Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 31373 

1996 (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), prior to 

issuing any final rule the USPTO will 

submit a report containing the final rule 

and other required information to the 

United States Senate, the United States 

House of Representatives, and the 

Comptroller General of the Government 

Accountability Office. 

K. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995: The changes proposed in this 

notice do not involve a Federal 

intergovernmental mandate that will 

result in the expenditure by State, local, 

and Tribal governments, in the 

aggregate, of 100 million dollars (as 

adjusted) or more in any one year, or a 

Federal private sector mandate that will 

result in the expenditure by the private 

sector of 100 million dollars (as 

adjusted) or more in any one year, and 

will not significantly or uniquely affect 

small governments. Therefore, no 

actions are necessary under the 

provisions of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995. See 2 U.S.C. 1501 

et seq. 

L. National Environmental Policy Act: 

This rulemaking will not have any effect 

on the quality of environment and is 

thus categorically excluded from review 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969. See 42 U.S.C. 4321 

et seq. 

M. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act: The requirements of 

section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) are not 

applicable because this rulemaking does 

not contain provisions which involve 

the use of technical standards. 

N. Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

notice involves information collection 

requirements which are subject to 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). The collection of information 

involved in this notice has been 

reviewed and approved by OMB under 

OMB control number 0651–0021. The 

USPTO is not resubmitting an 

information collection package to OMB 

for its review and approval because the 

changes in this notice do not affect the 

information collection requirements 

associated with the information 

collection under OMB control number 

0651–0021. 

Interested persons are requested to 

send comments regarding these 

information collections, including 

suggestions for reducing this burden, to: 

(1) The Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, Room 10202, 

725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the 

Patent and Trademark Office; and (2) 

Robert A. Clarke, Director, Office of 

Patent Legal Administration, 

Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 

1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to respond 

to nor shall a person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Courts, Freedom of 

Information, Inventions and patents, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Small businesses. 

PART 1—RULES OF PRACTICE IN 

PATENT CASES 

■ 1. The authority citation for 37 CFR 

part 1 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(2). 

■ 2. Section 1.485 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.485 Amendments by applicant during 

international preliminary examination. 

The applicant may make amendments 

at the time of filing the Demand. The 

applicant may also make amendments 

within the time limit set by the 

International Preliminary Examining 

Authority for reply to any notification 

under § 1.484(b) or to any written 

opinion. Any such amendments must be 

made in accordance with PCT Rule 66.8. 

Dated: June 24, 2009. 

John J. Doll, 

Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Intellectual Property and Acting Director of 

the United States Patent and Trademark 

Office. 

[FR Doc. E9–15303 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR PART 17 

RIN 2900–AM99 

Civilian Health and Medical Program of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs 

(CHAMPVA): Preauthorization of 

Durable Medical Equipment 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This document amends the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

medical regulations for the Civilian 

Health and Medical Program of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

(CHAMPVA) preauthorization section 

by increasing the dollar ceiling for 

purchase or rental of durable medical 

equipment (DME) from $300 to $2,000. 

DATES: Effective Date: The final rule is 

effective July 31, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

Brown, Chief, Policy Management 

Division, VA Health Administration 

Center, P.O. Box 460948, Denver, 

Colorado 80246; (303) 331–7882. (This 

is not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a 

document published in the Federal 

Register on October 28, 2008 (73 FR 

63914), VA proposed to amend its 

medical regulations at 38 CFR Part 17 

concerning CHAMPVA benefits. 

Specifically, it proposed to amend 

§ 17.273(e) regarding durable medical 

equipment (DME) by increasing the 

dollar ceiling for purchase or rental of 

durable medical equipment (DME) from 

the $300 to $2,000. 

CHAMPVA is a VA medical benefits 

program for (1) spouses and children of 

veterans who have a permanent and 

total service-connected disability and 

(2) surviving spouses and children of 

veterans who died as a result of a 

service-connected disability or while 

rated permanently and totally disabled 

from a service-connected disability, or 

who died in the active military, naval, 

or air service in the line of duty and 

there is not otherwise entitlement to 

Department of Defense TRICARE 

benefits. DME is included among the 

health care items that are available to 

CHAMPVA beneficiaries. To ensure that 

DME purchases and rental are medically 

necessary, appropriate and within the 

Department’s budgetary constraints, VA 

requires non-VA providers to obtain 

preauthorization before the purchase or 

rental of DME for a CHAMPVA 

beneficiary when the cost of the DME 

exceeds $300. DME purchases greater 

than $300 are currently reviewed twice, 

i.e., first when a request is submitted for 

preauthorization and again when the 

claim is officially submitted for 

payment. 

The current rate was put in place in 

1973. Since the cost of common DME 

items has steadily increased, this ceiling 

no longer reflects current costs. Raising 

the dollar amount to $2,000 would make 

the administrative processing of DME 

claims easier for CHAMPVA 

beneficiaries and providers as well as 

for VA, since claims under that amount 

will only be reviewed once. 

VA provided a 60-day comment 

period that ended December 29, 2008. 

31374 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

1 Docket No. MC2009–25, Request of the United 

States Postal Service to Add Priority Mail Contract 

Group to Competitive Product List, May 19, 2009 

(Request). In the alternative, the Commission 

construes the Postal Service’s proposal as a request 

to add Priority Mail Contract 6 through Priority 

Mail Contract 10 to the Competitive Product List. 

See Order No. 217, Notice and Order Concerning 

Priority Mail Contract 6 through 10 Negotiated 

Service Agreements, May 26, 2009, at 4, n.5 (Order 

No. 217). 

We received one comment from five 

individuals who jointly expressed their 

support for the proposed amendment to 

§ 17.273(e). Based on the rationale set 

forth in the proposed rule, we are 

adopting the provisions of the proposed 

rule as a final rule without change. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995, requires that agencies prepare 

an assessment of anticipated costs and 

benefits before developing any rule that 

may result in expenditure by State, 

local, and Tribal governments, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million or more (adjusted annually 

for inflation) in any given year. This 

final rule would have no such effect on 

State, local, and Tribal governments, or 

on the private sector. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This document contains no provisions 

constituting a collection of information 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521). 

Executive Order 12866 

Executive Order 12866 directs 

agencies to assess all costs and benefits 

of available regulatory alternatives and, 

when regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). The 

Order classifies a rule as a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ requiring review by 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) unless OMB waives such review, 

as any regulatory action that is likely to 

result in a rule that may: (1) Have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more or adversely affect in a 

material way the economy, a sector of 

the economy, productivity, competition, 

jobs, the environment, public health or 

safety, or State, local, or Tribal 

government or communities; (2) create a 

serious inconsistency or otherwise 

interfere with an action taken or 

planned by another agency; (3) 

materially alter the budgetary impact of 

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 

programs or the rights and obligations of 

recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel 

legal or policy issues arising out of legal 

mandates, the President’s priorities, or 

the principles set forth in the Executive 

Order. 

VA has examined the economic, 

interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this final rule and has 

concluded that it is not a significant 

regulatory action under the Executive 

Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

hereby certifies that this regulatory 

amendment will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities as they are 

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. Individuals 

eligible for CHAMPVA benefits are 

widely dispersed geographically and 

thus services provided to them would 

not have a significant impact on any 

small entity. Therefore, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 605(b), this rule is exempt from 

the initial and final regulatory flexibility 

analyses requirements of section 603 

and 604. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

This final rule affects the Civilian 

Health and Medical Program of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

(CHAMPVA), for which there is no 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

program number. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Alcohol abuse, Alcoholism, 

Claims, Day care, Dental health, Drug 

abuse, Foreign relations, Government 

contracts, Grant programs—health, 

Health facilities, Health professionals, 

Health records, Homeless, Medical and 

dental schools, Medical devices, 

Medical research, Mental health 

programs, Nursing homes, Philippines, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Travel and transportation 

expenses, and Veterans. 

Approved: June 22, 2009. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

■ For the reasons stated above, the 

Department of Veterans Affairs amends 

38 CFR part 17 as follows: 

PART 17—MEDICAL 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 17 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1721, and as 

noted in specific sections. 

■ 2. Revise paragraph (e) of § 17.273 to 

read as follows: 

§ 17.273 Preauthorization. 

* * * * * 

(e) Durable medical equipment with a 

purchase or total rental price in excess 

of $2,000. 

* * * * * 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1781. 

[FR Doc. E9–15484 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

39 CFR Part 3020 

[Docket Nos. MC2009–25, CP2009–30, 

CP2009–31, CP2009–32, CP2009–33 and 

CP2009–34; Order No. 226] 

New Postal Product 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is adding 

the Postal Service’s Priority Mail 

Contract Group to the Competitive 

Product List. This action is consistent 

with changes in a recent law governing 

postal operations. Republication of the 

lists of market dominant and 

competitive products is also consistent 

with new requirements of the law. 

DATES: Effective July 1, 2009 and is 

applicable beginning June 19, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 

202–789–6820 and 

stephen.sharfman@prc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulatory History, 74 FR 26744 (June 

3, 2009) 

The Postal Service seeks to add a new 

product identified as Priority Mail 

Contract Group to the Competitive 

Product List, or, in the alternative, add 

new products identified as Priority Mail 

Contract 6 through Priority Mail 

Contract 10 to the Competitive Product 

List. For the reasons that follow, the 

Commission adds the contracts 

identified in Docket Nos. CP2009–30 

through CP2009–34 to the Competitive 

Product List as separate, new products. 

I. The Postal Service’s Request 

On May 19, 2009, the Postal Service 

filed a formal request pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 3642 and 39 CFR 3020.30 et seq. 

to add a new product entitled Priority 

Mail Contract Group to the Competitive 

Product List.1 The Postal Service asserts 

that Priority Mail Contract Group is a 

competitive product ‘‘not of general 

applicability’’ within the meaning of 39 

U.S.C. 3632(b)(3). Request at 1. The 

Request has been assigned Docket No. 

MC2009–25. 

The Postal Service 

contemporaneously filed five contracts