[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 175 (Friday, September 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49168-49169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23503]
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EMERGENCY STEEL GUARANTEE LOAN BOARD
EMERGENCY OIL AND GAS GUARANTEED LOAN BOARD
Public Meeting To Receive Input Regarding Operations of the
Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program and the Emergency Oil and Gas
Guaranteed Loan Program
AGENCY: Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Board; Emergency Oil and Gas
Guaranteed Loan Board.
ACTION: Notice; public meeting.
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SUMMARY: On August 17, 1999, President Clinton signed Public Law 106-
51, an act establishing two loan guarantee programs. One program
guarantees loans to qualified steel and iron ore companies and the
second guarantees loans to qualified oil and gas companies. The law
established two Loan Guarantee Boards (Boards), each comprising the
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as
Chair of the Board, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, to oversee the programs. The Boards
have certain responsibilities under the law, including the issuance of
necessary regulations. To receive public input regarding operations of
the two programs, the Boards are holding a public meeting on September
22, 1999.
DATES: The public meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 22,
1999, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a lunch break from 12:30 p.m.
to 1:30 p.m. Parties interested in participating in the public meeting
must register with Dan Fee ((202) 482-6151) by close of business,
Friday, September 17, 1999. Those who would like to present oral
testimony at the meeting should so inform Mr. Fee when they register.
Written comments and written statements of oral testimony must be
submitted by September 17, 1999.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Main Auditorium,
Washington, DC 20230. Written comments and written statements of oral
testimony should be sent to: Dan Fee, Office of the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Room
5515, Washington, DC 20230. To enable prompt review and public access,
paper submissions should include a version of the document on diskette
in WordPerfect or Word format. Diskettes must be labeled with the name
of the submitting party and the name and version of the word processing
program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Fee, (202) 482-6151.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 17, 1999, President Clinton signed
into law Public Law 106-51, an act providing authority for guarantees
of loans to qualified steel and iron ore companies and to qualified oil
and gas companies. Chapter 1 of Public Law 106-51, called the Emergency
Steel Loan Guarantee Act of 1999, established a program for
guaranteeing loans made by private sector lending institutions to
qualified steel and iron ore companies. Chapter 2, called the Emergency
Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program Act of 1999, established a program
for guaranteeing loans made by private sector lending institutions to
qualified oil and gas companies. Each program is overseen by its own
Loan Guarantee Board. While the Boards are distinct, the membership on
each Board is identical. The Boards are composed of the Chairman of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as Chair of
[[Page 49169]]
each Board, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Boards have certain
responsibilities under the law, including the issuance of necessary
regulations. Funds were appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce to
implement and administer the program at the Board's direction.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 1999, at the
Department of Commerce. The meeting will consist of parties presenting
oral statements to staff of the agencies headed by the members of the
Boards. Oral statement should address issues and make suggestions the
presenters believe the Board should consider in designing the programs.
In making their statements, parties should take into account the
purposes of the programs and the specific requirements of Public Law
106-51. Neither written comments nor oral statements should address
specific companies or applications.
We will make every effort to accommodate all parties wishing to
speak at the meeting. It may, however, be necessary to limit the time
available to each speaker. Interested parties not wishing to speak may
submit written comments by no later than September 17, 1999. Parties
may request to speak at the meeting by making a request when they
register and submitting a written statement of their oral presentation
to Dan Fee by no later than September 17, 1999, at Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street, and Constitution
Avenue, NW, Room 5515, Washington, DC 20230.
Under the law, the Boards may guarantee loans provided by private
banking or investment companies to qualified steel companies and
qualified oil and gas companies. A qualified steel company is defined
in the law to mean any company that: (A) Is incorporated under the laws
of any State; (B) is engaged in the production and manufacture of a
product defined by the American Iron and Steel Institute as a basic
steel mill product, including ingots, slab and billets, plates, flat-
rolled steel, sections and structural products, bars, rail type
products, pipe and tube, and wire rod; and (C) has experienced layoffs,
production losses, or financial losses since the beginning of the steel
import crisis, in January 1998, or that operates substantial assets of
a company that meets these qualifications. An iron ore company
incorporated under the laws of any State is treated as a qualified
steel company for purposes of the steel program.
A qualified oil and gas company is a company that: (A) is an
independent oil and gas company (within the meaning of section
57(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) or a small
business concern under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632) (or a company based in Alaska, including an Alaska Native
Corporation created pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)) that is an oil field service company whose
main business is providing tools, products, personnel, and technical
solutions on a contractual basis to exploration and production
operators that drill, complete wells, and produce, transport, refine,
and sell hydrocarbons and their byproducts as the main commercial
business of the concern or company; and (B) has experienced layoffs,
production losses, or financial losses since the beginning of the oil
import crisis, after January 1, 1997.
Under the law, the Boards must make certain determinations in order
to guarantee a loan: (A) That credit is not otherwise available to the
qualified company under reasonable terms or conditions sufficient to
meet its financing needs, as reflected in the financial and business
plans of that company; (B) that the prospective earning power of that
company, together with the character and value of the security pledged,
furnish reasonable assurance of repayment of the loan to be guaranteed
in accordance with its terms; (C) that the loan to be guaranteed bears
interest at a rate determined by the Boards to be reasonable, taking
into account the current average yield on outstanding obligations of
the United States with remaining periods of maturity comparable to the
maturity of such loan; (D) that the company agrees to an audit by the
General Accounting Office prior to the issuance of the loan guarantee
and annually thereafter while the guaranteed loan is outstanding; and
(E) in a case of a purchaser of substantial assets of a qualified steel
company, that the qualified steel company establishes that it is unable
to reorganize itself.
Written comments and statements will be available for public
inspection Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m. at the Department of Commerce. To the extent technically
feasible, all comments received will be made available to the public on
the Internet at: http://www.doc.gov.
Dated: September 3, 1999.
William M. Daley,
Secretary of Commerce, Member, Emergency Steel Guaranteed Loan Board,
Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Board.
[FR Doc. 99-23503 Filed 9-8-99; 10:12 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-24-M
