August 22, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to add a new system of records, DHRA 14 DoD, entitled ``Commercial Travel Information Management System'' to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This system establishes a repository of DoD travel records consisting of travel booked within the Defense Travel System as well as through commercial travel vendors in order to satisfy reporting requirements; identify and notify travelers in potential distress due to natural or man-made disaster; assist in the planning, budgeting, and allocation of resources for future DoD travel; conduct oversight operations; analyze travel, budgetary, or other trends; detect fraud and abuse; and respond to authorized internal and external requests for data relating to DoD official travel and travel related services, including premium class travel. To provide Web site registered guests an online customer support site for submitting inquiries regarding commercial travel within the DoD, including assistance with DTS.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to alter a system of records, DWHS P49, entitled ``Reasonable Accommodation Program Records'' in its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This system is used to document requests for reasonable accommodation(s) (regardless of type of accommodation) and the outcome of such requests for employees of Washington Headquarters Services/Human Resources Directorate serviced components with known physical and mental impairments and applicants for employment with Washington Headquarters Services/Human Resources Directorate serviced components.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

The FAA announces the charter renewal of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC), a Federal Advisory Committee that works with industry and the public to improve the development of the FAA's regulations. This charter renewal will take effect on September 17, 2014, and will expire after 2 years.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning, accounting for long-term contracts.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The IRS is soliciting comments concerning information collection requirements related to residence rulings involving U.S. possessions.

The Federal Communications Commission published a document requesting comments, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. The Commission invited the general public and other agencies to comment on whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission; however, the Commission withdraws its request for those comments.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 6765, Credit for Increasing Research Activities.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 2678, Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is publishing this notice to provide an opportunity for public comment on its draft directive and accompanying guidelines containing policy and procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, Executive Order 11514, as amended, Executive Order 12114, and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508). Pursuant to CEQ regulations, Treasury is soliciting comments from members of the interested public.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend the biologics regulations by removing the general safety test (GST) requirements for biological products. FDA is proposing this action because the existing codified GST regulations are duplicative of requirements that are also specified in biologics licenses, or are no longer necessary or appropriate to help ensure the safety, purity, and potency of licensed biological products. FDA is taking this action as part of its retrospective review of its regulations to promote improvement and innovation, in response to an Executive order.

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing concerning the addition of a Global Reseller Expedited Package Contracts 2 negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of the action plan issued as required by section 907 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) and the reopening of a public docket for comments pertaining to the action plan.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9676) that were published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 (79 FR 41424) providing guidance concerning the allocation and apportionment of interest expense by corporations owning a 10 percent or greater interest in a partnership, as well as the allocation and apportionment of interest expense using the fair market value method. These regulations also update the interest allocation regulations to conform to the statutory changes made by section 216 of the legislation commonly referred to as the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act (EJMAA), enacted on August 10, 2010, affecting the affiliation of certain foreign corporations for purposes of section 864(e). These regulations affect taxpayers that allocate and apportion interest expense.

FRA's final rule primarily amends the regulations implementing a requirement of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that certain passenger and freight railroads install positive train control (PTC) systems governing operations on certain main line tracks. This final rule revises an existing regulatory exception to the requirement to install a PTC system for track segments carrying freight only that present a de minimis safety risk. The final rule also adds a new exception for PTC-unequipped freight trains associated with certain freight yard operations to operate within PTC systems. The final rule also revises the existing regulations related to en route failures of a PTC system, adds new provisions related to other failures of a PTC system, and amends the regulations on applications for approval of certain modifications of signal and train control systems. Finally, this final rule makes technical amendments to FRA's other signal and train control regulations and FRA's regulations governing highway-rail grade crossing warning systems.

This proposed notice acknowledges the receipt of an application from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc., (ACHC) for continued recognition as a national accrediting organization for home health agencies (HHAs) that wish to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Section 1865(b)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act) requires that within 60 days of receipt of an organization's complete application, CMS publish a notice that identifies the national accrediting body making the request, describes the nature of the request, and provides at least a 30-day public comment period.

We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems. Some of these changes implement certain statutory provisions contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively known as the Affordable Care Act), the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, and other legislation. These changes are applicable to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2014, unless otherwise specified in this final rule. We also are updating the rate- of-increase limits for certain hospitals excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits. The updated rate-of-increase limits are effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2014. We also are updating the payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) and implementing certain statutory changes to the LTCH PPS under the Affordable Care Act and the Pathway for Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Reform Act of 2013 and the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. In addition, we discuss our proposals on the interruption of stay policy for LTCHs and on retiring the ``5 percent'' payment adjustment for co-located LTCHs. While many of the statutory mandates of the Pathway for SGR Reform Act apply to discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2014, others will not begin to apply until 2016 and beyond. In addition, we are making a number of changes relating to direct graduate medical education (GME) and indirect medical education (IME) payments. We are establishing new requirements or revising requirements for quality reporting by specific providers (acute care hospitals, PPS- exempt cancer hospitals, and LTCHs) that are participating in Medicare. We are updating policies relating to the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, and the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program. In addition, we are making technical corrections to the regulations governing provider administrative appeals and judicial review; updating the reasonable compensation equivalent (RCE) limits, and revising the methodology for determining such limits, for services furnished by physicians to certain teaching hospitals and hospitals excluded from the IPPS; making regulatory revisions to broaden the specified uses of Medicare Advantage (MA) risk adjustment data and to specify the conditions for release of such risk adjustment data to entities outside of CMS; and making changes to the enforcement procedures for organ transplant centers. We are aligning the reporting and submission timelines for clinical quality measures for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) with the reporting and submission timelines for the Hospital IQR Program. In addition, we provide guidance and clarification of certain policies for eligible hospitals and CAHs such as our policy for reporting zero denominators on clinical quality measures and our policy for case threshold exemptions. In this document, we are finalizing two interim final rules with comment period relating to criteria for disproportionate share hospital uncompensated care payments and extensions of temporary changes to the payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals and of the Medicare- Dependent, Small Rural Hospital (MDH) Program.