[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