[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13463-13464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5452]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 19

RIN 2900-AK62


Appeals Regulations: Title for Members of the Board of Veterans' 
Appeals

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans 
Affairs' (VA) Appeals Regulations to provide that a Member of the Board 
of Veterans' Appeals (Board) may also be known as a Veterans Law Judge. 
A companion document in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this 
issue of the Federal Register contains other actions regarding this 
matter.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 7, 2001.

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-AK62.'' All comments received will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Regulations Management, Room 1158, between 
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except 
holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven L. Keller, Senior Deputy Vice 
Chairman (01C), Board of Veterans' Appeals, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420 (202-565-5978).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board is an administrative body that 
decides appeals from denials of claims for veterans' benefits, after an 
opportunity for a hearing. There are currently 59 Board ``Members,'' 
who decide 35,000 to 40,000 such appeals per year.
    Board Members other than the Chairman are appointed by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with the approval of the President of 
the United States, 38 U.S.C. 7101A(a)(1), and must be licensed 
attorneys, 38 U.S.C. 7101A(a)(2). Board Members are compensated at 
rates equivalent to the rates payable to Administrative Law Judges. 38 
U.S.C. 7101A(b).
    In a document published in the Federal Register on September 14, 
2000 (65 FR 55461), we amended VA's Appeals Regulations by providing 
that a Member of the Board may also be known as a Veterans Law Judge. 
Consistent with legal authority, we published the amendment without 
providing an opportunity for notice-and-comment. Six veterans service 
organizations in a letter to the Acting Secretary opposed the amendment 
and argued that they should have been provided an opportunity to 
comment before we made such a change. Under these circumstances, in a 
companion document in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this 
issue of the Federal Register we rescinded the amendment. However, in 
this document we are proposing to amend the regulations to again 
provide that a Member of the Board may also be known as a Veterans Law 
Judge.
    This proposal to allow the use of the title Veterans Law Judge is 
based on the following analyses.
    Throughout the Executive Branch, individuals who decide appeals at 
the administrative level after the opportunity for a hearing--as do 
Board Members--are known as ``judges.'' E.g., ``Administrative Law 
Judges,'' 5 U.S.C. 3105; ``Administrative Appeals Judges'' at the 
Benefits Review Board at the Department of Labor, 20 CFR 801.2; 
``Administrative Judges'' at The Financial Assistance Appeals Board of 
the Department of Energy, 10 CFR 1024.3; ``Administrative Judges'' at 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 29 CFR 1614.109; 
``Administrative Judges'' at the Personnel Appeals Board of the General 
Accounting Office, 4 CFR 28.3; ``Administrative Judges'' at the Merit 
Systems Protection Board, 5 CFR 1201.4; ``Administrative Judges'' at 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 14 CFR 1259.404; and 
``Administrative Judges'' at the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Small 
Business Administration, 13 CFR 134.101. See also ``Administrative 
Appeals Judges'' at the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Social 
Security Administration, 20 CFR 416.924(g) (decide appeals from 
decisions of administrative law judges, but without the opportunity for 
a hearing); ``Immigration Judges'' at the Executive Office for 
Immigration Review in the Department of Justice, 8 CFR 1.1(l) (initial 
decisions in immigration cases).
    In our view, the title Veterans Law Judge would convey a Board 
Member's function to veterans more accurately than the term ``Member.'' 
In addition, we believe that the title would enhance the confidence of 
veterans in the administrative appellate process by providing 
recognition that appeals in the VA system are adjudicated by legal 
professionals, as are benefit appeals in other administrative systems.
    The letter from the six veterans service organizations asserted 
that VA could not accomplish through regulation what Congress chose not 
to do by statute. We are aware of no legal authority to support this 
view. The letter from the six veterans service organizations also 
opposed the proposed change by arguing that the title Veterans Law 
Judge ``will intimidate veterans and could lead them to believe the 
agency is more concerned with formality rather than deciding claims in 
a non-adversarial setting.'' The comments from the six veterans service 
organizations will be considered in connection with any other comments 
received in response to this proposed rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This document contains no provisions constituting a collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

Executive Order 12866

    This document has been reviewed by the Office of Management and 
Budget under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary hereby certifies that this proposed rule would not 
have a

[[Page 13464]]

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. This proposed rule does not affect small businesses. Therefore, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this rule is exempt from the initial and 
final regulatory flexibility analyses requirements of sections 603 and 
604.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 19

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Veterans.

    Dated: February 21, 2001.
Anthony J. Principi,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, we propose to amend 38 CFR 
part 19 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 19.2 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 19.2  Composition of the Board; Titles.

    (a) The Board consists of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Deputy Vice 
Chairmen, Members and professional, administrative, clerical and 
stenographic personnel. Deputy Vice Chairmen are Members of the Board 
who are appointed to that office by the Secretary upon the 
recommendation of the Chairman.
    (b) A Member of the Board (other than the Chairman) may also be 
known as a Veterans Law Judge. An individual designated as an acting 
Member pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7101(c)(1) may also be known as an acting 
Veterans Law Judge.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 512, 7101(a)).
[FR Doc. 01-5452 Filed 3-5-01; 8:45 am]
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