Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices 75289

organizations, and the Office of

Management and Budget, although other

representatives or individuals may be

selected as well. All interested parties,

including federal government agencies,

federal employees or their

representatives, contractors, industry

groups, labor unions, and individuals

are encouraged to submit suggestions on

the composition of the panel. The

Comptroller General will consider all

submissions prior to appointing the

panel. The formation of the panel will

be announced in a subsequent Federal

Register notice early in 2001. The

authorization act requires the

Comptroller General to submit the

report of the panel on the results of the

study to Congress by May 1, 2002.

DATES: Submit comments and

submissions on or before January 2,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments and

submissions to the General Accounting

Office, Office of General Counsel, Room

7476, 441 G St. NW., Washington, DC

20548, Attention: William T. Woods.

Submit electronic comments via e-mail

to: A76panel@gao.gov. See

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for other

information about electronic filing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William T. Woods, Project Director,

(202) 512–8214; e-mail:

woodsw@gao.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

832 of the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001,

Public Law 106–398, October 30, 2000,

directs the Comptroller General of the

United States to convene a panel of

experts to study the policies and

procedures governing the transfer of

commercial activities for the federal

government from government personnel

to a federal contractor. The panel’s

study is to include a review of (1)

procedures for determining whether

functions should continue to be

performed by government personnel, (2)

procedures for comparing the costs of

performing functions by government

personnel with the costs of performing

those functions by federal contractors,

(3) implementation by the Department

of Defense of the Federal Activities

Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L.

105–270, 112 Stat. 2382, 31 U.S.C. 501

note), and (4) procedures of the

Department of Defense for publicprivate competitions under Office of

Management and Budget Circular A–76.

By May 1, 2002, the Comptroller

General must submit to Congress a

report of the panel on the results of the

study, including recommended changes

with regard to implementing policies

and enactment of legislation.

The Act requires the Comptroller

General or a person within GAO

designated by him to serve as the

panel’s chairman. The Comptroller

General must appoint highly qualified

and knowledgeable persons to serve on

the panel and must ensure that the

following entities receive fair

representation on the panel: (1) The

Department of Defense, (2) persons in

private industry, (3) federal labor

organizations, and (4) the Office of

Management and Budget.

The GAO is in the initial stages of

forming a panel to conduct this study.

To ensure the entities specified in the

Act and others receive fair

representation on the panel, the GAO

seeks public input on the panel’s

composition. The GAO invites

interested parties to submit suggestions

on who should serve on the panel,

specific agencies and organizations that

should be represented, and the

qualifications of panel members.

Nominations of particular individuals

who should be considered for the panel

also may be submitted. Please include

the name and phone number of the

person to be contacted for clarification

or additional information. GAO

anticipates that the panel, once formed,

will solicit substantive comments on the

issues to be reviewed through public

hearings or other means. Therefore,

substantive comments on the issues to

be addressed are not solicited at this

time.

Electronic Access and Filing

This notice is available on GAO’s

website at http://www.gao.gov under

‘‘Commercial Activities Panel.’’

Comments and suggestions on the

panel’s composition may be submitted

by sending e-mail to:

A76panel@gao.gov.

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Jack L. Brock, Jr.,

Managing Director, Acquisition and Sourcing

Management, General Accounting Office.

[FR Doc. 00–30676 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 1610–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control And

Prevention

[60Day–01–05]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted

for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement

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

Paperwork reduction Act of 1995, the

Center for Disease Control and

Prevention is providing opportunity for

public comment on proposed data

collection projects. To request more

information on the proposed projects or

to obtain a copy of the data collection

plans and instruments, call the CDC

Reports Clearance Officer on (404) 639–

7090.

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

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Anne

O’Connor, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road,

MS–D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

Validation of Self-Reported Arthritis

Case Definitions in a Managed Care

Setting—New—National Center for

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It

is difficult to estimate the burden of

arthritis on the American public

because many patients with arthritis do

not seek treatment from a health care

provider for the condition. The

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance

System (BRFSS) is an ongoing telephone

survey that is being used by individual

states and the CDC to measure the

burden of arthritis. The BRFSS collects

a wide variety of self-reported health

information, including 6 questions on

arthritis. A BRFSS case of arthritis is

defined as any person who reports

chronic joint symptoms or recalls a

diagnosis of arthritis by a health care

provider. However, the BRFSS case

75290 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices

definition has not been validated,

meaning it is unclear if patients who

report arthritis symptoms or a diagnosis

of arthritis truly have arthritis based on

a clinical evaluation by a health care

provider. It is also not known if persons

who deny chronic joint symptoms and

do not recall a diagnosis of arthritis are

free of the condition. It is essential to

know the validity of the BRFSS case

definition because this survey is

currently being used to estimate the

burden of arthritis on the population.

To assess whether the BRFSS case

definition of arthritis is valid, patients

aged 45 and older who are enrolled in

the Fallon Clinic, (a health maintenance

organization in central and eastern

Massachusetts), and have an upcoming

annual physical examination with a

primary care physician will be

identified through the computerized

appointment system. A letter will be

sent to 2,100 patients aged 45 to 64 and

2,900 patients aged 65 and older two

weeks prior to their scheduled visit

informing them of this study and that a

research assistant will be calling to

conduct a 10 minute interview in the

next few days. The telephone survey

will identify patients in each age group

(aged 45 to 64 and aged 65 and older),

who fall into the four following

categories: (1) Chronic joint symptoms

without a diagnosis of arthritis from a

health care provider; (2) a diagnosis of

arthritis by a health care provider

without chronic joint symptoms; (3)

both chronic joint symptoms and a

diagnosis of arthritis by a health care

provider; and (4) no chronic joint

symptoms and no diagnosis of arthritis

by a health care provider. A

standardized history and physical

examination will be performed on at

least 50 persons in the two age groups

who fall in the 4 categories described

above. Those patients who complete the

examination will receive a $20.00 gift

certificate. Results of this clinical

evaluation will be compared to the

telephone survey responses and also to

data derived from ambulatory

encounters to assess the validity of the

arthritis case definition. There are no

cost to respondents.

Respondents Number of

responndents

Responses

per

respondents

Average

burden

(in hours)

Total

burden

(in hours)

Patients—phone survey ................................................................................... 3,000 1 10/60 500

Patients—physical exam ................................................................................. 500 1 30/60 250

Total ...................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 750

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Nancy Cheal,

Acting Associate Director for Policy,

Planning, and Evaluation, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

[FR Doc. 00–30651 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[30DAY–07–01]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork

Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of

information collection requests under

review by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35). To request a copy of these

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance

Officer at (404) 639–7090. Send written

comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503. Written

comments should be received within 30

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

Racial and Ethnic Approaches to

Community Health (REACH)

Evaluation—New—National Center for

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health

Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The REACH 2010 Demonstration

Program is a part of the Department of

Health and Human Services’ response to

the President’s Race Initiative and to the

Healthy People 2010 goal to eliminate

disparities in the health status of racial

and ethnic minorities. The purpose of

REACH 2010 is to demonstrate that

adequately funded community-based

programs which are designed and led by

the communities they serve can reduce

health disparities in infant mortality,

deficits in breast and cervical cancer

screening and management,

cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, HIV/

AIDS, and deficits in childhood and

adult immunizations. The communities

served by REACH 2010 include: African

American, American Indian, Hispanic

American, Asian American, and Pacific

Islander. Thirty-two communities were

funded in Phase I to construct

Community Action Plans (CAP). In

Phase II, seventeen of those

communities will receive continued

funding to implement their CAP.

As part of the President’s Race

Initiative, it is imperative that REACH

2010 demonstrate success in reducing

health disparities among racial and

ethnic minority populations. Toward

that end, it is of critical importance that

CDC collect uniform survey data from

each of the seventeen communities

funded for the Phase II REACH 2010

Demonstration Program. The same

survey will be conducted in each

community; it will contain questions

that are standard public health

performance measures for each health

priority area. Surveys will be

administered by either telephone or

household interview. These surveys will

be administered annually for four years

using a different sample from each

community.

The total annualized burden hours for

this project is 5358 hours.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Responses

per

respondent

Hours per

response

Introductory Call ........................................................................................................................... 31,058 1 1/60

Questionnaire ............................................................................................................................... 26,400 1 10/60