8078 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 

9The proposed exemption would incorporate the 

following principles: (1) The exemption would be 

voluntary, (2) the exemption would apply only to 

rate tariffs, not rules tariffs, (3) disputes concerning 

negotiated rates would be governed solely by 

contract law, (4) NSAs would continue to be filed 

with the FMC and NSA essential terms would 

continue to be published, (5) all negotiated rates 

would be required to be memorialized in writing, 

(6) the FMC would retain access to the negotiated 

agreements and any underlying written 

communications, (7) the exemption would not be 

construed to convey antitrust immunity to 

NVOCCs, and (8) the exemption would only apply 

to licensed or registered NVOCCs. NCBFAA 

Petition at 11. 

10 DOJ Comments in P3–03 at 1–2. 11NCBFAA Petition at 9, note 11. 

B. The Petition 

The Petition seeks to broaden the 

filing exemption to cover those 

instances where an NVOCC has 

individually negotiated rates with its 

shipping customers and memorialized 

those rates in writing.9 In other words, 

while the NSA rule exempts formal 

contracts from tariff publication and 

enforcement requirements, the Petition’s 

request would cover short-term ‘‘spot 

market’’ rate agreements between 

NVOCCs and shippers, by far the most 

common transaction for NVOCCs. Other 

parties interested in this proceeding 

have submitted comments requesting 

that the Commission further expand the 

requested exemption to apply to service 

terms negotiated in conjunction with 

rates (i.e., vessel capacity, cargo loss and 

damage rules, equipment needs and 

delivery requirements). 

C. The Department Supports the 

Petition 

The proposed elimination of the 

NVOCC tariff publication requirements 

is an appropriate exercise of the 

Commission’s exemption authority 

under 46 U.S.C. 40103(a), which allows 

the Commission to exercise its 

exemption authority if the exemption 

‘‘will not result in a substantial 

reduction in competition or be 

detrimental to commerce.’’ That 

standard is clearly met here. 

As the Department explained in prior 

comments, ‘‘exempting all NVOCCs 

from all tariff publication requirements 

would produce the greatest competitive 

benefits.’’10 Even the more limited 

approach set-forth in the Petition would 

create important benefits. The current 

tariff filing requirement hampers an 

NVOCC’s ability to respond quickly in 

the marketplace. The proposed 

exemption will allow NVOCCs to be 

more flexible in a dynamic contractual 

environment, thereby allowing them to 

be more responsive to their shippers’ 

needs. It would likely promote 

competition and commerce by 

eliminating substantial regulatory costs 

to NVOCCs, a savings that could be 

passed on to its shipper customers in 

the form of lower shipping rates. 

The costs associated with the tariff 

publication requirement greatly exceed 

any benefits. As the NCBFAA noted, 

tariffs are rarely, if ever, reviewed or 

consulted by shippers to determine 

ocean shipping rates.11 When even the 

purported beneficiaries of tariff 

publication requirements find little 

value in them, the cost of requiring 

publication of those tariffs clearly 

exceeds any competitive or commercial 

benefits. Moreover, if tariff publications 

were of value to shippers, any NVOCC 

would remain free to publish them. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the Department 

supports the goal of the relief requested 

in the Petition to further exempt 

NVOCCs from tariff publishing and 

enforcement requirements. 

U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust 

Division, Transportation, Energy & 

Agriculture Section, 450 Fifth Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20530. 

Michele B. Cano, 

Attorney. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3325 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6730–01–M 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Office of the National Coordinator for 

Health Information Technology; HIT 

Policy Committee’s Workgroup 

Meetings; Notice of Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of the National 

Coordinator for Health Information 

Technology, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

This notice announces forthcoming 

subcommittee meetings of a Federal 

advisory committee of the Office of the 

National Coordinator for Health 

Information Technology (ONC). The 

meetings will be open to the public via 

dial-in access only. 

Name of Committees: HIT Policy 

Committee’s Workgroups: Meaningful 

Use, Privacy & Security Policy, Strategic 

Plan, Adoption/Certification, and 

Nationwide Health Information 

Infrastructure (NHIN) workgroups. 

General Function of the Committee: 

To provide recommendations to the 

National Coordinator on a policy 

framework for the development and 

adoption of a nationwide health 

information technology infrastructure 

that permits the electronic exchange and 

use of health information as is 

consistent with the Federal Health IT 

Strategic Plan and that includes 

recommendations on the areas in which 

standards, implementation 

specifications, and certification criteria 

are needed. 

Date and Time: The HIT Policy 

Committee Workgroups will hold the 

following public meetings during March 

2010: March 4th Meaningful Use 

Workgroup, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m./Eastern 

Time; March 9th Strategic Plan 

Workgroup, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m./Eastern 

Time; March 16th NHIN Workgroup, 

2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m./Eastern Time; March 

25th Privacy & Security Policy 

Workgroup, 2 to 4 p.m./Eastern Time; 

and March 29th Adoption/Certification 

Workgroup, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m./Eastern 

Time. 

Location: All workgroup meetings 

will be available via webcast; for 

instructions on how to listen via 

telephone or Web visit http:// 

healthit.hhs.gov. Please check the ONC 

Web site for additional information as it 

becomes available. 

Contact Person: Judy Sparrow, Office 

of the National Coordinator, HHS, 330 C 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20201, 

202–205–4528, Fax: 202–690–6079, email: judy.sparrow@hhs.gov Please call 

the contact person for up-to-date 

information on these meetings. A notice 

in the Federal Register about last 

minute modifications that effect a 

previously announced advisory 

committee meeting cannot always be 

published quickly enough to provide 

timely notice. 

Agenda: The workgroups will be 

discussing issues related to their 

specific subject matter, e.g., meaningful 

use, the NHIN, privacy and security 

policy, adoption/certification, or 

strategic planning. If background 

materials are associated with the 

workgroup meetings, they will be 

posted on ONC’s Web site prior to the 

meeting at http://healthit.hhs.gov. 

Procedure: Interested persons may 

present data, information, or views, 

orally or in writing, on issues pending 

before the workgroups. Written 

submissions may be made to the contact 

person on or before two days prior to 

the workgroups’ meeting date. Oral 

comments from the public will be 

scheduled at the conclusion of each 

workgroup meeting. Time allotted for 

each presentation will be limited to 

three minutes. If the number of speakers 

requesting to comment is greater than 

can be reasonably accommodated 

during the scheduled open public 

session, ONC will take written 

comments after the meeting until close 

of business on that day. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8079 

If you require special 

accommodations due to a disability, 

please contact Judy Sparrow at least 

seven (7) days in advance of the 

meeting. 

ONC is committed to the orderly 

conduct of its advisory committee 

meetings. Please visit our Web site at 

http://healthit.hhs.gov for procedures 

on public conduct during advisory 

committee meetings. 

Notice of this meeting is given under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463, 5 U.S.C., App. 2). 

Dated: February 5, 2010. 

Judith Sparrow, 

Office of Programs and Coordination, Office 

of the National Coordinator for Health 

Information Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3547 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–45–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Office of the National Coordinator for 

Health Information Technology; HIT 

Standards Committee’s Workgroup 

Meetings; Notice of Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of the National 

Coordinator for Health Information 

Technology, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

This notice announces forthcoming 

subcommittee meetings of a Federal 

advisory committee of the Office of the 

National Coordinator for Health 

Information Technology (ONC). The 

meetings will be open to the public via 

dial-in access only. 

Name of Committees: HIT Standards 

Committee’s Workgroups: Clinical 

Operations Vocabulary, Clinical 

Quality, Implementation, and Privacy & 

Security workgroups. 

General Function of the Committee: to 

provide recommendations to the 

National Coordinator on standards, 

implementation specifications, and 

certification criteria for the electronic 

exchange and use of health information 

for purposes of adoption, consistent 

with the implementation of the Federal 

Health IT Strategic Plan, and in 

accordance with policies developed by 

the HIT Policy Committee. 

Date and Time: The HIT Standards 

Committee Workgroups will hold the 

following public meetings during March 

2010: March 8th Implementation 

Workgroup, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m./Eastern 

Time; March 22nd Implementation 

Workgroup, 3 to 4 p.m./Eastern Time; 

March 23rd Clinical Operations 

Vocabulary, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m./Eastern 

Time; March 26th Privacy & Security 

Workgroup, 2 to 4 p.m./Eastern Time; 

March 30th Implementation Workgroup, 

9 to 11 a.m./Eastern Time; March 31st 

Clinical Quality Workgroup, 10 a.m. to 

12 p.m./Eastern Time. 

Location: All workgroup meetings 

will be available via webcast; visit 

http://healthit.hhs.gov for instructions 

on how to listen via telephone or Web. 

Please check the ONC Web site for 

additional information as it becomes 

available. 

Contact Person: Judy Sparrow, Office 

of the National Coordinator, HHS, 330 C 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20201, 

202–205–4528, Fax: 202–690–6079, email: judy.sparrow@hhs.gov. Please call 

the contact person for up-to-date 

information on these meetings. A notice 

in the Federal Register about last 

minute modifications that effect a 

previously announced advisory 

committee meeting cannot always be 

published quickly enough to provide 

timely notice. 

Agenda: The workgroups will be 

discussing issues related to their 

specific subject matter, e.g., clinical 

operations vocabulary standards, and 

privacy and security standards 

activities. If background materials are 

associated with the workgroup 

meetings, they will be posted on ONC’s 

Web site prior to the meeting at http:// 

healthit.hhs.gov. 

Procedure: Interested persons may 

present data, information, or views, 

orally or in writing, on issues pending 

before the workgroups. Written 

submissions may be made to the contact 

person on or before two days prior to 

the workgroups’ meeting date. Oral 

comments from the public will be 

scheduled at the conclusion of each 

workgroup meeting. Time allotted for 

each presentation will be limited to 

three minutes. If the number of speakers 

requesting to comment is greater than 

can be reasonably accommodated 

during the scheduled open public 

session, ONC will take written 

comments after the meeting until close 

of business on that day. 

If you require special 

accommodations due to a disability, 

please contact Judy Sparrow at least 

seven (7) days in advance of the 

meeting. 

ONC is committed to the orderly 

conduct of its advisory committee 

meetings. Please visit our Web site at 

http://healthit.hhs.gov for procedures 

on public conduct during advisory 

committee meetings. 

Notice of this meeting is given under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463, 5 U.S.C., App. 2). 

Dated: February 5, 2010. 

Judith Sparrow, 

Office of Programs and Coordination, Office 

of the National Coordinator for Health 

Information Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3548 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–45–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

President’s Advisory Council on FaithBased and Neighborhood Partnerships 

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463), the President’s 

Advisory Council on Faith-Based and 

Neighborhood Partnerships announces 

the following meetings: 

Name: President’s Advisory Council on 

Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships 

Council Meetings. 

Time and Date: Tuesday, March 9th 9 

a.m.–3 p.m. (EST). 

Place: Meeting will be held at a location to 

be determined in the White House complex, 

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC. Space is extremely limited. Photo ID and 

RSVP are required to attend the event. Please 

RSVP to Mara Vanderslice to attend the 

meeting no later than March 3rd, 2010 at: 

mvanderslice@who.eop.gov. 

There will also be a conference call line 

available for those who cannot attend the 

meeting in person. The call-in line is: 800– 

857–8628, Passcode: 5091968. 

Status: Open to the public, limited only by 

space available. Conference call limited only 

by lines available. 

Purpose: The Council brings together 

leaders and experts in fields related to the 

work of faith-based and neighborhood 

organizations in order to: Identify best 

practices and successful modes of delivering 

social services; evaluate the need for 

improvements in the implementation and 

coordination of public policies relating to 

faith-based and other neighborhood 

organizations; and make recommendations 

for changes in policies, programs, and 

practices. 

Contact Person for Additional Information: 

Please contact Mara Vanderslice for any 

additional information about the President’s 

Advisory Council meeting at 

mvanderslice@who.eop.gov. 

Agenda: Presentation of the Council’s final 

report to government officials, including six 

areas of focus: Economic Recovery and 

Domestic Poverty, Reform of the Office, 

Environment and Climate Change, InterReligious Cooperation, Fatherhood and 

Healthy Families and Global Poverty and 

Development. For copies of these reports, 

please contact Mara Vanderslice at 

mvanderslice@who.eop.gov. 

Please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/ 

partnerships for further updates on the 

Agenda for the meeting. 

Public Comment: There will be an 

opportunity for public comment at the end of 

the meeting. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES