[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] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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