Management and Budget Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comment on a draft memorandum titled ``Update to Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI).''

In March 2018, the Office of Management and Budget launched the President's Management Agenda (PMA). The PMA established a Cross- Agency Priority (CAP) goal titled: ``Results-Oriented Accountability for Grants''. This notice is meant to notify the public of the opportunity to provide input on proposed grants management common data standards that have been created in support of the Results-Oriented Accountability for Grants CAP goal.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comment on a draft document titled ``2018 Federal Cloud Computing Strategy.''

The Federal Government is starting the process to develop a new 3-year Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. By committing to common goals, the U.S. Government will more effectively and efficiently promote and protect our intellectual property. In this request for comments, the Executive Office of the President (``EOP''), Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator invites public input and participation in shaping the Administration's intellectual property enforcement strategy. The Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (``IPEC'') is charged with developing, with certain Federal departments and agencies, the Administration's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement for submission to Congress every three years. The previous 3-year Joint Strategic Plans were issued in 2010, 2013, and 2016. To assist IPEC and Federal agencies in our preparation of the fourth 3-year plan, IPEC requests input and recommendations from the public for improving the U.S. Government's intellectual property enforcement efforts, along the lines of this Administration's four-part strategic approach, described in greater detail below.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeks public comment on a proposed rule that would revise OMB's regulations found in our regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These revisions are being proposed to implement the FOIA and incorporate the provisions of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 as well as to streamline OMB's FOIA regulations by structuring the text of the regulation in an order more similar to that of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) FOIA regulation and the DOJ Office of Information Policy's Guidance for Agency FOIA Regulations, thus promoting uniformity of FOIA regulations across agencies. Additionally, the regulations would be updated to reflect developments in the case law.

The Executive Office of the President seeks input from across sectors and disciplines on capabilities that already exist as well as key considerations in pursuing the Government Effectiveness Advanced Research (GEAR) Center initiative through a request for information (RFI) now available on www.Performance.gov/GEARcenter. The Federal Government intends to pursue a Government Effectiveness Advanced Research (GEAR) Center, which would be a public-private partnership focused on applied research that improves mission delivery, citizen services, and stewardship of public resources, as proposed in Delivering Government Solutions for the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations. This non-governmental, public-private partnership would address operational and strategic challenges facing the Federal Government, both now and into the future, by engaging researchers, academics, non-profits, and private industry across an array of disciplines, such as data science, organizational behavior, and user-centered design. Through applied research and live pilot testing, the GEAR Center would connect cutting-edge thinking with real-world challenges the Federal Government faces in serving Americans in the Digital Age. This means re-imagining possibilities for how citizens interact with the Government; rethinking the delivery of citizen services and data; reforming core processes (e.g., procurement, budget, IT investment and capital allocation); and exploring how the public-sector workforce can be developed, reskilled and redeployed in creative ways.

Pursuant to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, OMB is issuing a monthly cumulative report (for July, 2018) from the Director detailing the status of rescission proposals that were previously transmitted to the Congress on May 8, 2018, and amended by the supplementary message transmitted on June 5, 2018.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget is extending the comment period for its Maritime Deregulatory request for information (RFI), by 45 days until August 30, 2018. Please note, OIRA intends to make all submissions publicly available on www.regulations.gov.

Pursuant to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, OMB is issuing a cumulative report from the Director detailing the status of rescission proposals that were previously transmitted to the Congress on May 8, 2018, and amended by the supplementary message transmitted on June 5, 2018.

As part of implementing the Census Address List Improvement Act of 1994, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests public comment on the Appeals Process whereby tribal, state, and local governments participating in the 2020 Census Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA) may appeal determinations made by the Census Bureau with respect to their suggested changes to the 2020 Census Address List. For information purposes, this notice also describes the LUCA Feedback materials that the Census Bureau will provide to participating governments and how those governments can use the materials as the basis for an appeal. The 2020 Census LUCA Operation was available to tribal, state, and local governments located in areas for which the Census Bureau develops an address list in advance of the census. The Bureau issued final procedures for participation in the 2020 Census LUCA Operation in a Federal Register Notice Vol. 81. No. 215 on November 7, 2016. Request for Comments: OMB is seeking comments on the proposed procedures for the 2020 Census LUCA Appeals Process. Comments submitted in response to this notice may be made available to the public, including by posting them on OMB's website. For this reason, please do not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or proprietary information. If you send an email comment, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket. Please note that responses to this public comment request containing any routine notice about the confidentiality of the communication will be treated as public comments that may be made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the routine notice. Electronic Availability: This notice is available on the internet from the OMB website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/. Federal Register notices are also available electronically at https:// www.federalregister.gov/.

Consistent with Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Right to Know Act, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), within the Office of Management and Budget is seeking public input on how the Federal government may prudently manage regulatory costs imposed on the maritime sector. Multiple Federal agencies regulate the U.S. maritime sector consistent with their statutory authorities. OIRA seeks public comment on how existing agency requirements affecting the maritime sector can be modified or repealed to increase efficiency, reduce or eliminate unnecessary or unjustified regulatory burdens, or simplify regulatory compliance while continuing to meet statutory missions. This RFI is meant to inform agencies' development of regulatory reform proposals. Additionally, OIRA intends to make all submissions publicly available on www.regulations.gov.

OMB is issuing its Final Sequestration Report to the President and Congress for FY 2018 to report on compliance of enacted 2018 discretionary appropriations legislation with the discretionary caps. The report includes adjustments to the 2018 and 2019 caps for changes in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and it finds that enacted appropriations are within those discretionary caps for 2018. As a result, a sequestration of discretionary budget authority is not required in 2018. The report also finds that enacted supplemental appropriations for 2017 are within the 2017 caps.

In accordance with OMB Memorandum M-17-26 ``Reducing Burden for Federal Agencies by Rescinding and Modifying OMB Memoranda,'' the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing to amend OMB Circular A-131, Value Engineering, to reduce the reporting burden on Federal agencies. Value Engineering is an effective technique for cutting waste and inefficiencyhelping Federal agencies reduce acquisition costs, improve performance, enhance quality, and foster innovation. The proposal would eliminate the requirement for agencies to report annually to OMB and instead encourage agencies to share best practices, case studies and other information on the Acquisition Gateway (https:// hallways.cap.gsa.gov/login-information) that can facilitate better understanding and use of this management tool within the Executive Branch.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board, is publishing, without change from the proposed rule, a final rule revising the exemption from CAS for firm-fixed-price (FFP) contracts and subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of cost or pricing data. This final rule clarifies that the exemption applies to FFP contracts and subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of certified cost or pricing data.

The Office of Management and Budget revised Circular A-94 in 1992. The revised Circular specified certain discount rates to be updated annually when the interest rate and inflation assumptions used to prepare the Budget of the United States Government were changed. These discount rates are found in Appendix C of the revised Circular. The updated discount rates are shown below. The discount rates in Appendix C are to be used for cost-effectiveness analysis, including lease-purchase analysis, as specified in the revised Circular. They do not apply to regulatory analysis.

By virtue of the authority vested in the President by Section 2(a) of Public Law 87-693 and delegated to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget by the President through Executive Order 11060, as amended by Executive Order 12608 of September 9, 1987, the rates referenced below are hereby established. These rates are for use in connection with the recovery from tortiously liable third persons for the outpatient medical, dental and cosmetic surgery services furnished by military treatment facilities through the Department of Defense. They are the same rates as the outpatient third party reimbursement rates that were set on July 1, 2017 for billing medical insurers, but require a different approval authority for the purpose of billing for tort liability. The rates were established in accordance with the requirements of OMB Circular A-25, requiring reimbursement of the full cost of all services provided. The CY 2017 outpatient medical, dental and cosmetic surgery services referenced are effective for billing tort liability upon publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will remain in effect until further notice. Previously published inpatient rates remain in effect until further notice. Pharmacy rates are updated periodically. A full disclosure of the rates is posted at Health.mil website in the Defense Health Agency Uniform Business Office section (https://health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/ Business-Support/Uniform-Business-Office/Billing/Medical-Affi rmative- Claims).

The Chief Statistician of the United States and the Statistical and Science Policy Branch (SSP) in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seek to establish priorities and coordinate research efforts across the Federal Statistical System to focus on improving federal statistics. In particular, a priority has been placed on using new techniques and methodologies based on combining data from multiple sources. To support this effort, information is requested on: (1) Current and emerging techniques for linking and analyzing combined data; (2) on-going research on methods to describe the quality of statistical products that result from these techniques; (3) computational frameworks and systems for conducting such work; (4) privacy or confidentiality issues that may arise from combining such data; and (5) suggestions for additional research in those or related areas. While there are regulatory and statutory constraints on combining data within the federal government, the information sought concerns how best to combine data once they are accessed appropriately and successfully. The intent is for the research to inform the adoption of revised statistical standards regarding the use of such combined data for federal purposes, including but not limited to the production of principal key economic indicators and demographic statistical products.

Section 5(b)(1)(B) of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA) provides that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with agencies, may designate additional databases for inclusion under the Do Not Pay (DNP) Initiative. IPERIA further requires OMB to provide public notice and an opportunity for comment prior to designating additional databases. In fulfillment of this requirement, on September 13, 2017, OMB published a Notice of Proposed Designation (82 FR 43041) for six additional databases. OMB did not receive any comments during the 30- day comment period for this notice. Effective immediately OMB designates the following six databases: (1) The Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals List (OFAC List), (2) data from the General Services Administration's (GSA) System for Award Management (SAM) sensitive financial data from entity registration records (including those records formerly housed in the legacy Excluded Parties List System), (3) the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (ARL), (4) the IRS's Exempt Organizations Select Check (EO Select Check), (5) the IRS's e-Postcard database, and (6) the commercial database American InfoSource (AIS) Deceased Data for inclusion in the Do Not Pay Initiative.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publishes the names of the members selected to serve on its SES Performance Review Board (PRB). This notice supersedes all previous notices of the PRB membership.

This Notice announces the availability of the 2017 OMB Audit Requirements, Appendix XICompliance Supplement (2017 Supplement). This Notice also offers interested parties an opportunity to comment on the 2017 Supplement.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is updating the final guidance that appeared in the Federal Register on December 26, 2013. Guidance on the effective/applicability date is revised to allow a grace period of one additional fiscal year for non-Federal entities to implement changes to their procurement policies and procedures in accordance with guidance on procurement standards. Other requirements in the section remain unchanged.

OMB requests comments on the proposals that it has received from the Federal Interagency Working Group for Research on Race and Ethnicity (Working Group) for revisions to OMB's Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The Working Group's report and proposals, which are presented here in brief and available on https://www.whitehouse.gov/ briefing-room/presidential-actions/related-omb-material and on https:// www.regulations.gov in their entirety, are the result of a two-year, focused review of the implementation of the current standards. The Working Group's report reflects an examination of current practice, public comment received in response to the Federal Register Notice posted by OMB on September 30, 2016, and empirical analyses of publicly available data. The report also notes statutory needs and feasibility considerations, including cost and public burden. Initial proposals and specific questions to the public appear under the section Issues for Comment. None of the proposals has yet been adopted and no interim decisions have been made concerning them. The Working Group's report and its proposals are being published to solicit further input from the public. OMB plans to announce its decision in mid-2017 so that revisions, if any, can be reflected in preparations for the 2020 Census. OMB can modify or reject any of the proposals, and OMB has the option of making no changes. The report and its proposals are published in this Notice because OMB believes that they are worthy of public discussion, and OMB's decision will benefit from obtaining the public's views on the recommendations.

The Office of Management and Budget revised Circular A-94 in 1992. The revised Circular specified certain discount rates to be updated annually when the interest rate and inflation assumptions used to prepare the Budget of the United States Government were changed. These discount rates are found in Appendix C of the revised Circular. The updated discount rates are shown below. The discount rates in Appendix C are to be used for cost-effectiveness analysis, including lease-purchase analysis, as specified in the revised Circular. They do not apply to regulatory analysis.

The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act, Public Law 105-270, requires agencies to develop inventories each year of activities performed by their employees that are not inherently governmental functions. The FAIR Act further requires OMB to review the inventories in consultation with the agencies. Once that review is complete, agencies are required to make the list available to the public and OMB must publish a notice of public availability in the Federal Register. In accordance with the FAIR Act, OMB is publishing this notice to announce the availability of inventories for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and FY 2015 from the agencies listed below. These inventories identify activities that are not inherently governmental and those activities that are inherently governmental. If an agency has not yet posted its inventory on its Web site, the agency's point of contact should be able to assist. As provided in the FAIR Act, interested parties who disagree with the agency's initial judgment may challenge the inclusion or the omission of an activity on the list of activities that are not inherently governmental within 30 working days of this Notice and, if not satisfied with this review, may appeal to a higher level within the agency.