[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 6247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2727]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Emergency Consideration 
Request

    In compliance with Public Law 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is providing notice 
of its information collections that require submission to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). SSA is requesting emergency consideration 
from OMB by 02/16/2000 of the information collections listed below.
    1. Request to be Selected as Payee--0960-0014. The information 
collected on Form SSA-11-BK is used to determine the proper payee for a 
Social Security beneficiary, and it is designed to aid in the 
investigation of a payee applicant. The form will establish the 
applicant's relationship to the beneficiary, the justification, the 
concern for the beneficiary and the manner in which the benefits will 
be used. The respondents are applicants for selection as representative 
payee for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI), 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Black Lung benefits and title-VIII 
Special Veterans Benefits.
    Number of Respondents: 2,121,686.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 10.5 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 371,295 hours.
    2. Application for Special Benefits for World War II Veterans-0960-
NEW. The information collected on Form SSA-2000 will be used by the 
Social Security Administration to elicit the information necessary to 
determine entitlement of an individual to benefits under title VIII of 
the Social Security Act. Respondents are certain World War II Veterans 
as identified under title VIII.
    Number of Respondents: 12,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 4,000 hours.

Background Information

    In November 1999, Congress passed the Foster Care Independence Act, 
and on December 14, 1999, the President signed it into law (Pub. L. 
106-169). An important part of this legislation, section 251, creates a 
new title VIII of the Social Security Act, which is a new program for 
SSA to administer. Title VIII provides for a program of special 
benefits for certain World War II veterans as defined below:

    Veterans of the U.S. military and the organized military forces 
of the Philippines (while in the service of the U.S. Armed Forces) 
during World War II, who are age 65 or older on or before December 
14, 1999 and who are eligible for SSI benefits in both the month of 
enactment and the month of application for the Special Veterans 
Benefit (SVB), and whose total benefit income is less than the title 
VIII benefit amount, are entitled to a title VIII benefit for each 
month the individual resides outside the United States.

    The law provides that an individual who meets all statutory 
requirements will be entitled to title VIII benefits beginning with 
October 2000, or such earlier month that the Commissioner determines is 
administratively feasible.
    In recognition of the stated desire of many foreign-born potential 
applicants for special benefits under SVB to return to their homelands, 
SSA is targeting its implementation efforts to begin payments as early 
as May 2000.
    Accordingly SSA has revised the SSA-11-BK, Request to be Selected 
as Payee, to include payee applicants under title VIII, and has 
developed the new SSA-2000, Application for Special Benefits for World 
War II Veterans, in order to administer the title VIII program.
    You can obtain a copy of the collection instruments and/or OMB 
clearance packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on 
(410) 965-4145, or by writing to him at: Social Security 
Administration, DCFAM,Attn: Frederick W. Brickenkamp, 6401 Security 
Blvd., 1-A-21 Operations Bldg., Baltimore, MD 21235.

    Dated: February 1, 2000.
Frederick W. Brickenkamp,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-2727 Filed 2-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4190-29-P