[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54972-54975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17318]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 17

RIN 2900-AR98


VA Health Professional Scholarship Program

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: VA proposes to amend its regulations that govern the VA Health 
Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP) by implementing the mandates of 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which would expand the number of 
scholarships available to those who are pursuing degrees or training in 
mental health disciplines. We also propose to

[[Page 54973]]

make a technical correction under the Paperwork Reduction Act section 
to correct an approved OMB control number.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 13, 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: https://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 will not be considered in the final 
rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Nedd, Director, Scholarships 
and Clinical Education, Workforce Management, 810 Vermont Ave NW, 
Washington, DC 20420. (504-507-4985). (This is not a toll-free 
telephone number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to sections 7601 through 7619, 
7633, 7634, and 7636 of title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.) and the 
implementing regulations at sections 17.600 through 17.612 of title 38, 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), VA has established the HPSP to 
assist in providing an adequate supply of trained health-care personnel 
for VA and the Nation. The purpose of the HPSP is to award scholarships 
to students pursuing a course of study leading to a degree in certain 
health care occupations, listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(1) and (3). See Sec.  
17.600. The HPSP allows VA to provide scholarship awards to facilitate 
recruitment and retention of employees in several hard-to-fill health 
care occupations. Id.
    Pursuant to Sec.  17.603(a), HPSP scholarships will be awarded only 
when necessary to assist VA in alleviating shortages or anticipated 
shortages of personnel in certain health professions. Current 
paragraphs (b)(1) through (2) further explain that HPSP scholarships 
will be awarded to physicians, dentists, and other health care 
professions. Under Sec.  17.603(b)(1)(i), VA will award not less than 
an additional 50 HPSP scholarships (83 total) each year to individuals 
who are accepted for enrollment or are enrolled in a program of 
education or training leading to employment as a physician or dentist 
until such date as VA determines that the staffing shortage of 
physicians and dentists in VA is less than 500. Additionally, VA will 
grant HPSP scholarships in a course of study in those disciplines or 
programs other than physician or dentist where recruitment is necessary 
for the improvement of veterans' health care as listed in 38 U.S.C. 
7401(1) and (3). See Sec.  17.603(b)(2).
    On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (the 
Act), Public Law 117-328, was enacted into law. Section 104(a) of 
Division V of the Act expands the HPSP by requiring VA to specifically 
award scholarships to applicants who are pursuing degrees or training 
in mental health disciplines, including advanced practice nursing (with 
a focus on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, and 
social work. This section requires that VA provide no fewer than an 
additional 50 awards (as compared to academic year 2021) to such 
applicants per academic year starting in academic year 2022.
    To comply with the mandate of section 104(a) of Division V of the 
Act, we propose to amend Sec.  17.603(b). We also propose to make a 
technical correction to Sec.  17.602 to correctly reflect the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number for the approved collection 
of information.

Section 17.603 Availability of HPSP Scholarships

    Section 17.603 establishes the availability of HPSP scholarships. 
Paragraph (b) provides for the fields of education that qualify for the 
HPSP scholarship. We propose to redesignate current paragraph (b)(2) as 
new paragraph (b)(3) without making changes to the current regulation 
text which explains when VA will grant HPSP scholarships to other 
health care professions. Consistent with section 104(a) of Division V 
of the Act, we propose to add a new paragraph (b)(2) to state that 
notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1) and (3) of this section, VA will 
award not less than 83 HPSP scholarships each year to individuals who 
are accepted for or are enrolled in a program of education or training 
leading to employment in a mental health discipline, including, but 
limited to, advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental health or 
substance use disorder), psychology, or social work. Because a mental 
health care professional may be eligible to receive an HPSP scholarship 
under current paragraph (b)(1) or proposed paragraph (b)(3), we would 
add that such professionals would be awarded a scholarship pursuant to 
paragraph (b)(2) notwithstanding an applicant's eligibility under 
paragraphs (b)(1) or (b)(3) of Sec.  17.603.
    We are required by section 104(a) of Division V of the Act to 
increase the amount of scholarships to individuals who pursued 
education leading to employment in advanced practice nursing (with a 
focus on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, or 
social work by not fewer than an additional 50 awards for academic year 
2022 (as compared to academic year 2021). Therefore, we propose to 
award not less than 83 HPSP scholarships for mental health disciplines 
as VA awarded a combined total of 33 HPSP scholarships to individuals 
who pursued education leading to employment in mental health 
disciplines during academic year 2022. However, we will not be able to 
implement the mandates of section 104(a) of Division V of the Act 
during academic year 2022 because the application period for that year 
has already passed. VA usually starts accepting applications for an 
academic year during the spring of the prior academic year. For 
example, to award HPSP scholarships for an academic year that starts in 
September 2024, the applications must be submitted and granted during 
the spring 2024. VA does not anticipate awarding these additional HPSP 
scholarships until spring 2024 for academic year 2024.
    While section 104(a) of Division V of the Act provided that VA 
award HPSP scholarships to individuals who are pursuing a course of 
education leading to employment in mental health disciplines, including 
advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental health or substance 
use disorder), psychology, and social work, we would clarify in 
proposed paragraph (b)(2) that mental health disciplines include, but 
are not limited to, advanced practice nursing (with a focus on mental 
health or substance use disorder), psychology, or social work. 
(emphasis added). The plain language reading of section 104(a) of the 
Division V of the Act could imply that an individual must be pursuing 
all three disciplines simultaneously in order to receive the HPSP 
scholarship

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by using the term ``and''. However, we believe that the correct term 
should be ``or'' because most individuals would only be pursuing one of 
the three disciplines cited in section 104(a) of Division V of the Act. 
We, therefore, propose to change the term ``and'' to ``or'' by stating 
that the HPSP scholarships would be awarded for mental health 
disciplines, which include, but are not limited to, advanced practice 
nursing (with a focus on mental health or substance use disorder), 
psychology, or social work.
    In addition, as there are other mental health disciplines, we do 
not provide an exhaustive list of such disciplines. Rather, we propose 
including the examples Congress included in the law, but noting that 
scholarships under proposed paragraph (b)(2) are not limited to this 
list of mental health disciplines. Other mental health disciplines may 
include licensed professional mental health counselor, marriage and 
family therapist, physician assistants, and rehabilitation counseling.

Technical Correction

    Section 17.602 currently contains an incorrect approved Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) information collection control number. The 
information collection for this section has been approved by OMB and 
has been assigned OMB control number 2900-0793. However, Sec.  17.602 
contains the incorrect OMB control number of 2900-0352. We propose to 
update Sec.  17.602 to reflect the correct and approved OMB control 
number.

Executive Orders 12866,13563, and 14094

    Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) 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. Executive Order 14094 (Executive Order on 
Modernizing Regulatory Review) supplements and reaffirms the 
principles, structures, and definitions governing contemporary 
regulatory review established in Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 
1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), and Executive Order 13563 of 
January 18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review). The 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has determined that this 
rulemaking is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 
12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094. The Regulatory Impact 
Analysis associated with this rulemaking can be found as a supporting 
document at www.regulations.gov.

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). This proposed rule would solely be operated and 
administered within VA and would only affect individuals who apply and 
are awarded an HPSP scholarship. On this basis, the Secretary certifies 
that the adoption of 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. Therefore, under 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 proposed rule would have no such 
effect on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private 
sector.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Although this proposed rule contains an increase in the provisions 
constituting a collection of information under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this increase is 
already captured in an existing collection of information. The 
collections of information for 38 CFR 17.602 are currently approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB 
control number 2900-0793. However, Sec.  17.602 incorrectly reflects 
OMB control number 2900-0352. We propose to correct this technical 
error in this rulemaking by updating the reference in Sec.  17.602 to 
reflect OMB control number 2900-0793.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17

    Administrative practice and procedure, Health care, Health 
facilities, Health professions, Scholarships and fellowships.

Signing Authority

    Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this 
document on August 7, 2023, 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.

Consuela Benjamin,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy & 
Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of Veterans 
Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part 17 as set forth below:

PART 17--MEDICAL

0
1. The authority citation for part 17 is amended by adding an entry for 
Sec. Sec.  17.600 through 17.612, in numerical order, to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in specific sections.
* * * * *
    Sections 17.600 through 17.612 are also issued under 38 U.S.C. 
7601-7619, 7633, 7634, 7636, and sec. 104(a), div. V, Pub. L. 117-
328.
* * * * *
0
2. Amend Sec.  17.602 by revising the parenthetical at the end of the 
section to read as follows.


Sec.  17.602  Eligibility.

* * * * *
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
2900-0793)
0
3. Amend Sec.  17.603 by:
0
a. Redesignating paragraph (b)(2) as new paragraph (b)(3); and
0
b. Adding new paragraph (b)(2).
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  17.603  Availability of HPSP scholarships.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) Mental health disciplines. Notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1) 
and (3) of this section, VA will award not less than 83 HPSP 
scholarships each year to individuals who are accepted for or are 
enrolled in a program of education or training leading to employment in 
a mental health discipline, including, but limited to, advanced 
practice nursing (with a focus

[[Page 54975]]

on mental health or substance use disorder), psychology, or social 
work.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-17318 Filed 8-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P