March 25, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On February 10, 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an order to show cause, which solicited written views on extending the FAA's August 18, 2004, order limiting scheduled operations at O'Hare International Airport (O'Hare). The August 2004 order made effective a series of schedule adjustments that the air carriers individually agreed to during a scheduling reduction meeting. These agreements, in general, resulted in a voluntary O'Hare peak-hour arrival rate of eighty-eight scheduled flights, with the exception of the 8 p.m. hourthe final peak hour of the daywhen the rate would not exceed ninety-eight scheduled arrivals. This notice extends the August 2004 order until October 29, 2005. The order was originally scheduled to expire on April 30, 2005.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, and the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 (Clark County Act) (Pub. L. 107-282), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft RMP/EIS to analyze alternative approaches to management of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA).

This notice describes changes made by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to section 1882 of the Social Security Act (the Act), which governs Medicare supplemental insurance. This notice also recognizes that the Model Regulation adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on September 8, 2004, is considered to be the applicable NAIC Model Regulation for purposes of section 1882 of the Act, subject to our clarifications that are set forth in this notice. Finally, the full text of the revised NAIC Model Regulation is included as an addendum to this notice. The NAIC has granted permission for the NAIC Model Regulation to be published and reproduced. Under 1 CFR 2.6, there is no restriction on the republication of material as it appears in the Federal Register.

This Notice announces FY 2005 Congressional Rescissions for WIA Adults and Dislocated Worker programs, states' allotments for PY 2005 (July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006) for WIA Title I Youth, Adults and Dislocated Worker programs; additional PY 2005 funding from WIA Section 173(e) for eligible states; preliminary allotments for Employment Service (ES) activities under the Wagner-Peyser Act for PY 2005; Workforce Information Grants for PY 2005; and Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit allotments for FY 2005. The WIA allotments for states and the preliminary allotments for the Wagner-Peyser Act are based on formulas defined in their respective statutes. The WIA allotments for the outlying areas are based on a formula determined by the Secretary. As required by WIA section 182(d), on February 17, 2000, a Notice of the discretionary formula for allocating PY 2000 funds for the outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Palau, and the Virgin Islands) was published in the Federal Register at 65 FR 8236 (February 17, 2000). The rationale for the formula and methodology was fully explained in the February 17, 2000, Federal Register notice. The formula for PY 2005 is the same as used for PY 2000 and is described in the section on Youth allotments. The data for the outlying areas was obtained from the Bureau of the Census and was based on 2000 census surveys for those areas conducted either by the Bureau or the outlying areas. Comments are invited upon the formula used to allot funds to the outlying areas.

This notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

This notice announces the re-approval of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) as an accrediting organization for clinical laboratories under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) program. We have determined that the accreditation process of this organization provides reasonable assurance that the laboratories accredited by ASHI meet the conditions required by Federal law and regulations. Consequently, laboratories that are voluntarily accredited by ASHI and continue to meet the ASHI requirements will be deemed to meet the CLIA condition-level requirements for laboratories and therefore are not subject to routine inspection by State survey agencies to determine their compliance with Federal requirements. They are, however, subject to validation and complaint investigation surveys conducted by us or our designee.

In this final notice, we summarize timely public comments received in response to our July 23, 2004 notice with public comment period and announce our decision concerning applications submitted by Alcon Laboratories, Incorporated (Alcon) and Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) (formerly Pharmacia & Upjohn Company) \1\ to adjust the Medicare payment amounts for certain intraocular lenses (IOLs) on the basis that they are new technology intraocular lenses (NTIOLs).

This notice announces our decision to approve the Community Health Accreditation Program for continued recognition as a national accreditation program for home health agencies seeking to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.

This notice announces the dates and location of the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) public meetings to be held in calendar year 2005 to discuss our preliminary coding and payment determinations for all new public requests for revisions to the HCPCS. These meetings provide a forum for interested parties to make oral presentations or to submit written comments in response to preliminary coding and payment determinations. Discussion will be directed toward responses to our specific preliminary recommendations and will include all items on the public meeting agenda.