2023-23000. Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Request for Information To Make Direct Payment to Child Reaching Majority

AGENCY:

Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Notice.

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. 2900–0215.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance Analytics (008), 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 266–4688 or email [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900–0215” in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: Title 38 U.S.C. 1310, 1313, 1542, and 101(4).

Title: Request for Information to Make Direct Payment to Child Reaching Majority (VA Form Letter 21P–863)

OMB Control Number: 2900–0215.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through its Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), administers an integrated program of benefits and services established by law for veterans, service personnel, and their dependents and/or beneficiaries.

Title 38 U.S.C. 1310, 1313, 1542, and 101(4) provide for payment of death pension or dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to an eligible veteran's child when there is not an eligible surviving spouse and the child is between the ages of 18 and 23 and attending school. Until the child reaches the age of majority, payment is made to a custodian or fiduciary on behalf of the child. An unmarried schoolchild who is not incompetent is entitled to begin receiving direct payment on the age of majority. Regulatory authority is found in 38 CFR 3.403, 3.667, and 3.854.

Form Letter 21P–863 is used to gather the necessary information to determine a schoolchild's continued eligibility to VA death benefits and eligibility to direct payment at the age of majority. If the collection were not conducted, VA would have no means of determining a child's current address, marital status, and school attendance. Without this information, continued entitlement to death benefits and eligibility for direct payment at the age of majority could not be determined, and proper payment would not be made.

This is an extension only with no substantive changes and the respondent burden has not changed.

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 88 FR on August 10, 2023, pages 54401 and 54402.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Estimated Annual Burden: 3 hours.

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 10 minutes.

Frequency of Response: One time.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 20.

By direction of the Secretary:

Maribel Aponte,

VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs.