[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51782-51783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26254]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 1

RIN 2900-AI21


Disinterments From National Cemeteries

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing a final 
rule to amend regulations concerning disinterments from national 
cemeteries. Current regulations permit disinterment of persons buried 
in a national cemetery with the consent of immediate family

[[Page 51783]]

members. Previously, the definition of immediate family members 
included a surviving spouse only if unmarried. The regulation change 
defines immediate family members for purposes of disinterments to 
include a surviving spouse whether or not the spouse had remarried. 
This is necessary since the emotional ties of the surviving spouse are 
sufficient to justify his or her consent as a condition of 
disinterment. This document also makes nonsubstantive changes for 
purposes of clarification.

DATES: This rule is effective November 3, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ken Greenberg, Program Analyst, or 
Mrs. Sonja McCombs, Program Analyst, Communications Division (402B1), 
National Cemetery System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420. Telephone: 202-273-5179 or 202-273-
5183 (these are not toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A document was published in the Federal 
Register on June 20, 1996 (61 FR 31479), which proposed to change the 
definition of immediate family members for purposes of disinterments to 
include a surviving spouse whether or not the spouse had remarried. The 
document also proposed to make certain nonsubstantive changes. No 
comments were received. Accordingly, based on the rationale set forth 
in the proposal and in this document, the proposed changes are adopted 
as a final rule without change.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Information collection and recordkeeping requirements associated 
with this final rule concerning disinterments from national cemeteries 
(38 CFR 1.621) have been approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. 3504(h)) and have been assigned OMB Control Number 2900-0365.
    This collection of information included in 38 CFR 1.621 concerns an 
application for authority to disinter remains that must be submitted on 
VA Form 40-4970. The provisions of Sec. 1.621 are amended to reflect 
that the written and notarized consent of a remarried surviving spouse 
is a prerequisite for a disinterment from a national cemetery.
    OMB assigns control numbers to collections of information it 
approves. VA may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary certifies that this final rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-
612. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the amended regulation is exempt from 
the initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses requirements of 
sections 603 and 604. This certification can be made because the 
amendment does not affect any small entities. Only individual VA 
beneficiaries could be directly affected.
    The final rule is not subject to OMB review pursuant to E.O. 12291.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for programs affected 
by this regulation are 64.201 and 64.202)

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 1

    Administrative practice and procedure, Cemeteries, Claims, Privacy, 
Security.

    Approved: July 28, 1997.
Hershel W. Gober,
Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 38 CFR part 1 is amended 
as follows:

PART 1--GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.

    2. In Sec. 1.621, paragraph (c) is amended by removing the second 
sentence; paragraph (d) and the designation ``[Reserved]'' are removed; 
paragraph (e) is redesignated as paragraph (d); and paragraphs (a) and 
(b)(2) are revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1.621  Disinterments from national cemeteries.

    (a) Interments of eligible decedents in national cemeteries are 
considered permanent and final. Disinterment will be permitted only for 
cogent reasons and with the prior written authorization of the National 
Cemetery Area Office Director or Cemetery Director responsible for the 
cemetery involved. Disinterment from a national cemetery will be 
approved only when all living immediate family members of the decedent, 
and the person who initiated the interment (whether or not he or she is 
a member of the immediate family), give their written consent, or when 
a court order or State instrumentality of competent jurisdiction 
directs the disinterment. For purposes of this section, ``immediate 
family members'' are defined as surviving spouse, whether or not he or 
she is remarried; all adult children of the decedent; the appointed 
guardian(s) of minor children; and the appointed guardian(s) of the 
surviving spouse or of the adult child(ren) of the decedent. If the 
surviving spouse and all of the children of the decedent are deceased, 
the decedent's parents will be considered ``immediate family members.''
    (b) * * *
    (2) Notarized statement(s) by all living immediate family members 
of the decedent, and the person who initiated the interment (whether or 
not he or she is a member of the immediate family), that they consent 
to the proposed disinterment.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 97-26254 Filed 10-2-97; 8:45 am]
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