Department of Veterans Affairs February 19, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations addressing when VA will allow individuals and organizations who are assisting claimants in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of their claims before VA to use Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) information technology (IT) systems to access VA records relevant to a claim. This rulemaking addresses who is permitted, and under what circumstances, to directly access VA's claim records through those IT systems during representation of a VA claimant in a claim for VA benefits, but is not intended to address the larger issues involving who may access VA records more generally. Further, the proposed amendments would outline appropriate behavior while using VBA's IT systems to access VA records and the consequences of mishandling such access for attorneys, agents, or representatives of a VA-recognized service organization.