[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64805-64806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28615]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 20

RIN 2900-AL42


Board of Veterans' Appeals: Rules of Practice; Use of 
Supplemental Statement of the Case

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) 
Board of Veterans' Appeals Rules of Practice to eliminate the 
requirement that an appellant must file a timely Substantive Appeal 
with respect to issues covered in a Supplemental Statement of the Case 
that were not in the original Statement of the Case. This change is 
required to conform the Rules of Practice to recent changes in VA's 
Appeals Regulations.

DATES: Effective Date: November 17, 2003.
    Applicability Date: This amendment applies to appeals for which a 
notice of disagreement was filed on or after November 17, 2003.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) is an 
administrative body that decides appeals from denials by agencies of 
original jurisdiction (AOJs) of claims for veterans' benefits. The AOJ 
is typically one of VA's 57 regional offices administered by the 
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
    A claimant begins the appellate process by filing a Notice of 
Disagreement (NOD) with the AOJ. Following receipt of the NOD, the AOJ 
furnishes the appellant with a Statement of the Case (SOC). The SOC 
provides a

[[Page 64806]]

summary of the evidence considered in the case relating to the issue or 
issues covered in the NOD, a summary of the applicable laws and 
regulations with appropriate citations, and a discussion of how the 
laws and regulations affected the determination of the appellant's 
claim. Generally, a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) is 
furnished to the appellant when additional pertinent evidence is 
received after the SOC, when there was a material defect in the SOC, or 
when, for any other reason, the SOC is inadequate. (These bases apply 
to SSOCs as well as SOCs.)
    Recently, we amended 38 CFR 19.31, part of VA's Appeals Regulations 
relating to the SSOC. 67 FR 3099, 3104 (January 23, 2002). As amended, 
that rule provides that a SSOC will not be used to announce the AOJ's 
decision on an issue not previously addressed in a SOC or to respond to 
a notice of disagreement on a newly appealed issue that was not 
addressed in the SOC. The purpose of that change was to help eliminate 
confusion on the part of appellants as to whether they must respond to 
a SSOC.
    We are amending Rule 302(c) (38 CFR 20.302(c)) and Rule 501(c) (38 
CFR 20.501(c)) of the Board's Rules of Practice for the purpose of 
creating uniformity of practice and procedure and to ensure that there 
is no misunderstanding as to whether an appellant needs to respond to a 
SSOC. Currently, Rules 302(c) and 501(c) provide, in pertinent part, 
that an appellant need not respond to a SSOC to perfect an appeal 
unless the SSOC covers issues that were not included in the original 
SOC. Those Rules further provide that, if a SSOC covers issues that 
were not included in the original SOC, an appellant must file a 
Substantive Appeal with respect to those issues within 60 days in order 
to perfect an appeal with respect to the additional issues. The changes 
made to 38 CFR 19.31 render the foregoing requirements superfluous and 
create the risk of causing confusion to the appellant and VA 
adjudicators.
    Accordingly, we are amending Rule 302(c) and Rule 501(c) to 
eliminate the language relating to responding to ``new issues'' in 
Supplemental Statements of the Case.

Administrative Procedure Act

    This final rule concerns agency organization, procedure or practice 
and, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, is exempt from notice and comment 
requirements.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, 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 
such effect on State, local, or tribal governments, or the private 
sector.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule contains no provisions constituting a collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521).

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has reviewed this document 
under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    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, 5 U.S.C. 601-
612. This rule will affect VA beneficiaries and will not affect small 
businesses. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this final rule is 
exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses 
requirement of sections 603 and 604.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 20

    Administrative practice and procedure, Authority delegations 
(Government agencies), Claims, Lawyers, Legal services, Veterans.

    Approved: September 10, 2003.
Anthony J. Principi,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

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For the reasons set out in the preamble, 38 CFR part 20 is amended as 
follows:

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

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

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a) and as noted in specific sections.

0
2. In Sec.  20.302, paragraph (c) is amended by removing ``appeal, 
unless the Supplemental Statement of the Case covers issues that were 
not included in the original Statement of the Case.'' from the third 
sentence and adding, in its place, ``appeal.''; and by removing the 
fourth sentence.
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3. In Sec.  20.501, paragraph (c), is amended by removing ``appeal, 
unless the Supplemental Statement of the Case covers issues that were 
not included in the original Statement of the Case.'' from the third 
sentence and adding, in its place, ``appeal.''; and by removing the 
fourth sentence.
[FR Doc. 03-28615 Filed 11-14-03; 8:45 am]
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