System Error Message and High Call Volume Impacting Submissions of Claims, 55823-55824 [2023-17582]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55823-55824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17582]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


System Error Message and High Call Volume Impacting Submissions 
of Claims

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice of exception to date of receipt rule.

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SUMMARY: In response to notification that some Veterans and survivors 
received error messages in recent days when submitting their claim for 
disability compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), 
or intent to file such claim, through www.va.gov, the Veteran Benefits 
Administration (VBA) is instituting temporary provisions to consider 
any compensation or DIC claim or intent to file filed before 11:59 p.m. 
ET on Monday August 14, 2023, as received by VA on August 8, 2023. This 
preserves, for claims subject to the PACT Act (further discussed 
below), the potential of retroactive compensation benefits back to the 
date of PACT Act enactment, August 10, 2022. Claims, or intents to 
file, for compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation, 
received on August 9, 2023 through 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday August 14, 
2023 will be deemed to have been received on August 8, 2023, the date 
of the initial problem on www.va.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Pierce, Assistant Director, 
Policy Staff, Compensation Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-9700. (This is not a 
toll-free telephone number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 10, 2022, the President signed 
Public Law 117-168, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our 
Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or the PACT Act, 
into law, establishing substantial legislative changes for the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. This historic, multifaceted law 
includes provisions such as specific examination requirements when 
there is toxic exposure risk activity, expanding conceded locations 
associated with radiation exposure, expanding presumptive conditions 
associated with herbicide exposure, amending the statute involving 
Persian Gulf War Veterans, and establishing presumptive conditions 
associated with toxic exposures.
    On August 8, 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) became 
aware that some Veterans and survivors who utilized the www.va.gov 
website to submit compensation or DIC claims or an intent to file (ITF) 
such a claim received an error message. Despite these messages, every 
such Veteran or survivor who received an error message can consider 
their intent to file complete. VA is working to contact these 
individuals to confirm directly to them that their intent to file will 
be honored and their effective date protected. As of the evening of 
August 9, 2023, VA had resolved nearly all technical issues with the 
website.
    While VA took steps to resolve this issue, an emergency banner on 
the VA website reassured Veterans and survivors that their ITFs will be 
honored. Also, VA has changed the intent to file error message to 
confirm that, despite the error message, the ITF has been saved.
    Additionally, in recent days, VA has experienced an extremely high 
call volume on 1-800-MyVA411. Wait times for these calls, which are 
normally 10-30 seconds, reached 10-15 minutes at times throughout the 
day. VA took immediate steps to minimize these wait times for Veterans, 
their families, caregivers, and survivors. Some claimants may have been 
unable to submit their ITF through the call center due to the call 
volume and wait times.
    38 CFR 3.114 provides that if a claim is reviewed at the request of 
a claimant received within one year of a change in law, benefits may be 
authorized from the effective date of the law. If the claimant's 
request is more than one year after the effective date of the law, 
benefits may be authorized for a period of one year prior to the date 
of receipt of such request. As such, claims or ITFs for PACT Act-
related claims must have been submitted on or before August 10, 2023, 
to preserve the earliest potential effective date of August 10, 2022, 
the date the PACT Act was enacted. However, even for claims received 
more than a year following August 10, 2022, benefits may be authorized 
up to one year prior to the date of the filing if warranted by the 
facts found.
    38 CFR 3.155(b) allows claimants to submit an ITF for a VA claim; 
if VA receives a complete application form within one year of receipt 
of the ITF for a claim, VA will consider the complete claim filed as of 
the date the ITF for the claim was received. An ITF can be submitted in 
one of three ways: (1) saved electronic application, (2) written intent 
on prescribed ITF form, or (3) oral intent communicated to designated 
VA personnel and recorded in writing (this includes contacting a VA 
call center agent). A VA regulation, 38 CFR 3.1(r), allows the Under 
Secretary for Benefits to establish by notice published in the Federal 
Register exceptions to VA's rule on the date of receipt of claims, 
information, or evidence. Ordinarily, ``date of receipt'' means the 
date on which a claim, information, or evidence was received in a VA 
office. This regulation states that exceptions may be established when 
a natural or man-made interference with the normal channels through 
which VBA ordinarily receives correspondence has resulted in one or 
more VBA regional offices experiencing extended delays in the receipt 
of claims, information, or evidence to an extent that, if not 
addressed, the delay would adversely affect such claimants, through no 
fault of their own.
    Although the system issue on VA's website and long call wait times 
primarily have stemmed from the number of claimants attempting to file 
claims or ITFs for PACT Act-related issues to preserve consideration of 
an effective date back to August 10, 2022, all claim and ITF 
submissions may have been affected. As such, VA has established the 
following exception to the standard rule on date of receipt.

Exceptions to Date of Receipt Rule for Claimants Affected by System 
Errors and High Call Volume

    VA hereby gives notice that, claims, or intents to file, for 
compensation or DIC, received on August 9, 2023 through 11:59PM ET on 
Monday August 14, 2023 will be deemed to have been received on August 
8, 2023, the date of the initial problem on www.va.gov. This preserves 
consideration of the earliest possible effective date for PACT Act-
related benefits for these claims, dating back to August 10, 2022, the 
date the PACT Act was enacted. However, this exception to the date of 
receipt requirement applies to all claims and ITFs submitted for 
compensation or DIC during this period. The Under Secretary for 
Benefits has approved this exception under 38 CFR 3.1(r).
    Starting on August 9, 2023, VA initiated an outreach campaign to 
notify Veterans and survivors about this filing extension, including 
notifying Veterans Service Organizations, Congress, and the media, as 
well as updating va.gov and VA social media.

Signing Authority

    Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved and signed 
this document on August 11, 2023, and

[[Page 55824]]

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.

Michael P. Shores,
Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of General 
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-17582 Filed 8-15-23; 8:45 am]
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