[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 53 (Friday, March 17, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14471-14472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6613]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Parts 19 and 20

RIN 2900-AJ72


Appeals Regulations and Rules of Practice--Case Docketing

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) adjudicates appeals 
from decisions on claims for veterans' benefits filed with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This document updates the Board's 
procedures to reflect changes made by section 1003 of the Veterans 
Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 and to reflect the change in the name 
of the United States Court of Veterans Appeals to the United States 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

DATES:  
    Effective Date: March 17, 2000.
    Applicability Date: November 10, 1998, except for Secs. 20.609(i), 
20.714(a)(5), 20.717(b), and 20.900(d) which are applicable March 1, 
1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven L. Keller, Senior Deputy Vice 
Chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, 202-565-5978.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Initial decisions on claims for veterans' 
benefits are made at VA field offices throughout the nation. Claimants 
may appeal those decisions to the Board. Section 1003 of the Veterans 
Programs Enhancement Act of 1998, Public Law 105-368, 112 Stat. 3315, 
3363-64 (1998), amended 38 U.S.C. 7107 to make these changes in 
procedures for processing cases before the Board:
    (1) Serious illness and severe financial hardship are now included 
in the statutory grounds for advancing a case on the Board's docket. 38 
U.S.C. 7107(a)(2).
    (2) A new provision permits postponement of consideration of a case 
in order to afford an appellant a hearing. 38 U.S.C. 7107(a)(3).
    (3) The order in which the Board conducts field hearings in areas 
served by VA regional offices has been changed from the order in which 
requests for hearings in each area are received to the docket order of 
the cases that are scheduled for hearings within the same area. 38 
U.S.C. 7107(d)(2).
    (4) The statutory grounds in 38 U.S.C. 7107(d)(3) for advancing a 
hearing within an area served by a regional office now conform to the 
grounds in 38 U.S.C. 7107(a)(2) for advancing a case on the Board's 
docket.
    This document amends 38 CFR 19.75, 20.704, and 20.900 to conform to 
these statutory changes.
    Section 511 of the same public law, 112 Stat. at 3341, changed the 
name of the United States Court of Veterans Appeals to the United 
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Amendments to 38 CFR 
20.609, 20.714, 20.717, and 20.900 change references to the Court to 
reflect its new name.
    VA finds under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) that notice and public 
procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to public 
interest inasmuch as these amendments merely reflect statutory changes.
    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking was required in connection 
with the adoption of this final rule, no regulatory flexibility 
analysis is required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
601-612). Even so, the Secretary hereby 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.
    There is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this 
final rule.

List of Subjects

38 CFR Part 19

    Administrative practice and procedure; Claims; Veterans; Authority 
delegations (government agencies).

38 CFR Part 20

    Administrative practice and procedure; Claims; Lawyers; Legal 
services; Veterans; Authority delegations (government agencies).

    Approved: March 10, 2000.
Togo D. West, Jr.,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 38 CFR parts 19 and 20 are 
amended as set forth below:

PART 19--BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS: APPEALS REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 19 continues to read as follows:

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

    2. Section 19.75 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 19.75  Field hearing docket.

    Hearings on appeal held at Department of Veterans Affairs field 
facilities will be scheduled for each area served by a regional office 
in accordance with the place of each case on the Board's docket, 
established under Sec. 20.900 of this chapter, relative to other cases 
for which hearings are scheduled to be held within that area. Such 
scheduling is subject to Sec. 20.704(f) of this chapter pertaining to 
advancement of a case on the hearing docket.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7107)

PART 20--BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS: RULES OF PRACTICE

    The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.
    4. Section 20.704 is amended by revising the second sentence of 
paragraph (a); and revising paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 20.704 Rule 704.  Scheduling and notice of hearings conducted by 
the Board of Veterans' Appeals at Department of Veterans Affairs field 
facilities.

    (a) General.  * * * Subject to paragraph (f) of this section, the 
hearings will be scheduled in the order specified in Sec. 19.75 of this 
chapter.  * * *
* * * * *
    (f) Advancement of the case on the hearing docket. A hearing may be 
scheduled at a time earlier than would be provided for under Sec. 19.75 
of this chapter upon written motion of the appellant or the 
representative. The same grounds for granting relief, motion filing 
procedures, and designation of authority to rule on the motion 
specified in Rule 900(c) (Sec. 20.900(c) of this part) for advancing a 
case on the Board's docket shall apply.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7107)

[[Page 14472]]

    (Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 2900-0085)

    5. In Sec. 20.900, paragraphs (b) and (c) are revised; and 
paragraph (e) is added, to read as follows:


Sec. 20.900  Rule 900. Order of consideration of appeals.

* * * * *
    (b) Appeals considered in docket order. Except as otherwise 
provided in this Rule, appeals are considered in the order in which 
they are entered on the docket.
    (c) Advancement on the docket. A case may be advanced on the docket 
on the motion of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, a party to the case 
before the Board, or such party's representative. Such a motion may be 
granted only if the case involves interpretation of law of general 
application affecting other claims, if the appellant is seriously ill 
or is under severe financial hardship, or if other sufficient cause is 
shown. ``Other sufficient cause'' shall include, but is not limited to, 
administrative error resulting in a significant delay in docketing the 
case. Such motions must be in writing and must identify the specific 
reason(s) why advancement on the docket is sought, the name of the 
veteran, the name of the appellant if other than the veteran (e.g., a 
veteran's survivor, a guardian, or a fiduciary appointed to receive VA 
benefits on an individual's behalf), and the applicable Department of 
Veterans Affairs file number. The motion must be filed with: Director, 
Administrative Service (014), Board of Veterans' Appeals, 810 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. Where a motion is received prior to 
the assignment of the case to an individual member or panel of members, 
the ruling on the motion will be by the Vice Chairman, who may delegate 
such authority to a Deputy Vice Chairman. If a motion to advance a case 
on the docket is denied, the appellant and his or her representative 
will be immediately notified. If the motion to advance a case on the 
docket is granted, that fact will be noted in the Board's decision when 
rendered.
* * * * *
    (e) Postponement to provide hearing. Any other provision of this 
Rule notwithstanding, a case may be postponed for later consideration 
and determination if such postponement is necessary to afford the 
appellant a hearing.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7107, Pub. Law No. 103-446, Sec. 302)

Sec. 20.609  [Amended]

    6. In Sec. 20.609, paragraph (i) is amended by removing ``the Court 
of Veterans Appeals'' from the next to the last sentence and adding, in 
its place, ``the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims''.


Secs. 20.714, 207.17, and 20.900  [Amended]

    7. Sections 20.714(a)(5), 20.717(b), and 20.900(d) are amended by 
removing ``the United States Court of Veterans Appeals'' wherever it 
appears and, in each such section, adding in its place ``the United 
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims''.

[FR Doc. 00-6613 Filed 3-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 83201-01-P