[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 20298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08753]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Advisory Committee on Former Prisoners of War; Notice of Meeting
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gives notice under Public
Law 92-463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) that the Advisory Committee
on Former Prisoners of War (FPOW) has scheduled a meeting on April 27-
29, 2015, at Hamilton Crowne Plaza, 1401 K Street, NW., Washington, DC.
The meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is open to the
public.
In exceptional circumstances, the agency may give less than 15
calendar days notice, provided that the reasons for doing so are
included in the advisory committee meeting notice published in the
Federal Register. 41 CFR 102-3.150. In this case, a new Designated
Federal Officer, unfamiliar with the procedures, failed to prepare the
notice in time. The meeting has already been scheduled, and travel
plans have been made. Rescheduling will thus be expensive and delay the
work of the Committee. We believe that this is sufficient exceptional
circumstances for giving less than 15 calendar days notice.
The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Secretary of VA on
the administration of benefits under title 38, United States Code, for
Veterans who are FPOWs. The committee also makes recommendations on the
needs of FPOW Veterans for compensation, health care, and
rehabilitation.
On Tuesday, April 28, the Committee will hear from its Chairman and
will receive briefings by VA management, as well as representatives
from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Veterans Health
Administration. Annual ethics training will be presented by the Office
of General Counsel. The Associate Chief Consultant of Mental Health
Disaster Response and Post-Deployment Activities and a learning
consultant from the Cleveland Center Employee Education System will
report on the FPOW training agenda. A Chief from VBA's Benefits
Assistance Service will report on FPOW outreach efforts.
Also on April 28, the Committee will host an open public forum and
FPOW panel, at 3:30 p.m. to gain information from FPOWs about their
experiences, issues, and recommendations for health benefits and claims
processing.
On Wednesday, April 29, the Committee will draft their 2015
recommendations and decide the location of their next meeting in the
fall.
FPOWs who wish to speak at the public forum are invited to submit a
1-2 page summary of their comments at the end of the meeting for
inclusion in the official meeting record. Members of the public may
also submit written statements for the Committee's review to Mr. Eric
Robinson, Designated Federal Officer, Advisory Committee on Former
Prisoners of War, Compensation Service (212), Department of Veterans
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, or via email at
[email protected].
Any member of the public seeking additional information should
contact Mr. Robinson via email or call (202) 443-6016.
Dated: April 13, 2015.
Jelessa Burney,
Federal Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-08753 Filed 4-14-15; 8:45 am]
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