[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9465-9466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03552]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Announcement of the Availability of the Scientific Report of the
2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Solicitation of Written
Comments on the Advisory Report, and Invitation for Oral Testimony at a
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services; and Food, Nutrition
and Consumer Services and Research, Education, and Economics, U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the
Department of Agriculture (USDA) (a) announce the availability of the
Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
(Advisory Report); (b) solicit written comments on the Advisory Report;
and (c) provide notice of a public meeting to solicit oral comments
from the public on the Advisory Report.
DATES: The Advisory Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
Committee (Committee or DGAC) is available for review and public
written comment. Written comments will be accepted through midnight
E.S.T. on April 8, 2015. The meeting for the public to provide oral
testimony to HHS and USDA on the Advisory Report will be held on March
24, 2015, from 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. E.S.T.
ADDRESSES: The Advisory Report is available on the Internet at
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov. Those participating in providing public oral
testimony to HHS and USDA on the Advisory Report are required to attend
the public meeting in-person at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Clinical Center, Building 10, Masur Auditorium, 10 Center Drive, 9000
Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892. Others wanting to participate by
listening to the oral testimony can do so in-person or via webcast on
the Internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Designated Federal Officer (DFO), 2015
DGAC, Richard D. Olson, M.D., M.P.H.; Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion, OASH/HHS; 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100 Tower
Building; Rockville, MD 20852: Telephone: (240) 453-8280; Fax: (240)
453-8281; Alternate DFO, 2015 DGAC, Kellie (O'Connell) Casavale, Ph.D.,
R.D., Nutrition Advisor; Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, OASH/HHS; 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100 Tower Building;
Rockville, MD 20852: Telephone: (240) 453-8280; Fax: (240) 453-8281;
Lead USDA Co-Executive Secretary, Colette I. Rihane, M.S., R.D.,
Director, Office of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis, Center for
Nutrition Policy and Promotion, USDA; 3101 Park Center Drive, Room
1034; Alexandria, VA 22302; Telephone: (703) 305-7600; Fax: (703) 305-
3300; and/or USDA Co-Executive Secretary, Shanthy A. Bowman, Ph.D.,
Nutritionist, Food Surveys Research Group, Beltsville Human Nutrition
Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA; 10300 Baltimore
Avenue, BARC-West Bldg 005, Room 125; Beltsville, MD 20705-2350;
Telephone: (301) 504-0619. The Advisory Report and the agenda for this
meeting will be made available on the Internet at
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Section 301 of Public Law 101-445 (7
U.S.C. 5341, the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act
of 1990, Title III) the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS)
and Agriculture (USDA) are directed to issue at least every five years
a report titled Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The law instructs
that this publication shall contain nutritional and dietary information
and guidelines for the general public, shall be based on the
preponderance of scientific and medical knowledge current at the time
of publication, and shall be promoted by each federal agency in
carrying out any federal food, nutrition, or health program. The
Dietary Guidelines for Americans was issued voluntarily by HHS and USDA
in 1980, 1985, and 1990; the 1995 edition was the first statutorily
mandated report, followed by subsequent editions at appropriate
intervals. To assist with satisfying the mandate, a discretionary
federal advisory committee is established every five years to provide
independent, science-based advice and recommendations. The Committee
consists of a panel of experts who were selected from the public/
private sector. Individuals who were selected to serve on the Committee
have current scientific knowledge in the field of human nutrition and
chronic disease.
Appointed Committee Members: Fourteen members served on the 2015
Committee. They were appointed by the Secretaries of HHS and USDA in
May 2013. Information on the DGAC membership is available at
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov. As stipulated in the charter, the Committee
[[Page 9466]]
terminated because it has completed its mission.
Meeting Agenda: The meeting agenda will include opportunity for the
public to give oral testimony to HHS and USDA officials on the Advisory
Report.
Meeting Registration: The meeting will be publicly accessible in-
person and by webcast on the Internet. Registration is required and is
expected to open on March 9, 2015. To register, please go to
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov and click on the link for meeting
registration. To register by phone, please call National Capitol
Contracting, Andrea Popp at (703) 243-9696. Registration must include
name, affiliation, and phone number or email address.
Webcast Public Participation: After registering, individuals
participating by webcast will receive webcast access information via
email. Webcast registrants can observe the oral testimony; however,
testimony can only be given in-person.
In-Person Public Participation and Building Access: For in-person
participants, the meetings will be held in the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) Clinical Center (Building 10), as noted above in the
Addresses section. Directions will be posted on
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov. For in-person participants, check-in at the
registration desk onsite at the meeting is required and will begin at
8:00 a.m. E.S.T.
Oral Testimony: HHS and USDA invite requests from the public to
present three minutes of oral testimony to HHS and USDA officials on
the Advisory Report at the March 24, 2015 public meeting.
Registration capacity is limited to 70 individuals confirmed to
speak and an additional 10 who are not confirmed to speak but are on
stand-by (if time remains) to provide oral testimony. Capacity will be
filled in the order received. Confirmation by email will include
further instructions for participation. Requests to present oral
testimony can be made by going to www.DietaryGuidelines.gov and
clicking on the link for meeting registration and must include a
written outline of the intended testimony not exceeding one page in
length. In addition, the public is encouraged to provide written
comments (separate from oral testimony) submitted electronically
through the public comments database at www.DietaryGuidelines.gov.
Written Public Comments: Written comments on the Advisory Report
are encouraged from the public and will be accepted through April 8,
2015. Written public comments can be submitted and/or viewed at
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov using the ``Submit Comments'' and ``Read
Comments'' links, respectively. HHS and USDA requests that commenters
provide a brief (250 words or less) summary of the points or issues in
the comment text box. If commenters are providing literature or other
resources, complete citations or abstracts and electronic links to full
articles or reports are preferred instead of attaching these documents
to the comment. All comments must be received by midnight (E.S.T.) on
April 8, 2015, after which the time period for submitting written
comments to the federal government expires. The ability to view public
comments will continue to be available. Please allow until April 22,
2015, for comment submissions to be processed and posted for viewing.
Meeting Documents: Documents pertaining to the meeting, including a
meeting agenda and webcast recording will be available on
www.DietaryGuidelines.gov. Meeting information will continue to be
accessible online, at the NIH Library (see the Addresses section), and
upon request at the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
OASH/HHS; 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100 Tower Building; Rockville,
MD 20852: Telephone (240) 453-8280; Fax: (240) 453-8281.
Dated: January 13, 2015.
Don Wright,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Dated: January 13, 2015.
Angela Tagtow,
Executive Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Dated: January 15, 2015.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young,
Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2015-03552 Filed 2-20-15; 8:45 am]
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