VA Health Professional Scholarship Program, 54972-54975 [2023-17318]
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54972
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 155 / Monday, August 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
it either (i) provides an extraordinary
benefit to U.S. national security; or (ii)
provides an extraordinary benefit to the
U.S. national interest in a way that
overwhelmingly outweighs relevant
U.S. national security concerns.
The Secretary may request detailed
documentation from the relevant U.S.
person(s) involved in such proposed
transaction(s) in order to consider
whether to grant an exemption. The
Treasury Department is not considering
granting retroactive waivers or
exemptions (i.e., waivers or exemptions
after a prohibited transaction has been
completed).
The ANPRM seeks comment on this
topic including:
69. What would be the consequences and
impacts of allowing for exemptions for
certain transactions that ordinarily would be
prohibited? What, if any, additional or
alternate criteria should be enumerated for an
exemption?
70. What should the Treasury Department
require from the U.S. person to substantiate
the need for an exemption from the
prohibition?
O. Compliance; Record-Keeping
The Treasury Department wishes to
achieve widespread compliance, and to
gather the information necessary to
administer and enforce the program,
without unduly burdening U.S. persons
or discouraging transactions the
program is not intended to address. The
Treasury Department therefore seeks
comment on the compliance and recordkeeping controls that may be put in
place under the program.
The ANPRM seeks comment on this
topic including:
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71. What new compliance and
recordkeeping controls will U.S. persons
anticipate needing to comply with the
program as described in this ANPRM? To
what extent would existing controls for
compliance with other U.S. Government laws
and regulations be useful for compliance
with this program?
72. What additional information will U.S.
persons need to collect for compliance
purposes as a result of this program?
P. Penalties
The Order requires the Secretary to
investigate, in consultation with the
heads of relevant agencies, as
appropriate, violations of the Order or
the regulations and pursue available
civil penalties for such violations. The
Order also explicitly prohibits ‘‘any
conspiracy formed to violate’’ the Order
or implementing regulations as well as
‘‘any action that evades, has the purpose
of evading, causes a violation of, or
attempts to violate’’ the Order or
implementing regulations. It authorizes
the Secretary to ‘‘refer potential criminal
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violations of this order or the
regulations issued under this order to
the Attorney General.’’
Further, under the Order, consistent
with IEEPA, the Secretary can ‘‘nullify,
void, or otherwise compel the
divestment of any prohibited
transaction entered into after the
effective date’’ of the implementing
regulations. The Treasury Department
would not use this authority to unwind
a transaction that was not prohibited at
the time it was completed.
The Treasury Department is
considering penalizing the following
with a civil penalty up to the maximum
allowed under IEEPA: (i) material
misstatements made in or material
omissions from information or
documentary material submitted or filed
with the Treasury Department; (ii) the
undertaking of a prohibited transaction;
or (iii) the failure to timely notify a
transaction for which notification is
required.
The ANPRM seeks comment on this
topic including:
73. How, if at all, should penalties and
other enforcement mechanisms (such as
ordering the divestment of a prohibited
transaction) be tailored to the size, type, or
sophistication of the U.S. person or to the
nature of the violation?
74. What factors should the Treasury
Department analyze when determining
whether to impose a civil penalty, as well as
the amount?
75. What transaction data sources should
the Treasury Department use to monitor
compliance with this program?
76. What process should the Treasury
Department institute in the event of a
required divestment order?
program, as proposed? Where possible,
please provide supporting material,
including empirical data, findings, and
analysis in reports or studies by established
organizations or research institutions, to
illustrate these risks.
80. How significant are the anticipated
costs and burdens of the regulations the
Treasury Department is proposing? What
types of U.S. businesses or firms (e.g., small
businesses) would be particularly burdened
by the program? How can such burdens be
alleviated, consistent with the stated
objectives of the program?
81. The Treasury Department is interested
in exploring public insights and supporting
literature associated with outbound
investment, to complement our own research
to date. Have researchers (including in the
fields of political science, international
relations, national security law, economics,
corporate finance, and other related fields)
studied the national security costs and
benefits of U.S. investment in countries of
concern? Please provide any insights (and
supporting literature) that characterize these
costs and benefits and/or provides
conclusions about net effects.
82. How might firms approach compliance
related to regulations issued under this
Order? What types of requirements would
lead to higher compliance costs for firms?
What alternatives would result in lower
compliance costs? Are there any baseline
costs that firms would face regardless of
choices the Treasury Department makes
during rulemaking? Where possible, please
quantify these costs (rough estimates or
ranges are helpful as well).
83. The Treasury Department is interested
in understanding the risks of evasion and
avoidance; how might U.S. persons or
investment targets evade or avoid these
regulations, and how should the Treasury
Department account for these possible
behaviors in the design of the program?
Q. Overarching and Additional Inquiries
The Treasury Department welcomes
comments and views from a wide range
of stakeholders on all aspects of how the
Secretary should implement the Order.
A non-exclusive list of overarching and
additional questions for comment is
below:
Paul M. Rosen,
Assistant Secretary for Investment Security.
77. The Order identifies semiconductors
and microelectronics, quantum information
technologies, and AI systems as technologies
and products covered by this program
because of their critical role in enhancing the
military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyberenabled capabilities of countries of concern
in ways that threaten the national security of
the United States. Are there questions about
why and how these categories fit into the
objectives of the program? Are there specific
technologies and products that should be
considered and not already discussed in this
ANPRM?
78. In light of the Order, what structural
features should this program include that are
not already previewed in this ANPRM, and
why?
79. What would be the major risks or
obstacles to the effective operation of the
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[FR Doc. 2023–17164 Filed 8–9–23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4810–AK–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
RIN 2900–AR98
VA Health Professional Scholarship
Program
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
VA proposes to amend its
regulations that govern the VA Health
Professional Scholarship Program
(HPSP) by implementing the mandates
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
which would expand the number of
scholarships available to those who are
pursuing degrees or training in mental
health disciplines. We also propose to
SUMMARY:
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make a technical correction under the
Paperwork Reduction Act section to
correct an approved OMB control
number.
Comments must be received on
or before October 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be
submitted through www.regulations.gov.
Except as provided below, comments
received before the close of the
comment period will be available at
www.regulations.gov for public viewing,
inspection, or copying, including any
personally identifiable or confidential
business information that is included in
a comment. We post the comments
received before the close of the
comment period on the following
website as soon as possible after they
have been received: https://
www.regulations.gov. VA will not post
on Regulations.gov public comments
that make threats to individuals or
institutions or suggest that the
commenter will take actions to harm the
individual. VA encourages individuals
not to submit duplicative comments. We
will post acceptable comments from
multiple unique commenters even if the
content is identical or nearly identical
to other comments. Any public
comment received after the comment
period’s closing date is considered late
and will not be considered in the final
rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nicole Nedd, Director, Scholarships and
Clinical Education, Workforce
Management, 810 Vermont Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20420. (504–507–4985).
(This is not a toll-free telephone
number.)
DATES:
Pursuant
to sections 7601 through 7619, 7633,
7634, and 7636 of title 38, United States
Code (U.S.C.) and the implementing
regulations at sections 17.600 through
17.612 of title 38, Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), VA has established
the HPSP to assist in providing an
adequate supply of trained health-care
personnel for VA and the Nation. The
purpose of the HPSP is to award
scholarships to students pursuing a
course of study leading to a degree in
certain health care occupations, listed in
38 U.S.C. 7401(1) and (3). See § 17.600.
The HPSP allows VA to provide
scholarship awards to facilitate
recruitment and retention of employees
in several hard-to-fill health care
occupations. Id.
Pursuant to § 17.603(a), HPSP
scholarships will be awarded only when
necessary to assist VA in alleviating
shortages or anticipated shortages of
personnel in certain health professions.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Current paragraphs (b)(1) through (2)
further explain that HPSP scholarships
will be awarded to physicians, dentists,
and other health care professions. Under
§ 17.603(b)(1)(i), VA will award not less
than an additional 50 HPSP
scholarships (83 total) each year to
individuals who are accepted for
enrollment or are enrolled in a program
of education or training leading to
employment as a physician or dentist
until such date as VA determines that
the staffing shortage of physicians and
dentists in VA is less than 500.
Additionally, VA will grant HPSP
scholarships in a course of study in
those disciplines or programs other than
physician or dentist where recruitment
is necessary for the improvement of
veterans’ health care as listed in 38
U.S.C. 7401(1) and (3). See
§ 17.603(b)(2).
On December 29, 2022, the
Consolidated Appropriations Act (the
Act), Public Law 117–328, was enacted
into law. Section 104(a) of Division V of
the Act expands the HPSP by requiring
VA to specifically award scholarships to
applicants who are pursuing degrees or
training in mental health disciplines,
including advanced practice nursing
(with a focus on mental health or
substance use disorder), psychology,
and social work. This section requires
that VA provide no fewer than an
additional 50 awards (as compared to
academic year 2021) to such applicants
per academic year starting in academic
year 2022.
To comply with the mandate of
section 104(a) of Division V of the Act,
we propose to amend § 17.603(b). We
also propose to make a technical
correction to § 17.602 to correctly reflect
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number for the approved
collection of information.
Section 17.603 Availability of HPSP
Scholarships
Section 17.603 establishes the
availability of HPSP scholarships.
Paragraph (b) provides for the fields of
education that qualify for the HPSP
scholarship. We propose to redesignate
current paragraph (b)(2) as new
paragraph (b)(3) without making
changes to the current regulation text
which explains when VA will grant
HPSP scholarships to other health care
professions. Consistent with section
104(a) of Division V of the Act, we
propose to add a new paragraph (b)(2)
to state that notwithstanding paragraphs
(b)(1) and (3) of this section, VA will
award not less than 83 HPSP
scholarships each year to individuals
who are accepted for or are enrolled in
a program of education or training
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leading to employment in a mental
health discipline, including, but limited
to, advanced practice nursing (with a
focus on mental health or substance use
disorder), psychology, or social work.
Because a mental health care
professional may be eligible to receive
an HPSP scholarship under current
paragraph (b)(1) or proposed paragraph
(b)(3), we would add that such
professionals would be awarded a
scholarship pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)
notwithstanding an applicant’s
eligibility under paragraphs (b)(1) or
(b)(3) of § 17.603.
We are required by section 104(a) of
Division V of the Act to increase the
amount of scholarships to individuals
who pursued education leading to
employment in advanced practice
nursing (with a focus on mental health
or substance use disorder), psychology,
or social work by not fewer than an
additional 50 awards for academic year
2022 (as compared to academic year
2021). Therefore, we propose to award
not less than 83 HPSP scholarships for
mental health disciplines as VA
awarded a combined total of 33 HPSP
scholarships to individuals who
pursued education leading to
employment in mental health
disciplines during academic year 2022.
However, we will not be able to
implement the mandates of section
104(a) of Division V of the Act during
academic year 2022 because the
application period for that year has
already passed. VA usually starts
accepting applications for an academic
year during the spring of the prior
academic year. For example, to award
HPSP scholarships for an academic year
that starts in September 2024, the
applications must be submitted and
granted during the spring 2024. VA does
not anticipate awarding these additional
HPSP scholarships until spring 2024 for
academic year 2024.
While section 104(a) of Division V of
the Act provided that VA award HPSP
scholarships to individuals who are
pursuing a course of education leading
to employment in mental health
disciplines, including advanced practice
nursing (with a focus on mental health
or substance use disorder), psychology,
and social work, we would clarify in
proposed paragraph (b)(2) that mental
health disciplines include, but are not
limited to, advanced practice nursing
(with a focus on mental health or
substance use disorder), psychology, or
social work. (emphasis added). The
plain language reading of section 104(a)
of the Division V of the Act could imply
that an individual must be pursuing all
three disciplines simultaneously in
order to receive the HPSP scholarship
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 155 / Monday, August 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
by using the term ‘‘and’’. However, we
believe that the correct term should be
‘‘or’’ because most individuals would
only be pursuing one of the three
disciplines cited in section 104(a) of
Division V of the Act. We, therefore,
propose to change the term ‘‘and’’ to
‘‘or’’ by stating that the HPSP
scholarships would be awarded for
mental health disciplines, which
include, but are not limited to,
advanced practice nursing (with a focus
on mental health or substance use
disorder), psychology, or social work.
In addition, as there are other mental
health disciplines, we do not provide an
exhaustive list of such disciplines.
Rather, we propose including the
examples Congress included in the law,
but noting that scholarships under
proposed paragraph (b)(2) are not
limited to this list of mental health
disciplines. Other mental health
disciplines may include licensed
professional mental health counselor,
marriage and family therapist, physician
assistants, and rehabilitation
counseling.
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Technical Correction
Section 17.602 currently contains an
incorrect approved Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
information collection control number.
The information collection for this
section has been approved by OMB and
has been assigned OMB control number
2900–0793. However, § 17.602 contains
the incorrect OMB control number of
2900–0352. We propose to update
§ 17.602 to reflect the correct and
approved OMB control number.
Executive Orders 12866,13563, and
14094
Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory
Planning and Review) direct agencies to
assess the costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives and, when
regulation is necessary, to select
regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health
and safety effects, and other advantages;
distributive impacts; and equity).
Executive Order 13563 (Improving
Regulation and Regulatory Review)
emphasizes the importance of
quantifying both costs and benefits,
reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and
promoting flexibility. Executive Order
14094 (Executive Order on Modernizing
Regulatory Review) supplements and
reaffirms the principles, structures, and
definitions governing contemporary
regulatory review established in
Executive Order 12866 of September 30,
1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review),
and Executive Order 13563 of January
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18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review). The Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs has
determined that this rulemaking is not
a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866, as amended by
Executive Order 14094. The Regulatory
Impact Analysis associated with this
rulemaking can be found as a
supporting document at
www.regulations.gov.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary hereby certifies that
this proposed rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities as
they are defined in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612). This
proposed rule would solely be operated
and administered within VA and would
only affect individuals who apply and
are awarded an HPSP scholarship. On
this basis, the Secretary certifies that the
adoption of this proposed rule would
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities
as they are defined in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. Therefore, under 5
U.S.C. 605(b), the initial and final
regulatory flexibility analysis
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do
not apply.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that
agencies prepare an assessment of
anticipated costs and benefits before
issuing any rule that may result in the
expenditure by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any
one year. This proposed rule would
have no such effect on State, local, and
tribal governments, or on the private
sector.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Although this proposed rule contains
an increase in the provisions
constituting a collection of information
under the provisions of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–
3521), this increase is already captured
in an existing collection of information.
The collections of information for 38
CFR 17.602 are currently approved by
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and have been assigned OMB
control number 2900–0793. However,
§ 17.602 incorrectly reflects OMB
control number 2900–0352. We propose
to correct this technical error in this
rulemaking by updating the reference in
§ 17.602 to reflect OMB control number
2900–0793.
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List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17
Administrative practice and
procedure, Health care, Health facilities,
Health professions, Scholarships and
fellowships.
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on August 7, 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.
Consuela Benjamin,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office
of Regulation Policy & Management, Office
of General Counsel, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, the Department of Veterans
Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part
17 as set forth below:
PART 17—MEDICAL
1. The authority citation for part 17 is
amended by adding an entry for
§§ 17.600 through 17.612, in numerical
order, to read as follows:
■
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in
specific sections.
*
*
*
*
*
Sections 17.600 through 17.612 are also
issued under 38 U.S.C. 7601–7619, 7633,
7634, 7636, and sec. 104(a), div. V, Pub. L.
117–328.
*
*
*
*
*
2. Amend § 17.602 by revising the
parenthetical at the end of the section to
read as follows.
■
§ 17.602
Eligibility.
*
*
*
*
*
(Approved by the Office of Management
and Budget under control number
2900–0793)
■ 3. Amend § 17.603 by:
■ a. Redesignating paragraph (b)(2) as
new paragraph (b)(3); and
■ b. Adding new paragraph (b)(2).
The addition reads as follows:
§ 17.603
Availability of HPSP scholarships.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(2) Mental health disciplines.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1) and
(3) of this section, VA will award not
less than 83 HPSP scholarships each
year to individuals who are accepted for
or are enrolled in a program of
education or training leading to
employment in a mental health
discipline, including, but limited to,
advanced practice nursing (with a focus
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on mental health or substance use
disorder), psychology, or social work.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2023–17318 Filed 8–11–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R08–OAR–2023–0272; FRL–11237–
01–R8]
Air Plan Approval and Disapproval;
Colorado; Serious Attainment Plan
Elements and Related Revisions for
the 2008 8-Hour Ozone Standard for
the Denver Metro/North Front Range
Nonattainment Area
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve
and disapprove portions of a state
implementation plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of Colorado to
meet Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements
for the 2008 8-hour ozone national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
in the Denver Metro/North Front Range
nonattainment area (DMNFR Area).
Specifically, the EPA is proposing
approval of the submitted enhanced
monitoring SIP element as meeting
applicable Serious area requirements for
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, and is
proposing disapproval of the
contingency measure element and
certain reasonably available control
technology (RACT) SIP submittals. The
EPA is taking this action pursuant to the
CAA.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before September 13,
2023.
SUMMARY:
Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R08–
OAR–2023–0272, to the Federal
Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. The EPA may
publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video,
etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is
considered the official comment and
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should include discussion of all points
you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or
comment contents located outside of the
primary submission (i.e., on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hard copy. Publicly
available docket materials are available
electronically in www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Abby Fulton, Air and Radiation
Division, EPA, Region 8, Mailcode
8ARD–IO, 1595 Wynkoop Street,
Denver, Colorado, 80202–1129,
telephone number: (303) 312–6563,
email address: fulton.abby@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document wherever
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
the EPA.
I. What action is the EPA taking?
As explained below, the EPA is
proposing various actions on Colorado’s
proposed SIP revisions that were
submitted respectively on March 22,
2021, and May 20, 2022. Specifically,
we are proposing to approve the
submitted enhanced monitoring SIP
element as meeting applicable Serious
area requirements for the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS. We are proposing
disapproval of the contingency
measures and the categorical RACT
rules for refinery fueled process heaters
as well as landfill or biogas fired
reciprocating internal combustion
engines (RICE) and the State’s RACT
determination for the Golden
Aluminum facility.
The basis for our proposed action is
discussed in this proposed rulemaking.
II. Background
On March 12, 2008, the EPA revised
both the primary and secondary NAAQS
for ozone to a level of 0.075 parts per
million (ppm) (based on the annual
fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour
average concentration, averaged over
three years), to provide increased
protection of public health and the
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54975
environment.1 The 2008 ozone NAAQS
retains the same general form and
averaging time as the 0.08 ppm NAAQS
set in 1997, but is set at a more
protective level. Specifically, the 2008
8-hour ozone NAAQS is attained when
the 3-year average of the annual fourthhighest daily maximum 8-hour average
ambient air quality ozone
concentrations is less than or equal to
0.075 ppm.2 Effective July 20, 2012, the
EPA designated as nonattainment any
area that was violating the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS based on the three most
recent years (2008–2010) of air
monitoring data.3 With that rulemaking,
the DMNFR Area was designated
nonattainment and classified as
Marginal.4 Ozone nonattainment areas
are classified based on the severity of
their ozone levels, as determined using
the area’s design value. The design
value is the 3-year average of the annual
fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour
average ozone concentration at a
monitoring site.5 Areas designated as
nonattainment at the Marginal
classification level were required to
attain the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS no
later than July 20, 2015, based on 2012–
2014 monitoring data.6
On May 4, 2016, the EPA published
its determination that the DMNFR Area,
among other areas, had failed to attain
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS by the
attainment deadline, and that it was
accordingly reclassified to Moderate
ozone nonattainment status.7 Colorado
submitted SIP revisions to the EPA on
May 31, 2017 to meet the DMNFR
Area’s requirements under the Moderate
classification.8 The EPA took final
action on July 3, 2018, approving the
majority of the May 31, 2017 submittal,
but deferring action on portions of the
1 Final rule, National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone, 73 FR 16436 (March 27, 2008).
The EPA has since further strengthened the ozone
NAAQS, but the 2008 8-hour standard remains in
effect. See Final Rule, National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Ozone, 80 FR 65292 (Oct. 26, 2015).
2 40 CFR 50.15(b).
3 Final rule, Air Quality Designations for the 2008
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 77
FR 30088 (May 21, 2012).
4 Id. at 30110. The nonattainment area includes
Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver,
Douglas and Jefferson Counties, and portions of
Larimer and Weld Counties. See 40 CFR 81.306.
5 40 CFR part 50, appendix I.
6 40 CFR 51.903.
7 Final rule, Determinations of Attainment by the
Attainment Date, Extensions of the Attainment
Date, and Reclassification of Several Areas for the
2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, 81 FR 26697 (May 4, 2016).
8 CAA section 182, 42 U.S.C. 7511a, outlines SIP
requirements applicable to ozone nonattainment
areas in each classification category. Areas
reclassified as Moderate under the 2008 8-hour
ozone NAAQS had a submittal deadline of January
1, 2017 for these SIP revisions (81 FR 26699).
E:\FR\FM\14AUP1.SGM
14AUP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54972-54975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17318]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 17
RIN 2900-AR98
VA Health Professional Scholarship Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: VA proposes to amend its regulations that govern the VA Health
Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP) by implementing the mandates of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which would expand the number of
scholarships available to those who are pursuing degrees or training in
mental health disciplines. We also propose to
[[Page 54973]]
make a technical correction under the Paperwork Reduction Act section
to correct an approved OMB control number.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted through www.regulations.gov.
Except as provided below, comments received before the close of the
comment period will be available at www.regulations.gov for public
viewing, inspection, or copying, including any personally identifiable
or confidential business information that is included in a comment. We
post the comments received before the close of the comment period on
the following website as soon as possible after they have been
received: https://www.regulations.gov. VA will not post on
Regulations.gov public comments that make threats to individuals or
institutions or suggest that the commenter will take actions to harm
the individual. VA encourages individuals not to submit duplicative
comments. We will post acceptable comments from multiple unique
commenters even if the content is identical or nearly identical to
other comments. Any public comment received after the comment period's
closing date is considered late and will not be considered in the final
rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Nedd, Director, Scholarships
and Clinical Education, Workforce Management, 810 Vermont Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20420. (504-507-4985). (This is not a toll-free
telephone number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to sections 7601 through 7619,
7633, 7634, and 7636 of title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.) and the
implementing regulations at sections 17.600 through 17.612 of title 38,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), VA has established the HPSP to
assist in providing an adequate supply of trained health-care personnel
for VA and the Nation. The purpose of the HPSP is to award scholarships
to students pursuing a course of study leading to a degree in certain
health care occupations, listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(1) and (3). See Sec.
17.600. The HPSP allows VA to provide scholarship awards to facilitate
recruitment and retention of employees in several hard-to-fill health
care occupations. Id.
Pursuant to Sec. 17.603(a), HPSP scholarships will be awarded only
when necessary to assist VA in alleviating shortages or anticipated
shortages of personnel in certain health professions. Current
paragraphs (b)(1) through (2) further explain that HPSP scholarships
will be awarded to physicians, dentists, and other health care
professions. Under Sec. 17.603(b)(1)(i), VA will award not less than
an additional 50 HPSP scholarships (83 total) each year to individuals
who are accepted for enrollment or are enrolled in a program of
education or training leading to employment as a physician or dentist
until such date as VA determines that the staffing shortage of
physicians and dentists in VA is less than 500. Additionally, VA will
grant HPSP scholarships in a course of study in those disciplines or
programs other than physician or dentist where recruitment is necessary
for the improvement of veterans' health care as listed in 38 U.S.C.
7401(1) and (3). See Sec. 17.603(b)(2).
On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (the
Act), Public Law 117-328, was enacted into law. Section 104(a) of
Division V of the Act expands the HPSP by requiring VA to specifically
award scholarships to applicants who are pursuing degrees or training
in mental health disciplines, including advanced practice nursing (with
a focus on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, and
social work. This section requires that VA provide no fewer than an
additional 50 awards (as compared to academic year 2021) to such
applicants per academic year starting in academic year 2022.
To comply with the mandate of section 104(a) of Division V of the
Act, we propose to amend Sec. 17.603(b). We also propose to make a
technical correction to Sec. 17.602 to correctly reflect the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control number for the approved collection
of information.
Section 17.603 Availability of HPSP Scholarships
Section 17.603 establishes the availability of HPSP scholarships.
Paragraph (b) provides for the fields of education that qualify for the
HPSP scholarship. We propose to redesignate current paragraph (b)(2) as
new paragraph (b)(3) without making changes to the current regulation
text which explains when VA will grant HPSP scholarships to other
health care professions. Consistent with section 104(a) of Division V
of the Act, we propose to add a new paragraph (b)(2) to state that
notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1) and (3) of this section, VA will
award not less than 83 HPSP scholarships each year to individuals who
are accepted for or are enrolled in a program of education or training
leading to employment in a mental health discipline, including, but
limited to, advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental health or
substance use disorder), psychology, or social work. Because a mental
health care professional may be eligible to receive an HPSP scholarship
under current paragraph (b)(1) or proposed paragraph (b)(3), we would
add that such professionals would be awarded a scholarship pursuant to
paragraph (b)(2) notwithstanding an applicant's eligibility under
paragraphs (b)(1) or (b)(3) of Sec. 17.603.
We are required by section 104(a) of Division V of the Act to
increase the amount of scholarships to individuals who pursued
education leading to employment in advanced practice nursing (with a
focus on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, or
social work by not fewer than an additional 50 awards for academic year
2022 (as compared to academic year 2021). Therefore, we propose to
award not less than 83 HPSP scholarships for mental health disciplines
as VA awarded a combined total of 33 HPSP scholarships to individuals
who pursued education leading to employment in mental health
disciplines during academic year 2022. However, we will not be able to
implement the mandates of section 104(a) of Division V of the Act
during academic year 2022 because the application period for that year
has already passed. VA usually starts accepting applications for an
academic year during the spring of the prior academic year. For
example, to award HPSP scholarships for an academic year that starts in
September 2024, the applications must be submitted and granted during
the spring 2024. VA does not anticipate awarding these additional HPSP
scholarships until spring 2024 for academic year 2024.
While section 104(a) of Division V of the Act provided that VA
award HPSP scholarships to individuals who are pursuing a course of
education leading to employment in mental health disciplines, including
advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental health or substance
use disorder), psychology, and social work, we would clarify in
proposed paragraph (b)(2) that mental health disciplines include, but
are not limited to, advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental
health or substance use disorder), psychology, or social work.
(emphasis added). The plain language reading of section 104(a) of the
Division V of the Act could imply that an individual must be pursuing
all three disciplines simultaneously in order to receive the HPSP
scholarship
[[Page 54974]]
by using the term ``and''. However, we believe that the correct term
should be ``or'' because most individuals would only be pursuing one of
the three disciplines cited in section 104(a) of Division V of the Act.
We, therefore, propose to change the term ``and'' to ``or'' by stating
that the HPSP scholarships would be awarded for mental health
disciplines, which include, but are not limited to, advanced practice
nursing (with a focus on mental health or substance use disorder),
psychology, or social work.
In addition, as there are other mental health disciplines, we do
not provide an exhaustive list of such disciplines. Rather, we propose
including the examples Congress included in the law, but noting that
scholarships under proposed paragraph (b)(2) are not limited to this
list of mental health disciplines. Other mental health disciplines may
include licensed professional mental health counselor, marriage and
family therapist, physician assistants, and rehabilitation counseling.
Technical Correction
Section 17.602 currently contains an incorrect approved Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) information collection control number. The
information collection for this section has been approved by OMB and
has been assigned OMB control number 2900-0793. However, Sec. 17.602
contains the incorrect OMB control number of 2900-0352. We propose to
update Sec. 17.602 to reflect the correct and approved OMB control
number.
Executive Orders 12866,13563, and 14094
Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) direct
agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, when regulation is necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety effects, and other advantages;
distributive impacts; and equity). Executive Order 13563 (Improving
Regulation and Regulatory Review) emphasizes the importance of
quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules,
and promoting flexibility. Executive Order 14094 (Executive Order on
Modernizing Regulatory Review) supplements and reaffirms the
principles, structures, and definitions governing contemporary
regulatory review established in Executive Order 12866 of September 30,
1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), and Executive Order 13563 of
January 18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review). The
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has determined that this
rulemaking is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order
12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094. The Regulatory Impact
Analysis associated with this rulemaking can be found as a supporting
document at www.regulations.gov.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary hereby certifies that this proposed rule would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601-612). This proposed rule would solely be operated and
administered within VA and would only affect individuals who apply and
are awarded an HPSP scholarship. On this basis, the Secretary certifies
that the adoption of this proposed rule would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as they are
defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C.
605(b), the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do not apply.
Unfunded Mandates
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C.
1532, that agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and
benefits before issuing any rule that may result in the expenditure by
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for
inflation) in any one year. This proposed rule would have no such
effect on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private
sector.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Although this proposed rule contains an increase in the provisions
constituting a collection of information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this increase is
already captured in an existing collection of information. The
collections of information for 38 CFR 17.602 are currently approved by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB
control number 2900-0793. However, Sec. 17.602 incorrectly reflects
OMB control number 2900-0352. We propose to correct this technical
error in this rulemaking by updating the reference in Sec. 17.602 to
reflect OMB control number 2900-0793.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17
Administrative practice and procedure, Health care, Health
facilities, Health professions, Scholarships and fellowships.
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on August 7, 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.
Consuela Benjamin,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy &
Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of Veterans
Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part 17 as set forth below:
PART 17--MEDICAL
0
1. The authority citation for part 17 is amended by adding an entry for
Sec. Sec. 17.600 through 17.612, in numerical order, to read as
follows:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in specific sections.
* * * * *
Sections 17.600 through 17.612 are also issued under 38 U.S.C.
7601-7619, 7633, 7634, 7636, and sec. 104(a), div. V, Pub. L. 117-
328.
* * * * *
0
2. Amend Sec. 17.602 by revising the parenthetical at the end of the
section to read as follows.
Sec. 17.602 Eligibility.
* * * * *
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number
2900-0793)
0
3. Amend Sec. 17.603 by:
0
a. Redesignating paragraph (b)(2) as new paragraph (b)(3); and
0
b. Adding new paragraph (b)(2).
The addition reads as follows:
Sec. 17.603 Availability of HPSP scholarships.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) Mental health disciplines. Notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1)
and (3) of this section, VA will award not less than 83 HPSP
scholarships each year to individuals who are accepted for or are
enrolled in a program of education or training leading to employment in
a mental health discipline, including, but limited to, advanced
practice nursing (with a focus
[[Page 54975]]
on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, or social
work.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-17318 Filed 8-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
