[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-1538] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: January 26, 1994] VOL. 59, NO. 17 Wednesday, January 26, 1994 ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 13 RIN 2900-AD35 Full Disclosure of Beneficiary's Income and Assets AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Proposed regulations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Action is being taken to amend Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations to reflect changes in the law which require certain fiduciaries of incompetent beneficiaries of veterans' benefits to report non-VA income in conjunction with required formal or informal accountings. Under current regulation, fiduciaries recognized by VA are not required to divulge non-VA income and assets that the fiduciary may be holding on behalf of incompetent VA beneficiaries. These amendments will permit implementation of the law, allow for a greater degree of protection of the income and estates of incompetent VA beneficiaries and reduce the incidence of waste, fraud and abuse of VA benefits by certain Federal fiduciaries, and court-appointed fiduciaries. DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 28, 1994. This amendment is proposed to be effective 30 days after the date of publication of the final rule. Comments will be available for public inspection until April 6, 1994. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions, or objections regarding the proposal to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (271A), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. All written comments received will be available for public inspection at the above address only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (except holidays) until April 6, 1994. Any person visiting Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office in Washington, DC for the purpose of inspecting any such comments will be received by the Central Office Veterans Services Unit in room 170. Such visitors to any VA field stations will be informed that records are available for inspection only in Central Office and furnished the address and the above room number. A copy of any comments that concern information collection requirements should also be sent to the Office of Management and Budget at the address contained in the Paperwork Reduction section of this preamble. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald Weaver, Program Analyst, Fiduciary and Equal Opportunity Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 233-2091. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 99-576, section 505 amended 38 U.S.C. 5502(b) (formerly 38 U.S.C. 3202(b)) to permit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require a fiduciary to disclose, as part of the accounting process, any financial information which is available to the fiduciary concerning the non-VA income and assets of an incompetent beneficiary of VA benefits. The particular regulations to be amended deal specifically with the responsibilities of Federal fiduciaries and court-appointed fiduciaries, and the authority of the Veterans Services Officers at VA Regional Offices to request an accounting from a fiduciary. Each regulation would be amended to include the requirement that non-VA income and assets be subject to inclusion in VA requested formal or informal accountings. These changes will greatly enhance VA's ability to prevent waste, fraudulent use or abuse of the VA benefits of an incompetent beneficiary by the VA recognized fiduciary. The changes will permit VA to formalize a procedure that has only been informal and unenforceable in the past, namely the request for a total accounting of income and assets managed by a fiduciary. The Paperwork Reduction Act These regulatory amendments contain new information collection requirements as VA will be requiring fiduciaries to provide a type of information which we have not previously required. As required by section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs is submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request that it approve this information collection requirement. Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments for consideration by OMB on this proposed information collection requirement should address them to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB Room 3002, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Joseph F. Lackey. The Secretary hereby certifies that these regulatory amendments will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), these regulatory amendments are exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses requirements of Secs. 603 and 604. The reason for this certification is that the additional information fiduciaries are being asked to provide is that which they already have but have not previously provided, requiring no additional data collection. In addition, the number of fiduciaries who will be reporting additional income to comply with the proposed change is expected to be only 1% or approximately 300 of the approximately 30,000 fiduciaries who submit accountings. There is no Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program number. List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 13 Administrative practices and procedures, Estates, Fraud, Handicapped, Infants and children, Investigations, Surety bonds, Trusts and trustees, Veterans. Approved: October 22, 1993. Jesse Brown, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 38 CFR part 13 is proposed to be amended as follows: PART 13--VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, FIDUCIARY ACTIVITIES 1. The authority citation for part 13 continues to read as follows: Authority: 72 Stat. 1114, 1232, as amended, 1237; 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 5502, 5503, 5711, unless otherwise noted. Sec. 13.59 [Amended] 2. In Sec. 13.59, paragraph (a), the last sentence is removed. 3. Section 13.100, paragraph (a)(1), is revised and an authority citation is added to read as follows: Sec. 13.100, paragraph (b) and its authority citation are revised to read as follows: Sec. 13.100 Supervision of fiduciaries. (a) * * * (1) Require an accounting, formal or informal, of Department of Veterans Affairs benefits paid to the authorized payees listed under Sec. 13.55(b) (3), (4), (6), (7) or (8). Such accounting will include all information available to the fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's income and estate derived from non-Department of Veterans Affairs sources. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 5502) * * * * * (b) Court-appointed fiduciaries. In court-appointed fiduciary cases, the Veterans Services Officer will take such informal action as may be necessary to assure that the needs of the beneficiary are provided for and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits are prudently administered and adequately protected. Formal or informal accountings may be required from such fiduciaries, with or without judicial proceedings. If an accounting is required such accounting will include all information requested, including all information available to the fiduciary concerning the beneficiary's income and estate derived from non-Department of Veterans Affairs sources. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 5502) * * * * * [FR Doc. 94-1538 Filed 1-25-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8320-01-M