2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is hereby providing notice of two, program-wide, limited public interest waivers of the Buy American requirements set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The two limited, program- wide, public interest waivers set forth in this Notice apply to projects constructed by recipients receiving financial assistance awards (grants) pursuant to the NIST ARRA Construction Grant Program to which the ARRA Buy American requirements apply. The first limited, program-wide, public interest waiver applies to a grant recipient's use of a de minimis amount of non-domestic iron, steel or manufactured goods that, in the aggregate, comprises no more than five percent of the total cost of the iron, steel and manufactured goods used in a grant recipient's ARRA construction project. The second limited, program-wide, public interest waiver applies to a grant recipient's use of non-domestic manufactured goods where such non- domestic goods are necessary for the integration and operation of the recipient's construction project into the recipient's existing safety and security systems. Both program-wide, public interest waivers of the Buy American requirements apply over the entire award period of the grant projects. The two, limited, public interest Buy American waivers set forth in this Notice do not apply to procurement contracts issued pursuant to the NIST ARRA Construction of Research Facilities program.

The Coast Guard is proposing to change the regulation that governs the operation of the Poplar Street Bridge, mile 8.2, and the U.S. 13A Bridge over Broad Creek, mile 8.25, both at Laurel, DE. The proposed new rule would change the current regulation by requiring a forty-eight hour advance notice and by allowing the bridges to remain in the closed position for the passage of vessels.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's Outreach and Education Advisory Panel (OEAP) will meet.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Resource Justification Model,'' (RJM) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (State Route 520) across Lake Washington at Seattle, WA. The deviation is necessary to accommodate vehicular traffic attending football games at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position two hours before and two hours after each game.

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), DoD announces the proposed extension of a public information collection requirement and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. DoD invites comments on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of DoD, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved this information collection under Control Number 0704-0232 for use through January 31, 2014. DoD is proposing that OMB extend its approval for use for three additional years.

On September 30, 2013, the Coast Guard amended regulations on response plans for nontank vessels. The amendment triggered information collection requirements affecting an existing OMB-approved information collection requirement on vessel and facility response plans. This notice announces that the collection of information has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and can now be enforced. The OMB control number is 1625-0066.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Comments are requested concerning whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

This document grants in full the Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) petition for exemption of the Macan vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption From Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the 49 CFR part 541, Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard.

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c) (2) (A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. To Submit Comments and For Further Information: To obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, submit comments in writing, or request more information on the proposed project, contact: Simone Glynn, MD, Project Officer/ICD Contact, Two Rockledge Center, Suite 9142, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, or call 301-435-0065, or Email your request, including your address to: glynnsa@nhlbi.nih.gov. Formal requests for additional plans and instruments must be requested in writing. Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60 days of the date of this publication. Proposed Collection: Incident HIV/Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in South African blood donors: Behavioral risk factors, genotypes and biological characterization of early infection, 0925-New, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Need and Use of Information Collection: South Africa has one of the highest burdens for HIV infection in the world. The HIV epidemic in South Africa is largely heterosexual, but risk factors for infections can change and so identifying factors that contribute to the recent spread of HIV in a broad cross-section of the otherwise unselected general population, such as blood donors, is highly important for obtaining a complete picture of the epidemiology of HIV infection in Africa. Small previous studies suggest that the risk factors for HIV among more recently acquired (incident) infections in blood donors may differ from those of more distant (prevalent) infections. Similarly risk factors for recently acquired HBV may be different than for prevalent HBV infections. The demographic and behavioral risks associated with incident HIV and incident HBV infection have, as yet, not been formally assessed in South African blood donors using analytical study designs. Due to the high rates of HIV and HBV infection in South African blood donors, a better understanding of these risk factors can be used to modify donor screening questionnaires so as to more accurately exclude high-risk blood donors and contribute to transfusion safety. Risk factor data from this research may also provide critical information for blood banking screening strategies in other countries. This study which provides a contemporary understanding of the current risk profiles for HIV and separately for HBV will also prospectively monitor genetic characteristics of recently acquired infections through genotyping and drug resistance profile testing, thus serving a US, South African, and global public health imperative to monitor the genotypes of HIV and HBV that have recently been transmitted. For HIV, the additional monitoring of drug resistance patterns in newly acquired infection is critical to determine if currently available antiretroviral medicines are capable of combating infection. Because the pace of globalization means these infections can cross borders easily, these study objectives have direct relevance for HIV and HBV control in the U.S. and globally. Further, the ability to identify recent HIV infections provides a unique opportunity to study the biology, host response and evolution of HIV disease at time points proximate to virus acquisition. Genotyping and host response information is scientifically important not only to South Africa, but to the U.S. and other nations since it will provide a broader global understanding of how to most effectively manage and potentially prevent HIV (e.g. through vaccine development). Efforts to develop vaccines funded by the National Institutes of Health and other US-based organizations may directly benefit from the findings of this study. The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) uses both individual donation Nucleic Acid Testing (ID-NAT) and serology tests (either antibody or antigen detection tests) to screen blood donors for HIV and Hepatitis-B Virus (HBV), among other infections. A positive NAT test precedes HIV antibody detection or HBV surface antigen detection by days to weeks in newly acquired HIV and HBV infections. A combined testing strategy using NAT and serology tests therefore confers the ability to detect most acute infections and discriminate between recent (incident) and more remotely acquired (prevalent) infection. Additional tests that exploit antibody maturation kinetics such as the HIV Limiting Antigen Avidity assay (LAg Avidity) can further assist to classify persons with an HIV antibody positive test as having a recently acquired (incident) or longer-term (prevalent) infection. Hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) testing of NAT-positive and NAT and Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen (HBsAg) positive HBV infections allows classification of HBV infections as recently acquired or prevalent infections. Infections that are anti-HBc negative are recently acquired (incident). Leveraging this ability to classify HIV and HBV infections as incident or prevalent leads to three study objectives: ] 1. Objective 1 consists of evaluating the risk factors associated with having an incident HIV or HBV infection. To that end, a frequency matched case-control study will be conducted with two case groups: incident HIV infected blood donors and incident HBV infected blood donors, respectively. Risk factors in these two case groups will be compared to the risk factors provided by a group of controls (blood donors whose infectious tests are all negative). Cases and controls will be accrued from a geographically diverse donor pool. 2. Objective 2 consists of characterizing HIV clade and drug resistance profiles and determining viral loads in all cases of incident HIV infection, as well as characterizing HBV genotype and viral load in all incident HBV infections. 3. Objective 3 consists of following persons with incident and ``elite controller'' HIV infections prospectively for three additional visits at 2, 3, and 6 months following the index positive test(s). The term ``elite controllers'' refers to those who are HIV antibody positive, but with undetectable viral RNA (NAT negative) who are believed to have a natural ability to control viral replication without therapy. These studies will be useful in identifying appropriate HIV drug therapy regimens for this condition, as well as strategies for producing an effective HIV vaccine, which has eluded 30 years of HIV research. OMB approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized burden for Objectives 1 and 2 will be 395 hours for 483 subjects. The total estimated annualized burden for Objective 3 will be 32 hours for 35 respondents.

This action adds products to the Procurement List that will be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2014. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2014. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

This notice is issued in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i). NASA hereby gives notice of its intent to grant an exclusive license in the United States to practice the invention described and claimed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 13/874,182 entitled Hermetic Seal Leak Detection Apparatus and U.S. Patent No. 8,448,498 entitled Hermetic Seal Leak Detection Apparatus to REMCAL Products Corporation, having its principal place of business in Warrington, PA. The patent rights in these inventions have been assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The prospective exclusive license will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew the following information collection:

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed revision of a currently approved collection and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments for information needed to meet statutory requirements for job training program.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has submitted a public information collection request (ICR) entitled AmeriCorps Application Instructions for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Copies of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by calling the Corporation for National and Community Service, Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi, at 202-606-6667 or email to jbastresstahmasebi@cns.gov. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY-TDD) may call 1-800-833- 3722 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) requires Federal agencies to review regulations that require the use of an assessment of the credit- worthiness of a security or money market instrument and any references to, or requirements in, such regulations regarding credit ratings issued by credit rating organizations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), and to remove such references or requirements. To implement this provision, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed on May 23, 2013, to amend certain of its rules and remove a number of references and requirements in certain safety and soundness regulations affecting the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks). To replace the provisions that referenced NRSRO ratings, FHFA proposed to add requirements that the Banks apply internal analytic standards and criteria to determine the credit quality of a security or obligation, subject to FHFA oversight and review through the examination and supervisory process. FHFA also proposed to delete certain provisions from its regulations that contained references to NRSRO credit ratings because they appeared duplicative of other requirements or because they applied only to Banks that had not converted to the capital structure required by the Gramm- Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act) and no longer applied to any Bank. After considering the comments received on its notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposed Rule), FHFA has determined to adopt as final these proposed rule amendments without change.