[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11543-11544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05278]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Solicitation of Nominations for Appointment to the Presidential 
Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the 
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is 
soliciting nominations of individuals who are interested in being 
considered a voting member for appointment to the Presidential Advisory 
Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (Advisory Council). 
Nominations from qualified individuals who wish to be considered for 
appointment to this member category of the Advisory Council are 
currently being accepted.

DATES: Nominations must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on April 
30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Information on how to submit a nomination is on the Advisory 
Council website, http://www.hhs.gov/ash/carb/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jomana Musmar, MS, Ph.D., Acting 
Designated Federal Officer, Presidential Advisory Council on Combating 
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Room 715H, Hubert 
H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201. 
Phone: (202) 690-5566; email: [email protected]. The Advisory Council 
charter may be accessed online at http://www.hhs.gov/ash/carb/. The 
charter includes detailed information about the Advisory Council's 
purpose, function, and structure.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Executive Order 13676, dated September 
18, 2014, authority was given to the Secretary of HHS to establish the 
Advisory Council, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and 
Agriculture. Activities of the Advisory Council are governed by the 
provisions of Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), which sets 
forth standards for the formation and use of federal advisory 
committees. The Advisory Council will provide advice, information, and 
recommendations to the Secretary of HHS regarding programs and policies 
intended to: preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics by optimizing 
their use; advance research to develop improved methods for combating 
antibiotic resistance and conducting antibiotic stewardship; strengthen 
surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections; prevent the 
transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections; advance the 
development of rapid point-of-care and agricultural diagnostics; 
further research on new treatments for bacterial infections; develop 
alternatives to antibiotics for agricultural purposes; maximize the 
dissemination of up-to-date information on the appropriate and proper 
use of antibiotics to the general public and human and animal 
healthcare providers; and improve international coordination of efforts 
to combat antibiotic resistance.
    The Advisory Council is authorized to consist of not more than 30 
members, including the voting and non-voting members and the Chair and 
Vice Chair. The current composition of the Advisory Council consists of 
15 voting members, including the Chair and Vice Chair, five non-voting 
liaison representative members, and 10 non-voting ex-officio members.
    This announcement is to solicit nominations to fill seven positions 
that are scheduled to be vacated during the 2018 calendar year in the 
voting member category. Voting members are appointed to serve three or 
four year terms.
    The seven public voting members sought for this solicitation will 
be selected from individuals who are engaged in: Research on, or 
implementation of, interventions regarding efforts to preserve the 
effectiveness of antibiotics by optimizing their use; advancing 
research to develop improved methods for combating antibiotic 
resistance and conducting antibiotic stewardship; strengthening 
surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections; preventing 
the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections; 
advancing the development of rapid point-of-care and agricultural 
diagnostics; furthering research on new treatments for bacterial 
infections; developing alternatives to antibiotics for agricultural 
purposes; maximizing the dissemination of up-to-date information on the 
appropriate and proper use of antibiotics to the general public and 
human and animal health care providers; and improving international 
coordination of efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.
    The public voting members will represent balanced points of view 
from human biomedical, public health, and agricultural fields to 
include surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections, prevention 
and/or interruption of the spread of antibiotic-resistant threats, or 
development of rapid diagnostics and novel treatments. The public 
voting members may be physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists, 
microbiologists, or other health care professionals (e.g., nurses, 
pharmacists, others); individuals who have expertise and experience as 
consumer or patient advocates concerned with antibiotic resistance, or 
in the fields of agriculture and pharmaceuticals; and they also may be 
from state or local health agencies or public health organizations. The 
voting public members will be appointed by the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and Agriculture. All 
public voting members will be

[[Page 11544]]

classified as special government employees (SGEs).
    Individuals who are appointed to serve as voting members may be 
allowed to receive per diem and reimbursement for any applicable 
expenses for travel that is performed to attend meetings of the 
Advisory Council as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5703, for persons employed 
intermittently in the Government service. The Advisory Council meets, 
at a minimum, two times per fiscal year depending on the availability 
of funds. Meetings are open to the public, except as determined 
otherwise by the Secretary, or other official to whom the authority has 
been delegated, in accordance with guidelines under the Government in 
the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c). Every effort will be made to ensure 
that the membership of federal advisory committees is fairly balanced 
in terms of points of view represented. Detailed information on what is 
required in a nomination package and how to submit one is on the 
Advisory Council website, http://www.hhs.gov/ash/carb/.

    Dated: March 9, 2018.
Jomana F. Musmar,
Acting Designated Federal Officer, Presidential Advisory Council on 
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Committee Manager.
[FR Doc. 2018-05278 Filed 3-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4150-28-P