Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 4, 2005 / Notices 57877 

Persons wishing to submit views to 

the Council on any of the above topics 

may do so by sending written 

statements to Ann Bistay, Secretary of 

the Consumer Advisory Council, 

Division of Consumer and Community 

Affairs, Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, Washington, 

DC 20551. Information about this 

meeting may be obtained from Ms. 

Bistay, 202–452–6470. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, September 28, 2005. 

Jennifer J. Johnson, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 05–19781 Filed 10–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Office of the Secretary 

[Document Identifier: OS–0990–New] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office 

of Assistant Secretary for Planning & 

Evaluation. 

In compliance with the requirement 

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

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Office of the Secretary (OS), Department 

of Health and Human Services, is 

publishing the following summary of a 

proposed collection for public 

comment. Interested persons are invited 

to send comments regarding this burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including any 

of the following subjects: (1) The 

necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

Type of Information Collection 

Request: Regular Clearance; 

Title of Information Collection: 

Survey of Frontline Supervisors of 

Direct Service Workers Participating in 

the Better Jobs Better Care 

Demonstration; 

Form/OMB No.: OS–0990–New; 

Use: The President’s New Freedom 

Initiative specifies goals for enhancing 

the direct service workforce availability 

and capability. There is currently a 

major shortage of direct care workers—

nursing assistants, home health aides, 

and personal care attendants—who 

provide care and support to elderly 

people with chronic diseases and 

disabilities. Worker shortages are certain 

to grow as the demand for long-term 

care increases with the aging 

population. Thus, recruitment and 

retention of direct care workers has 

become an issue of great interest to 

policymakers, regulators and industry 

leaders. The proposed survey will 

ensure that HHS and other Federal, 

state, and local agencies have timely 

data available on the central role of 

frontline supervisors in direct care 

workers job quality and turnover. 

Frequency: Reporting, on occasion; 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households, business or other for profit, 

not for profit institutions; 

Annual Number of Respondents: 845; 

Total Annual Responses: 845; 

Average Burden Per Response: 30 

minutes; 

Total Annual Hours: 1,005; 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, access the HHS Web 

site address at http://www.hhs.gov/ 

oirm/infocollect/pending/ or e-mail your 

request, including your address, phone 

number, OMB number, and OS 

document identifier, to 

naomi.cook@hhs.gov, or call the Reports 

Clearance Office on (202) 690–6162. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collections must be 

received within 30-days, of this notice 

directly to the Desk Officer at the 

address below: OMB Desk Officer: John 

Kraemer, OMB Human Resources and 

Housing Branch, Attention: (OMB #OS–

0990–NEW), New Executive Office 

Building, Room 10235, Washington DC 

20503. 

Dated: September 21, 2005. 

Robert E. Polson, 

Office of the Secretary, Paperwork Reduction 

Act Reports Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 05–19771 Filed 10–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4151–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Recommendations for Regulatory 

Reform 

AGENCY: Department of Health and 

Human Services, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. 

ACTION: Notice of request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The House Appropriations 

Committee Report 108–636 includes a 

provision for the Health and Human 

Services Assistant Secretary for 

Planning and Evaluation (HHS/ASPE) 

and the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) to establish an 

interagency committee, to be 

coordinated by HHS. The committee’s 

role is to examine major federal 

regulations governing the health care 

industry and to make suggestions 

regarding how health care regulation 

could be coordinated and simplified to 

reduce costs and burdens and improve 

translation of biomedical research into 

medical practice, while continuing to 

protect patients. This committee will 

examine the economic impact of the 

major federal regulations governing the 

health care industry, and will explore 

both immediate steps and longer-term 

proposals for reducing regulatory 

burden, while maintaining the highest 

quality health care and other patient 

protections. 

In accord with the House 

Appropriations Committee’s intent, 

ASPE and OMB are undertaking several 

complementary activities. First, we are 

establishing an interagency committee 

to undertake a comprehensive review of 

federal health care regulations, 

guidance, and paperwork requirements 

in order to identify areas for reform. 

Second, we are planning to hold a series 

of public meetings in order to hear 

directly from health care administrators, 

institutional providers, physicians, 

practitioners, patients, and others about 

the impact of regulations, and to 

identify other potential areas for reform. 

The public meetings will be held in 

several cities across the country to 

provide an opportunity for input. 

Individuals may also submit written 

comments, regardless of their ability to 

attend the public meetings, for 

consideration by the interagency 

committee. Information about the 

schedule of public meetings and 

registration procedures will be available 

on the Web site http://aspe.hhs.gov/ 

arrb. 

In order to assist the committee in 

studying regulatory impact and reform, 

in this notice ASPE is also requesting 

public nominations of federal health 

care regulations that could be 

coordinated and simplified to reduce 

costs and burdens and improve the 

translation of biomedical research into 

medical practice. In particular, 

commenters are requested to suggest 

specific reforms to regulations, guidance 

documents, or paperwork requirements 

that would improve the delivery of 

health care by increasing efficiency, 

reducing unnecessary costs, removing 

uncertainty, and increasing flexibility, 

while maintaining or improving patient