[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28760-28763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13209]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

14 CFR Parts 1264 and 1271

RIN 2700-AE30
[Document Number NASA-17-039: Docket Number--NASA-2017-0002]


Implementation of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is 
publishing for public comment an interim final rule to adjust the civil 
monetary penalties within its jurisdiction for inflation, as required 
by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (the 
Inflation Adjustment Act or the Act), as amended by the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act). 
The revision to this rule is part of NASA's retrospective plan under 
Executive Order (E.O.) 13563 completed in August 2011. NASA's full plan 
can be accessed on the Agency's open Government Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/open/.

DATES: This interim final rule is effective August 25, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan R. Diederich, Office of the 
General Counsel, NASA Headquarters, telephone (202) 358-0216.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 28761]]

I. Background

    The Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended by the 2015 Act, requires 
Federal agencies to adjust the civil penalty amounts within their 
jurisdiction for inflation by July 1, 2016, and then by January 15 
every year thereafter.\1\ Agencies must make the initial 2016 
adjustments through an interim final rulemaking published in the 
Federal Register.\2\ Under the amended Act, any increase in a civil 
penalty made under the Act will apply to penalties assessed after the 
increase takes effect, including penalties whose associated violation 
predated the increase.\3\ The inflation adjustments mandated by the Act 
serve to maintain the deterrent effect of civil penalties and to 
promote compliance with the law.
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    \1\ See 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.
    \2\ The statute also provides that, for the initial 2016 
adjustment, an agency may adjust a civil penalty by less than the 
otherwise required amount if (1) it determines, after publishing a 
notice of proposed rulemaking and providing an opportunity for 
comment, that increasing the civil penalty by the otherwise required 
amount would have a negative economic impact or that the social 
costs of increasing the civil penalty by the otherwise required 
amount outweigh the benefits, and (2) the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget concurs with that determination. Inflation 
Adjustment Act section 4(c), codified at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note. NASA 
has chosen not to make use of this exception.
    \3\ Inflation Adjustment Act section 6, codified at 28 U.S.C. 
2461 note.
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II. Method of Calculation

    The Inflation Adjustment Act prescribes a specific method for 
calculating the inflation adjustments.\4\ As amended by the 2015 Act, 
the Act provides that the maximum (and minimum, if applicable) amounts 
for each civil penalty must be increased by the ``cost-of-living 
adjustment,'' a term that the Act defines. For purposes of the initial 
adjustments that agencies must make by July 1, 2016, the ``cost-of-
living adjustment'' is defined as the percentage increase in the 
Consumer Price Index between (1) October of the calendar year during 
which the civil penalty amount was established or adjusted under a 
provision of law other than the Inflation Adjustment Act and (2) 
October 2015. The Consumer Price Index to be used for purposes of this 
calculation is the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) 
published by the Department of Labor.\5\ The Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) has published guidance for implementing this 
requirement.\6\ OMB's guidance memorandum provides multipliers that 
agencies should use to adjust penalty amounts based on the year the 
penalty was established or last adjusted under authority other than the 
Inflation Adjustment Act.
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    \4\ Inflation Adjustment Act section 5, codified at 28 U.S.C. 
2461 note.
    \5\ U.S. Dep't of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Tables, 
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/#tables.
    \6\ Memorandum from Shaun Donovan, Director, Office of 
Management and Budget, to the Heads of Executive Departments and 
Agencies (Feb. 24, 2016), https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf.
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    To determine the new penalty amount, the agency must apply the 
multiplier reflecting the ``cost-of-living adjustment'' \7\ to the 
penalty amount as it was most recently established or adjusted under a 
provision of law other than the Inflation Adjustment Act. The agency 
must then round that amount to the nearest dollar.\8\ The increase made 
by this initial adjustment may not exceed 150 percent of the penalty 
amount in effect on the date the 2015 Act was enacted, November 2, 
2015.
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    \7\ [thinsp]The multipliers reflecting the ``cost-of-living 
adjustment'' that OMB provides are rounded to five decimal places. 
NASA has used the OMB multipliers in calculating its civil penalty 
adjustments.
    \8\ In rounding to the nearest dollar, NASA has rounded down 
where the digit immediately following the decimal point is less than 
5 and has rounded up where the digit immediately following the 
decimal point is 5 or greater.
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III. Description of the Interim Final Rule

    This interim final rule establishes the inflation-adjusted maximum 
amounts for each civil penalty within NASA's jurisdiction. The 
following table lists the civil penalties within NASA's jurisdiction 
and summarizes the relevant information needed to calculate the 
inflation adjustments pursuant to the statutory method.

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                                                                Penalty amount    Year penalty
                                                                as established   established or
                                                                   or last       last adjusted    Penalty amount
                                                                adjusted under      under a        in effect on
                 Law                    Penalty description      a provision    provision other    November 2,
                                                                other than the      than the           2015
                                                                  Inflation        Inflation
                                                                Adjustment Act   Adjustment Act
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Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of   Maximum penalties for             $5,000             1986           $5,000
 1986.                                 false claims.
Department of the Interior and        Minimum penalty for use           10,000             1989           10,000
 Related Agencies Appropriations Act   of appropriated funds
 of 1989, Public Law 101-121, sec.     to lobby or influence
 319.                                  certain contracts.
Department of the Interior and        Maximum penalty for use          100,000             1989          100,000
 Related Agencies Appropriations Act   of appropriated funds
 of 1989, Public Law 101-121, sec.     to lobby or influence
 319.                                  certain contracts.
Department of the Interior and        Minimum penalty for               10,000             1989           10,000
 Related Agencies Appropriations Act   failure to report
 of 1989, Public Law 101-121, sec.     certain lobbying
 319.                                  transactions.
Department of the Interior and        Maximum penalty for              100,000             1989          100,000
 Related Agencies Appropriations Act   failure to report
 of 1989, Public Law 101-121, sec.     certain lobbying
 319.                                  transactions.
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    NASA followed the procedure outlined above in part II to calculate 
the adjusted civil penalty amounts. In accordance with the statutory 
requirements and OMB guidance, NASA multiplied each penalty amount as 
established or last adjusted under a provision other than the Inflation 
Adjustment Act by the OMB multiplier corresponding to the appropriate 
year, and then rounded that amount to the nearest dollar, to calculate 
the new, inflation-adjusted civil penalty amount. The following chart 
summarizes the results of these calculations:

[[Page 28762]]



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                                                                      Penalty amount    Year penalty
                                                                      as established   established or
                                                                         or last       last  adjusted   OMB ``cost-of-                     New penalty
                                                                      adjusted under      under a           living        New penalty    amount adjusted
                  Law                        Penalty description       a provision    provision other    adjustment''        amount          for 150%
                                                                      other than the      than the        multiplier                        threshold
                                                                        Inflation        Inflation
                                                                      Adjustment Act   Adjustment Act
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Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of      Maximum Penalties for                $5,000             1986          2.15628          $10,781          $10,781
 1986.                                    False Claims.
Department of the Interior and Related   Minimum Penalty for use of           10,000             1989          1.89361           18,936           18,936
 Agencies Appropriations Act of 1989,     appropriated funds to
 Public Law 101-121, sec. 319.            lobby or influence
                                          certain contracts.
Department of the Interior and Related   Maximum Penalty for use of          100,000             1989          1.89361          189,361          189,361
 Agencies Appropriations Act of 1989,     appropriated funds to
 Public Law 101-121, sec. 319.            lobby or influence
                                          certain contracts.
Department of the Interior and Related   Minimum penalty for                  10,000             1989          1.89361           18,936           18,936
 Agencies Appropriations Act of 1989,     failure to report certain
 Public Law 101-121, sec. 319.            lobbying transactions.
Department of the Interior and Related   Maximum penalty for                 100,000             1989          1.89361          189,361          189,361
 Agencies Appropriations Act of 1989,     failure to report certain
 Public Law 101-121, sec. 319.            lobbying transactions.
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    This rule codifies these civil penalty amounts by amending parts 
1264 and 1271 of title 14 of the CFR.

IV. Legal Authority and Effective Date

    NASA issues this rule under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990,\9\ as amended by the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996,\10\ and further amended by the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015,\11\ which 
requires NASA to adjust the civil penalties within its jurisdiction for 
inflation according to a statutorily prescribed formula.
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    \9\ Public Law 101-410, 104 Stat. 890 (1990).
    \10\ Public Law 104-134, section 31001(s)(1), 110 Stat. 1321, 
1321-373 (1996).
    \11\ Public Law 114-74, section 701, 129 Stat. 584, 599 (2015).
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    The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) generally requires an agency 
to publish a rule at least 30 days before its effective date.\12\ This 
rule satisfies that requirement.
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    \12\ See 5 U.S.C. 533(d).
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V. Request for Comment

    Although notice and comment rulemaking procedures are not required, 
NASA invites comments on this notice. Commenters are specifically 
encouraged to identify any technical issues raised by the rule.

VI. Regulatory Requirements

Notice and Comment

    Under the APA, notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required if NASA finds that notice and public comment are 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.\13\ 
This interim final rule adjusts the civil penalty amounts within the 
NASA's jurisdiction for inflation, as required by the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal 
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The 
amendments in this interim final rule are technical, and they merely 
apply the statutory method for adjusting civil penalty amounts. For 
these reasons, NASA has determined that publishing a notice of proposed 
rulemaking and providing opportunity for public comment are 
unnecessary. Moreover, the statute expressly requires NASA to make 
these initial adjustments through an interim final rulemaking to be 
published by July 1, 2016,\14\ and OMB's guidance confirms that 
agencies need not complete a notice-and-comment process before 
promulgating the rule.\15\ Therefore, the amendments are adopted in 
final form.
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    \13\ 5 U.S.C. 533(b)(B).
    \14\ Inflation Adjustment Action, section 4(b)(1)(A), codified 
at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.
    \15\ Memorandum from Shaun Donovan, Director, Office of 
Management and Budget, to the Heads of Executive Departments and 
Agencies 3 (Feb. 24, 2016), https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-06.pdf.
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Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act does not require an initial or final 
regulatory flexibility analysis.\16\
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    \16\ 5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a).
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Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,\17\ NASA 
reviewed this interim final rule. No collections of information 
pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act are contained in the interim 
final rule.
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    \17\ 44 U.S.C. 3506-.
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List of Subjects in 14 CFR Parts 1264 and 1271

    Claims, Penalties, Lobbying.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration amends 14 CFR parts 1264 and 1271 as follows:

PART 1264--IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL PENALTIES ACT 
OF 1986

0
1. The authority citation for part 1264 continues to read as follows:


[[Page 28763]]


    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3809, 51 U.S.C. 20113(a).


Sec.  1264.102  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  1264.102, paragraphs (a) and (b), remove the number 
``$5,000'' and add in its place the number ``$10,781''.

PART 1271--NEW RESTRICTIONS ON LOBBYING

0
3. The authority citation for part 1271 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 319, Pub. L. 101-121 (31 U.S.C. 1352); Pub. 
L. 97-258 (31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).

Subpart D--Penalties and Enforcement


Sec.  1271.400  [Amended]

0
4. In Sec.  1271.400:
0
a. In paragraphs (a) and (b), remove the words ``not less than $10,000 
and not more than $100,000'' and add in their place the words ``not 
less than $18,936 and not more than $189,361''; and
0
b. In paragraph (e), remove the two occurrences of ``$10,000'' and add 
in their places ``$18,936'' and remove ``$100,000'' and add in its 
place ``$189,361''.

Appendix A to Part 1271 [Amended]

0
6. In appendix A to part 1271, in paragraph following paragraph (3) and 
in the last paragraph of the appendix, remove the words ``not less than 
$10,000 and not more than $100,000'' and add in their place the words 
``not less than $18,936 and not more than $189,361''.

Cheryl E. Parker,
NASA Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-13209 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
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