For the purposes of the Buy "American" provision, the list of eligible countries is provided to RUS by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. An "eligible country" is any country that applies with respect to the United States an agreement ensuring reciprocal access for United States products and services and United States suppliers to the markets of that country, as determined by the United States Trade Representative.

The latest list of eligible countries for the Electric Program follows:

This list is now available on the RUS website at http://www.usda.gov/rus/electric/listmat/eligible.htm.

The List of Materials is available in PDF format on the RUS website at http://www.usda.gov/rus/electric/listof.htm. It is updated after each meeting of the Technical Standards Committees.

We are working with the Materials Subcommittee of NRECA’s T&D Engineering Committee to improve the usefulness of the List of Materials. You can assist us in is by letting us know if firms are no longer in business, if you are told that an accepted product is no longer available, or if you suspect that there may have been a design change that has not been presented to the Technical Standards Committees.

Look for some changes to our website. We are in the process of redesigning the website to make it easier for you to find information. Within the last year or so, there have been delays in posting new publications. Most of you have heard of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) or UFAS (Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards). We now have Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that Federal agencies’ electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. This includes Federal websites (such as the RUS website) to be accessible to all, including the visually impaired and hearing impaired. Many of our publications of complex formulas and tables – these are especially difficult to put into an accessible format that screen readers can decipher; however, we are working towards this mandate.

Information concerning Section 508 can be found at http://section508.gov.

Recent changes to the Electric Program website include:

• A what’s new page

• FFB and Treasury rates are shown on our Loans/Rates page and are updated each morning

• Electric Program Federal Register issuances are now shown on our Regulations Page. With the upcoming revision to our website, these issuances will shown on a separate page.

• A Rural Development Employment Opportunities page has replaced the RUS Employment Opportunities Page.

• An Eligible Countries page

Suggestions and comments concerning the RUS website can be sent to electric@rus.usda.gov.