2017-12277. Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Statement of Person Claiming To Have Stood in Relation of Parent

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:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 14, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information through www.Regulations.gov,, or to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW., Washington, DC 20503 or sent through electronic mail to [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0059” in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia Harvey-Pryor, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, [phone] or email [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0059” in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-21.

Title: Statement of Person Claiming to Have Stood in Relation of Parent (VA Form 21P-524).

OMB Control Number: 2900-0059.

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.

38 U.S.C. 1310 established Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a benefit payable to the survivors of a Veteran who dies from a service-connected or compensable disability.

38 U.S.C. 1315 established Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to parents (known as Parents' DIC). Parents' DIC is monthly benefit payable to the surviving parent(s) of a deceased Veteran. The monthly benefit payable is dependent of the parent(s) based on the parent's (parents') annual income. An additional monthly amount is payable if the parent is a patient in a nursing home, blind, or so nearly blind or significantly disabled as to need or require the regular aid and attendance of another person.

38 CFR 3.59 defines the term “Parent” as “. . . a natural mother or father (including the mother of an illegitimate child or the father of an illegitimate child if the usual family relationship existed), mother or father through adoption, or a person who for a period of not less than 1 year stood in the relationship of a parent to a veteran at any time before his or her entry into active service.”

The information collected will be used by VBA to evaluate a claimant's parental relationship to a deceased Veteran when the claimant is not the Veteran's natural mother or father or adopted mother or father.

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 82 FR 8562 on January 26, 2017.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Annual Burden: 800 hours.

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 120 minutes.

Frequency of Response: One time.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 400.

By direction of the Secretary.

Cynthia Harvey-Pryor,

Department Clearance Officer, Office of Privacy and Records Management, Department of Veterans Affairs.