65716 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 245 / Thursday, December 20, 2001 / Notices

poorly or not at all, thus defeating the

purpose of the Commission’s Order.

These concerns are addressed in

Section VI of the proposed Order, which

provides that Childs’ will not sell the

acquired assets within five years of the

date of the Order without prior approval

of the Commission. While generally I

am cautious about including lengthy

oversight provisions in such orders, it is

appropriate in this case because these

provisions ensure that in the event of a

resale by Childs, the Commission will

be able to assure that the prospective

buyer is committed to enhancing the

assets in question, thus maintaining the

integrity of the Commission’s Order.

Concurring Statement of Commissioner

Orson Swindle

The Commission has accepted for

public comment a consent agreement to

resolve complaint allegations that the

effect of Nestle S.A.’’s (‘‘Nestle’’)

acquisition of Ralston Purina Co.

(‘‘Ralston’’) may be to substantially

lessen competition in the market for the

sale of dry cat food in the United States.

To remedy these competitive concerns,

the merging parties have entered into a

consent agreement under which Ralston

would divest its Meow Mix and Alley

Cat brands to J.W. Childs Equity

Partners II, L.P. (‘‘J.W. Childs’’), an

investment firm that owns the Hartz line

of pet care products. Because the

divestiture to J.W. Childs is likely to

replace the competition in the market

for dry cat food that otherwise would

have been lost due to the Nestle/Ralston

merger, I have voted to accept the

consent agreement for public comment.

One provision in the proposed

consent agreement is unusual and may

raise concerns, however. Paragraph VI

of the Proposed Consent Order requires

J.W. Childs, for a period of five years,

to obtain Commission approval before

selling all or substantially all of the

assets acquired in the divestiture. The

Analysis to Aid Public Comment

explains that the Commission does not

routinely impose such prior approval

requirements, but it is appropriate to do

so ‘‘where the proposed acquirer’s

current plans indicate that there is a

high probability that the assets will be

resold, possibly within 2–5 years.’’ The

purpose of the prior approval

requirement is to make certain that

whoever buys the resold assets from

J.W. Childs would be a sufficient

competitor to remedy the lessening of

competition from the Nestle/Ralston

transaction alleged in the complaint.

See Paragraph VI.F. of the Proposed

Consent Order.

I agree that J.W. Childs warranted a

hard look as a prospective buyer

because it might resell the divested

assets in the near future. It is possible

that this close scrutiny would go for

naught if J.W. Childs were promptly to

resell the assets to a less qualified buyer.

On the other hand, this risk is always

present—even had the assets remained

in Ralston’s hands. I think that our

approval of J.W. Childs as the buyer

means that we have determined that, in

spite of any possible resale plans, the

company will develop and employ the

assets as vigorously as Ralston would

have done. Once we have made this

determination, I question the need for

imposing a prior approval requirement

on J.W. Childs that we would not have

imposed on a buyer that was less likely

to resell the assets.

I also think that the prior approval

requirement may require that the

Commission make a difficult

determination. For example, assume

that J.W. Childs seeks prior approval to

resell the assets four years after the

Nestle/Ralston merger has been

consummated. The Commission

presumably will have to determine

whether the prospective buyer of the

resold assets will compete as effectively

as Ralston would have competed in the

absence of the Nestle/Ralston merger.

Given the passage of four years since the

merger and the dynamic nature of

markets, it may be difficult for the

Commission to make this determination

with a high degree of confidence.

I welcome public comments on the

prior approval provision included in

Paragraph VI of the Proposed Consent

Order, including any suggestions for

distinguishing between situations where

the additional relief may be justified

and those where it is not.

[FR Doc. 01–31339 Filed 12–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Assistant Secretary for

Planning and Evaluation

Secretary’s Advisory Committee on

Regulatory Reform; Notice of Meeting

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a

meeting by the Department of Health

and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s

Advisory Committee on Regulatory

Reform. As governed by the Federal

Advisory Committee Act in accordance

with section 10(a)(2), the Secretary’s

Advisory Committee on Regulatory

Reform is seeking guidance for the

Department’s efforts to streamline

regulatory requirements. The Advisory

Committee will advise and make

recommendations for changes that

would be beneficial in four broad areas:

health care delivery, health systems

operations, biomedical and health

research, and the development of

pharmaceuticals and other products.

All meetings and hearings of the

Committee are open to the general

public. During each meeting, invited

witnesses will address how regulations

affect health-related issues. Meeting

agendas will also allow time for public

comment. Additional information on

each meeting’s agenda and list of

participating witnesses will be posted

on the Committee’s Web site prior to the

meetings (http://

www.regreform.hhs.gov).

DATES: The first meeting of the

Secretary’s Advisory Committee on

Regulatory Reform will be held on

Monday, January 7, 2002, from 9 a.m. to

5:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, January 8,

2002, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Secretary’s Advisory

Committee on Regulatory Reform will

meet on Monday, January 7, in the Ross

Auditorium at Providence Hospital,

1150 Varnum Street NE., Washington,

DC 20017. On Tuesday, January 8, the

Committee will meet in Room 800 of the

Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christy Schmidt, Executive Coordinator,

Secretary’s Advisory Committee on

Regulatory Reform, Office of the

Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation, 200 Independence Avenue,

SW., Room 801, Washington, DC 20201,

(202) 401–5182.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Providence Hospital and the Hubert H.

Humphrey Building are in compliance

with the Americans with Disabilities

Act. Anyone planning to attend the

meeting who requires special disabilityrelated arrangements such as signlanguage interpretation should provide

notice of their need by Friday,

December 31, 2001. Please make any

request to Michael Starkweather ‘‘

phone: 301–628–3141; fax: 301–628–

3101; email: mstarkweather@s-3.com.

On June 8, 2001, HHS Secretary

Thompson announced a Departmentwide initiative to reduce regulatory

burdens in health care, to improve

patient care, and to respond to the

concerns of health care providers and

industry, State and local Governments,

and individual Americans who are

affected by HHS rules. As part of this

initiative, the Department is establishing

the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 245 / Thursday, December 20, 2001 / Notices 65717

Regulatory Reform to provide findings

and recommendations regarding

potential regulatory changes. These

changes would enable HHS to reduce

burdens and costs associated with

departmental regulations and

paperwork, while at the same time

maintaining or enhancing the

effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and

access of HHS programs.

Dated: December 13, 2001.

Dr. William F. Raub,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and

Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 01–31319 Filed 12–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4151–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

Proposed Information Collection

Activity; Comment Request

Proposed Projects

Title: Child Care and Development

Fund Tribal Plan (Form ACF–118–A).

OMB No.: 0970–0198.

Description: The Child Care and

Development fund (CCDF) Tribal Plan

serves as the agreement between the

applicant (Indian Tribes, tribal consortia

and tribal organizations) and the Federal

government that describes how tribal

applicants will operate CCDF Block

Grant programs. The Tribal Plan

provides assurances that the CCDF

funds will be administered in

conformance with legislative

requirements, federal regulations at 45

CFR parts 98 and 99 and other

applicable instructions or guidelines

issued by the Administration for

Children and Families (ACF). Tribes

must submit a new CCDF Tribal plan

every two years in accordance with 45

CFR 98.17.

Respondents: Tribal CCDF Programs

(262 in total).

ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES

Instrument Number of respondents

Number of responses per

respondent

Average burden hours per

response

Total burden

hours

CCDF Tribal Plan ............................................................................................ 262 1 17.5 4,585

CCDF Tribal Plan Amendments ...................................................................... 262 1 1.5 393

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 4,978.

Note: CCDF Tribal Plans are submitted

biannually. This collection burden has been

calculated to reflect an annual burden.

In compliance with the requirements

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

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Administration for Children and

Families is soliciting public comment

on the specific aspects of the

information collection described above.

Copies of the proposed collection of

information can be obtained and

comments may be forwarded by writing

to the administration for Children and

Families, Office of Information Services,

370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW.,

Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF

Reports Clearance Officer. All requests

should be identified by the title of the

information collection.

The Department specifically requests

comments 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)

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 or

other forms of information technology.

Consideration will be given to

comments and suggestions submitted

within 60 days of this publication.

Dated: December 14, 2001.

Bob Sargis,

Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–31376 Filed 12–19–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

[Program Announcement No. OCS 02–03]

Fiscal Year 2002 Family Violence

Prevention and Services Discretionary

Funds Program, Availability of Funds

and Request for Applications

AGENCY: Office of Community Services

(OCS), ACF, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice; correction.

SUMMARY: This notice corrects the

announcement of Family Violence

Prevention and Service Program,

Availability of Funds and Request for

Applications published on December

13, 2001 (66 FR 64437).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Administration for Children and

Families, Office of Community Services,

Division of State Assistance, 370

L’Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington

DC 20447. Telephone William Riley,

(202) 401–5529, James Gray, (202) 401–

5705, Sunni Knight, (202) 401–5319 or

Shena Williams, (202) 205–5932.

Correction

In the Federal Register issued

December 13, 2001 (66 FR 64437), make

the following correction. On page

64444, in the second column, under

Lists of Attachments, please add the

following language:

‘‘Attachment F–1–SF 424 Application

for Federal Assistance’’

‘‘Attachment F–2–SF 424 Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs’’

Also, please add the attachments.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

number 93.592, Family Violence Prevention

and Services)

Dated: December 13, 2001.

Robert Mott,

Deputy Director.

BILLING CODE 4184–01–M