November 5, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is deleting a systems of record notice from its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

This order extends the duration of the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6952 as corrected by Public Land Order No. 6962, for an additional 20-year period. The extension is necessary to continue protection of the tree improvement and forest research activities of the Peony, Pole Pick, and Frank Burge Seed Orchards, Washington, which would otherwise expire on November 11, 2012.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Appendix), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b), and 41 CFR 102-3.50(d), the Department of Defense gives notice that it is renewing the charter for the Defense Health Board (hereinafter referred to as ``the Board''). The Board has been determined to be in the public interest. The Board is a discretionary federal advisory committee that shall provide the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (hereafter referred to as ``the Under Secretary of Defense''), and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, independent advice and recommendations on matters pertaining to: a. DoD healthcare policy and program management; b. Health research programs; c. Requirements for the treatment and prevention of disease and injury by DoD; d. Promotion of health and the delivery of efficient, effective and high quality health care services to DoD beneficiaries; and e. Other matters of special interest to DoD, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense or the Under Secretary. The Board is not established to provide advice on individual DoD procurements, but instead shall be concerned with the DoD healthcare issues facing the Department of Defense in the areas referenced above. No matter shall be assigned to the Board for its consideration that would require any Board member to participate personally and substantially in the conduct of any specific procurement or place him or her in the position of acting as a contracting or procurement official. The Board shall be composed of not more than 19 members who are appointed by the Secretary of Defense. The members shall be eminent authorities in one or more of the following disciplines: clinical health care, disease and injury prevention, health care delivery and administration, or strategic decision-making in government, industry, or academia. Board members shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense and their appointments will be renewed on an annual basis according to DoD policy and procedures. Board members who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal employees shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109 and serve as special government employees. Each Board member is appointed to provide advice on behalf of the government on the basis of his or her best judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest. With the exception of travel and per diem for official travel, Board members shall serve without compensation. The Secretary of Defense may approve the appointment of Board members for one-to-four year terms of service, with annual renewals; however, no member, unless authorized by the Secretary of Defense, may serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the Board. This same term of service limitation also applies to any DoD authorized Subcommittee of the Board. Appointments will normally be staggered among the Board membership to ensure an orderly turnover in the Board's overall composition on a periodic basis. Regular government officers or employees who participate in DoD's decision-making process for this Board are prohibited from serving on the Board or its subcommittees. The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Defense, shall appoint the Board's President. The Under Secretary of Defense shall appoint the Vice President. The Under Secretary of Defense, pursuant to DoD policies and procedures, may appoint, as deemed necessary, non-voting experts and consultants, with special expertise, to assist the Board on an ad hoc basis. These experts and consultants, if not full-time or part-time government employees, shall be appointed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109, shall serve as special government employees, shall be appointed on an intermittent basis to work specific Board-related efforts, and shall have no voting rights. Non-voting experts and consultants appointed by the Under Secretary of Defense shall not count toward the Board's total membership, and shall not engage in Board deliberations. The Department, when necessary, and consistent with the Board's mission and DoD policies/procedures, may establish subcommittees, task groups, and working groups to support the Board. Establishment of subcommittees will be based upon a written determination, to include terms of reference, by the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, or the Board's sponsor. Such Subcommittees shall not work independently of the chartered Board, and shall report all of their recommendations and advice solely to the Board for full deliberation and discussion. Subcommittees have no authority to make decisions and recommendations, verbally or in writing, on behalf of the chartered Board; nor can any Subcommittee or its members update or report directly to the DoD or any Federal officers or employees. All Subcommittee members shall be appointed in the same manner as the Board members; that is, the Secretary of Defense shall appoint Subcommittee members even if the member in question is already a Board member. Subcommittee members, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, may serve a term of service on the Subcommittee of one-to-four years; however, no member shall serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the subcommittee. Subcommittee members, if not full-time or part-time government employees, shall be appointed to serve as experts and consultants under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3109, and shall serve as special government employees, whose appointments must be renewed by the Secretary of Defense on an annual basis. With the exception of travel and per diem for official Board related travel, Subcommittee members shall serve without compensation. Each Subcommittee member is appointed to provide advice on behalf of the government on the basis of his or her best judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest. All Subcommittees operate under the provisions of FACA, the Sunshine Act, governing Federal statutes and regulations, and governing DoD policies/procedures. Currently, DoD has approved the following permanent subcommittees to the Defense Health Board. a. Public Health Subcommittee: This Subcommittee shall be composed of not more than 10 members who are eminent authorities in at least one of the following disciplines: Infectious Disease; Occupational Health/ Medicine; Preventive Medicine; Public Health; and Toxicology. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining to improving the overall health of members of the Armed Forces and their families through the evaluation of DoD public health programs and initiatives including education, health promotion and prevention activities, as well as disease and injury prevention research. b. Health Care Delivery Subcommittee: This Subcommittee shall be composed of not more than nine members who are eminent authorities in at least one of the following disciplines: Health Care Academia; Health Care Finance/Economics; Health Care Policy/Executive Leadership; and Patient Care. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining to health care delivery, to include DoD health care policy and program management, and research. c. Neurological/Behavioral Health Subcommittee: This Subcommittee shall be composed of not more than 10 members who are eminent authorities in at least one of the following disciplines: Neurology; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Psychiatry; Psychology; and Traumatic Brain Injury. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining to psychological/mental health issues and neurological symptoms or conditions among members of the Armed Forces and their families. d. Medical Ethics Subcommittee: This Subcommittee shall be composed of not more than five members who are eminent authorities in at least one of the following disciplines: Clergy, DoD leadership, Human Research Protection, attorneys with expertise in medical ethics, and Military Health System beneficiaries. One member must have formal bioethics or medical ethics training or experience. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining to medical ethics. e. Trauma and Injury Subcommittee: This Subcommittee shall be composed of not more than 10 members who are eminent authorities in at least one of the following disciplines: civilian or military trauma medicine systems. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining to trauma and injury, to include methods for prevention, recognition, clinical management, and treatment. It is the parent Subcommittee of the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care. f. Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care: The Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care is a permanent work group of the Trauma and Injury Subcommittee and shall be composed of not more than 31 members who are physicians, nurses, physician assistants, or combat medics with experience in at least one of the following: military trauma medicine or systems; or tactical combat casualty care. The Subcommittee, when tasked according to DoD policy/procedures, provides advice on matters pertaining in-theater care in the tactical environment.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined not to review the presiding administrative law judge's (``ALJ'') initial determination (``ID'') (Order No. 18) granting a motion of respondents to terminate the investigation in its entirety. The investigation is terminated.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, Agency, us, or we) issues this final rule amending our regulations governing investment management practices of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac or Corporation). This final rule will help ensure that Farmer Mac maintains safe and sound non-program investment management practices in accordance with clearly articulated board-established guidance, streamlines the process for handling investments that fail to meet the eligibility criteria after purchase, and modifies the allowable purposes of Farmer Mac's non-program investments to include investments that would complement Farmer Mac's program activities. We are also finalizing the significant reorganization of these regulations that we proposed to make the regulations easier to follow.

EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the State of New Hampshire. These revisions consist of a demonstration that New Hampshire meets the requirements of reasonably available control technology for oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds set forth by the Clean Air Act with respect to the 1997 8-hour ozone standard, and revisions to existing rules controlling these pollutants, and source-specific orders for fifteen individual sources. This action is being taken in accordance with the Clean Air Act.

The Board is delaying the effective date for implementation of certain provisions of its final rule amending the Board's Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) published in the Federal Register on April 12, 2012. The final rule's effective date is being delayed to allow for further development and testing of the automated systems necessary to support the implementation of certain provisions.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its adjudication regulation regarding a certificate of eligibility for financial assistance in the purchase of an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The amendment is necessary to incorporate statutory changes made by the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010.

EPA is approving in part and disapproving in part State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the state of Arizona pursuant to the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the 1997 8- hour ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and the 1997 and 2006 NAAQS for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The Clean Air Act requires that each State adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by the EPA. Arizona has met most of the applicable requirements. Where EPA is disapproving, in part, Arizona's SIP revisions, several of the deficiencies have already been addressed by a federal implementation plan (FIP). The remaining deficiencies are subject to a two-year deadline for EPA to promulgate a FIP, unless EPA approves an adequate SIP revision prior to that time. EPA remains committed to working with Arizona to develop such a SIP revision.