[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 56706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22376]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


HHS Retrospective Review 2013 Request for Information

ACTION: Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks 
comment from interested parties on existing regulations HHS should 
consider reviewing in order to streamline or eliminate unnecessary, 
obsolete, or burdensome regulations or to modify others to increase 
their effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility.

DATES: Please submit your suggestions for HHS's retrospective review by 
October 15, 2013. HHS notes that this request for information is issued 
solely for information and program-planning purposes and does not 
obligate the agency to take any further action.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments using one of the following methods.

Electronic Submissions

    To submit retrospective review ideas using the Department's web 
form, please visit http://www.HHS.gov/RetrospectiveReview.
    To submit retrospective review ideas using the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal, please visit http://www.regulations.gov and follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.

Written Submissions

    Submit written submissions in one of the following ways:
    FAX: (202) 690-7203.
    Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM 
submissions): 200 Independence Avenue SW., Room 639G, Washington, DC 
20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C'Reda Weeden at (202) 690-5627.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: President Obama issued Executive Order 
13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' in January 2011, 
directing all federal agencies to review current regulations to 
identify ways to streamline or eliminate unnecessary, obsolete, or 
burdensome regulations. Among other things, Executive Order 13563 
instructed agencies to ``consider costs and reduce burdens for American 
businesses and consumers when developing rules; expand opportunities 
for public participation and public comment; simplify rules; promote 
freedom of choice; and ensure that regulations are driven by real 
science.''
    On May 10, 2012, the President issued a second Executive Order on 
retrospective review (Executive Order 13610, ``Identifying and Reducing 
Regulatory Burdens''), which directs agencies ``to promote public 
participation in retrospective review, to modernize our regulatory 
system, and to institutionalize regular assessment of significant 
regulations.'' This Executive Order calls for agencies to invite public 
suggestions about regulations in need of retrospective review and 
appropriate modifications to those regulations; to prioritize those 
reforms that promise significant quantifiable savings to the American 
public; and to regularly report to the public on progress and 
timelines.
    In response to Executive Order 13563, the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS) developed and sought comment on its Preliminary 
Plan for Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations, which identified 
a preliminary list of regulations that would be appropriate for review. 
See 76 FR 32330 (June 6, 2011). HHS has made significant progress on 
its retrospective review activities in the ensuing two years. To date, 
HHS has published 26 proposed rules and 29 final rules related to 
retrospective review, in addition to completing substantive review of 
initiatives where agencies ultimately decided not to make regulatory 
changes. More information on HHS's retrospective review activities is 
available at http://www.HHS.gov/RetrospectiveReview.
    In addition, the Department has developed a Public Participation 
Task Force to make Department-wide recommendations for how to increase 
public participation in the regulatory process. Through the leadership 
of this task force, the Department has developed a centralized Web page 
to find information on regulations published by HHS agencies (http://www.HHS.gov/Regulations), established a retrospective review comment 
form for the public to submit suggestions, and encouraged each HHS 
agency to develop a public participation plan tailored to the needs of 
its programmatic mission and interested stakeholder groups.
    HHS now seeks suggestions from the public regarding new ideas for 
our next phase of retrospective review. We welcome your suggestions 
regarding rules, or types of rules, that the Department should consider 
reviewing to:
    [ssquf] Promote economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and 
job creation;
    [ssquf] Reduce regulatory and administration burdens;
    [ssquf] Achieve better results by modifying, streamlining, 
expanding, or eliminating rules when the costs or benefits are greater 
than originally anticipated;
    [ssquf] Eliminate rules that are outdated, overtaken by new 
technology or information, or unnecessary for other reasons; or
    [ssquf] Update rules to complement other federal agency rules or 
international standards where crosscutting collaboration can reduce 
administration or regulatory burdens.
    To learn more about regulatory activity at HHS, please visit http://www.HHS.gov/Regulations.

    Dated: September 9, 2013.
Jennifer M. Cannistra,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-22376 Filed 9-12-13; 8:45 am]
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