Department of Veterans Affairs October 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing in regulation the Veterans Legacy Grants Program (VLGP), which will provide funding to educational institutions and other eligible entities to conduct cemetery research and produce educational tools for the public to utilize and learn about the histories of Veterans interred in VA national cemeteries and VA grant-funded State and Tribal Veterans' cemeteries.

Agencies are required to publish a notice in the Federal Register of the appointment of Performance Review Board (PRB) members. This notice announces the appointment of individuals to serve on the PRB of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to revise its medical regulations to add chiropractic services to the definitions of medical services and preventive care. VA would further revise the definition of medical services to include rehabilitative services consistent with its statutory definition and to reflect changes made in other VA medical regulations and in prior legislation not previously codified. The proposed amendments would make VA medical regulations consistent with current practices, prior changes in law and VA's medical regulations, and changes in law made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. These amendments would not substantively change the current administration of medical benefits to veterans.

This Federal Register Notice announces the availability of the Master Plan 2022 draft for public comment. The Master Plan 2022 draft is an update to the Draft Master Plan (DMP) which contemplated that West Los Angeles (WLA) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would periodically review, reevaluate, and update the DMP every three to five years. As various elements of the DMP are implemented and the needs of the WLA Campus and the Veterans population it serves change, the plan will evolve and be revised accordingly. This iteration is Master Plan 2022, the first update to the DMP. The DMP and the Master Plan 2022 are created in accordance with the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations to limit the circumstances in which benefits will be apportioned and to stop apportioning certain benefits. Currently, in limited situations, VA may pay a portion of a VA beneficiary's monetary benefits directly to the beneficiary's dependents. This is referred to as apportionment of benefits. Most claims for apportionment involve complex issues of family law, issues that are best suited to the expertise and authority of state courts. VA claims adjudicators have limited ability to analyze these complex and fact-intensive claims, to include both technical expertise as well as an ability to compel participation in necessary accounting measures. When VA awards apportionments, decisions rendered can disturb state court support awards, requiring a state court to expend additional resources to revisit a prior determination. Finally, due to their intricacy, a significant amount of information is needed to properly adjudicate apportionment claims. While this information is typically already available to state courts, VA must attempt to gather this information from the VA beneficiary and beneficiary's dependent, which is unavoidably a time-consuming process and often cannot result in a comprehensive evidentiary picture. The additional time and effort needed to gather this information increases VA workloads and results in the potential for delays of all VA claims processes, to include apportionment awards. Because VA apportionment awards often conflict with the awards of better-situated state family courts and because VA lacks the authority and expertise to make fully-informed, accurate, and economically appropriate awards, VA is proposing to amend its regulations to discontinue making apportionment awards in most circumstances and to stop apportioning certain benefits.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its National Service Life Insurance regulations to offer Service-Disabled Veterans' Insurance policyholders the option of remitting premiums for government life insurance coverage only on a monthly or annual basis. VA also proposes to increase the amount that Veteran policyholders are eligible to borrow against the value of their life insurance policies and to adjust the interest rates charged for fixed-rate loans in certain circumstances.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

The Department of Veterans Affairs proposes to amend its regulations implementing the Privacy Act. These revisions would clarify and update the language of procedural requirements pertaining to the inclusion of Social Security account numbers (SSN) on documents that the Department sends by mail. These revisions are also required by the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017, which restricts the inclusion of SSNs on documents sent by mail by the Federal Government.

This final rule amends the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) to provide needed editorial changes. VA is publishing a technical amendment to make minor administrative corrections in the definitions, clauses, provisions and forms, and to remove duplicate or outdated definitions associated with the previously published rules.