SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
APPLICATION FOR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO SUPPLEMENT TUITION ASSISTANCE
(2900-0698)
A. Justification
1. Statute (38 U.S.C. 5101(a)) requires that an individual who desires a benefit that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers must apply to VA for that benefit. The collection of information is necessary to apply 38 U.S.C. 501 (a), 3014(b), 3034(a), 3313(e) and 5101(a) to claims for educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty (Chapter 30) and the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) to supplement tuition assistance provided under a program administered by the Secretary of a military department.
2. VA will use the information to decide whether the claimant should be paid educational assistance to supplement the tuition assistance he or she has received, and if he or she should be paid, the amount to be paid to the claimant.
3. Applications for educational assistance may be filed electronically using VA’s online application (VONAPP).
4. Program reviews were conducted to identify potential areas of duplication; however, none were found to exist. There is no known Department or agency which maintains the necessary information, nor is it available from other sources within our Department.
5. The collection of information will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Only individuals are required to supply this information.
6. If VA does not collect this information, it would be impossible to know who is eligible for educational assistance to supplement tuition assistance, and the amount that should be paid to those who are eligible.
7. The collection of this information does not require any special circumstances.
8. The Department notice was published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2013, page 29437. No comments were received in response to this notice.
9. VA does not provide any gifts to respondents.
10. Our assurance of confidentiality is covered by 38 U.S.C. 5701 and our System of Records, Compensation, Pension, Education and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Records – VA (58VA21/22/28), which are contained in the Privacy Act Issuances, 2011 Compilation.
11. None of the information collected is of a sensitive nature.
12. The estimated annual burden is 2,000 hours. This estimate is determined as follows:
Consistent with the Presidential Budget Submission, VA estimates that an average of 10,000 individuals will request educational assistance to supplement tuition assistance each year over the next three years. 10,000 claims x 12 minutes / 60 minutes =
The annual cost to the public is $30,000 ($15.00 x 2,000 hours).
13. This information collection does not involve any reporting or record keeping costs above those identified in item 12.
14. VA estimates that the total annualized cost to the government to collect the information required by §§ 21.1030(c) and 21.7140(c)(5) is $85,900. This cost is computed as follows.
The processing cost of $85,891 is based on an estimate that a GS 9/5 employee will have to review each application. The salary for such an employee is $25.77 per hour. We estimate it will take 20 minutes to review each claim. (10,000 claims x $25.77 x 20 min /60 min = $85,900)
There are no administrative costs associated with this information collection.
15. There is a decrease in the burden as the number of claims for educational assistance to supplement tuition assistance has been decreasing each year.
16. VA does not publish this information or make it available for publication.
17. If the information collection in § 21.1030(c) and 21.7140(c)(5) is approved, VA will not show the expiration date of approval in the Code of Federal Regulations. Generally, approvals by the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) are for three years or less. If VA displayed the expiration date, we would be revising regulations for dates routinely. The OMB control number will be displayed in the regulation.
18. This information collection complies with all requirements under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This collection of information by the Veterans Benefits Administration does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR § 21 |
| Author | Veterans Benefits Administrat |
| Last Modified By | Kessinger, Nancy, VBAVACO |
| File Modified | 2013-07-23 |
| File Created | 2013-07-23 |