[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 7, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63208-63209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19645]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 9

RIN 2900-AQ98


Extension of Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) Application 
Periods in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document adopts without change a Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) interim final rule that extends by 90 days the deadlines 
for former members insured under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance 
(SGLI) to apply for Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) coverage 
following separation from service in order to address the inability of 
former members directly or indirectly affected by the 2019 Novel 
Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency to purchase VGLI. The 
final rule is in effect for one year from the date that the interim 
final rule was published in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective date: October 7, 2020. Applicability date: VA will 
apply the final rule to applications or initial premiums for VGLI 
coverage received on or after June 11, 2020, the effective date of the 
interim final rule, until June 11, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Weaver, Department of Veterans 
Affairs Insurance Service (310/290B), 5000 Wissahickon Avenue, 
Philadelphia, PA 19144, (215) 842-2000, ext. 4263. (This is not a toll-
free number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 11, 2020, VA published an interim 
final rule in the Federal Register (85 FR 35562) to extend by 90 days 
the time periods under 38 CFR 9.2(c) during which former members may 
apply for VGLI. The 90-day extensions for former members to apply for 
VGLI will be in effect from June 11, 2020, through June 11, 2021.
    VA received one comment. The comment stated that extension of the 
deadlines to apply for VGLI should not sunset one year following 
publication of the interim final rule but should instead sunset one 
year after the termination of the public health emergency declared in 
response to the COVID-19 outbreak. See Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 
2020, 85 FR 15337 (Mar. 18, 2020).
    Section 9.2(f)(2) states that the 90-day extensions for former 
members to apply for VGLI ``shall not apply to an application or 
initial premium received after June 11, 2021.'' VA's rationale for 
applying the rule for one year is that VA is obligated to manage VGLI 
according to sound and accepted actuarial principles. See 38 U.S.C. 
1977(c), (f), (g). VA will utilize the one-year time period to gather 
and analyze data on VGLI claims experience to determine if it is 
actuarially sound to further extend the applicability date. VA 
therefore makes no change based on this comment.
    For the reasons stated above and in the interim final rule notice, 
VA will adopt the interim final rule as final, without change.

Administrative Procedure Act

    In the June 11, 2020, Federal Register notice, VA determined that 
there was a basis under the Administrative Procedure Act for issuing 
the interim final rule with immediate effect. We invited and received 
public comment on the interim final rule. This document adopts the 
interim final rule as a final rule without change.

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 Orders 12866, 13563, and 13771

    Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the 
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 effects, and other advantages; distributive impacts; 
and equity). Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory 
Review) emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and 
benefits,

[[Page 63209]]

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. The 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has determined that this 
final rule is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 
12866.
    VA's impact analysis can be found as a supporting document at 
http://www.regulations.gov, usually within 48 hours after the 
rulemaking document is published. Additionally, a copy of the 
rulemaking and its impact analysis are available on VA's website at 
http://www.va.gov/orpm by following the link for ``VA Regulations 
Published From FY 2004 Through Fiscal Year to Date.'' This final rule 
is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because this final 
rule is not significant 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. The provisions contained in this final rulemaking are applicable 
to individual Veterans, and applications for VGLI, as submitted by such 
individuals, are specifically managed and processed within VA and 
through Prudential Insurance Company of America, which is not 
considered to be a small entity. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
605(b), the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do not apply.

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 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 one year. This final rule has no such effect on 
State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private sector.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number and title for the 
program affected by this document is 64.103, Life Insurance for 
Veterans.

Congressional Review Act

    Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this rule 
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 9

    Life insurance, Military personnel, Veterans.

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. Brooks D. 
Tucker, Acting Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved 
this document on September 1, 2020, for publication.

Luvenia Potts,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy & 
Management, Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.

PART 9--SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE AND VETERANS' GROUP 
LIFE INSURANCE

0
Accordingly, the Department of Veterans Affairs is adopting the interim 
final rule amending 38 CFR part 9 that published at 85 FR 35562 on June 
11, 2020, as a final rule without change.

[FR Doc. 2020-19645 Filed 10-6-20; 8:45 am]
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