2013-02109. Agency Information Collection (Agent Orange Registry Code Sheet) Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY:

Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs, has submitted 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 includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before March 4, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information through www.Regulations.gov; or to VA's OMB Desk Officer, OMB Human Resources and Housing Branch, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 [phone]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0376” in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Crystal Rennie, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, [phone], fax [phone] or email [e-mail]. Please refer to “OMB Control No. 2900-0376.”

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Agent Orange Registry Code Sheet, VA Form 10-9009.

OMB Control Number: 2900-0376.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: VA in an on-going effort to maintain an Agent Orange Registry (AOR) developed a reporting format to facilitate the collection of information obtained from Veterans during the Agent Orange registry examination process. VA is required to organize and update the information contained in AOR to be able to notify Vietnam era veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam of any increased health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents. VA may also provide, upon request, a health examination, consultation, and counseling Veterans who are eligible for listing or inclusion in any health-related registry administrated by VA that is similar to the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry. Registry examinations is provided to veterans who served in Korea in 1968 or 1969, and/or any U.S. veteran who may have been exposed to dioxin, or other toxic substance in a herbicide or defoliant, during the conduct of, or as a result of, the testing, transporting, or spraying of herbicides, and who requests an Agent Orange Registry examination. VA will enter the information obtained from the veteran during the interview on VA Form 10-9009, Agent Orange Registry Code Sheet. The registry will provide a mechanism that will catalogue prominent symptoms, reproductive health, and diagnoses and to communicate with Agent Orange Veterans. VA will inform the veterans on research finding or new compensation policies through periodic newsletters. The registry is not designed or intended to be a research tool and therefore the results cannot be generalized to represent all Agent Orange Veterans.

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 on November 19, 2012, at pages 69548-69549.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 6,667 hours.

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 20 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,000.

Dated: January 25, 2013.

By direction of the Secretary.

William F. Russo,

Deputy Director, Office of Regulations Policy and Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.