The Federal Register

Meetings:

Thu, Mar 28 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gives notice under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, that the Veterans' Rural Health Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on May 1516, 2013, at 1722 I Street NW., Ground Level Conference Room, Washington, DC from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The meeting is open to the public.

The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on health care issues affecting enrolled Veterans residing in rural areas. The Committee examines programs and policies that impact the provision of VA health care to enrolled Veterans residing in rural areas, and discusses ways to improve and enhance VA services for these Veterans.

On the morning of May 15, the Committee will hear from its Chairman; the Acting Director of the Office of Rural Health (ORH); and the National Program Leader, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture. In the afternoon,

Meetings:

Wed, Mar 27 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Dated: March 21, 2013.

By Direction of the Secretary.
Vivian Drake,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 201306979 Filed 32613; 8:45 am]
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Tue, Mar 26 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a direct final rule amending its regulations concerning per diem payments to State homes for the provision of nursing home care to veterans. Specifically, this rule removes the requirement that a veteran must have resided in a State home for 30 consecutive days before VA will pay per diem for that veteran when there is no overnight stay. VA received no significant adverse comments concerning this rule or its companion substantially identical proposed rule published on the same date. This document confirms that the direct final rule became effective on November 26, 2012. In a companion document in this issue of the Federal Register, we are withdrawing as unnecessary the proposed rule.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Tue, Mar 26 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to determine whether an eligible person who is enrolled in a program at one school is entitled to receive education benefits for enrollment at a secondary school.

Tue, Mar 26 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is withdrawing VA's proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on September 27, 2012, which proposed to amend its regulations that govern VA payments to State homes for bed holds on behalf of veterans. Specifically, the regulation proposed to remove a 30day residency requirement before VA would make such payments. VA received no significant adverse comments concerning the proposed rule or its companion substantially identical direct final rule published on the same date in the Federal Register. In a companion document in this issue of the Federal Register, we are confirming that the direct final rule became effective on November 26, 2012. Accordingly, this document withdraws as unnecessary the proposed rule.

Fri, Mar 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a notice in the Federal Register on October 31, 2012 (77 FR 65938), to amend its system of records entitled ``Patient Medical RecordVA'' (24VA19) as set forth in the Federal Register at 74 FR 60040. That notice contained several errors that are corrected by this document.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Fri, Mar 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments for information needed to determine nonFederal nursing home qualification to provide care to Veteran patients.

Meetings:

Thu, Mar 14 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Dated: March 8, 2013.

By Direction of the Secretary.
Vivian Drake,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 201305867 Filed 31313; 8:45 am]
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Tue, Feb 26 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to ensure that the amount of benefits payable to a student pursuing flight training is correct.

Meetings:

Mon, Feb 25 2013 11:00:00 GMT

[[Page 12831]]
accommodate full and open communications between organization representatives and the Voluntary Service Office and field staff; to provide educational opportunities geared towards improving volunteer programs with special emphasis on methods to recruit, retain, place, motivate, and recognize volunteers; and to provide Committee recommendations.

The March 4 session will include a National Executive Committee Meeting, Health Fair, and VAVS Representative and Deputy Representative training session.

The March 5 business session will include remarks from local officials, the Voluntary Service Report, Veterans Health Administration Update, and remarks by VA officials on the My HealtheVet initiative, Patient CenteredCare, and Homelessness. The James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship recipient will be honored at the Parke Awards Luncheon (requires prepayment) to be held at 12 noon. Educational workshops will be held in the afternoon and will focus on student volunteers, developing ad

Request for Information:

Mon, Feb 25 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) publishes this Request for Information (RFI) on publicprivate collaborations in pain research, seeking to connect the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) with commercial organizations that are conducting, or have an interest in conducting, pain research through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The CRADA is to develop publicprivate collaborations in pain research with the intent of developing novel therapies that will benefit Veterans suffering from chronic pain conditions.

Mon, Feb 25 2013 11:00:00 GMT

This document adopts as a final rule, with changes, the proposed rule to amend the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations concerning VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program (Program). This rulemaking updates and improves the clarity of these regulations, and implements and authorizes new VA policies.

Fri, Feb 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111117), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of the FY 2011 Service Contract Inventory Analysis Report and FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory. The FY 2011 analysis report discusses the methodology, analysis, and special interest functions studied from the FY 2011 inventory, as well actions, planned and taken, to address any identified weaknesses or challenges. The FY 2012 inventory provides information on VA service contract actions over $25,000. The inventory information is organized by function to show how contracted resources are distributed throughout the agency. The report and inventory were developed in accordance with guidance issued on November 5, 2010, and updated on December 19, 2011, by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). OFPP's guidance is available at:

Fri, Feb 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552(a)(e)) requires all agencies to publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence and character of their systems of records. Notice is hereby given that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing a new system of records entitled ``Principles of Excellence Centralized Complaint SystemVA'' 170VA22.

Meetings:

Fri, Feb 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

[[Page 12423]]
Determinants of Health and Care; HSR 3Methods and Modeling for Research, Informatics, and Surveillance; HSR 4Mental and Behavioral Health; HSR 5Health Care System Organization and Delivery, and HSR 6Postacute and Longterm Care. The telephone conference call of its NRI subcommittee will be held on March 1, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The HSR subcommittee meetings will be held on March 56, 2013, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Each of these meetings will originate from offices within the Office of Research and Development, 131 M Street NE., Washington, DC.

The purpose of the Board is to review health services research and development applications involving the measurement and evaluation of health care services, the testing of new methods of health care delivery and management, and nursing research. Applications are reviewed for scientific and technical merit, mission relevance, and the protection of human and animal subjects. Recommendations regarding funding are submitted to the Chief

Fri, Feb 22 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulation concerning the manner in which VA determines that a veteran is catastrophically disabled for purposes of enrollment in priority group 4 for VA health care. The current regulation relies on specific codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9CM) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT[supreg]). We propose to state the descriptions that would identify an individual as catastrophically disabled, instead of using the corresponding ICD9CM and CPT[supreg] codes. The revisions would ensure that our regulation is not out of date when new versions of those codes are published. The revisions would also broaden some of the descriptions for a finding of catastrophic disability. Additionally, we would eliminate the Folstein Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) as a criterion for determining whether a veteran meets the definition of catastrophically disabled, because we have dete

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Wed, Feb 20 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 350121), 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.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Wed, Feb 13 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of a currently approved collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to confirm marital status and dependent children.

Wed, Feb 13 2013 11:00:00 GMT

This rulemaking proposes to amend the medical regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to allow VA to use Medicare or State procedures to enter into provider agreements to obtain extended care services from nonVA providers. In addition, this rulemaking proposes to include home health care, palliative care, and noninstitutional hospice care services as extended care services, when provided as an alternative to nursing home care. Under this proposed rule, VA would be able to obtain extended care services for veterans from providers who are closer to veterans' homes and communities.

Mon, Feb 11 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its regulations concerning the sharing of certain patient information in order to implement VA's authority to participate in State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs). Participation in PDMPs will allow the VA patient population to benefit from the reduction in negative health outcomes.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Fri, Feb 8 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a collection of information notice in the Federal Register on January 31, 2013, that contained an error. The notice incorrectly identified the responsible VA organization. This document corrects that error by removing ``Office of Information and Technology'' and adding, in its place, ``Veterans Benefits Administration''.

Meetings:

Fri, Feb 8 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Subcommittee Date(s) Location Aging and Neurodegenerative February 20, 2013 * VA Central Office. Disease.
Rehabilitation Engineering and February 20, 2013 Courtyard DC/U.S. Prosthetics/Orthotics. Capitol. Brain Injury: TBI & Stroke.... February 2021, * VA Central Office. 2013.
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic February 2021, Paralyzed Veterans of Rehabilitation. 2013. America. Psychological Health and February 2021, Paralyzed Veterans of Social Reintegration. 2013. America. Sensory Systems/Communication. February 26, 2013 Paralyzed Veterans of America. Regenerative Medicine......... February 2627, Paralyzed Veterans of 2013. America. Career Development Award February 2628, *VA Central Office. Program and Research Career

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Thu, Feb 7 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed new collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the
[[Page 9109]]
notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to develop and implement a new research protocol in the VA.

Mon, Feb 4 2013 11:00:00 GMT

This notice announces the preliminary plans of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a longitudinal cohort study of adverse health effects related to military deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, to include potential exposure to airborne hazards and burn pits, and to take related actions to promote the effective monitoring and assessment of deploymentrelated exposures and potential health effects of deployments. The planned actions are based in part on VA's review of the analysis and recommendations in an October 31, 2011, report of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concerning the potential longterm health consequences of exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Thu, Jan 31 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35013521), this notice announces that the Veterans Health Administration, 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 includes the actual data collection instrument.

Meetings:

Thu, Jan 31 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Dated: January 25, 2013.

By Direction of the Secretary.
Vivian Drake,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 201302062 Filed 13013; 8:45 am]
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Wed, Jan 30 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35013521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), 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; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

Meetings:

Wed, Jan 30 2013 11:00:00 GMT

[[Page 6406]]
will discuss items for its upcoming annual report and recommendations to the Secretary.

On February 15 the Committee will begin drafting items and recommendations for its upcoming annual report to the Secretary.

No time will be allocated at this meeting for receiving oral presentations from the public. Interested parties should provide written comments on issues affecting homeless Veterans for review by the Committee to Mr. Pete Dougherty, Designated Federal Officer, Homeless Veterans Initiative Office (075D), Department of Veterans Affairs, 1722 Eye Street NW., Washington, DC 20006, or email to pete.dougherty@va.gov. Individuals who wish to attend the meeting should contact Mr. Dougherty at (202) 4611857.

Dated: January 24, 2013.

By Direction of the Secretary.
Vivian Drake,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 201301907 Filed 12913; 8:45 am]
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Tue, Jan 29 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35013521), 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; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

Meetings:

Mon, Jan 28 2013 11:00:00 GMT

[[Page 5872]]
Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses will conduct a telephone conference call meeting from 12:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2013, in Room 23 of the Office of Research and Development (ORD), 131 M Street NE., Washington, DC. The tollfree number for the meeting is (800) 7671750, and the access code is 44644. The meeting is open to the public.

The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice and make recommendations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on proposed research studies, research plans, and research strategies relating to the health consequences of military service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Gulf War.

The Committee will discuss its annual report to the Secretary, a 2013 Committee report, and updates on VA Gulf War research initiatives. The session will also include discussion of other Committee business and activities.

A 30minute period will be reserved at 4:45 p.m. for public comments. Individuals who wish

Fri, Jan 25 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides notice that it intends to conduct a recurring computermatching program matching Social Security Administration (SSA) income data from the Earnings Recording and SelfEmployment Income System (also referred to as the Master Earnings File (MEF)) with VA pension, compensation, and parents' dependency and indemnity compensation records. The purpose of this match is to identify applicants and beneficiaries who have applied for or who are receiving VA benefits and received earned income, and to adjust or terminate VA benefits, if appropriate.

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and

Wed, Jan 23 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed new collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice to conduct an independent comprehensive study of the barriers to the provision of comprehensive health care for women Veterans.