov and at http://www.eda.gov.
Funding Availability: Under the Act of June 30, 2008, Public Law
110-252, 122 Stat. 2323 (2008), EDA received $100,000,000 as a
supplemental appropriation for disaster assistance (Disaster
Appropriation). Although the impetus for this appropriation was the
storms and flooding experienced this year in the Midwest region of the
United States, the law establishes that the funds must be used in
regions covered by a major disaster declaration under the Stafford Act,
``as a result of recent natural disasters.'' For purposes of this
competitive solicitation, EDA interprets ``recent'' to mean disaster
declarations starting January 1, 2008 for incident periods occurring
through June 30, 2008, the date of enactment of the Disaster
Appropriation.
As set out below, EDA will allocate funds for the Supplemental
Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity from the Disaster
Appropriation among its six regional offices, located in Atlanta,
Austin, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Seattle. See also section
II.B. of the FFO announcement. The funds are provided for the necessary
expenses related to the following three activities: (i) Disaster
relief; (ii) long-term recovery; and (iii) restoration of
infrastructure.
Approximate Allocation per Regional Office:
Atlanta Regional Office--$8.8
Austin Regional Office--$13.8
Chicago Regional Office--$21.4
Denver Regional Office--$52.6
Philadelphia Regional Office--$2.3
Seattle Regional Office--$1.0
At a later date, EDA may adjust the allocation to the regional
offices, based on its experience in administering the supplemental
appropriation to ensure funds are used to maximum effect, or to adjust
to unforeseen changes in recovery efforts.
Statutory Authority: The statutory authority for the Economic
Adjustment Assistance program is section 209 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3149).
Unless otherwise provided in this notice or in the FFO announcement,
applicant eligibility, program objectives and priorities, application
procedures, evaluation criteria, selection procedures, and other
requirements for all programs are set forth in EDA's regulations
(codified at 13 CFR chapter III). EDA's regulations and PWEDA are
available at http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Lawsreg.xml.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.307,
Economic Adjustment Assistance.
Applicant Eligibility: Pursuant to PWEDA, eligible applicants for
and eligible recipients of EDA investment assistance under this
announcement include a(n): (i) District Organization; (ii) Indian Tribe
or a consortium of Indian Tribes; (iii) State, city or other political
subdivision of a State, including a special purpose unit of a State or
local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development
activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions; (iv) institution
of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher
education; or (v) public or private non-profit organization or
association acting in cooperation with officials of a political
subdivision of a State. See section 3 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3122) and 13
CFR 300.3.
EDA is not authorized to provide grants directly to individuals or
to for-profit entities seeking to start or expand a private business.
Such requests may be referred to State or local agencies, or to non-
profit economic development organizations.
For the Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Opportunity,
EDA will consider proposals or applications (as appropriate) submitted
by eligible applicants located in or acting on behalf of the disaster-
affected regions, including one or more institutions of higher
education; one or more of the States, cities or other units of local
government; and economic development organizations, including but not
limited to regional multi-jurisdictional District Organizations and
public or private non-profit organizations working in cooperation with
private for-profit organizations, local businesses and industry
leaders.
Economic Distress Criteria: Pursuant to the Disaster Appropriation,
regional eligibility is predicated upon the Presidential declarations
of disaster areas and/or disaster declarations issued by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as listed in section III.B. of the
FFO announcement.
Cost Sharing Requirement: As stated above, the disaster
declarations issued by FEMA provide EDA with the requisite
determination of eligibility under section 703 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C.
3233). Similar to the cost-sharing required under that Act, EDA expects
to fund seventy-five (75) percent of the eligible cost of such
assistance. The remaining twenty-five (25) percent must be borne by the
recipient or provided to
[[Page 47584]]
the recipient by a third-party as a contribution for the purposes of
and subject to the terms of the award. In accordance with statutory
authority under section 703 of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. 3233), EDA may, in
certain instances, increase the investment rate up to a maximum of one
hundred (100) percent. EDA will be particularly inclined to fund the
regional strategy grants (as mentioned under ``Background Information''
above) at an investment rate of one hundred (100) percent. In
determining whether to increase the federal share above seventy-five
(75) percent, EDA will consider whether the applicant has exhausted its
effective taxing or borrowing capacity, or other indicia of dire need.
Therefore, the applicant must include a narrative that fully describes
and defines the ``region'' in which the proposed project will be
located and is responsible for demonstrating to EDA, by providing
statistics and other appropriate information, the nature and level of
economic distress in the region. See section IV.B.1. of the FFO
announcement for information regarding the project narrative.
While cash contributions are preferred, in-kind contributions,
consisting of contributions of space, equipment, or services, or
forgiveness or assumptions of debt, may provide the required non-
federal share of the total project cost. See section 204(b) of PWEDA
(42 U.S.C. 3144). EDA will fairly evaluate all in-kind contributions,
which must be eligible project costs and meet applicable federal cost
principles and uniform administrative requirements. Funds from other
federal financial assistance awards are considered matching share funds
only if authorized by statute, which may be determined by EDA's
reasonable interpretation of the statute. See 13 CFR 300.3. The
applicant must show that the matching share is committed to the project
for the project period, will be available as needed and is not
conditioned or encumbered in any way that precludes its use consistent
with the requirements of EDA investment assistance. See 13 CFR 301.5.
Intergovernmental Review: Proposals or applications for assistance
under EDA's programs are subject to the State review requirements
imposed by Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Evaluation and Selection Procedures: EDA's six regional offices
conduct all pre-application and application review for EDA's Economic
Adjustment Assistance investments. Each pre-application or application
(as appropriate) is circulated by a project officer within the
applicable EDA regional office for review and comments. When the
necessary input and information are obtained, the pre-application or
application (as appropriate) is considered by the regional office's
investment review committee (IRC), which is comprised of regional
office staff. The IRC discusses the pre-application or application (as
appropriate) and evaluates it (i) using the general evaluation criteria
set forth in 13 CFR 301.8; and (ii) to determine if it meets the
program-specific award and application requirements provided in 13 CFR
307.2 and 307.4 for Economic Adjustment Assistance. The general
evaluation criteria also are provided below under ``Evaluation
Criteria.''
In the case of a pre-application, after completing its evaluation,
the IRC recommends to the Selecting Official, who is the Regional
Director, whether an application should be invited, documenting its
recommendation in meeting minutes or in the investment summary or the
project proposal summary and evaluation form. The Selecting Official
will consider the evaluations provided by the IRC and the degree to
which one or more of the funding priorities provided below are
included, in making the decision as to which proponents should be
invited to submit formal applications for investment assistance.
If a proponent is selected to submit a full application, the
appropriate regional office will provide application materials and
guidance in completing them. The proponent generally will have thirty
(30) days to submit the completed application materials to the regional
office. EDA staff will work with the proponent to resolve application
deficiencies. EDA will notify the applicant if EDA accepts a completed
application, and it is forwarded for final review and processing in
accordance with EDA and Department of Commerce procedures.
Unsuccessful proponents will be notified by postal mail that their
proposals were not recommended for funding. Unsuccessful proposals will
be retained in the EDA regional office in accordance with EDA's record
retention schedule.
Evaluation Criteria: EDA will select investment proposals or
applications (as appropriate) competitively based on the investment
policy guidelines and funding priority considerations listed below. EDA
will evaluate the extent to which a project embodies the maximum number
of investment policy guidelines and funding priorities possible and
strongly exemplifies at least one of each. All investment proposals or
applications (as appropriate) will be competitively evaluated primarily
on their ability to satisfy one (1) or more of the following investment
policy guidelines, each of which are of equivalent weight and also are
set forth in 13 CFR 301.8.
1. Be market-based and results driven. An EDA investment will
capitalize on a region's competitive strengths and will positively move
a regional economic indicator measured on EDA's Balanced Scorecard,
such as: An increased number of higher-skill, higher-wage jobs;
increased tax revenue; or increased private sector investment.
2. Have strong organizational leadership. An EDA investment will
have strong leadership, relevant project management experience, and a
significant commitment of human resources talent to ensure a project's
successful execution.
3. Advance productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship. An EDA
investment will embrace the principles of entrepreneurship, enhance
regional industry clusters, and leverage and link technology innovators
and local universities to the private sector to create the conditions
for greater productivity, innovation, and job creation.
4. Look beyond the immediate economic horizon, anticipate economic
changes, and diversify the local and regional economy. An EDA
investment will be part of an overarching, long-term comprehensive
economic development strategy that enhances a region's success in
achieving a rising standard of living by supporting existing industry
clusters, developing emerging new clusters, or attracting new regional
economic drivers.
5. Demonstrate a high degree of local commitment by exhibiting:
High levels of local government or non-profit matching
funds and private sector leverage;
Clear and unified leadership and support by local elected
officials; and
Strong cooperation between the business sector, relevant
regional partners and local, State and Federal governments.
Funding Priorities: Although the Stafford Act declarations serve as
a finding of regional economic distress for purposes of eligibility
under this competitive solicitation, EDA will give priority to projects
that will render the maximum amount of economic revitalization based on
satisfaction of one or more of the following core criteria (investment
proposals or applications that meet more than one
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core criterion will be given more favorable consideration):
1. Investments in support of long-term, coordinated and
collaborative regional economic development approaches:
Establish comprehensive regional economic development
strategies that identify promising opportunities for long-term economic
growth.
Exhibit demonstrable, committed multi-jurisdictional
support from leaders across all sectors:
i. Public (e.g., mayors, city councils, county executives, senior
state leadership);
ii. Institutional (e.g., institutions of higher learning);
iii. Non-profit (e.g., chambers of commerce, development
organizations); and
iv. Private (e.g., leading regional businesses, significant
regional industry associations).
Generate quantifiable positive economic outcomes.
2. Investments that support innovation and competitiveness:
Develop and enhance the functioning and competitiveness of
leading and emerging industry clusters in an economic region.
Advance technology transfer from research institutions to
the commercial marketplace.
Bolster critical infrastructure (e.g., transportation,
communications, specialized training) to prepare economic regions to
compete in the world-wide marketplace.
3. Investments that encourage entrepreneurship:
Cultivate a favorable entrepreneurial environment
consistent with regional strategies.
Enable economic regions to identify innovative
opportunities among growth-oriented small- and medium-size enterprises.
Promote community and faith-based entrepreneurship
programs aimed at improving economic performance in an economic region.
4. Support strategies that link regional economies with the global
marketplace:
Enable businesses and local governments to understand that
ninety-five (95) percent of our potential customers do not live in the
United States.
Enable businesses, local governments and key institutions
(e.g., institutions of higher education) to understand and take
advantage of the numerous free trade agreements.
Enable economic development professionals to develop and
implement strategies that reflect the competitive environment of the
21st Century global marketplace.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: The administrative and national
policy requirements for all Department of Commerce awards, contained in
the Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements, published in the Federal Register on
February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are applicable to this competitive
solicitation.
Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The use of Forms ED-900P (Pre-Application for Investment Assistance)
and ED-900A (Application for Investment Assistance) has been approved
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the control number
0610-0094. The use of Form SF-424 (Application for Financial
Assistance) has been approved under OMB control number 4040-0004.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to
respond to, nor shall any 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 (Regulatory Planning and Review): 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 comments are not required by the
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning
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 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. Therefore, a
regulatory flexibility analysis has not been prepared.
Dated: August 8, 2008.
Otto Barry Bird,
Chief Counsel, Economic Development Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-18794 Filed 8-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-24-P