Notices. Notice of meeting

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BILLING CODE 6560-50-P FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies The companies listed in this notice have applied to the Board for approval, pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 *et seq.* ) (BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part 225), and all other applicable statutes and regulations to become a bank holding company and/or to acquire the assets or the ownership of, control of, or the power to vote shares of a bank or bank holding company and all of the banks and nonbanking companies owned by the bank holding company, including the companies listed below.

The applications listed below, as well as other related filings required by the Board, are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated. The application also will be available for inspection at the offices of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the proposal also involves the acquisition of a nonbanking company, the review also includes whether the acquisition of the nonbanking company complies with the standards in section 4 of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843).

Unless otherwise noted, nonbanking activities will be conducted throughout the United States. Additional information on all bank holding companies may be obtained from the National Information Center website at *www.ffiec.gov/nic/* . Unless otherwise noted, comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors not later than March 23, 2006. **A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago** (Patrick M. Wilder, Assistant Vice President) 230 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60690-1414: *1.

Community State Bank Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust* , Union Grove, Wisconsin; to increase its ownership to 33.95 percent of the voting shares of Union Bancorporation, Inc., Union Grove, Wisconsin, and thereby indirectly acquire Community State Bank, Union Grove, Wisconsin. *2. Gerber Bancshares, Inc.* , Argenta, Illinois; to become a bank holding company by acquiring 100 percent of the voting shares of Gerber State Bank, Argenta, Illinois. **B. Federal Reserve Bank of St.

Louis** (Glenda Wilson, Community Affairs Officer) 411 Locust Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-2034: *1. First Banks, Inc.* , Hazelwood, Missouri, and its subsidiary bank, The San Francisco Company, San Francisco, California; to acquire 80 percent of the voting shares of First Independent National Bank, Plano, Texas. *2. First Banks, Inc.* , Hazelwood, Missouri, and its subsidiary bank holding company, The San Francisco Company, San Francisco, California; to acquire 100 percent of Pittsfield Community Bancorp, Inc., Pittsfield, Illinois, and thereby indirectly acquire Community Bank of Pittsfield, Pittsfield, Illinois.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 21, 2006. Robert deV. Frierson, Deputy Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. E6-2640 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6210-01-S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; Medicaid Program; Meeting of the Medicaid Commission—March 13-15, 2006 AGENCY: Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE), HHS. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting of the Medicaid Commission.

Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 10(a)(1) and (a)(2)). The Medicaid Commission will advise the Secretary on ways to modernize the Medicaid program so that it can provide high-quality health care to its beneficiaries in a financially sustainable way. DATES: *The Meeting:* March 13-15, 2006. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on March 13, 9 a.m. on March 14, and 8:30 a.m. on March 15. *Special Accommodations:* Persons attending the meeting who are hearing or visually impaired, or have a condition that requires special assistance or accommodations, are asked to notify the Medicaid Commission by March 3, 2006 (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ).

ADDRESSES: *The Meeting:* The meeting will be held at the following address: Crowne Plaza-Atlanta-Perimeter N.W., 6345 Powers Ferry Road, NW., Atlanta, GA 30339, United States, telephone: 1

(770)955-1700, fax: 1

(770)850-0444. *Web site:* You may access up-to-date information on the Medicaid Commission at *http://aspe.hhs.gov/medicaid/.* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Reiser,

(202)205-8255. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 24, 2005, we published a notice (70 FR 29765) announcing the Medicaid Commission and requesting nominations for individuals to serve on the Medicaid Commission. This notice announces a public meeting of the Medicaid Commission. Topics of the Meeting The Commission will discuss options for making longer-term recommendations on the future of the Medicaid program that ensure long-term sustainability. Issues to be addressed may include, but are not limited to: Eligibility, benefit design, and delivery; expanding the number of people covered with quality care while recognizing budget constraints; long term care; quality of care, choice, and beneficiary satisfaction; and program administration. Procedure and Agenda This meeting is open to the public. There will be a public comment period at the meeting. The Commission may limit the number and duration of oral presentations to the time available. We will request that you declare at the meeting whether or not you have any financial involvement related to any services being discussed. After the presentations and public comment period, the Commission will deliberate openly. Interested persons may observe the deliberations, but the Commission will not hear further comments during this time except at the request of the Chairperson. The Commission will also allow an open public session for any attendee to address issues specific to the topic. Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 10(a)(1) and (a)(2). Dated: February 16, 2006. Mary M. McGeein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care. [FR Doc. E6-2608 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5150-05-P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Debarment AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Acquisition Management and Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS)has taken final agency action in the following case: *Paul H. Kornak, Stratton VA Medical Center, Albany, New York:* Upon recommendations from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), Acting Assistant Secretary for Health for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Research Oversight (ORO), and the Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), that were based on the criminal convictions of making and using a materially false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3); mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341 and 1346; and criminally negligent homicide, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 13 and New York Penal Law § 125.10, the HHS debarring official has permanently debarred Mr. Paul Kornak, former research coordinator at the Stratton VA Medical Center. This action is taken pursuant to the HHS government-wide nonprocurement debarment and suspension regulation at 45 CFR part 76. As such, Mr. Kornak is excluded for life from participating in any and all Federal agency transactions, both procurement and nonprocurement, as set forth in part 76. Of the 48 criminal charges contained in his Indictment, Paul Kornak pled guilty to the three criminal charges listed above. See *United States of America* v. *Paul H. Kornak* , Criminal Action No. 03-CR-436 (FJS), U.S. District Court (N.D.N.Y.) (January 18, 2005). In addition to the 71-month term of imprisonment imposed, Mr. Kornak was directed to pay restitution to two pharmaceutical companies and the VA in the amount of approximately $639,000. As part of his guilty plea, Mr. Kornak admitted to the following facts: • In August 2000, Mr. Kornak applied for employment to the VA, submitting a false “Declaration for Federal Employment” form. Mr. Kornak denied that he had been convicted or on probation in the preceding 10 years, whereas in fact, he had been convicted of mail fraud in 1992 and placed on probation for 3 years. • By October of 2000, Mr. Kornak was responsible for organizing, coordinating, implementing, and directing all research elements in the Stratton VA Medical Center oncology research program. Specifically, Mr. Kornak was the site coordinator at the Stratton VA Medical Center for the “Iron

(Fe)and Atherosclerosis Study” (FeAST), cancer studies known as Tax 325 and Tax 327, and a bladder cancer study. The FeAST study was a clinical trial that tested a novel procedure for controlling atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries, by reducing the iron in the body through blood drawing. The Tax 325 cancer treatment study involved the administration of pharmaceutical products to patients with metastatic or locally recurrent gastric cancer previously untreated with chemotherapy for advanced disease. The Tax 327 study involved the administration of pharmaceutical products to patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer. The purpose of the bladder cancer study, which was co-sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, was to compare the use of difluoromethylornithine

(DFMO)to the use of a placebo in patients with low grade superficial bladder cancer according to time to first recurrence of the tumor and toxicities. • From May 14, 1999, to July 10, 2002, in connection with the above protocols, Mr. Kornak participated in a scheme to defraud the sponsors of the clinical studies in that “he would and repeatedly did submit false documentation regarding patients and study subjects and enroll and cause to be enrolled persons as study subjects who did not qualify under the particular study protocol.” • Mr. Kornak caused the death of a study subject when he “failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur when he knowingly and willfully made and used * * * documents falsely stating and representing the results of [the study subject's] blood chemistry analysis * * *, which false documents purported that [the study subject] met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation in Tax 325 when the actual results did not meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria and showed impaired kidney and liver function, and [the study subject] thus was administered the chemotherapeutic drugs docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU in connection with Tax 325 on or about May 31, 2001, and died as a result thereof on or about June 11, 2001.” Based on the criminal conviction and the facts admitted to above, HHS and VA believe that a debarment period longer than the standard length of debarment is warranted in this case. Mr. Kornak admitted to a dishonest handling of the research records and demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being of vulnerable human subjects under his care. In pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide, Mr. Kornak admitted that a reasonable person would have perceived a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death if an ineligible subject were enrolled in the cancer study in question and that his failure to perceive such a risk in enrolling the ineligible subject constituted a gross deviation from the standard of care. Moreover, a longer debarment period is warranted in this case because of an established pattern of misconduct and criminal behavior on the part of Mr. Kornak. As stated above, Mr. Kornak has a prior conviction of mail fraud. In addition, the Office of Personnel Management excluded Mr. Kornak from all Federal nonprocurement transactions for an indefinite period, effective July 22, 1993. Nonetheless, beginning in 1999, Mr. Kornak actively participated in federally sponsored research protocols in violation of the imposed exclusion. A lifetime debarment of Mr. Kornak is necessary to protect the public interest overall. Given the scope of his criminal conviction, his longstanding pattern of criminal behavior, and his total disregard for the safety and well-being of human subjects, Mr. Kornak's responsibility to engage in transactions with the Federal Government cannot be assured at any time in the future. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750, Rockville, MD 20852.

(240)453-8800, or Peter Poon, Health Science Specialist, Office of Research Oversight, Veteran's Health Administration, VA, 811 Vermont Ave., NW. (10R), Suite 574, Washington, DC 20420.

(202)565-8107. Chris B. Pascal, Director, Office of Research Integrity. [FR Doc. E6-2667 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4160-17-P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

(AHRQ)to request that the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)allow the proposed information collection project: “Use of IT and Health IT Among Health Centers funded under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act”. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 25, 2006. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Cynthia D. McMichael, Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, 540 Gaither Road, Suite 5022, Rockville, MD 20850. Copies of the proposed collection plan, data collection instrument, and specific details on the estimated burden can be obtained from AHRQ's Reports Clearance Officer. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia D. McMichael, AHRQ, Reports Clearance Officer,

(301)427-1651. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed Project “Use of IT and Health IT Among Health Centers funded under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act.” This project is being conducted under contact 290-04-0016 between the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research and the National Opinion Research Center

(NORC)at the University of Chicago, the prime contractor for AHRQ's National Resource Center for Health Information Technology. AHRQ, in close collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration's

(HRSA)Bureau of Primary Health care (BPHC), is requesting that NORC conduct an assessment of the use of information technology

(IT)at ambulatory health centers funded under Section 330 of the Public Health Services Act. Specifically, the project will assess IT applications which assist in improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care (health IT) at HRSA-funded ambulatory health centers. For the purposes of this project, AHRQ and HRSA have drafted an Intra-Agency Agreement (AHRQ IAA #05-404R-05) which establishes roles and responsibilities for both agencies. HRSA, AHRQ and NORC will work collaboratively to develop the analytic questions, survey tool, sampling strategy and analysis plan. AHRQ and HRSA will review data runs as well as descriptive and comparative analysis. NORC will field the survey, conduct descriptive and comparative analysis, and report findings to both AHRQ and HRSA. The HRSA-funded health centers from a key part of the nation's health care “safety net,” delivering primary car medical services to vulnerable populations. Special administrative requirements, including tracking and reporting on their patient populations, maintaining patient-specific data and supporting disease registries for vulnerable populations, make health centers a prime target for implementing health IT applications. As such, health centers represent and early laboratory for health IT adoption, use, and impact among ambulatory health care providers. The study will inquire about the gains and challenges experienced at selected health centers in the implementation of IT programs. Information will be collected with regard to the following topics and issues: current state of Health Information Technology

(HIT)use, goals and approach to HIT, readiness for HIT adoption and expansion, management of HIT issues and adherence to requirements, and overall experience with HIT implementation of sustainability, including successes experienced and barriers encountered. Findings from the proposed collection will assist policy makers at AHRQ, HRSA and elsewhere as they seek to build on this early IT adoption among health centers and promote policy efforts to encourage the implementation of IT in ambulatory health care settings to achieve efficiency and quality of care objectives. Date Confidentiality To obtain the necessary information, surveys will be conducted with staff at selected HRSA-funded health centers. The study will primarily involve the use of web-based interviews, although some telephone interviews will be conducted when selected health centers do not respond online. All appropriate measures will be taken to protect the confidentiality of individual respondents and their institution. Web surveys are administered using an encrypted SSL connection using secured web data collection servers. Access to response data will be limited on a strictly “need to access” basis and any person accessing the data will have signed a corporate confidentially pledge which clearly enumerates their responsibilities in this regard including AHRQ's statutory confidentiality requirements and specific consequences of improper disclosures or allowing breaches in confidentiality. Methods of Collection The data will be collected from a systematic random sample of 450 of the approximately 920 total HRSA Section 330-funded Health Centers. Centers will be chosen stratified by urbanicity (urban, rural and suburban) and geographical area. The expected response rate of 75 percent will result in data from approximately 338 centers. One survey will be completed by each organization. Multiple individuals from each Health Center may be respondents, including senior management and administrative personnel, information technology staff, and clinicians. Based on experience with surveys of similar length, the estimate is that the questionnaire will take one hour to complete. The primary method of data collection will be web-based self-administered questionnaire. All sample centers will receive an advance e-mail followed a week later by an e-mail containing instructions for accessing the Web survey. We will use a multiple mode approach to follow-up with centers that do not complete the survey within 4 weeks of the initial e-mailing. Estimated Annual Respondent Burden Data collection effort Number of respondents Estimated time per respondent (minutes) Estimated total burden to respondents (hours) Average hourly wage rate Estimated annual cost to health center respondent Online and Telephone Surveys * 338 60 338 $42.38 $14,324.44 * Using the mean of the average wages for managers in medicine, physicians and computer systems analyst/scientist as reported in the National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, 2004, (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2004), we estimate the total hourly cost to respondents to be $42.38 or $14,324.44 across all 338 health center respondents. Request for Comments In accordance with the above cited legislation, comments on AHRQ's information collection are requested with regard to any of the following:

(a)Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of AHRQ, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(b)the accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;

(c)ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(d)ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information upon the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval of the proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of public record. Dated: February 16, 2006. Carolyn M. Clancy, Director. [FR Doc. 06-1716 Filed 2-23-06; 8:45 am]

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