[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 26, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45952-45953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18688]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 3

RIN 2900-AK07


Signature by Mark

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) regulation that explains how a claimant can use a mark or 
a thumbprint in place of a signature. The intended effect of this 
amendment is to present the existing regulation in ``plain language'' 
and to remove an obsolete manual provision from VA's Adjudication 
Procedure Manual, M21-1.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver written comments to: Director, Office 
of Regulations Management (02D), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave., NW., Room 1154, Washington, DC 20420; or fax comments to 
(202) 273-9289; or e-mail comments to [email protected]. 
Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to ``RIN 
2900-AK07.'' All comments received will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Regulations Management, Room 1158, between 
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except 
holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Candice Weaver, Consultant, Advisory 
and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Staff, Compensation and 
Pension Service, or Bob White, Team Leader, Plain Language Regulations 
Project, Veterans Benefits Administration, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20420, telephone 202/273-7235 and 202/273-7228 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA proposes to rewrite 38 CFR 3.113 in plain 
language. This regulation explains VA's requirements for the use of a 
mark or thumbprint in place of a signature. It is currently located 
under subpart A of part 3. We propose to create new Sec. 3.2130 to 
restate the current regulation, incorporating its provisions with no 
substantive changes. The proposed section would be located in new 
Subpart D, Universal Adjudication Rules. We are also proposing new 
Sec. 3.2100, which will specify the scope of applicability of the 
provisions in subpart D.
    The Adjudication Procedure Manual, at M21-1, part IV, ch. 29, 
paragraph b(2), instructs that Eligibility Verification Reports (EVR) 
signed by mark or thumbprint must be accompanied by a separate sheet of 
paper that includes a certification that the information contained on 
the form is true and correct. In the past, income questionnaire forms 
included a statement certifying the accuracy of the information 
provided. When the forms were changed to small cards, a separate sheet 
of paper was needed for the signatures and addresses of the witnesses 
to the claimants' marks or thumbprints, and the certification 
statement. Current EVR forms are larger and they do not include 
certification statements. Rather, they include a caution regarding the 
willful submission of false information. VA believes the requirement 
for a separate sheet of paper containing a certification statement is 
now obsolete and proposes to formally withdraw paragraph b(2) from the 
Adjudication Procedure Manual.

[[Page 45953]]

    Proposed section 3.2130, paragraph (c) eliminates reference to the 
VA Form 4505 series as giving authority to VA employees to certify 
signatures by mark or thumbprint and substitutes a reference to 38 CFR 
2.3. It is regulations, not forms, that give certain VA employees the 
authority to take affidavits, administer oaths, and certify documents. 
The regulations are also more readily available to the general public 
than VA Forms are. We believe this change more clearly identifies the 
VA employees authorized to certify signatures by mark or thumbprint.
    This rulemaking is partly a response to the Presidential Memorandum 
on Plain Language, dated June 1, 1998 (63 FR 31885-86), and addressed 
to the heads of executive departments and agencies. The memorandum 
stated the President's goal to make government more responsive, 
accessible, and comprehensible in its communications with the public. 
As an integral part of his program, the President urged departments and 
agencies to consider rewriting existing regulations in plain language 
when they have the opportunity and resources to do so.
    This rulemaking also addresses commentary from the judicial branch. 
In Zang v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 246, 255 (1995) (Steinberg, J., separate 
views), the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the Court) pointed to 
a ```confusing tapestry' of VA regulations which should be the subject 
of review and reevaluation by the Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] with 
a view toward providing clear guidance for the adjudication of VA 
benefits claims.''
    In response to the President's memorandum and the Court's 
commentary, VA has undertaken a long-term, comprehensive project to 
revise its adjudication regulations. The Plain Language Regulations 
Project is charged with reorganizing and rewriting in plain language 
the adjudication regulations in part 3 of title 38, Code of Federal 
Regulations. The project team will use Reader-Focused Writing 
techniques to the extent possible while remaining faithful to the 
policies and mandates expressed in current statutes, regulations, and 
case law.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act requires (in section 202) that 
agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and benefits before 
developing any rule that may result in an expenditure by state, local, 
or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of 
$100 million or more in any given year. This final rule will have no 
consequential effect on state, local, or tribal governments.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary certifies that the adoption of the proposed rule 
would 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. The proposed rule does not directly affect any small 
entities. Only VA beneficiaries could be directly affected. Therefore, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), these amendments are exempt from the 
initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of 
sections 603 and 604.
    The catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers for this 
proposal includes 64.100, 64.101, 64.104, 64.105, 64.109, 64.110, and 
64.127.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Disability benefits, 
Health care, Pensions, Veterans, Vietnam.

    Approved: July 13, 2000.
Togo D. West, Jr.,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, VA proposes to amend 38 
CFR part 3 as follows:

PART 3--ADJUDICATION

Subpart A--Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity 
Compensation

    1. The authority citation for part 3, subpart A continues to read 
as follows:

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


Sec. 3.113   [Removed]

    2. Section 3.113 is removed.

Subpart C--[Reserved]

    3. Subpart C is added and reserved.
    4. A new Subpart D is added to read as follows:

Subpart D--Universal Adjudication Rules That Apply to Benefit 
Claims Governed by Part 3 of This Title

General

Sec.
3.2100   Scope of Applicability
3.2130   Will VA accept a signature by mark or thumbprint?

Subpart D--Universal Adjudication Rules That Apply to Benefit 
Claims Governed by Part 3 of This Title

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

General


Sec. 3.2100  Scope of Applicability.

    Unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this subpart apply 
only to claims governed by part 3 of this title.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a))


Sec. 3.2130  Will VA accept a signature by mark or thumbprint?

    VA will accept signatures by mark or thumbprint if:
    (a) They are witnessed by two people who sign their names and give 
their addresses, or
    (b) They are certified by a notary public or any other person 
having the authority to administer oaths for general purposes, or
    (c) They are certified by a VA employee who has been delegated 
authority by the Secretary under 38 CFR 2.3.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5101)

[FR Doc. 00-18688 Filed 7-25-00; 8:45 am]
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