Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 1997 / Notices 60067

1The final settlement price is a special opening

quotation of the S&P 500 index and reflects the

opening prices of the component stocks.

expiring the E-Mani Standard & Poor’s

500 Stock Price Index (E-Mini S&P 500)

futures and futures option contracts.

The Director of the Division of

Economic Analysis (Division) of the

Commission, acting pursuant to the

authority delegated by Commission

Regulation 140.96, has determined that

publication of the proposals for

comment is in the public interest, will

assist the Commission in considering

the views of interested persons, and is

consistent with the purposes of the

Commodity Exchange Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 21, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should

submit their views and comments to

Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st

Street NW, Washington, DC 20581. In

addition, comments may be sent by

facsimile transmission to facsimile

number (202) 418–5521 or by electronic

mail to secretary@cftc.gov. Reference

should be made to the proposed

amendments to the termination of

trading provision of the E-Mini S&P 500

futures and futures option contracts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Please contact Michael Penick of the

Division of Economic Analysis,

Commodity Futures Trading

Commission, 1155 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581, telephone 202–

418–5279. Facsimile number: (202) 418–

5527. Electronic mail:

mpenick@cftc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under

current rules, trading in expiring CME

E-Mini S&P 500 futures and options

terminates at the close of the regular

trading session (i.e., 4:15 p.m. Eastern

time) on the business day immediately

preceding the day scheduled for

determination of the final settlement

price.1 That is, trading in expiring

futures contracts ceases on the business

day before the third Friday of the

contract month. Under the proposal,

trading in expiring futures and options

would terminate on the following day—

i.e., at the opening of trading at the New

York Stock Exchange (9:30 a.m. Eastern

time) on the third Friday of the contract

month, which is the day scheduled for

determination of the final settlement

price. The Division requests comment

on this proposed change to the

termination of trading provision.

Copies of the proposed amendments

will be available for inspection at the

Office of the Secretariat, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st

Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20581.

Copies of the terms and conditions can

be obtained through the Office of the

Secretariat by mail at the above address

or by phone at (202) 418–5100.

Other materials submitted by the CME

in support of the proposals may be

available upon request pursuant to the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552) and the Commission’s regulations

thereunder (17 CFR Part 145 (1987)),

except to the extent they are entitled to

confidential treatment as set forth in 17

CFR 145.5 and 145.9. Requests for

copies of such materials should be made

to the FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Act

Compliance Staff of the Office of the

Secretariat at the Commission’s

headquarters in accordance with 17 CFR

145.7 and 145.8.

Any person interested in submitting

written data, views, or arguments on the

proposed amendments, or with respect

to other materials submitted by the CME

should send such comments to Jean A.

Webb, Secretary, Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20581 by the

specified date.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 31,

1997.

John R. Mielke,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 97–29356 Filed 11–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–M

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

Proposed Amendments to Minneapolis

Grain Exchange Barley Futures

Contract

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of

proposed amendments.

SUMMARY: The Minneapolis Grain

Exchange (MGE or Exchange) has

proposed amendments to Minneapolis

Grain Exchange barley futures contract.

The primary amendment will change

the par delivery location for barley from

Tulare, California, to Portland, Oregon.

Another amendment will provide the

issuers of barley shipping certificates

the opportunity to declare unit train

delivery. The proposal was submitted

under the Commission’s 45-day Fast

Track procedures. The Acting Director

of the Division of Economic Analysis

(Division) of the Commission, acting

pursuant to the authority delegated by

Commission Regulation 140.96, has

determined that publication of the

proposals for comment is in the public

interest, will assist the Commission in

considering the views of interested

persons, and is consistent with the

purpose of the Commodity Exchange

Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 21, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should

submit their views and comments to

Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581. In addition,

comments may be sent by facsimile

transmission to facsimile number (202)

418–5521, or by electronic mail to

secretary@cftc.gov. Reference should be

made to the MGE barley.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Please contact John Bird of the Division

of Economic Analysis, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 21st Street NW,

Washington, 20581, telephone (202)

418–5274. Facsimile number: (202) 418–

5527. Electronic mail: jbird@cftc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:The

proposed amendments were submitted

pursuant to the Commission’s Fast

Track procedures for streamlining the

review of futures contract rule

amendments (62 FR 10434). Under

those procedures, the proposal, absent

any contrary action by the Commission,

may be deemed approved at the close of

business on December 15, 1997, 45 days

after receipt of the proposal. In view of

the limited review period provided

under the Fast Track procedures, the

Commission has determined to publish

for public comment notice of the

availability of the terms and conditions

for 15 days, rather than 30 days as

provided for proposals submitted under

the regular review procedures.

Copies of the proposed amendments

will be available for inspection at the

Office of the Secretariat, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581. Copies of the

proposed amendments can be obtained

through the Office of the Secretariat by

mail at the above address, by phone at

(202) 418–5100, or via the internet on

the CFTC website at www.cftc.gov

under ‘‘What’s Pending’’.

Other materials submitted by the MGE

in support of the proposal may be

available upon request pursuant to the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552) and the Commission’s regulations

thereunder (17 CFR Part 145 (1987)),

except to the extent they are entitled to

confidential treatment as set forth in 17

CFR 145.5 and 145.9. Requests for

copies of such materials should be made

to the FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Act

Compliance Staff of the Office of
60068 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 1997 / Notices

Secretariat at the Commission’s

headquarters in accordance with 17 CFR

145.7 and 145.8.

Any person interested in submitting

written data, views, or arguments on the

proposed amendments, or with respect

to other materials submitted by the

MGE, should send such comments to

Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, Three

Lafayette Centre, 21st Street NW,

Washington, DC 20581 by the specified

date.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 31,

1997.

John R. Mielke,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 97–29355 Filed 11–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs,

DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

In accordance with Section

3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the

Assistant Secretary of Defense for

Health Affairs announces the proposed

public information collection and seeks

public comment on the provisions

thereof. Comments are invited on: (a)

whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the information

collection; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden of the

information collection on respondents,

including through the use of automated

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all

comments received by January 5, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and

recommendations on the information

collection should be sent to TRICARE

Support Office, Program Development

Branch, U.S. Army Garrison,

Fitzsimons, ATTN: Tariq Shahid,

Aurora, CO 80045–6900.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this

proposed information collection, please

write to the above address or call

TRICARE Support Office, Program

Development Branch, at (303) 361–1401.

Title; Associated Form; and OMB

Number: Reimbursement Information,

Psychiatric Residential Treatment

Centers Serving Children and

Adolescents, TRICARE Form 771, OMB

Number 0704–0295.

Needs and Uses: The information

collection requirement is necessary to

obtain individual residential treatment

center (RTC) data that will be used in

calculating the prospective per diem

rates for new RTCs seeking certifications

under the TRICARE program.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; non-profit institutions.

Annual Burden Hours: 240.

Number of Respondents: 20.

Responses per Respondents: 1.

Average Burden per Response: 12

hours.

Frequency: On occasion.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

Respondents are psychiatric

residential treatment centers (RTCs)

seeking certification under the TRICARE

program to provide needed services to

eligible children and adolescents. The

data collection instrument, i.e.,

TRICARE Form 771, will collect the

necessary reimbursement information

that will be used in calculating

prospective all-inclusive per diem rates

for new RTCs under the TRICARE

program. Based on current trends, it is

estimated that about 20 forms will be

completed and submitted to the

TRICARE program per fiscal year for

RTCs seeking certification under the

program.

The TRICARE Support Office (TSO),

formerly known as OCHAMPUS,

published a proposed rule on 4

December 1987, (52 FR 46098), and final

rule on 1 August 1988, (53 FR 28873),

in the Federal Register clarifying

participation requirements and

establishing a new reimbursement

system for payment of RTCs. These

amendments outlined the methodology

used in calculating the individual RTC

rates along with the capped amount.

The amendments also described the

data collection elements and responded

to 23 distinct categories of comments.

The TRICARE program will be

responsible for: (1) sending out the data

collection instrument (TRICARE Form

771) to all RTCs seeking certification

under the TRICARE program; (2)

answering all inquiries regarding the

data collection; (3) compiling and

analyzing the submitted data; (4)

following up on missing or incomplete

data; (5) calculating the individual

prospective all-inclusive per diem rates;

and (6) sending out RTC participation

agreements with the calculated rates.

The TRICARE’s failure to collect the

information will jeopardize fulfillment

of the program requirements and would

result in the agency’s inability to collect

the necessary data for establishment of

RTC rates. The agency’s inability to

establish prospective per diem rates

could also result in a reduction in

availability of RTCs for TRICARE

beneficiaries.

The prospective payment

methodology: (1) provides the potential

for control over rapidly increasing costs

for mental health care within the

Department of Defense; (2) ensures that

TRICARE beneficiaries are not subject to

exaggerated or unjustified costs for RTC

care solely because of the TRICARE

entitlement; and (3) provides for a rate

of reimbursement for all participating

RTCs which reflects a reasonable

amount consistent with rates charged by

their peers nationally and with

reimbursement they are accepting from

other third-party payers.

The use of improved information

technology has been a consideration in

capturing RTC charge data necessary to

calculate new rates; however, this

would create an excessive

administrative burden on the agency for

the relatively small number of providers

affected by the request. RTCs represent

less than 0.13 percent of TRICARE

institutional providers and less than

0.04 percent of TRICARE individual

professional providers. The agency

would have to make major

modifications to its payment records

and data files in order to retrieve this

information.

In the data collection form design, we

have made every effort to eliminate any

duplication. The form consists of two

major categories of data collection: (1)

institutional per diem rates; and (2)

additional ancillary or professional

charges not included in the per diem

rates. All data information systems have

been queried to determine if there was

any duplication of data collection

elements. None of the routine data

collection reports maintained by the

agency have the information formatted

in a way that can be used to calculate

the new RTC rates.

While TSO generates RTC reports,

these reports do not include

professional claims which are billed

separately from the institutional

component. Since the professional

charges arenot married up with

institutional charges, an all-inclusive

rate cannot be determined under the

existing reporting system. The marrying