[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44185-44189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14569]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, notice is hereby given 
that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to modify an 
existing system of records, ``Veterans Appellate Records System--VA'' 
(44VA01). This system is used by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) 
to process and track appeals, hearing requests, and information related 
to appeals of benefits decisions issued by the Veterans Benefits 
Administration (VBA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and 
National Cemetery Administration (NCA).

DATES: Comments on this modified system of records must be received no 
later than 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. 
If no public comment is received during the period allowed for comment 
or unless otherwise published in the Federal Register by VA, the 
modified system of records will become effective a minimum of 30 days 
after date of publication in the Federal Register. If VA receives 
public comments, VA shall review the comments to determine whether any 
changes to the notice are necessary.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through www.Regulations.gov or 
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005R1A), 
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted 
in response to ``Veterans Appellate Records System--VA'' (44VA01). 
Comments received will be available at regulations.gov for public 
viewing, inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kary Charlebois, 
[email protected], Chief, Privacy Act & FOIA, Board of Veterans' 
Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20420, (202) 382-2906.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board proposes to add records from two 
new IT systems to this system of records:
    1. The first new IT system is Caseflow, which is the Board's 
appeals management system, used to track and process appeals 
adjudicated under the Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act 
of 2017 (AMA), or the modernized system.
    2. The second new IT system is the Veterans Benefits Management 
System (VBMS). The Board utilizes the VBMS eFolder to store files 
related to appeals from non-VBMS business lines, such as the Veterans 
Health Administration (VHA). Storing the electronic files in VBMS 
allows for adjudication of the appeal utilizing Caseflow, which pulls 
from VBMS.
    The Board proposes to add a new routine as routine use #19 which 
will permit the release of information from this system of records to 
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in connection with the 
application or effect of civil service laws, rules, regulations, or OPM 
guidelines in particular situations.
    The Board is removing routine use #14 covering disclosure to the 
Comptroller General.
    The Board is also revising the following routine uses:
    1. Routine use #1 has been renumbered as routine use #5, to alert 
law enforcement personnel and security guards to the presence of 
dangerous persons in VA facilities or at VA activities conducted in 
non-VA facilities.
    2. Routine use #2 has been revised and renumbered as routine use #4 
for disclosure of information relevant to a suspected or reasonably 
imminent violation of law.
    3. Routine use #3 has been renumbered as routine use #13 for 
disclosure for the development of a claimant's claim for VA benefits.
    4. Routine use #4 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#1, for disclosure to a congressional office.
    5. Routine use #5 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#11, for disclosure to the National Archives and Records 
Administration.
    6. Routine use #6 has been renumbered as routine use #14, for 
disclosure to a former representative of a beneficiary.
    7. Routine use #7 has been renumbered as routine use #15, for 
disclosure related to the legality or ethical propriety of the conduct 
of a person or organization prospectively, presently, or formerly 
representing a person in a matter before VA.
    8. Routine use #8 has been renumbered as routine use #16, for 
disclosure to the VA-appointed representative of an employee.
    9. Routine use #9 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#10 for disclosure to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
    10. Routine use #10 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#8 for disclosure to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
    11. Routine use #11 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#9 for disclosure to the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
    12. Routine use #12 has been renumbered as routine use #17 for 
disclosure to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
    13. Routine use #13 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#18, for disclosure to accredited service organizations, VA-approved 
claim agents, and attorneys acting under a declaration of 
representation.
    14. Routine use #15 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#6, for disclosure to the Department of Justice, or in a proceeding 
before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body before 
which VA is authorized to appear.
    15. Routine use #16 has been revised and renumbered as routine use 
#7 for disclosure to contractors and others doing work for VA.
    16. Routine use #17 has been renumbered as routine use #12 for 
disclosure to other Federal agencies to assist in preventing and 
detecting possible fraud or abuse.
    17. Routine use 18 has been removed and replaced with routine uses 
#2 and #3, for VA data breach response and remediation, and for data 
breach

[[Page 44186]]

response and remediation for another federal agency.

Signing Authority

    The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, 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. Kurt D. 
DelBene, Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief 
Information Officer, approved this document on May 31, 2023 for 
publication.

    Dated: July 6, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Government Information Specialist, VA Privacy Service, Office of 
Compliance, Risk and Remediation, Office of Information and Technology, 
Department of Veterans Affairs.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Veterans Appellate Records System--VA (44VA01).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, at the Wilkes-Barre 
VA facility, 1127 East End Boulevard, Building 42, Wilkes-Barre, PA 
18702, and with the Board's contractor, Promisel & Korn, Inc., 3228 
Amberley Lane, Fairfax, VA 22031, and in the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) 
AWS GovCloud region in Oregon.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Chairman (01), and Eric Hickam, [email protected], 512-375-2520, 
Board of Veterans' Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Title 38 U.S.C. chapter 71, Sec.  5904.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    Initial decisions on claims for Federal Veterans' benefits are made 
at VA field offices throughout the nation. Claimants may appeal those 
decisions to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. See 38 U.S.C. Chapter 71. 
The Board gathers or creates the records in this system in order to 
carry out its appellate function, to statistically evaluate the 
appellate process, and to evaluate employee performance.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Veterans and other individuals who have sought to appeal a decision 
by the Secretary under a law that affects the provision of benefits by 
the Secretary to Veterans or the dependents or survivors of Veterans as 
described in 38 U.S.C. 511(a); Veterans Law Judges; Board employees; 
representatives of individuals covered by the system; personal and 
medical information of non-Veteran appellants and other parties to the 
appeal, including dependents; applicants and participants in the 
caregiver programs described in 38 U.S.C. 1720G; contesting claimants; 
and representatives.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The record may include military service and active duty separation 
information (e.g., name, service number, date of birth, rank, sex, 
total amount of active service, branch of service, character of 
service, pay grade, assigned separation reason, service period, whether 
Veteran was discharged with a disability, reenlisted, received a Purple 
Heart or other military decoration); payment information (e.g., Veteran 
payee name, address, dollar amount of readjustment service pay, amount 
of disability or pension payments, number of nonpay days, any amount of 
indebtedness (accounts receivable) arising from title 38 U.S.C. 
benefits and which are owed to the VA); medical information (e.g., 
medical and dental treatment in the Armed Forces including type of 
service-connected disability, medical facilities, or medical or dental 
treatment by VA health care personnel or received from private 
hospitals and health care personnel relating to a claim for VA 
disability benefits or medical or dental treatment); personal 
information (e.g., marital status, name and address of dependents, 
internet protocol addresses, occupation, amount of education of a 
Veteran or a dependent, dependent's relationship to Veteran); education 
benefit information (e.g., information arising from utilization of 
training benefits such as a Veteran trainee's induction, reentrance or 
dismissal from a program or progress and attendance in an education or 
training program); applications for compensation, pension, education 
and employment benefits and training which may contain identifying 
information, military service and active duty separation information, 
payment information, medical and dental information, personal and 
education benefit information relating to a Veteran or beneficiary's 
incarceration in a penal institution (e.g., name of incarcerated 
Veteran or beneficiary, claims file number, name and address of penal 
institution, date of commitment, type of offense, scheduled release 
date, Veteran's date of birth, beneficiary relationship to Veteran and 
whether Veteran or beneficiary is in a work release or half-way house 
program, on parole or has been released from incarceration); case notes 
from the e-VA application created from email and text message 
correspondence through the application; degree audits and copies of 
grades for Veterans and dependents enrolled in school; training records 
for Veterans and dependents participating in training programs.
    The record, or information contained in the record, may also 
include copies of VA decisions and adjudications; transcripts of 
hearings; powers of attorney and attorney fee agreements; information 
on and dates of procedural steps taken in claims and appeals; records 
of and electronic copies of correspondence concerning appeals; diary 
entries, notations of mail received, information requests; tracking 
information as to file location; docket type and number; queue workflow 
information (e.g., type of review; appeal number; status; Caseflow task 
action); certification information (e.g., representative name, type, 
and certification ID number); Board hearing information (e.g., type of 
hearing; status; participants; hearing notes); dispatch information; 
and employee productivity information.
    Material in this system that is not maintained in Veterans Appeals 
Control and Locator System (VACOLS) includes verbatim digital 
recordings of hearings that are maintained indefinitely, microfiche 
decision locator tables and indices to decisions from 1983 to 1994, and 
microfiche reels with texts of decisions from 1977 to 1989.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system is provided by Veterans, Servicemembers, 
Reservists, spouses, surviving spouses, dependents and other 
beneficiaries of the Veteran, applicants for caregiver benefits 
described in 38 U.S.C. 1720G, accredited service organizations and 
other VA-approved representatives of the Veteran, VA-supervised 
fiduciaries (e.g., VA Federal fiduciaries, court-appointed 
fiduciaries), military service departments, VA medical facilities and 
physicians, private medical facilities and physicians, education and 
rehabilitation training establishments, State and local agencies, other 
Federal agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD), Social 
Security Administration (SSA); U.S. Treasury Department, State, local, 
and county courts and clerks, Federal, State, and local penal 
institutions and correctional facilities, other third parties and other

[[Page 44187]]

VA records, Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI); 
commercial insurance companies; undertakers; lending institutions 
holding a Veteran's or uniformed services member's mortgage; VA Loan 
Guaranty records; contractors remodeling or enlarging or adding 
construction to existing homes; relatives and other interested persons; 
Westlaw and InfoUSA; Inquiry Routing & Information System (IRIS) 
(maintained under System of Records ``151VA005OP6'' by the Office of 
Information & Technology), brokers and builder/sellers, credit and 
financial reporting agencies, an applicant's credit sources, depository 
institutions and employers, independent auditors and accountants, 
hazard insurance companies, taxing authorities, title companies, fee 
personnel, business and professional organizations, the general public, 
and other parties of interest involving VA-guaranteed, insured, vendee 
or direct loans or specially adapted housing; Veterans Benefits 
Management System (VBMS) (maintained under System of Records ``58VA21/
22/28'' by the Veterans Benefits Administration); VA Fiduciary 
beneficiaries, VA beneficiaries' dependents, VA-appointed fiduciaries, 
individuals who were previously VA-appointed fiduciaries, individuals 
who VA considered for service as a VA-appointed fiduciary but did not 
select, field examiners, legal instrument examiners, fiduciary program 
personnel, third parties, other Federal, State, and local agencies, and 
VA records.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. To a Member of Congress or staff acting upon the Member's behalf 
when the Member or staff requests the information on behalf of, and at 
the request of, the individual who is the subject of the record.
    2. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) VA 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records, (2) VA has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, VA (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with VA's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    3. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when VA determines 
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to 
assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected 
or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the 
risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or 
confirmed breach.
    4. To a Federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, or foreign law 
enforcement authority or other appropriate entity charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or 
charged with enforcing or implementing such law, provided that the 
disclosure is limited to information that, either alone or in 
conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature. The 
disclosure of the names and addresses of Veterans and their dependents 
from VA records under this routine use must also comply with the 
provisions of 38 U.S.C. 5701.
    5. To law enforcement personnel and security guards may be made in 
order to alert them to the presence of dangerous persons in VA 
facilities or at VA activities conducted in non-VA facilities.
    6. To the Department of Justice (DoJ), or in a proceeding before a 
court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body before which VA 
is authorized to appear, when:
    a. VA or any component thereof;
    b. Any VA employee in his or her official capacity;
    c. Any VA employee in his or her individual capacity where DoJ has 
agreed to represent the employee; or
    d. The United States, where VA determines that litigation is likely 
to affect the agency or any of its components is a party to such 
proceedings or has an interest in such proceedings, and VA determines 
that use of such records is relevant and necessary to the proceedings.
    7. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and 
others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative 
agreement, or other assignment for VA, when reasonably necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to the records.
    8. To the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 
connection with investigations of alleged or possible discriminatory 
practices, examination of Federal affirmative employment programs, or 
other functions of the Commission as authorized by law.
    9. To the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) in connection 
with the investigation and resolution of allegations of unfair labor 
practices, the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when a 
question of material fact is raised, matters before the Federal Service 
Impasses Panel, and the investigation of representation petitions and 
the conduct or supervision of representation elections.
    10. To the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) in connection with 
appeals, special studies of the civil service and other merit systems, 
review of rules and regulations, investigation of alleged or possible 
prohibited personnel practices, and such other functions promulgated in 
5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as authorized by law.
    11. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 
records management inspections conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906, 
or other functions authorized by laws and policies governing NARA 
operations and VA records management responsibilities.
    12. To other Federal agencies may be made to assist such agencies 
in preventing and detecting possible fraud or abuse by individuals in 
their operations and programs.
    13. To a Veteran, claimant or a third party claimant (e.g., a 
Veteran's survivors or dependents) to the extent necessary for the 
development of that claimant's claim for VA benefits.
    14. A record from this system (other than the address of the 
beneficiary) may be disclosed to a former representative of a 
beneficiary to the extent necessary to develop and adjudicate a claim 
for payment of attorney fees to such representative from past due 
benefits under 38 U.S.C. 5904(d).
    15. Where VA determines that there is good cause to question the 
legality or ethical propriety of the conduct of a person or 
organization prospectively, presently or formerly representing a person 
in a matter before VA, a record from this system may be disclosed, on 
VA's initiative, to any or all of the following: (1) Applicable civil 
or criminal law enforcement authorities; (2) a person or entity 
responsible for the licensing, supervision, or professional discipline 
of the person or organization prospectively, presently or formerly 
representing a person in a matter before VA; (3) to other Federal and 
State agencies and to Federal courts when such information may be 
relevant to the individual's or organization's provision of 
representational services before such agency or court. Names and home

[[Page 44188]]

addresses of Veterans and their dependents will be released on VA's 
initiative under this routine use only to Federal entities.
    16. To the VA-appointed representative of an employee, including 
all notices, determinations, decisions, or other written communications 
issued to the employee in connection with an examination ordered by VA 
under medical evaluation (formerly fitness-for duty) examination 
procedures or Department-filed disability retirement procedures.
    17. To the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims when 
requested by the Court to further the performance of its duties as 
delineated in Chapter 72 of Title 38 of the United States Code 
Annotated with respect to any action brought under that chapter.
    18. To accredited service organizations, VA-approved claim agents, 
and attorneys acting under a declaration of representation, so that 
these individuals can aid claimants in the preparation, presentation, 
and prosecution of claims under the laws administered by VA upon the 
request of the claimant and provided that the disclosure is limited to 
information relevant to a claim, such as the name, address, the basis 
and nature of a claim, amount of benefit payment information, medical 
information, and military service and active duty separation 
information.
    19. To the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in connection with 
the application or effect of civil service laws, rules, regulations, or 
OPM guidelines in particular situations.
    Note: Any record maintained in this system of records, which may 
include information relating to drug abuse, alcoholism or drug abuse, 
infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, or sickle cell anemia 
will be disclosed pursuant to an applicable routine use for the system 
only when permitted by 38 U.S.C. 7332.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Information is kept in a computer database entitled VACOLS and 
backed up on database backup server. Archived records that were created 
prior to expansion of the Board's electronic storage capability may be 
stored in filing folders or cabinets, microfiche, computer disks, or 
computer tape. Hearings before the Board are digitally recorded and 
stored indefinitely. Where a facility must use audio tape to record 
hearings, the recording is maintained for one year after which period 
it is destroyed. A transcript is made for each hearing held and is 
electronically attached to the record in VACOLS and/or VBMS. Digital 
recordings of hearings are maintained on a back-up server. Under the 
Vital Records Schedule, electronic back-up tapes are updated quarterly.
    Caseflow information is stored in a database on the AWS GovCloud. 
The database is backed up in near real time data for failovers and 
recovery. Caseflow digitally stores all information on the AWS 
GovCloud. Virtual hearing audio files are digitally recorded and stored 
in the Cloud indefinitely. A digital transcript is made for each 
hearing held and it is electronically stored in VBMS eFolder. VBMS 
eFolder is the official copy of record for adjudicating claims for VA.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    VACOLS records in this system may be retrieved by any searchable 
field in the VACOLS database. This system notice covers only 
information retrieved by an individual's name or other identifier. 
Archived material from this system that is not in VACOLS may be 
retrieved by Veteran's name, VA file number, or Board archive citation 
number.
    Caseflow records stored in the database are retrieved by any 
searchable field in the Caseflow application. This system covers 
information retrieved by an individual's name or other identifier. 
Caseflow application access is controlled by Common Security Employee 
Manager (CSEM) and roles define the level of access within the Caseflow 
application. Caseflow is an internal VA application.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records in this system, in VACOLS, and those collected prior to 
VACOLS' use as a repository are retained indefinitely as Category B 
Vital Records unless otherwise specifically noted. Under the Vital 
Records Schedule, electronic backups are destroyed by erasure upon 
receipt of the next quarterly electronic back up set. Recordings of 
hearings will be made as described in Rule 714, 38 CFR 20.714, and 
transcriptions of recordings of hearings will be attached 
electronically in VACOLS and/or VBMS. Electronic recordings of hearings 
will be retained for at least one year from the date of the hearing, 
giving the hearing subject the opportunity to challenge the accuracy of 
the transcript. Records in the Caseflow system are stored and backed up 
in AWS GovCloud and the electronic recordings of hearings will be 
retained indefinitely as archive in AWS GovCloud.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Files are under custody of designated VA employees, including 
employees of the Board and its contractor, all of whom have a need to 
know the contents of the system of records in order to perform their 
duties. Access to VACOLS is strictly limited to reflect the need 
individual employees have for the different records in the system. 
Where a Veterans Service Organization office is located in a VA 
facility and has access to VACOLS through the Wide Area Network, that 
access is strictly limited to viewing records of current clients of the 
organization. No personal identifiers are used in statistical and 
management reports, and personal identifiers are removed from all 
archived Board decisions and other records in this system before VA 
makes them available to the public. Files kept by the contractor are in 
a locked safe in locked rooms in a secured building. Caseflow is a 
cloud application and the Cloud data center physical security begins at 
the Perimeter Layer restricting physical access.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking information regarding access to information 
contained in this system of records may write or call the Board of 
Veterans' Appeals Freedom of Information Act Officer, whose address and 
telephone number are as follows: Freedom of Information Act Officer 
(01C1), Board of Veterans' Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20420; (202) 382-2906.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See notification procedures above.)

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    An individual desiring to know whether this system of records 
contains a record pertaining to him or her, how she or he may gain 
access to such a record, and how she or he may contest the content of 
such a record may write to the following address: Privacy Act Officer 
(01C1), Board of Veterans' Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20420. The following information, or as much as is available, should 
be furnished in order to identify the record: Name of Veteran, name of 
appellant other than the Veteran (if any), and Department of Veterans 
Affairs file number. For information about hearing transcripts or tape 
recordings, also furnish the date, or the approximate date, of the 
hearing.

[[Page 44189]]

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    November 16, 2013, at 78 FR 66803.
[FR Doc. 2023-14569 Filed 7-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P