Department of Veterans Affairs September 5, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document adopts as final, without change, the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2011. This final rule removes a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulatory restriction on the sharing of certain medical information with the Department of Defense (DoD) that is not required by the applicable statute and is inconsistent with the intent and purpose of that statute.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its regulations concerning veterans in need of service dogs. Under this final rule, VA will provide to veterans with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments benefits to support the use of a service dog as part of the management of such impairments. The benefits include assistance with veterinary care, travel benefits associated with obtaining and training a dog, and the provision, maintenance, and replacement of hardware required for the dog to perform the tasks necessary to assist such veterans.