Department of Health and Human Services June 8, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

HHS gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees from the Dow Chemical Company in Pittsburg, California, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000.

On April 6, 2015, the Administrator of the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program received a petition (Petition 007) to add certain autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and connective tissues diseases, to the List of WTC-Related Health Conditions (List). Upon reviewing the scientific and medical literature, including information provided by the petitioner, the Administrator has determined that the available evidence does not have the potential to provide a basis for a decision on whether to add certain autoimmune diseases to the List. The Administrator finds that insufficient evidence exists to request a recommendation of the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), to publish a proposed rule, or to publish a determination not to publish a proposed rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final order to reclassify nonroller-type cardiopulmonary bypass blood pump (NRP) devices for cardiopulmonary and circulatory bypass, a preamendments class III device, into class II (special controls), and to require the filing of a premarket approval application (PMA) for NRP devices for temporary ventricular support. FDA is also revising the title and identification of the regulation for NRP devices in this order.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, 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. This notice invites comment on the proposed revision of the National Quitline Data Warehouse (NQDW) information collection. The NQDW is a repository of information about callers who have received services from state quitlines and a quarterly summary of services provided by each quitline.

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.