[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22103-22104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10982]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 3

RIN 2900-AM98


Reimbursement for Interment Costs

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
adjudication regulations on burial benefits to incorporate a change 
made by the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007. 
Specifically, this document eliminates a 2-year time limitation for 
States to file with VA claims for reimbursement of interment costs. The 
removal of this time limitation is necessary to conform the regulations 
to recent legislation and governing statutes.

DATES: Effective Date: This amendment is effective May 12, 2009.
    Applicability Date: In accordance with section 202(a)(2) of the Dr. 
James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007, this amendment will 
apply with respect to interments and inurnments of unclaimed remains of 
deceased veterans occurring on or after October 1, 2006. This amendment 
will apply to all other interments and inurnments occurring on or after 
the date of publication in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Kniffen, Chief of Regulations 
Staff (211D), Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-9725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3.1604 of title 38, Code of Federal 
Regulations, governs VA burial benefits when non-VA sources have paid 
or contributed to burial expenses. Section 3.1604(d) governs payment of 
the plot or interment allowance to a State or political subdivision of 
a State. Section 3.1604(d)(2) governs claims for the plot or interment 
allowance, and the second sentence in Sec.  3.1604(d)(2) requires that 
such a claim be filed with VA within 2 years after the permanent burial 
or cremation of the body. Section 202(a) of the Dr. James Allen Veteran 
Vision Equity Act of 2007, Public Law 110-157, repealed this second 
sentence as it pertains to unclaimed remains of a deceased veteran.
    Although the legislation removed the 2-year time limit only for 
claims regarding the unclaimed remains of a deceased veteran, we have 
decided to eliminate the 2-year time limit on all claims for plot or 
interment allowances.
    Currently, 38 U.S.C. 2304 contains the only statutory time 
limitation on the filing of an application for burial benefits within 
title 38, United States Code. Section 2304 requires that applications 
for payment of the burial allowance for non-service-connected deaths 
under 38 U.S.C. 2302 must be filed within 2 years after the burial of 
the veteran. However, this time limit does not extend to the plot or 
interment allowance authorized by 38 U.S.C. 2303(b), the benefit Sec.  
3.1604(d)(2) governs. Therefore, we are removing the second and the 
third sentences of current Sec.  3.1604(d)(2), which limit the time for 
filing claims for the plot or interment allowance under section 
2303(b).

Administrative Procedure Act

    This final rule merely conforms VA regulations governing burial 
benefits to a recent legislative change and relieves a restriction 
(eliminates a time limit). Accordingly, there is good cause for 
dispensing with the notice-and-comment and delayed-effective-date 
procedures otherwise required by 5 U.S.C. 553 because such procedures 
are impractical, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest.

Paperwork Reduction Act

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

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. The Secretary does acknowledge that this final rule may affect 
some States and political subdivisions of States, including a few 
political subdivisions of States that may be considered small entities; 
however, the economic impact is not significant. This final rule does 
not impose any new requirements on States or political subdivisions of 
States in order to receive the burial benefits governed by 38 CFR 
3.1604. It merely eliminates the time restriction on when they may file 
for such benefits. To the extent that small entities are affected, the 
impact of this amendment is both minimal and entirely beneficial. 
Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this final rule is exempt from 
the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of 
sections 603 and 604.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 directs agencies to assess all costs and 
benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, when regulation is 
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits 
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, 
and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity). The Executive 
Order classifies a ``significant regulatory action,'' requiring review 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as any regulatory action 
that is likely to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect 
on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a 
material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, 
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, 
local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious 
inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by 
another agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of 
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and 
obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy 
issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or 
the principles set forth in the Executive Order.
    The economic, interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy 
implications of this final rule have been examined, and it has been 
determined not to be a significant regulatory action under Executive 
Order 12866.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 
1532, that agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and 
benefits before issuing any rule that may result in the

[[Page 22104]]

expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually 
for inflation) in any year. This final rule would have no such effect 
on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private sector.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers and Titles

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers and 
titles for this rule are 64.101, Burial Expenses Allowance for 
Veterans; 64.201, National Cemeteries; 64.203, State Cemetery Grants.

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, 2009.
John R. Gingrich,
Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs.

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

PART 3--ADJUDICATION

Subpart B--Burial Benefits

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

    Authority:  105 Stat. 386, 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 2302-2308, unless 
otherwise noted.

Sec.  3.1604  [Amended]

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2. Amend Sec.  3.1604(d)(2) by removing the second and third sentences.

[FR Doc. E9-10982 Filed 5-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P