[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17169-17171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05852]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 38

RIN 2900-AR81


Names for National Cemeteries and Features

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to remove its 
regulation concerning the naming of cemeteries and features. VA is 
proposing this action because, after reviewing internal policy and 
processes, VA determined this regulation is obsolete and unnecessary. 
When VA promulgated this regulation, VA's cemetery naming activities 
were supported by statute and served a purely administrative function 
that did not change existing law or policy and did not affect 
individual rights or obligations. The activities therefore did not 
require a regulation to effectuate. However, now that the regulation is 
in effect, removing it would change existing policy, which requires a 
rulemaking. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (the Secretary) has 
authority for naming Department property and has delegated in 
regulation the authority for naming features within national cemeteries 
to the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, who is the head of VA's 
National Cemetery Administration.

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Therefore, this action is under the authority of the National Cemetery 
Administration.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 22, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted through www.regulations.gov. 
Except as provided below, comments received before the close of the 
comment period will be available at www.regulations.gov for public 
viewing, inspection, or copying, including any personally identifiable 
or confidential business information that is included in a comment. We 
post the comments received before the close of the comment period on 
the following website as soon as possible after they have been 
received: http://www.regulations.gov. VA will not post on 
Regulations.gov public comments that make threats to individuals or 
institutions or suggest that the commenter will take actions to harm 
the individual. VA encourages individuals not to submit duplicative 
comments. We will post acceptable comments from multiple unique 
commenters even if the content is identical or nearly identical to 
other comments. Any public comment received after the comment period's 
closing date is considered late and may not be considered in the final 
rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Myers, Management and Program 
Analyst, Legislative and Regulatory Service (42E), National Cemetery 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20420. Telephone: (202) 717-2979 (this is not a toll-
free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Generally, 5 U.S.C. chapter 5 establishes 
procedures by which Federal agencies can formulate regulations, and 5 
U.S.C. 553 addresses which agency rulemakings require ``notice and 
comment'' and publication in the Federal Register. Also, 38 U.S.C. 
501(a) gives the Secretary ``authority to prescribe all rules and 
regulations which are necessary or appropriate to carry out the laws 
administered by the Department.'' Under this broad authority, the 
Secretary is also authorized to repeal rules or regulations that are 
neither necessary nor appropriate to carry out the laws administered by 
the Department. See generally 5 U.S.C. 551(5) (defining ``rule making'' 
to include ``repealing a rule.'').
    The Secretary's authority for naming cemeteries is codified in 38 
U.S.C. 531, and the Secretary's authority for naming features within 
national cemeteries is delegated to the Under Secretary for Memorial 
Affairs in 38 CFR 2.6(f)(4).
    In January 1978, VA proposed regulations (43 FR 1628 (January 11, 
1978)) related to the operation of the National Cemetery System. The 
proposed regulations were to provide rules for the Advisory Committee 
on Cemeteries and Memorials, the naming of national cemeteries and 
activities and features therein, acceptance of gifts and donations, and 
other topics. The proposed rule for naming cemetery activities 
unnecessarily restated both the statutory authority of the Secretary 
for naming national cemeteries and the authority delegated to the Under 
Secretary for Memorial Affairs in Sec.  2.6(f)(4) to name features in 
national cemeteries. It also included a paragraph establishing the 
basis for names and stated that names of cemetery activities may be 
based on physical and area characteristics, the nearest important city 
(town), or a historical characteristic related to the area. The rule 
also stated that newly constructed interior thoroughfares for vehicular 
traffic will be known as ```drives' '' and will be named after cities, 
counties, or States or after historically notable persons, places, or 
events. The rule became final on June 14, 1978.
    The VA's National Cemetery Administration (NCA) honors Veterans and 
their eligible family members with final resting places in national 
shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service to and 
sacrifice for our nation. As part of that mission, NCA owns and 
operates 155 national cemeteries covering more than 22,000 acres of 
land from Hawaii to Maine, and from Alaska to Puerto Rico.
    In 1998, with sec. 1001 of the Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 
1998, Pub. L. 105-368, 112 Stat. 3315, Congress amended Title 38 of the 
U.S. Code to add sec. 531, which established the statutory requirement 
relating to naming of VA property. Effective on November 12, 1998, 
Department facilities, structures, or real property or major portions 
thereof may only be named for the geographic area in which the 
facility, structure or property is located. In a recent review of 
policy for naming national cemeteries and features, VA determined the 
addition of sec. 531 makes the 1978 rule no longer necessary or 
appropriate. For these reasons, VA proposes to remove 38 CFR 38.602.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    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, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. 
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has determined that 
this rule is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 
12866. The Regulatory Impact Analysis associated with this rulemaking 
can be found as a supporting document at www.regulations.gov.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains no provisions constituting a collection 
of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3521).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary hereby certifies that this proposed rule would 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 naming of national cemeteries and features is an 
internal operations function that only affects VA national cemeteries. 
As well this proposed rule revokes the existing regulation and will 
have no economic impact on small entities. 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 1 (one) year. This proposed rule would have no such 
effect on State, local, and Tribal governments, or on the private 
sector.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 38

    Administrative practice and procedure, Cemeteries, Veterans.

Signing Authority

    Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this 
document on March 16, 2023, and

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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.

Luvenia Potts,
Regulations Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy & 
Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, and under the authority of 
38 U.S.C. 501, the Department of Veterans Affairs proposes to amend 38 
CFR part 38 as follows:

PART 38--NATIONAL CEMETERIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

0
1. The authority citation for part 38 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 107, 501, 512, 2306, 2400, 2402, 2403, 
2404, 2407, 2408, 2411, 7105.


Sec.  38.602  [Removed]

0
2. Remove Sec.  38.602.

[FR Doc. 2023-05852 Filed 3-21-23; 8:45 am]
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