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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 154 / Friday, August 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations Federal agencies to follow certain procedures in recovering penalties and assessments against people who file false claims or statements for which the liability is $150,000 or less. Initially, the PFCRA did not apply to NEH. Section 10 of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, Public Law 110409, 122 Stat.
4314, however, expanded the PFCRAs scope to include NEH.
The PFCRA requires each covered agency to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement its provisions. Following the PFCRAs enactment, the Presidents Council on Integrity and Efficiency requested that the Department of Health and Human Services lead an inter-agency task force to develop model PFCRA regulations.
This action was in keeping with the Senate Governmental Affairs Committees desire that the regulations would be substantially similar throughout the government S. Rep.
No. 99212, 99th Cong., 1st Sess. 12
1985. The Council recommended that
all covered agencies adopt the model rule.
Accordingly, NEH is implementing the PFCRAs provisions through this final rulewhich substantively conforms to the model rulein order to establish procedures by which NEH will seek to recover penalties and assessments against persons who file, or cause to have filed, false claims or statements with NEH for which liability is $150,000 or less.
2. Maximum Penalty Amount The PFCRA established a maximum penalty of $5,000 for each violation. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 the 2015 Act, 28 U.S.C. 2461
note, required all Federal agencies to 1
adjust the penalty amount to 2016
inflation levels with an initial catchup inflation adjustment; and 2 make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation.1 This rule incorporates the initial catch-up adjustment to 2016
inflation levels and the annual adjustments for 2017 through 2021, and
applies those adjustments cumulatively to the civil monetary penalties that the PFCRA imposes.2
A. Initial Catch-Up and 2021
Adjustments for Inflation NEH determined the first catch-up adjustment to 2016 inflation levels using the formula set forth in the 2015
Act. Specifically, NEH calculated the percent change between the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers CPIU for October of the last year in which Congress adjusted the PFCRA
civil penalties October 1986 and the CPIU for October 2015, and then rounded to the nearest dollar.
NEH similarly determined each subsequent annual adjustment by calculating the percent increase between the CPIU for the month of October preceding the date of the adjustment and the CPIU for the October one year prior to the October immediately preceding the date of the adjustment.
Table 1, below, details the above calculations.

TABLE 1ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS TO PFCRA CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES, 20162021
Baseline maximum penalty
Effective date
August 1, 2016
January 15, 2017
January 15, 2018
January 15, 2019
January 15, 2020
January 15, 2021

B. Future Annual Adjustments
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The 2015 Act requires agencies to make annual adjustments to civil penalty amounts no later than January 15 of each year following the initial adjustment. NEH will calculate future annual adjustments using the same method as the adjustments previously described herein. If the CPIU does not increase, then the civil penalties remain the same.
NEH will publish a Notice in the Federal Register containing the amount of these annual inflation adjustments no later than January 15 of each year.

1 For a more detailed explanation of the 2015 Act and the civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment calculations that it requires, see NEHs regulation implementing the 2015 Act at 85 FR 35566.
2 Table 1 details the annual adjustments to the PFCRA maximum penalty amount for years 2016
2021.

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Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, and Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review This action is not a significant regulatory action and was therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
Executive Order 13132, Federalism This rulemaking does not have federalism implications. It will not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and 3 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M1606 February 24, 2016.
4 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M1711 December 16, 2016.
5 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M1803 December 15, 2017.

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$5,000
10,781
10,957
11,181
11,463
11,665

Applicable multiplier based on percent increase in CPIU
3 2.15628
4 1.01636
5 1.02041
6 1.02522
7 1.01764
8 1.01182

New baseline maximum penalty
$10,781
10,957
11,181
11,463
11,665
11,803

responsibilities among the various levels of government.
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform This rulemaking meets the applicable standards set forth in section 3a and 3b2 of Executive Order 12988.
Specifically, this rulemaking is written in clear language designed to help reduce litigation.
Executive Order 13175, Indian Tribal Governments Under the criteria in Executive Order 13175, NEH evaluated this rulemaking and determined that it will not have any 6 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M1904 December 14, 2018.
7 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M2005 December 16, 2019.
8 Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum M2110 December 23, 2020.

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