[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 10, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40524-40525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16810]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 3
RIN 2900-AO38
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Payable to a Surviving
Spouse With One or More Children Under Age 18
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this final
rule to amend its adjudication regulation regarding the additional
statutory amount of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payable
to a surviving spouse with one or more children below the age of 18.
The Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006
redesignated the statutory section cited in VA's governing regulation.
This amendment is necessary to conform the regulation to the statutory
provision.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective July 10, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy A. Copeland, Consultant,
Regulations Staff (211D), Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans
Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-9685. (This is not a toll-
free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of
2004 amended 38 U.S.C. 1311, Dependency and indemnity compensation
[DIC] to a surviving spouse, by adding a subsection (e) which provides
a $250 increase in the monthly rate of DIC to which a surviving spouse
with one or more children below the age of 18 is entitled. Sec. 301,
Public Law 108-454, 118 Stat. 3610. This statutory change was
incorporated as 38 CFR 3.10(e)(4). See 71 FR 44915, Aug. 8, 2006.
However, because 38 U.S.C. 1311 already contained a subsection (e),
Congress amended 38 U.S.C. 1311 by redesignating the new subsection (e)
as subsection (f). See Sec. 4, Public Law 109-361, 120 Stat. 2063. To
reflect this statutory technical amendment, VA is amending the first
sentence of 38 CFR 3.10(e)(4) to change the citation from 38 U.S.C.
1311(e) to 38 U.S.C. 1311(f).
We are also removing the authority citation at the end of paragraph
(e). This citation is unnecessary because the regulation text itself
contains the correct statutory citation and the authority citation at
the end of Sec. 3.10 includes Sec. 1311 in its entirety.
[[Page 40525]]
Administrative Procedures Act
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs finds that there is good cause
under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to publish this rule without
prior opportunity for public comment. The change made by this rule
merely reflects a minor statutory technical amendment. Therefore, VA is
issuing this rule as a final rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This document contains no provisions constituting a new collection
of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary hereby certifies that this rule will 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 rule would not affect any small entities. Only VA
beneficiaries could be directly affected. Therefore, pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 605(b), this rule is exempt from the initial and final
regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 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 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) defines a
``significant regulatory action,'' which requires review by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB), as ``any regulatory action that is
likely to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect on the
economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way
the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs,
the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal
governments or communities; (2) Create a serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user
fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients
thereof; or (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in
this Executive Order.''
The economic, interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy
implications of this regulatory action have been examined and it has
been determined not to be a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
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 year. This rule would have no such effect on State,
local, and tribal governments, or on the private sector.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers and Titles
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers and
titles for this rule are 64.109, Veterans Compensation for Service-
Connected Disability, and 64.110, Veterans Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation for Service-Connected Death.
Signing Authority
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this
document 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. John R.
Gingrich, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on July 3, 2012, for publication.
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3
Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Disability benefits,
Health care, Pensions, Radioactive materials, Veterans, Vietnam.
Dated: July 5, 2012.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director of Regulation Policy and Management, Office of the General
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, VA amends 38 CFR part 3 as
follows:
PART 3--ADJUDICATION
Subpart A--Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation
0
1. The authority citation for part 3, subpart A continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 3.10 [Amended]
0
2. Amend Sec. 3.10 by:
0
a. In paragraph (e)(4), removing ``38 U.S.C. 1311(e)'' and adding, in
its place, ``38 U.S.C. 1311(f)''.
0
b. Removing the authority citation at the end of paragraph (e)(4).
[FR Doc. 2012-16810 Filed 7-9-12; 8:45 am]
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