[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1538]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 26, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 17
Wednesday, January 26, 1994
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 13
RIN 2900-AD35
Full Disclosure of Beneficiary's Income and Assets
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Proposed regulations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Action is being taken to amend Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) regulations to reflect changes in the law which require certain
fiduciaries of incompetent beneficiaries of veterans' benefits to
report non-VA income in conjunction with required formal or informal
accountings. Under current regulation, fiduciaries recognized by VA are
not required to divulge non-VA income and assets that the fiduciary may
be holding on behalf of incompetent VA beneficiaries. These amendments
will permit implementation of the law, allow for a greater degree of
protection of the income and estates of incompetent VA beneficiaries
and reduce the incidence of waste, fraud and abuse of VA benefits by
certain Federal fiduciaries, and court-appointed fiduciaries.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 28, 1994. This
amendment is proposed to be effective 30 days after the date of
publication of the final rule. Comments will be available for public
inspection until April 6, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments,
suggestions, or objections regarding the proposal to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs (271A), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. All written comments received will
be available for public inspection at the above address only between
the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (except
holidays) until April 6, 1994. Any person visiting Department of
Veterans Affairs Central Office in Washington, DC for the purpose of
inspecting any such comments will be received by the Central Office
Veterans Services Unit in room 170. Such visitors to any VA field
stations will be informed that records are available for inspection
only in Central Office and furnished the address and the above room
number. A copy of any comments that concern information collection
requirements should also be sent to the Office of Management and Budget
at the address contained in the Paperwork Reduction section of this
preamble.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Weaver, Program Analyst, Fiduciary and Equal Opportunity Staff,
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, 810
Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 233-2091.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 99-576, section 505 amended 38
U.S.C. 5502(b) (formerly 38 U.S.C. 3202(b)) to permit the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to require a fiduciary to disclose, as part of the
accounting process, any financial information which is available to the
fiduciary concerning the non-VA income and assets of an incompetent
beneficiary of VA benefits. The particular regulations to be amended
deal specifically with the responsibilities of Federal fiduciaries and
court-appointed fiduciaries, and the authority of the Veterans Services
Officers at VA Regional Offices to request an accounting from a
fiduciary. Each regulation would be amended to include the requirement
that non-VA income and assets be subject to inclusion in VA requested
formal or informal accountings.
These changes will greatly enhance VA's ability to prevent waste,
fraudulent use or abuse of the VA benefits of an incompetent
beneficiary by the VA recognized fiduciary. The changes will permit VA
to formalize a procedure that has only been informal and unenforceable
in the past, namely the request for a total accounting of income and
assets managed by a fiduciary.
The Paperwork Reduction Act
These regulatory amendments contain new information collection
requirements as VA will be requiring fiduciaries to provide a type of
information which we have not previously required. As required by
section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Department of
Veterans Affairs is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request that it approve this information collection
requirement. Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments
for consideration by OMB on this proposed information collection
requirement should address them to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, OMB Room 3002, New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Joseph F. Lackey.
The Secretary hereby certifies that these regulatory amendments
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), these
regulatory amendments are exempt from the initial and final regulatory
flexibility analyses requirements of Secs. 603 and 604. The reason for
this certification is that the additional information fiduciaries are
being asked to provide is that which they already have but have not
previously provided, requiring no additional data collection. In
addition, the number of fiduciaries who will be reporting additional
income to comply with the proposed change is expected to be only 1% or
approximately 300 of the approximately 30,000 fiduciaries who submit
accountings.
There is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program number.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 13
Administrative practices and procedures, Estates, Fraud,
Handicapped, Infants and children, Investigations, Surety bonds, Trusts
and trustees, Veterans.
Approved: October 22, 1993.
Jesse Brown,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 38 CFR part 13 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 13--VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, FIDUCIARY ACTIVITIES
1. The authority citation for part 13 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 72 Stat. 1114, 1232, as amended, 1237; 38 U.S.C.
501(a), 5502, 5503, 5711, unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 13.59 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 13.59, paragraph (a), the last sentence is removed.
3. Section 13.100, paragraph (a)(1), is revised and an authority
citation is added to read as follows: Sec. 13.100, paragraph (b) and
its authority citation are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 13.100 Supervision of fiduciaries.
(a) * * *
(1) Require an accounting, formal or informal, of Department of
Veterans Affairs benefits paid to the authorized payees listed under
Sec. 13.55(b) (3), (4), (6), (7) or (8). Such accounting will include
all information available to the fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's
income and estate derived from non-Department of Veterans Affairs
sources.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5502)
* * * * *
(b) Court-appointed fiduciaries. In court-appointed fiduciary
cases, the Veterans Services Officer will take such informal action as
may be necessary to assure that the needs of the beneficiary are
provided for and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits are prudently
administered and adequately protected. Formal or informal accountings
may be required from such fiduciaries, with or without judicial
proceedings. If an accounting is required such accounting will include
all information requested, including all information available to the
fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's income and estate derived from
non-Department of Veterans Affairs sources.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5502)
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-1538 Filed 1-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-M
