[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1538]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 26, 1994]


                                                    VOL. 59, NO. 17

                                        Wednesday, January 26, 1994
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 13

RIN 2900-AD35

 

Full Disclosure of Beneficiary's Income and Assets

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed regulations.

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SUMMARY: Action is being taken to amend Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA) regulations to reflect changes in the law which require certain 
fiduciaries of incompetent beneficiaries of veterans' benefits to 
report non-VA income in conjunction with required formal or informal 
accountings. Under current regulation, fiduciaries recognized by VA are 
not required to divulge non-VA income and assets that the fiduciary may 
be holding on behalf of incompetent VA beneficiaries. These amendments 
will permit implementation of the law, allow for a greater degree of 
protection of the income and estates of incompetent VA beneficiaries 
and reduce the incidence of waste, fraud and abuse of VA benefits by 
certain Federal fiduciaries, and court-appointed fiduciaries.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 28, 1994. This 
amendment is proposed to be effective 30 days after the date of 
publication of the final rule. Comments will be available for public 
inspection until April 6, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, 
suggestions, or objections regarding the proposal to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs (271A), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. All written comments received will 
be available for public inspection at the above address only between 
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (except 
holidays) until April 6, 1994. Any person visiting Department of 
Veterans Affairs Central Office in Washington, DC for the purpose of 
inspecting any such comments will be received by the Central Office 
Veterans Services Unit in room 170. Such visitors to any VA field 
stations will be informed that records are available for inspection 
only in Central Office and furnished the address and the above room 
number. A copy of any comments that concern information collection 
requirements should also be sent to the Office of Management and Budget 
at the address contained in the Paperwork Reduction section of this 
preamble.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Weaver, Program Analyst, Fiduciary and Equal Opportunity Staff, 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 233-2091.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 99-576, section 505 amended 38 
U.S.C. 5502(b) (formerly 38 U.S.C. 3202(b)) to permit the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to require a fiduciary to disclose, as part of the 
accounting process, any financial information which is available to the 
fiduciary concerning the non-VA income and assets of an incompetent 
beneficiary of VA benefits. The particular regulations to be amended 
deal specifically with the responsibilities of Federal fiduciaries and 
court-appointed fiduciaries, and the authority of the Veterans Services 
Officers at VA Regional Offices to request an accounting from a 
fiduciary. Each regulation would be amended to include the requirement 
that non-VA income and assets be subject to inclusion in VA requested 
formal or informal accountings.
    These changes will greatly enhance VA's ability to prevent waste, 
fraudulent use or abuse of the VA benefits of an incompetent 
beneficiary by the VA recognized fiduciary. The changes will permit VA 
to formalize a procedure that has only been informal and unenforceable 
in the past, namely the request for a total accounting of income and 
assets managed by a fiduciary.

The Paperwork Reduction Act

    These regulatory amendments contain new information collection 
requirements as VA will be requiring fiduciaries to provide a type of 
information which we have not previously required. As required by 
section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Department of 
Veterans Affairs is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) a request that it approve this information collection 
requirement. Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments 
for consideration by OMB on this proposed information collection 
requirement should address them to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB Room 3002, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Joseph F. Lackey.
    The Secretary hereby certifies that these regulatory amendments 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), these 
regulatory amendments are exempt from the initial and final regulatory 
flexibility analyses requirements of Secs. 603 and 604. The reason for 
this certification is that the additional information fiduciaries are 
being asked to provide is that which they already have but have not 
previously provided, requiring no additional data collection. In 
addition, the number of fiduciaries who will be reporting additional 
income to comply with the proposed change is expected to be only 1% or 
approximately 300 of the approximately 30,000 fiduciaries who submit 
accountings.
    There is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program number.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 13

    Administrative practices and procedures, Estates, Fraud, 
Handicapped, Infants and children, Investigations, Surety bonds, Trusts 
and trustees, Veterans.

    Approved: October 22, 1993.
Jesse Brown,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 38 CFR part 13 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 13--VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, FIDUCIARY ACTIVITIES

    1. The authority citation for part 13 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 72 Stat. 1114, 1232, as amended, 1237; 38 U.S.C. 
501(a), 5502, 5503, 5711, unless otherwise noted.


Sec. 13.59  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 13.59, paragraph (a), the last sentence is removed.
    3. Section 13.100, paragraph (a)(1), is revised and an authority 
citation is added to read as follows: Sec. 13.100, paragraph (b) and 
its authority citation are revised to read as follows:


Sec. 13.100  Supervision of fiduciaries.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Require an accounting, formal or informal, of Department of 
Veterans Affairs benefits paid to the authorized payees listed under 
Sec. 13.55(b) (3), (4), (6), (7) or (8). Such accounting will include 
all information available to the fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's 
income and estate derived from non-Department of Veterans Affairs 
sources.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5502)
* * * * *
    (b) Court-appointed fiduciaries. In court-appointed fiduciary 
cases, the Veterans Services Officer will take such informal action as 
may be necessary to assure that the needs of the beneficiary are 
provided for and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits are prudently 
administered and adequately protected. Formal or informal accountings 
may be required from such fiduciaries, with or without judicial 
proceedings. If an accounting is required such accounting will include 
all information requested, including all information available to the 
fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's income and estate derived from 
non-Department of Veterans Affairs sources.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5502)
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-1538 Filed 1-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-M