[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 137 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42879-42880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16308]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 3

RIN 2900-AL12


Exceptions to Definition of Date of Receipt Based on Natural or 
Man-made Disruption of Normal Business Practices

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Interim final rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this 
interim final rule to amend the Veterans Benefits Administration's 
(VBA) adjudication regulations concerning the definition of ``date of 
receipt'' by authorizing the Under Secretary for Benefits to establish 
exceptions to the general rule when a natural or man-made event 
interferes with the channels through which VBA ordinarily receives 
correspondence, resulting in extended delays in receipt of claims, 
information or evidence from claimants served by VBA. Currently, VBA 
receives correspondence through its 57 Regional Offices (RO) and 
through the Appeals Management Center (AMC), which develops claims on 
appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals. The intended effect is to 
ensure that claimants served by the affected VBA office or offices are 
not deprived of potential entitlement to benefits because of unexpected 
delays or impediments not caused by the claimants.

DATES: Effective Date: This interim rule is effective July 19, 2004. 
Comments must be received by September 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by: mail or hand-delivery 
to Director, Regulations Management (00REG1), Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; fax to 
(202) 273-9026; e-mail to [email protected]; or, through 
www.Regulations.gov. Comments should indicate that they are submitted 
in response to ``RIN 2900-AL12.'' All comments received will be 
available for public inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and 
Management, Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 273-9515 for 
an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth McCoy, Consultant, Regulations 
Staff, Compensation and Pension Service (211A), Veterans Benefits 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20420, at 273-7210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 5110 of title 38, United 
States Code, the date of receipt of application generally governs the 
effective date of a VA benefit award by VBA. VA implemented the 
provisions of section 5110 at 38 CFR 3.1(r), which defines ``date of 
receipt'' for purposes of benefit entitlement as the date on which a 
claim, information, or evidence was received in a VBA office, except as 
to specific provisions for claims or evidence received in the State 
Department, Social Security Administration, or Department of Defense.
    A delay in date of receipt of correspondence in VBA could deprive a 
veteran or beneficiary of one or more months of benefits potentially 
amounting to thousands of dollars. For example, under normal conditions 
a claimant could expect VBA to receive his or her application for 
benefits within days of mailing. However, an extended delay in mail 
delivery, such as that resulting from the introduction of anthrax into 
the U.S. postal system in October 2001, could add weeks or months to 
the time it takes VBA to actually receive that application, resulting 
in a later date of entitlement to benefits. Furthermore, such extended 
delay in mail delivery could result in a claimant being barred from 
further pursuing a claim or an appeal even though the claimant mails 
evidence in an otherwise timely manner to comply with a certain 
limitations period.
    Although the regulations allow VBA to grant extensions on time 
limits in individual cases for good cause shown as under 38 CFR 
3.109(b), the regulations currently do not provide any exception for 
widespread delays in receipt of claims or evidence, such as that 
experienced primarily by three VBA Regional Offices--Newark RO, New 
York RO and Washington (DC) RO--following the anthrax postal 
contamination in October 2001. Delays in receipt of claims or evidence 
due to events of natural or man-made origin threaten impairment or loss 
of benefits for VA claimants through no fault of their own.
    VA wishes to protect the interests of claimants who send 
correspondence to VBA through the normal channels of communication from 
being deprived of benefits to which they are entitled solely because 
those channels of communication have been disrupted due to events 
outside of the claimants' control.
    Accordingly, through this interim final rule, we are amending Sec.  
3.1(r) to give the Under Secretary for Benefits authority to establish 
exceptions to the rule governing date of receipt when he or she 
determines that natural or man-made disruption of the normal channels 
of communication results in one or more VBA offices experiencing 
extended delays in the receipt of correspondence, including claims, 
information, and evidence. This permits the Under Secretary to 
immediately address emergency situations, such as an event delaying 
mail delivery or a disaster at a VBA office location that bars access 
to the building, and to avoid adverse consequences to claimants who 
otherwise have followed a normal course of seeking entitlement to VA 
benefits. It also permits a centralized and coordinated response to 
emergency situations, thereby avoiding possible inconsistent responses 
to such crises within and among regions. To determine the date of 
receipt, the Under Secretary alternatively would use factors such as 
the postmark or the date that the claimant signs his or her 
correspondence. The scope of the Under Secretary's action would depend 
on the scope of the crisis that prevents the timely delivery or receipt 
of correspondence. If the crisis were national, the Under Secretary 
would have the authority to declare a nationwide exception to the 
definition. If the crisis were merely regional, however, or were 
confined to a particular RO or the AMC, the Under Secretary's 
declaration of an exception would apply to that region or office only.
    Under section 501(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs has the authority to prescribe 
regulations respecting ``the nature and extent of proof and evidence 
and the method of taking and furnishing them in order to establish the 
right to benefits under such laws.'' Regulations defining when a claim 
for benefits, or evidence or information, is ``received'' by VBA fall 
within this category. Further, under section 512(a) of the same title, 
the Secretary may delegate his or her authority to carry out certain 
functions and duties to subordinate officials as he or she finds 
necessary. In this case, we designate the Under Secretary for Benefits 
as the official authorized to establish and implement

[[Page 42880]]

the necessary exceptions to the rule governing date of receipt because 
he or she provides technical expertise and advice to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs on veterans benefits issues and is well qualified to 
exercise this authority in an expeditious, objective, and impartial 
manner. Further, there is no need to elevate these determinations to 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    We are publishing this amendment as an interim final rule. We do 
not believe that it is necessary to issue a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) as a prelude because there is ``good cause'' for 
dispensing with the customary procedure of notice and comment in this 
case under section 553(b)(B) of title 5, United States Code. This rule 
is designed to address emergency situations by compensating for delays 
in the delivery of important information that those situations could 
create. It applies to unforeseen situations that may arise at any time 
in the future and can only redound to the public's benefit in its 
operation. It would therefore be contrary to the public interest to 
delay the publication and operation of this rule because an emergency 
situation requiring its operation could arise at any time, including 
the time that it would take to publish this rule by conventional means. 
It would be contrary to the public interest to delay the publication of 
this rule when it so clearly benefits the public in an emergency that 
could happen at any time. Further, this rule does not impose any 
additional obligations or have any adverse effects on claimants, as it 
insures that claimants may establish entitlement to benefits they 
otherwise would have had but for the occurrence of a special or 
unforeseen circumstance.
    Because it would permit VA to respond to an emergency situation 
that could arise at any time, and because it imposes no additional 
obligations, we find that publication of this rule as an interim rule 
serves the public interest. VA will consider comments received during 
the comment period for this interim rule (see DATES section). After the 
comment period closes, VA will publish another document in the Federal 
Register to discuss any comments received in response to this interim 
rule and any amendments made as a result of those comments.
    For the reasons stated above in connection with our discussion of 
section 553(b)(B), we find that there is ``good cause'' under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3) for making this rule effective on the date of its publication 
in the Federal Register. Our intent is that the rule shall apply to 
claims filed on or after the date of publication. We see no reason to 
give this rule retroactive effect because we do not believe that there 
is any mail affected by the anthrax incident that is still outstanding, 
and we are not aware of any man-made or natural disruption other than 
the anthrax incident that precipitated delays in the receipt of 
correspondence. In addition, this rule certainly ``grants or recognizes 
an exemption or relieves a restriction'' under section 553(d)(1).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because no notice of proposed rule making was required in 
connection with the adoption of this interim 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 
regulatory amendment will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities as they are defined in the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612. Only VA 
beneficiaries could be directly affected. Therefore, pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 605(b), this amendment is exempt from the initial and final 
regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.

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 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 rule would have no such effect 
on State, local, or tribal governments, or the private sector.

Executive Order 12866

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

Paperwork Reduction Act

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

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers are 
64.100 through 64.110 and 64.127.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3

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

    Approved: April 9, 2004.
Anthony J. Principi,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 38 CFR part 3 is amended as 
follows:

PART 3--ADJUDICATION

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

0
1. The authority citation for Part 3, subpart A continues to read as 
follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  3.1, paragraph (r) is amended by adding at the end of the 
paragraph the following:


Sec.  3.1  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (r) * * * However, the Under Secretary for Benefits may establish, 
by notice published in the Federal Register, exceptions to this rule, 
using factors such as postmark or the date the claimant signed the 
correspondence, when he or she determines that a natural or man-made 
interference with the normal channels through which the Veterans 
Benefits Administration ordinarily receives correspondence has resulted 
in one or more Veterans Benefits Administration offices experiencing 
extended delays in receipt of claims, information, or evidence from 
claimants served by the affected office or offices to an extent that, 
if not addressed, would adversely affect such claimants through no 
fault of their own.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 512(a), 5110)

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-16308 Filed 7-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P