15066 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 62 / Thursday, April 2, 2009 / Notices 

the Gulf War (Roffey et al. 2002). Of the 

four biological warfare agents that Iraqi 

sources reported weaponized: aflatoxin, 

botulinum toxin, Bacillus anthracis, and 

ricin, only anthrax is a living 

microorganism and capable of 

multiplying in infected people. 

However, no evidence has been found 

that Iraq deployed any weapons 

containing biological warfare agents 

(Roffey et al. 2002; Zilinskas 1997). 

Based on the NAS report, the 

Secretary has concluded that a 

presumption is not warranted for any 

disease associated with exposure to 

biological warfare agents because such 

weapons were not shown to have been 

deployed in the Gulf War. 

IV. Conclusion 

After careful review of the findings of 

the 2006 NAS report, ‘‘Gulf War & 

Health Volume 5: Infectious Diseases,’’ 

the Secretary has determined that the 

scientific evidence presented in the 

report and other information available 

to the Secretary indicate that no new 

presumption of service connection is 

warranted for Al Eskan disease, 

idiopathic acute eosinophilic 

pneumonia, wound and nosocomial 

infection, mycoplasmas, or for any 

illness based on exposure to biologicwarfare agents. 

Approved: March 26, 2009. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. E9–7342 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Advisory Committee on Cemeteries 

and Memorials; Notice of Meeting 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under Public Law 92– 

463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) 

that a meeting of the Advisory 

Committee on Cemeteries and 

Memorials will be held on May 5–6, 

2009, at the El Paso Marriott, 1600 

Airway Boulevard, El Paso, Texas. On 

May 5, the meeting will begin at 8 a.m. 

and end at 3:45 p.m. and on May 6, the 

meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end 

at 4 p.m. The meeting is open to the 

public. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

on the administration of national 

cemeteries, soldiers’ lots and plots, the 

selection of new national cemetery sites, 

the erection of appropriate memorials, 

and the adequacy of Federal burial 

benefits. 

On May 5, the Committee will receive 

updates on National Cemetery 

Administration issues. On May 6, the 

Committee will tour Fort Bliss National 

Cemetery, located at 5200 Fred Wilson 

Boulevard, El Paso, Texas, and then 

reconvene at the hotel for a business 

session in the afternoon. The May 6 

session will include discussions of 

Committee recommendations, future 

meeting sites, and potential agenda 

topics at future meetings. 

Time will not be allocated for 

receiving oral presentations from the 

public. 

Any member of the public wishing to 

attend the meeting should contact Mr. 

Michael Nacincik, Designated Federal 

Officer, at (202) 461–6240. The 

Committee will accept written 

comments. Comments may be 

transmitted electronically to the 

Committee at Michael.n@va.gov, or 

mailed to the National Cemetery 

Administration (41C2), 810 Vermont 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. 

In the public’s communications with the 

Committee, the writers must identify 

themselves and state the organizations, 

associations, or persons they represent. 

Dated: March 27, 2009. 

By Direction of the Secretary. 

E. Philip Riggin, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–7455 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Advisory Committee on OIF/OEF 

Veterans and Families; Notice of 

Meeting 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under Public Law 92– 

463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) 

that the Advisory Committee on OIF/ 

OEF Veterans and Families will meet on 

April 15–16, 2009, at the St. Regis Hotel, 

923 16th Street, NW., Washington, DC, 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

on the full spectrum of health care, 

benefits delivery and related family 

support issues that confront 

servicemembers during their transition 

from active duty to veteran status and 

during their post-service years. The 

Committee focuses on the concerns of 

all men and women with active military 

service in Operation Iraqi Freedom and/ 

or Operation Enduring Freedom, but 

pays particular attention to severely 

disabled veterans and their families. 

The agenda for April 15 and 16 will 

feature a review of information gathered 

by the Committee during the past two 

years. The Committee will also discuss 

the possibility of transferring records 

and sharing the results of its various 

fact-finding initiatives with other VA 

advisory committees which have 

complementary jurisdictions and 

similar areas of interest. 

The public may submit written 

statements for the Committee’s review 

to the Advisory Committee on OIF/OEF 

Veterans and Families (008), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420. Any member of the public 

seeking additional information should 

contact Laura O’Shea, Designated 

Federal Officer, at (202) 461–5765. 

Dated: March 31, 2009. 

By Direction of the Secretary. 

E. Philip Riggin, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–7456 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Genomic Medicine Program Advisory 

Committee; Notice of Meeting 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under Public Law 92– 

463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) 

that the Genomic Medicine Program 

Advisory Committee will meet on April 

27, 2009, at the Madison Hotel, 1177 

15th St NW., Washington, DC. The 

meeting will start at 8 a.m. and end at 

5 p.m. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

provide advice and make 

recommendations to the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs on using genetic 

information to optimize medical care of 

Veterans and to enhance development 

of tests and treatments for diseases 

particularly relevant to Veterans. 

The Committee will meet in an open 

session from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. to 

receive updates from the VA program 

staff; discuss optimal ways for VA to 

incorporate genomic information into its 

health care program while applying 

appropriate ethical oversight and 

protecting the privacy of Veterans; and 

receive an overview of the recent 

Institute of Medicine report on privacy 

protections in health research and 

discussions of potential areas of 

research in diseases/conditions 

prevalent in Veterans such as diabetes, 

women’s health, specifically breast 

cancer, and the application of 

pharmacogenomics in clinical care. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES