Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program, 31310-31311 [2023-10367]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
national standard of practice may be
phased in across all medical facilities,
with limited exemptions for health care
professionals as needed.
National Standard for Histopathology
Technologists
The proposed format for national
standards of practice when there are
state licenses and a national
certification is as follows: The first
paragraph provides general information
about the profession and what the
health care professionals can do. The
second paragraph references the
education and certification needed to
practice this profession at VA. The third
paragraph confirms that this profession
follows the standard set by the national
certifying body. A final statement
explains that while VA only requires a
national certification, some states also
require licensure for this profession.
The standard includes information on
which states offer an exemption for
Federal employees and where VA will
preempt state laws, if applicable.
We note that the proposed standards
of practice do not contain an exhaustive
list of every task and duty that each VA
health care professional can perform.
Rather, it is designed to highlight
whether there are any areas of variance
in how this profession can practice
across states and how this profession
will be able to practice within VA
notwithstanding their state license,
certification, registration and other
requirements.
Histopathology technologists, also
referred to as histotechnologists, are
highly skilled medical laboratory
professionals who are responsible for
the preanalytical processing of human
tissue and body fluid specimens. VA
qualification standards require
histopathology technologists to have an
active, current, full and unrestricted
histotechnologist (HTL) certification
from the American Society for Clinical
Pathology. VA reviewed whether there
are any alternative registrations,
certifications or state requirements that
could be required for histopathology
technologists and found that eight states
require a license to practice as a
histopathology technologist in that state.
Of those, six states exempt Federal
employees from their state license
requirements. The standards set forth in
the licensure requirements for all eight
states are consistent with what is
permitted under the national
certification. Therefore, there is no
variance in how histopathology
technologists practice in any State.
VA proposes to adopt a standard of
practice consistent with the national
certification. Therefore, VA
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17:33 May 15, 2023
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histopathology technologists will
continue to follow the same standard as
set by their national certification. The
standard for the certification can be
found here: https://www.ascp.org/
content/docs/default-source/policystatements/ascp-pdft-pp-personnelstandards.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
Because the practice of
Histopathology Technologists is not
changing, there will be no impact on the
practice of this occupation when this
national standard of practice is
implemented.
Proposed National Standard of Practice
for Histopathology Technologist
Histopathology technologists are
highly skilled medical laboratory
professionals who are responsible for
the preanalytical processing of human
tissue and body fluid specimens.
Through the utilization of a broad range
of specialized techniques and
procedures, both manual and
automated, histopathology technologists
preserve and prepare specimens for
pathologist review, interpretation,
evaluation and diagnosis of patient
conditions or disease.
Histopathology technologists in VA
possess the education and certification
required by VA qualification standards,
as more specifically described in VA
Handbook 5005, Staffing, dated
February 4, 2022.
This national standard of practice
confirms that histopathology
technologists practice according to the
HTL certification standards from the
American Society for Clinical Pathology
(ASCP), available at: www.ascp.org. As
of March 2022, all histopathology
technologists in VA follow this national
certification.
Although VA only requires a
certification, the following eight States
require a State license in order to
practice as a histopathologist in that
State: Florida, Louisiana, Montana,
Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico,
Tennessee, and West Virginia. Of these,
the following States exempt Federal
employees from their State license
requirements: Florida, Louisiana,
Montana, New York, Tennessee and
West Virginia. As of October 2022, there
is no variance in how VA
Histopathology Technologists practice
in any State.
Request for Information
1. Are there any required trainings for
the aforementioned practices that we
should consider?
2. Are there any factors that would
inhibit or delay the implementation of
the aforementioned practices for VA
health care professionals in any States?
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Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3. Is there any variance in practice
that we have not listed?
4. What should we consider when
preempting conflicting State laws,
regulations, or requirements regarding
supervision of individuals working
toward obtaining their license or
unlicensed personnel?
5. Is there anything else you would
like to share with us about this national
standard of practice?
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on April 28, 2023, and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Luvenia Potts,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office
of Regulation Policy & Management, Office
of General Counsel, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–10424 Filed 5–15–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY:
Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA).
Notice of a new matching
program.
ACTION:
This re-established Computer
Matching Agreement (CMA) sets forth
the terms, conditions, and safeguards
under which the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) will disclose return
information, relating to unearned
income, to the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) for the Disclosure
of Information to Federal, State and
Local Agencies (DIFSLA). The purpose
of this CMA is to make available to VBA
certain return information needed to
determine eligibility for, and amount of
benefits for, VBA applicants and
beneficiaries of needs-based benefits,
and to adjust income-dependent benefit
payments, as prescribed by law.
Currently, the most cost effective and
efficient way to verify annual income of
applicants, and recipients of these
benefits, is through a computer match.
DATES: Comments on this matching
program must be received no later than
June 15, 2023. If no public comment is
received during the period allowed for
comment or unless otherwise published
in the Federal Register by VA, the new
agreement will become effective a
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\16MYN1.SGM
16MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
minimum of 30 days after date of
publication in the Federal Register. If
VA receives public comments, VA shall
review the comments to determine
whether any changes to the notice are
necessary. This matching program will
be valid for 18 months from the effective
date of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted through www.Regulations.gov
or mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810
Vermont Avenue NW, (005X6F),
Washington, DC 20420. Comments
should indicate that they are submitted
in response to IRS, DIFSLA CMA.
Comments received will be available at
regulations.gov for public viewing,
inspection or copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary
Hodge, Lead Program Analyst, Pension
and Fiduciary Service (21P),
Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC
20420, 202–461–8394.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CMA
between VA and IRS DIFSLA, expires
June 30, 2023. VBA has a legal
obligation to reduce the amount of
pension and of parents’ dependency and
indemnity compensation by the amount
of annual income received by the VBA
beneficiary. VA will use this
information to verify the income
information submitted by beneficiaries
in VA’s needs-based benefit programs
and adjust VA benefit payments as
prescribed by law. By comparing the
information received through the
matching program between VBA and
IRS, VBA will be able to timely and
accurately adjust benefit amounts. The
match information will help VBA
minimize overpayments and deter fraud
and abuse. The legal authority to
conduct this match is 38 U.S.C. 5106,
which requires any Federal department
or agency to provide VA such
information as VA requests for the
purposes of determining eligibility for
benefits or verifying other information
with respect to payment of benefits. The
VA records involved in the match are in
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:23 May 15, 2023
Jkt 259001
‘‘Compensation, Pension, Education,
and Vocational and Rehabilitation and
Employment Records—VA (58 VA 21/
22/28),’’ a system of records which was
first published at 41 FR 9294 (March 3,
1976), amended and republished in its
entirety at 77 FR 42593 (July 19, 2012).
The IRS records consist of information
from the system records identified as
will extract return information with
respect to unearned income of the VBA
applicant or beneficiary and (when
applicable) of such individual’s spouse
from the Information Return Master File
(IRMF), Treasury/IRS 22.061, at 80 FR
54081– 082 (September 8, 2015). In
accordance with the Privacy Act, 5
U.S.C. 552a(o)(2) and (r), copies of the
agreement are being sent to both Houses
of Congress and to the Office of
Management and Budget. This notice is
provided in accordance with the
provisions of Privacy Act of 1974 as
amended by Public Law 100–503.
Participating Agencies: The Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) and Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA).
Authority for Conducting the
Matching Program: The Internal
Revenue Code (IRC), 26 U.S.C.
6103(l)(7)(B), authorizes the IRS to
disclose return information with respect
to unearned income to VBA.
Purpose(s): To provide VBA with
certain IRS return information needed to
determine eligibility for and amount of
benefits for VBA applicants and
beneficiaries of needs-based benefits
and to adjust income-dependent benefit
payments as prescribed by law.
Categories of Individuals: Veterans
and beneficiaries who apply for VA
income benefits.
Categories of Records: VBA will
furnish the IRS with records in
accordance with the current IRS
Publication 3373, DIFSLA Handbook.
The requests from VBA will include:
The Social Security Number (SSN) and
name Control (first four characters of the
surname) for each individual for whom
unearned income information is
PO 00000
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31311
requested. IRS will provide a response
record for each individual identified by
VBA. The total number of records will
be equal to or greater than the number
of records submitted by VBA. In some
instances, an individual may have more
than one record on file. When there is
a match of individual SSN and name
control, IRS will disclose the following
to VBA: Payee account number; payee
name and mailing address; payee
Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN);
payer name and address; payer TIN; and
income type and amount.
System(s) of Records: VBA records
involved in this match are in ‘‘VA
Compensation, Pension, Education, and
Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Records—VA’’ (58 VA 21/
22/28), a system of records that was first
published at 41 FR 9294 (March 3,
1976), amended and republished in its
entirety at 77 FR 42593 (July 19, 2012).
IRS will extract return information with
respect to unearned income of the VBA
applicant or beneficiary and (when
applicable) of such individual’s spouse
from the IRMF, Treasury/IRS 22.061, as
published at 80 FR 54081–082
(September 8, 2015).
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for
Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the
undersigned to sign and submit the
document to the Office of the Federal
Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department
of Veterans Affairs. John Oswalt, Chief
Privacy Officer and Chair of the Data
Integrity Board, Department of Veterans
Affairs approved this document on May
4, 2023 for publication.
Dated: May 10, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office
of Information Security, Office of Information
and Technology, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–10367 Filed 5–15–23; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31310-31311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10367]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This re-established Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) sets
forth the terms, conditions, and safeguards under which the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) will disclose return information, relating to
unearned income, to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) for the Disclosure of Information to
Federal, State and Local Agencies (DIFSLA). The purpose of this CMA is
to make available to VBA certain return information needed to determine
eligibility for, and amount of benefits for, VBA applicants and
beneficiaries of needs-based benefits, and to adjust income-dependent
benefit payments, as prescribed by law. Currently, the most cost
effective and efficient way to verify annual income of applicants, and
recipients of these benefits, is through a computer match.
DATES: Comments on this matching program must be received no later than
June 15, 2023. If no public comment is received during the period
allowed for comment or unless otherwise published in the Federal
Register by VA, the new agreement will become effective a
[[Page 31311]]
minimum of 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
If VA receives public comments, VA shall review the comments to
determine whether any changes to the notice are necessary. This
matching program will be valid for 18 months from the effective date of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through www.Regulations.gov or
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005X6F),
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted
in response to IRS, DIFSLA CMA. Comments received will be available at
regulations.gov for public viewing, inspection or copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Hodge, Lead Program Analyst,
Pension and Fiduciary Service (21P), Department of Veterans Affairs,
810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20420, 202-461-8394.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CMA between VA and IRS DIFSLA, expires June
30, 2023. VBA has a legal obligation to reduce the amount of pension
and of parents' dependency and indemnity compensation by the amount of
annual income received by the VBA beneficiary. VA will use this
information to verify the income information submitted by beneficiaries
in VA's needs-based benefit programs and adjust VA benefit payments as
prescribed by law. By comparing the information received through the
matching program between VBA and IRS, VBA will be able to timely and
accurately adjust benefit amounts. The match information will help VBA
minimize overpayments and deter fraud and abuse. The legal authority to
conduct this match is 38 U.S.C. 5106, which requires any Federal
department or agency to provide VA such information as VA requests for
the purposes of determining eligibility for benefits or verifying other
information with respect to payment of benefits. The VA records
involved in the match are in ``Compensation, Pension, Education, and
Vocational and Rehabilitation and Employment Records--VA (58 VA 21/22/
28),'' a system of records which was first published at 41 FR 9294
(March 3, 1976), amended and republished in its entirety at 77 FR 42593
(July 19, 2012). The IRS records consist of information from the system
records identified as will extract return information with respect to
unearned income of the VBA applicant or beneficiary and (when
applicable) of such individual's spouse from the Information Return
Master File (IRMF), Treasury/IRS 22.061, at 80 FR 54081- 082 (September
8, 2015). In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2) and
(r), copies of the agreement are being sent to both Houses of Congress
and to the Office of Management and Budget. This notice is provided in
accordance with the provisions of Privacy Act of 1974 as amended by
Public Law 100-503.
Participating Agencies: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration
(VBA).
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Internal Revenue
Code (IRC), 26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7)(B), authorizes the IRS to disclose
return information with respect to unearned income to VBA.
Purpose(s): To provide VBA with certain IRS return information
needed to determine eligibility for and amount of benefits for VBA
applicants and beneficiaries of needs-based benefits and to adjust
income-dependent benefit payments as prescribed by law.
Categories of Individuals: Veterans and beneficiaries who apply for
VA income benefits.
Categories of Records: VBA will furnish the IRS with records in
accordance with the current IRS Publication 3373, DIFSLA Handbook. The
requests from VBA will include: The Social Security Number (SSN) and
name Control (first four characters of the surname) for each individual
for whom unearned income information is requested. IRS will provide a
response record for each individual identified by VBA. The total number
of records will be equal to or greater than the number of records
submitted by VBA. In some instances, an individual may have more than
one record on file. When there is a match of individual SSN and name
control, IRS will disclose the following to VBA: Payee account number;
payee name and mailing address; payee Taxpayer Identification Numbers
(TIN); payer name and address; payer TIN; and income type and amount.
System(s) of Records: VBA records involved in this match are in
``VA Compensation, Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation
and Employment Records--VA'' (58 VA 21/22/28), a system of records that
was first published at 41 FR 9294 (March 3, 1976), amended and
republished in its entirety at 77 FR 42593 (July 19, 2012). IRS will
extract return information with respect to unearned income of the VBA
applicant or beneficiary and (when applicable) of such individual's
spouse from the IRMF, Treasury/IRS 22.061, as published at 80 FR 54081-
082 (September 8, 2015).
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. John
Oswalt, Chief Privacy Officer and Chair of the Data Integrity Board,
Department of Veterans Affairs approved this document on May 4, 2023
for publication.
Dated: May 10, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security,
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-10367 Filed 5-15-23; 8:45 am]
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