[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14803-14804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07078]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Parts 3 and 5

RIN 2900-AO13


VA Compensation and Pension Regulation Rewrite Project

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Withdrawal of proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on November 27, 2013, 
proposing to reorganize and rewrite its compensation and pension 
regulations in a logical, claimant focused, and user-friendly format. 
The intended effect of the proposed revisions was to assist claimants, 
beneficiaries, veterans' representatives, and VA personnel in locating 
and understanding these regulations. VA has since determined that an 
incremental approach to revising these regulations is the only feasible 
method for the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) as it exists 
today. Therefore, VA is withdrawing the proposed rule, RIN 2900-AO13-VA 
Compensation and Pension Regulation Rewrite Project, that was published 
on November 27, 2013, at 78 FR 71,042.

DATES: The proposed rule published on November 27, 2013, at 78 FR 
71,042, is withdrawn as of April 6, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael P. Shores, Director, Office of 
Regulations Policy & Management (00REG), Office of the Secretary, 
Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20420, (202) 461-4902 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The VA Office of the Secretary provides 
centralized management and coordination of VA's rulemaking process 
through its Office of Regulation Policy and Management (ORPM). ORPM 
oversaw VA's Regulation Rewrite Project (the Project) to improve the 
organization and clarity of VA's adjudication regulations, which are in 
current 38 CFR part 3. These regulations govern the adjudication of 
claims for VA's monetary benefits (including compensation, pension, 
dependency and indemnity compensation, and burial benefits), which are 
administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
    The Project responded to a recommendation made by the VA Claims 
Processing Task Force in its October 2001 ``Report to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs'' and to criticisms of VA regulations by the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The Task Force recommended that 
VA reorganize its regulations in a logical, coherent manner. The Court 
referred to the current regulations as a ``confusing tapestry'' and 
criticized VA for maintaining substantive rules in its Adjudication 
Procedures Manual (manual). Accordingly, the Project reviewed the 
manual to identify provisions that might be substantive and proposed to 
incorporate those provisions in a complete rewrite of part 3 that would 
be located at a new part 5. To be clear, the goal was never to 
substantively alter the law pertaining to VA monetary benefits, but to 
convey this law (to include current regulations, VA General Counsel 
opinions, court decisions, and substantive manual provisions) in 
readable language and an organized format. 78 FR at 71,042; see also 79 
FR 57,660, 57,678 (Sep. 25, 2014) (commenting on the scope of the 
Rewrite Project).
    VA published the rewritten material in 20 Notices of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRMs) and gave interested persons 60 days to submit 
comments after each publication. These NPRMs addressed specific topics, 
programs, or groups of regulatory material organized under the 
following Rulemaking Identifier Numbers (RIN):

 RIN 2900-AL67, Service Requirements for Veterans (January 30, 
2004)
 RIN 2900-AL70, Presumptions of Service Connection for Certain 
Disabilities, and Related Matters (July 27, 2004)
 RIN 2900-AL71, Accrued Benefits, Death Compensation, and 
Special Rules Applicable Upon Death of a Beneficiary (October 1, 2004)

[[Page 14804]]

 RIN 2900-AL72, Burial Benefits (April 8, 2008)
 RIN 2900-AL74, Apportionments to Dependents and Payments to 
Fiduciaries and Incarcerated Beneficiaries (January 14, 2011)
 RIN 2900-AL76, Benefits for Certain Filipino Veterans and 
Survivors (June 30, 2006)
 RIN 2900-AL82, Rights and Responsibilities of Claimants and 
Beneficiaries (May 10, 2005)
 RIN 2900-AL83, Elections of Improved Pension; Old-Law and 
Section 306 Pension (December 27, 2004)
 RIN 2900-AL84, Special and Ancillary Benefits for Veterans, 
Dependents, and Survivors (March 9, 2007)
 RIN 2900-AL87, General Provisions (March 31, 2006)
 RIN 2900-AL88, Special Ratings (October 17, 2008)
 RIN 2900-AL89, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Benefits 
(October 21, 2005)
 RIN 2900-AL94, Dependents and Survivors (September 20, 2006)
 RIN 2900-AL95, Payments to Beneficiaries Who Are Eligible for 
More than One Benefit (October 2, 2007)
 RIN 2900-AM01, General Evidence Requirements, Effective Dates, 
Revision of Decisions, and Protection of Existing Ratings (May 22, 
2007)
 RIN 2900-AM04, Improved Pension (September 26, 2007)
 RIN 2900-AM05, Matters Affecting the Receipt of Benefits (May 
31, 2006)
 RIN 2900-AM06, Payments and Adjustments to Payments (October 
31, 2008)
 RIN 2900-AM07, Service-Connected Disability Compensation 
(September 1, 2010)
 RIN 2900-AM16, VA Benefit Claims (April 14, 2008)

    VA received numerous comments to the 20 NPRMs and on November 27, 
2013, proposed amendments to the 20 NPRMs in one document, RIN 2900-
AO13. 78 FR at 71,042. VA received additional comments on AO13, from 
private individuals and several Veterans Service Organizations, and VA 
thanks the commenters for the time they invested and their input.
    As noted in RIN 2900-AO13, in 2012, the Veterans Benefits 
Administration (VBA) formulated a Transformation Plan to improve the 
delivery of benefits to veterans and their dependents and survivors. 78 
FR at 71,043. VA acknowledged that, to ensure successful implementation 
of the plan, a final rule with regard to the Rewrite Project would not 
be published in the near future and would ultimately require an 
evaluation of the feasibility of a one-time implementation of proposed 
Part 5. Id. In the interim, VA assured, Part 3 regulations would be 
updated and improved as needed, to include the type of readability 
changes proposed for Part 5. Id.
    Over the past five years, such updates have occurred, see, e.g., 79 
FR 32,653 (June 6, 2014) (implementing improvements sourced in RIN 
2900-AL72), and VA proposes to continue this current rulemaking 
approach--updating Part 3 and Part 4 as needed--but at an accelerated 
pace designed to also incorporate needed changes from proposed Part 5 
for clarity and simplicity. Thus, it will not be adopting a one-time 
implementation of proposed Part 5. This will avoid the inevitable 
confusion caused by two co-existing sets of regulations and manuals 
that may or may not be applicable depending on the date of the claim. 
It will avoid the delays and decreases in productivity inherent in any 
transition where adjudicators have to familiarize themselves with all 
new sections and provisions. It will also ease programming complexity 
and allow VBA to manage the risk associated with the transition to 
revised regulations. VA has already undertaken a review to identify and 
prioritize the needs and expectations for incorporating proposed Part 5 
improvements, where possible, into the current Part 3 and Part 4.
    Phased implementation allows for incremental assessment and 
development of the required system modifications. Controlling the rate 
of rewrite implementation allows VBA to retain, plan for, and mitigate 
adverse system impacts and development needs by reordering phases as 
necessary. The plan also affords VBA flexibility in scaling personnel 
and other resource allocations to each new phase, if necessary. One-
time implementation would require extensive training for personnel, as 
well as costs associated with IT equipment, installation, maintenance, 
support, and system updates. Even though the proposed rules were not 
intended to alter substantive law, they would alter the terminology, 
section numbers, and organization of the current regulations upon which 
current VA systems, applications, forms, and tools are based. Thus, 
one-time implementation would involve a rework of numerous computer-
based processing applications, claims-related training tools and 
materials, quality assurance tools, claims-related forms, and the 
Adjudication Procedures Manual. It would syphon resources from existing 
modernization priorities, such as improvements to the Veterans Benefits 
Management System and National Work Queue. This phased rollout 
minimizes disruption of these major IT modernization projects, as well 
as other VA initiatives requiring substantial personnel or training.
    Changes in Part 3 and Part 4 regulations, to include incorporation 
of proposed Part 5 improvements, where appropriate, can be achieved 
over a number of years. Some of these changes are already underway, 
with VA's modernized Part 4, VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities, 
slated for publication in the near future. This multi-year approach 
minimizes disruption on field operations (and ultimately claim 
production and accuracy), as well as VBA Central Office staffing 
required to implement the revised regulations.
    For the above reasons, VA is withdrawing RIN 2900-AO13.

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. Jacquelyn 
Hayes-Byrd, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
approved this document on April 3, 2018, for publication.

    Dated: April 3, 2018.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Impact Analyst, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of the 
Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-07078 Filed 4-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8320-01-P