[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 84119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28344]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900-0500]


Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: 
Mandatory Verification of Dependents

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans 
Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), 
Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of 
information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature 
of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and it 
includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Refer to 
``OMB Control No. 2900-0500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danny S. Green, Enterprise Records 
Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 421-1354 or email [email protected]. 
Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0500'' in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501.
    Title: Mandatory Verification of Dependents (VA Form 21-0538).
    OMB Control Number: 2900-0500.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: VA Form 21-0538 is used to request verification of the 
status of dependents for whom additional compensation is being paid to 
veterans. Without this information, continued entitlement to the 
benefits for dependents could not be determined.
    VA Form 21-0538 has been revised; (1) letter template removed as it 
was a duplicate of a VA cover letter already in use, (2) the title has 
been changed from `Mandatory Status of Dependents' to Mandatory 
Verification of Dependents, (3) Section II: Status Certification, was 
added to help delineate whether the veteran is needed to provide 
additional information on the status of their dependents, or not, (4) 
the form was changed to include removals only as these are dependents 
that have already been previously added to the veteran's benefits, as 
another collection is used to add dependents, and (5) an e-signature 
has been added to provide a digital format for online signatures. The 
burden estimate has also been decreased.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published at 85 FR 196 on October 8, 2020, pages 63661 
and 63662.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 29,233 hours.
    Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 10 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: One time.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 175,400.

    By direction of the Secretary:
Danny S. Green,
VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of Quality, Performance and Risk, 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020-28344 Filed 12-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P