[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 55155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25067]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Reimbursement for Caskets and Urns for Burial of Unclaimed 
Remains in a National Cemetery or a VA-funded State or Tribal Veterans' 
Cemetery

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is updating the 
monetary reimbursement rates for caskets and urns purchased for the 
interment in a VA national cemetery or a VA-funded state or tribal 
veterans' cemetery of Veterans who die with no known next of kin and 
where there are insufficient resources for furnishing a burial 
container. The purpose of this notice is to notify interested parties 
of the rates that will apply to reimbursement claims that occur during 
calendar year (CY) 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Axelbank, Budget Formulation 
Division, National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420. Telephone: (202) 
632-7236 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2306(f) of title 38, U.S.C., 
authorizes VA National Cemetery Administration (NCA) to furnish a 
casket or urn for interment in a VA national cemetery or a VA-funded 
state or tribal veterans' cemetery of the unclaimed remains of Veterans 
for whom VA cannot identify a next of kin and determines that 
sufficient financial resources for the furnishing of a casket or urn 
for burial are not available. VA implemented regulations to administer 
this authority as a reimbursement benefit in section 38.628 of title 
38, Code of Federal Regulations.
    Public Law 114-273 extended VA's authority to furnish a casket or 
urn for interment of the unclaimed remains of Veterans for whom VA 
cannot identify a next of kin and determines that sufficient financial 
resources for the furnishing of a casket or urn for burial are not 
available when those remains are to be buried in a VA national cemetery 
or a VA-funded state or tribal veterans' cemetery. The reimbursement 
amounts shown in this notice are applicable to those interments.
    Reimbursement for a claim received in any CY will not exceed the 
average cost of a 20-gauge metal casket or a durable plastic urn during 
the fiscal year (FY) preceding the CY of the claim. Average costs are 
determined by market analysis for 20-gauge metal caskets, designed to 
contain human remains, with a gasketed seal, and external rails or 
handles. The same analysis is completed for durable plastic urns, 
designed to contain human remains, which include a secure closure to 
contain the cremated remains.
    Using this method of computation, in FY 2017, the average costs for 
caskets were determined to be $2,131 and $169 for urns. Accordingly, 
the reimbursement rates payable for qualifying interments occurring 
during CY 2018 are $2,131 for caskets and $169 for urns.

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Gina S. 
Farrisee, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
approved this document on November 14, 2017, for publication.

    Dated: November 14, 2017.
Jeffrey Martin,
Office Program Manager, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, 
Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-25067 Filed 11-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8320-01-P