52498 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 13, 2009 / Notices 

Dated: October 6, 2009. 

Jennifer Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. E9–24598 Filed 10–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of 

Closed Meetings 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is 

hereby given of the following meetings. 

The meetings will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Research 

Resource Review. 

Date: November 4–6, 2009. 

Time: 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, 1127 

Connecticut Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20036. 

Contact Person: George W. Chacko, PhD, 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 5170, 

MSC 7849, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–435– 

1245, chackoge@csr.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; High-end 

Mass Spectrometry Instrumentation. 

Date: November 5–6, 2009. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Hyatt Regency Bethesda, One 

Bethesda Metro Center, 7400 Wisconsin 

Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 

Contact Person: Arnold Revzin, PhD, 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 4146, 

MSC 7806, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 435– 

1153, revzina@csr.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Shared 

Instrumentation Grant Applications. 

Date: November 16–17, 2009. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6701 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892 

(Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Patricia Greenwel, PhD, 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 2178, 

MSC 7818, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–435– 

1169, greenwep@csr.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; PAR08–259: 

Bio-Organic Biomedical Mass Spectrometry 

Resource. 

Date: November 18–20, 2009. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street, San 

Francisco, CA 94102. 

Contact Person: Vonda K. Smith, PhD, 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 4148, 

MSC 7806, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–435– 

1789, smithvo@csr.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine; 

93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333, 

93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844, 

93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: October 6, 2009. 

Jennifer Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. E9–24596 Filed 10–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

United States Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Extension of an Existing 

Information Collection; Comment 

Request 

ACTION: 60-Day Notice of Information 

Collection Under Review; File No. 

OMB–6, Emergency Federal Law 

Enforcement Assistance; OMB Control 

No. 1653–0019. 

The Department of Homeland 

Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement (USICE), has submitted the 

following information collection request 

for review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. The information collection is 

published to obtain comments from the 

public and affected agencies. Comments 

are encouraged and will be accepted for 

sixty days until December 14, 2009. 

Written comments and suggestions 

regarding items contained in this notice, 

and especially with regard to the 

estimated public burden and associated 

response time should be directed to the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS), Joseph M. Gerhart, Chief, 

Records Management Branch, U.S. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

500 12th Street, SW., Room 3138, 

Washington, DC 20024; (202) 732–6337. 

Comments are encouraged and will be 

accepted for sixty days until December 

14, 2009. Written comments and 

suggestions from the public and affected 

agencies concerning the proposed 

collection of information should address 

one or more of the following four points: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agencies estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and clarity of the information 

to be collected; 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Overview of this information 

collection: 

(1) Type of Information Collection: 

Extension of currently approved 

information collection. 

(2) Title of the Form/Collection: 

Emergency Federal Law Enforcement 

Assistance. 

(3) Agency form number, if any, and 

the applicable component of the 

Department of Homeland Security 

sponsoring the collection: No Agency 

Form Number; (File No. OMB–6) U.S. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

(4) Affected public who will be asked 

or required to respond, as well as a brief 

abstract: Primary: State, Local or Tribal 

Government. Section 404(b) of the 

Immigration and Naturalization Act 

provides for the reimbursement to States 

and localities for assistance provided in 

meeting an immigration emergency. 

(5) An estimate of the total number of 

respondents and the amount of time 

estimated for an average respondent to 

respond: 10 responses at 30 minutes (.50 

hours) per response. 

(6) An estimate of the total public 

burden (in hours) associated with the 

collection: 300 annual burden hours. 

Requests for a copy of the proposed 

information collection instrument, with 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 13, 2009 / Notices 52499 

instructions; or inquiries for additional 

information should be requested via email to: forms.ice@dhs.gov with ‘‘IEFEmergency Assistance’’ in the subject 

line. 

Dated: October 7, 2009. 

Joseph M. Gerhart, 

Chief, Records Management Branch, U.S. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

Department of Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. E9–24563 Filed 10–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–28–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Transportation Security Administration 

Electronic Baggage Screening 

Program 

AGENCY: Transportation Security 

Administration, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of waiver. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) has granted a limited 

nationwide waiver of the buy American 

provision contained in sec. 1605 of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) Public Law 

111–5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009) under 

the authority of sec. 1605(b)(1) (public 

interest exception) provided that at least 

95 percent of the costs of each 

Transportation Security Administration 

(TSA) Electronic Baggage Screening 

Program (EBSP) project will comply 

with sec. 1605(a). 

DATES: This notice is effective October 

13, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Office of Acquisitions/ 

Acquisitions Policy Office, TSA–25, 

Transportation Security Administration, 

601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 

20598–6025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ronald B. Gallihugh, Office of 

Acquisitions/Acquisitions Policy Office, 

TSA–25, Transportation Security 

Administration, 601 South 12th Street, 

Arlington, VA 20598–6025; telephone 

(571) 227–2402; facsimile (571) 227– 

1372; e-mail ronald.gallihugh@dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On February 17, 2009, the Recovery 

Act was enacted to assist those most 

impacted by the recession by creating 

and preserving jobs and promoting 

economic recovery. The funding was 

specified for multiple areas of national 

interest. TSA received $1 billion to 

invest in the procurement and 

installation of checked baggage 

explosives detection systems and 

checkpoint explosives detection 

equipment to be obligated by September 

30, 2010. Approximately $500 million 

in Recovery Act funding will be 

allocated to facility modification 

projects to be administered through 

TSA’s EBSP. This program directly 

benefits the traveling public, air carriers, 

airport authorities, and our Nation as a 

whole. 

TSA’s EBSP supports the DHS goals 

of protecting our Nation from dangerous 

goods and protecting our Nation’s 

critical transportation infrastructure by 

strengthening screening of checked 

baggage to reduce the probability of a 

successful terrorist or other criminal 

attack to the air transportation system. 

Since December 31, 2002, EBSP has 

been responsible for ensuring 100 

percent screening of checked baggage in 

the United States. The EBSP’s objective 

is to deter, detect, mitigate, and prevent 

transportation of explosives or other 

prohibited items in checked baggage on 

commercial aircraft. One significant way 

EBSP accomplishes its objectives is 

through the construction of Checked 

Baggage Inspection Systems (CBIS). 

These projects form the backbone of 

TSA’s EBSP and represent the highest 

level of baggage screening capability in 

terms of processing efficiency and 

security. TSA has identified twenty-six 

airports across the country with ‘‘shovel 

ready’’ facility modification projects 

that include CBIS construction. These 

projects are dependent on Recovery Act 

funding. Several of these projects, 

however, are on hold and in jeopardy 

because of concerns over compliance 

with sec. 1605(a). 

Section 1605(a) of the Recovery Act, 

the buy American provision, states that 

none of the funds appropriated by the 

Act, including the funds that have been 

dedicated to project awards under 

EBSP, ‘‘may be used for a project for the 

construction, alteration, maintenance, or 

repair of a public building or public 

work unless all of the iron, steel, and 

manufactured goods used in the project 

are produced in the United States.’’ 

Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the 

Recovery Act authorize the head of a 

Federal department or agency to waive 

the buy American provision by finding 

that: (1) Applying the provision would 

be inconsistent with the public interest; 

(2) the relevant goods are not produced 

in the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality; or (3) the inclusion 

of the goods produced in the United 

States will increase the cost of the 

project by more than 25 percent. If the 

head of the Federal department or 

agency waives the buy American 

provision, then the head of the 

department or agency is required to 

publish a detailed justification in the 

Federal Register. Finally, sec. 1605(d) of 

the Recovery Act states that the buy 

American provision must be applied in 

a manner consistent with the United 

States’ obligations under international 

agreements. 

Public Interest Finding 

The Secretary of Homeland Security 

has determined that it would be 

inconsistent with the public interest— 

and particularly with the Recovery Act’s 

directives to ensure expeditious 

spending of construction funds 

consistent with prudent management, as 

cited above—to apply the buy American 

requirement to an entire CBIS project 

where at least 95 percent of the costs of 

the project will comply with sec. 

1605(a). 

A CBIS is a highly sophisticated 

electromechanical system for screening 

checked baggage. It consists of hundreds 

of mechanical and electrical items. It 

includes a mechanical conveyor system 

or baggage handling system (BHS) that 

transports checked baggage through the 

system. The CBIS also features a 

security screening matrix area where 

baggage is fed through one or more 

Explosion Detection Systems (EDS) or 

Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) 

systems to be analyzed. All of the 

mechanical and electrical items and 

processes that make up the CBIS are 

controlled by a central programmable 

logic controller (PLC) or programmable 

controller. The PLC is essentially a 

computer ‘brain’ used for the 

automation of electro-mechanical 

processes, such as the control of 

machinery on factory assembly lines. 

The PLC controls all aspects of the CBIS 

including conveyor belt speeds, baggage 

tracking and managing the BHS merge 

points or windows. 

CBIS projects are comprised of 

thousands of manufactured goods, such 

as conveyor, conveyor motor drives, 

electrical and communications controls, 

programmable logic controllers, 

electronic tracking devices, high speed 

diverters, vertical sorters, specialty 

fasteners and switches. Not all of these 

items are domestically available. 

Furthermore, in many instances, the 

geographic origin of the equipment is 

not readily ascertainable. While 

arguably the Secretary of Homeland 

Security could have relied on the 

authority under sec. 1605(b)(2) (nonavailability waiver), the burden placed 

on TSA and contractors in sourcing and 

evaluating equipment availability would 

be unduly burdensome, impracticable 

and not in keeping with the Recovery 

Act’s overall goal of expeditious 

spending of recovery funds. 


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