Department of Health and Human Services June 20, 2014 – 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 (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 a second opportunity for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the burden estimate 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 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.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a draft document entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Determining the Need for and Content of Environmental Assessments for Gene Therapies, Vectored Vaccines, and Related Recombinant Viral or Microbial Products'' dated June 2014. The draft guidance document provides investigational new drug application (IND) sponsors and applicants for a biologics license application (BLA), or a supplement to a BLA, with recommendations on considerations when assessing whether to submit an Environmental Assessment (EA) for gene therapies, vectored vaccines, and related recombinant viral or microbial products (GTVVs). The guidance also contains recommendations as to what information should be included in an EA and what sponsors and applicants can expect once an EA is filed. The guidance, when finalized, will supplement the guidance entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Environmental Assessment of Human Drug and Biologics Applications,'' dated July 1998 (1998 Guidance) and will also supersede those recommendations for GTVVs in section IV.B.1 Assessing Toxicity to Environmental Organisms'' of the guidance.

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of its FY 2013 Service Contract Inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that were made in FY 2013. The information is organized by function to show how contracted resources are distributed throughout the agency. The inventory has been developed in accordance with guidance issued on November 5, 2010 and December 19, 2011 by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). OFPP's guidance is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/omb/procurement/memo/service-contract-inv entories- guidance-11052010.pdf. HHS has posted its inventory and a summary of the inventory on the HHS homepage at the following link: https:// www.hhs.gov/grants/servicecontracts.