[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 95 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 22762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10053]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 95 / Thursday, May 18, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 22762]]



FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

12 CFR Chapter VI

RIN 3052-AD24


Statement on Regulatory Burden

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, our, or we) issues this 
announcement to consider whether our existing regulations are 
ineffective or burdensome. We seek public comment on the 
appropriateness of the requirements we impose on Farm Credit System 
(System) institutions, including the Federal Agricultural Mortgage 
Corporation (Farmer Mac). We ask for comments on our regulations that 
may duplicate other requirements, are ineffective, are not based on 
law, or impose burdens that are greater than the benefits received.

DATES: Please send your comments to FCA by August 16, 2017.

ADDRESSES: We offer a variety of methods for you to submit comments on 
this notice. For accuracy and efficiency reasons, commenters are 
encouraged to submit comments by email or through FCA's Web site. As 
facsimiles (fax) are difficult for us to process and achieve compliance 
with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, we are no longer accepting 
comments submitted by fax. Regardless of the method you use, please do 
not submit your comment multiple times via different methods. You may 
submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: Send us an email at [email protected].
     FCA Web site: http://www.fca.gov. Select ``Public 
Commenters,'' then ``Public Comments,'' and follow the directions for 
``Submitting a Comment.''
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Barry F. Mardock, Deputy Director, Office of 
Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, 1501 Farm Credit Drive, 
McLean, VA 22102-5090.
    You may review copies of all comments we receive at our office in 
McLean, Virginia, or on our Web site at http://www.fca.gov. Once you 
are in the Web site, select ``Public Commenters,'' then ``Public 
Comments,'' and follow the directions for ``Reading Submitted Public 
Comments.'' We will show your comments as submitted, but for technical 
reasons we may omit items such as logos and special characters. 
Identifying information that you provide, such as phone numbers and 
addresses, will be publicly available. However, we will attempt to 
remove email addresses to help reduce Internet spam.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas R. Risdal, Senior Policy 
Analyst, Office of Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, 
McLean, VA 22102-5090, (703) 883-4257, TTY (703) 883-4056, or Mary 
Alice Donner, Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Farm Credit 
Administration, McLean, VA 22102-5090, (703) 883-4033, TTY (703) 883-
4056.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Objective

    The objective of this announcement is to continue our comprehensive 
review of regulations governing the System and to eliminate, consistent 
with law and safety and soundness, all regulations that are 
unnecessary, unduly burdensome or costly, or not based on the law.
    We request public comment on FCA regulations that were effective 
prior to December 31, 2016, and are not currently on our Unified Agenda 
as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking; and
     May duplicate other requirements;
     Are ineffective;
     Are not based on law; or
     Impose burdens that are greater than the benefits 
received.

II. Background

    FCA is an independent Federal agency in the executive branch of the 
Government responsible for examining and regulating System 
institutions. System banks and associations primarily provide loans to 
farmers, ranchers, aquatic producers and harvesters, agricultural 
cooperatives, and rural utilities. Farmer Mac provides a secondary 
market for agricultural and rural housing mortgages and eligible rural 
utility cooperative loans.

III. Our Continuing Efforts To Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens

    As stated in section 212 of the Farm Credit System Reform Act of 
1996, ``The Farm Credit Administration shall continue the comprehensive 
review of regulations governing the Farm Credit System to identify and 
eliminate, consistent with law, safety, and soundness, all regulations 
that are unnecessary, unduly burdensome or costly, or not based on 
law.'' This review is consistent with Presidential Executive Order 
(E.O.) 13771, dated January 30, 2017, on Reducing Regulations and 
Controlling Regulatory Costs, although the E.O. does not apply to 
independent regulatory agencies including FCA.
    The regulations of FCA that are subject to regulatory review 
described in this notice are codified in title 12, chapter VI, of the 
Code of Federal Regulations. We are requesting your comments on any FCA 
regulations or policies that may duplicate other governmental 
requirements, are not effective in achieving stated objectives, are not 
based on law, or create a burden that is perceived to be greater than 
the benefits received. Please do not respond to this solicitation with 
comments concerning proposed regulations that are currently under 
review, or final regulations that did not become effective until after 
December 31, 2016.
    Your comments will assist us in our continuing efforts to identify 
and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on System institutions. We 
will also continue our efforts to maintain and adopt regulations and 
policies that are necessary to implement the Farm Credit Act of 1971, 
as amended, and ensure the safety and soundness of the System. These 
actions will enable the System institutions to better serve the credit 
needs of America's farmers, ranchers, aquatic producers and harvesters, 
cooperatives, and rural residents, in the changing agricultural credit 
markets.

    Dated: May 15, 2017.
Dale L. Aultman,
Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.
[FR Doc. 2017-10053 Filed 5-17-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6705-01-P