Executive Office of the President – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is publishing the attached memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies concerning the determination of the maximum benchmark compensation amount that will be allowable under government contracts during contractors' fiscal year 2008$612,196. This determination is required under Section 39 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Act (41 U.S.C. 435), as amended. The benchmark compensation amount applies equally to both defense and civilian procurement agencies.

OMB is updating the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in public-private competitions conducted pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76. The civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor is comprised of four separate elements: (1) Insurance and health benefits, (2) standard civilian retirement benefits, (3) Medicare benefits, and (4) miscellaneous fringe benefits. OMB is updating the insurance and health benefits and standard civilian retirement benefits cost elements based on actuarial analyses provided by the Office of Personnel Management. OMB is also updating the annual Federal pay raise assumptions and inflation cost factors used for computing the government's personnel and non-pay costs in Circular A-76 public-private competitions. These annual pay raise assumptions and inflation factors are based on the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2009.

Under 44 U.S.C. 3504(e), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing a new Statistical Policy Directive for the release and dissemination of statistical products produced by Federal statistical agencies. On August 1, 2007, OMB published a Notice of solicitation of comments on a draft of this directive in the Federal Register (72 FR 42266, August 1, 2007). A dozen respondents sent comments in response to the notice. Careful consideration was given to all comments. The disposition of the comments as well as the final directive are presented in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. In its role as coordinator of the Federal statistical system, 44 U.S.C. 3504(e) requires OMB, among other responsibilities, to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the system as well as the integrity, objectivity, impartiality, utility, and confidentiality of information collected for statistical purposes. It also requires OMB to develop and oversee the implementation of Governmentwide policies, principles, standards, and guidelines concerning the presentation and dissemination of statistical information. The Information Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554, Division C, title V, Sec. 515, Dec. 21, 2000; 114 Stat. 2763A-153 to 2763A-154; 44 U.S.C. Section 3516 note) similarly requires OMB, as well as all other Federal agencies, to maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, including statistical information, provided to the public. To operate efficiently and effectively, our Nation relies on the flow of objective, credible statistics to support the decisions of governments, businesses, households, and other organizations. Any loss of trust in the integrity of the Federal statistical system and its products could lessen respondent cooperation with Federal statistical surveys, decrease the quality of statistical system products, and foster uncertainty about the validity of measures our Nation uses to monitor and assess its performance and progress. To further support the quality and integrity of Federal statistical information, OMB is issuing a new Statistical Policy Directive designed to preserve and enhance the objectivity and transparency, in fact and in perception, of the processes used to release and disseminate the statistical products of Federal statistical agencies. The procedures in the directive are intended to ensure that statistical data releases adhere to data quality standards through equitable, policy-neutral, and timely release of information to the general public. Additional discussion of the directive and the directive itself may be found in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

By virtue of the authority vested in the President by Section 2(a) of Pub. B. 87-603 (76 Stat. 593; 42 U.S.C. 2652), and delegated to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget by the President through Executive Order No. 11541 of July 1, 1970, the rates referenced below are hereby established. These rates are for use in connection with the recovery from tortiously liable third persons for the cost of inpatient medical services furnished by military treatment facilities through the Department of Defense (DoD). The rates have been established in accordance with the requirements of OMB Circular A-25, requiring reimbursement of the full cost of all services provided. The inpatient medical rates referenced are effective upon publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will remain in effect until further notice. The outpatient medical and dental, and cosmetic surgery rates published on November 21, 2007, remain in effect until further notice. Pharmacy rates are updated periodically. A full disclosure of the rates is posted at the DoD's Uniform Business Office Web Site: https://www.tricare.mil/ocfo/_docs/ FY%2008%20Direct%20Care%20Inpt%20Billing%20Rates.pdf.

This notice is to inform the public of the availability of full 2007 calendar year import statistics relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Public comments are invited and must be submitted by 5 p.m., Friday, March 21, 2008, to FR0441@USTR.EOP.GOV regarding the potential revocation of CNL waivers that meet the new statutory thresholds set forth by section 503(d)(4)(B)(ii) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(d)(4)(B)(ii)), as amended by Public Law 109-432. Additionally, public comments are invited and must be submitted by 5 p.m., Friday, March 28, 2008, to FR0618@USTR.EOP.GOV regarding possible de minimis CNL waivers with respect to particular articles and possible redesignations under the GSP program of articles currently not eligible for GSP benefits because they previously exceeded the CNLs.

This action proposes the collection of drug control information from state Medicaid directors.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board, is providing public notification of the decision to discontinue its review of the exemption for contracts that are executed and performed outside the United States, its territories, and possessions.

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has published ``A Citizen's Guide to the NEPAHaving Your Voice Heard.'' The guide explains the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and how it is implemented, as well as how people outside the Federal government individual citizens, private sector permit applicants, members of organized groups, and representatives of Tribal, State, or local governmentscan better participate in the Federal environmental impact assessment process. This informational guide contains no new requirements.

Notice is hereby given of the determination, under Section 127(f) of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Act), to waive the requirements of Section 127(a) and (d) of the Act. Notice is also given that the Associated Decision Memorandum and an interagency technical analysis report are available on the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Web site at https://www.ostp.gov/KI. Section 127(a) of the Act directed the President to establish a Potassium Iodide (KI) distribution program, under which State and local governments could receive KI tablets for distribution to the population in the 20 mile radius surrounding nuclear power plants (NPPs). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) already has such a program for the 10 mile emergency planning zones surrounding NPPs, so Section 127(a) effectively extended that program to the 10-20 mile range. Through Section 127(f), Congress authorized the President to waive this distribution requirement if there exists ``an alternative and more effective prophylaxis or preventive measures for adverse thyroid conditions that may result from the release of radionuclides from nuclear power plants.'' On July 3, 2007, the President delegated the Section 127(f) waiver authority to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. On July 30, 2007, to help inform his decision, the OSTP Director requested the Federal Radiological Policy Coordinating Committee (FRPCC) to provide a technical evaluation of the issues surrounding Section 127. The FRPCC is an interagency organization, with membership from 17 Federal agencies, established to coordinate Federal responsibilities for assisting State and local governments in emergency planning and preparedness for peacetime nuclear emergencies. The FRPCC transmitted its final technical evaluation paper to the OSTP Director on October 23, 2007. On January 22, 2008, the OSTP Director executed his final decision pursuant to the Section 127(f) delegation. The complete Decision Memorandum, as well as the FRPCC technical information paper, is available on the OSTP Web site at https://www.ostp.gov/KI. The OSTP Director's determination waived Section 127(f) because a more effective preventive measure does exist for the extended zone covered by the Act, namely avoidance of exposure altogether through evacuation of the potentially affected population and interdiction of contaminated food. Analysis of radiological release events that could lead to adverse thyroid conditions beyond the current 10 mile zone shows that limiting or avoiding exposure to radiation through these mechanisms is practical and much more effective than the administration of KI in the proposed extended zone.