30-day FRN public version for 2900-0876

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Notices
1995, Federal agencies are required to
publish notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each proposed
revision of a currently approved
collection, and allow 60 days for public
comment in response to the notice.
DATES: Written comments and
recommendations on the proposed
collection of information should be
received on or before September 28,
2021.
Submit written comments
on the collection of information through
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov or to
Nancy J. Kessinger, Veterans Benefits
Administration (20M33), Department of
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20420 or email to
[email protected]. Please refer to
‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0171’’ in any
correspondence. During the comment
period, comments may be viewed online
through FDMS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise
and Integration, Data Governance
Analytics (008), 1717 H Street NW,
Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266–4688
or email [email protected]. Please
refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0171’’
in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA of 1995, Federal agencies must
obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each
collection of information they conduct
or sponsor. This request for comment is
being made pursuant to Section
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA.
With respect to the following
collection of information, VBA invites
comments on: (1) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of VBA’s
functions, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of VBA’s estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of
information; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
the use of other forms of information
technology.
Authority: Section 903 of Public Law
96–342, and the Omnibus Diplomatic
Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986.
Title: Application for Individualized
Tutorial Assistance
OMB Control Number: 2900–0171.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.

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ADDRESSES:

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Abstract: VA uses the information
collected to determine eligibility and
payment for tutorial assistance. Without
the information on this form, VA would
be unable to determine the applicant’s
eligibility for tutorial assistance.
Affected Public: Individuals and
households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 2,571
hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 30 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Once
Annually.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
5,143.
By direction of the Secretary.
Maribel Aponte,
VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
Enterprise and Integration/Data Governance
Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2021–16321 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0876]

Agency Information Collection Activity
Under OMB Review: Clearance for A–
11 Section 280 Improving Customer
Experience Information Collection
Veterans Experience Office,
Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, this notice announces that the
Veterans Experience Office, 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 it
includes the actual data collection
instrument.

SUMMARY:

Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Refer to ‘‘Clearance for
A–11 Section 280 Improving Customer
Experience Information Collection’’ in
any correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise
and Integration, Data Governance
Analytics (008), 1717 H Street NW,
DATES:

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Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266–4688
or email [email protected]. Please
refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0876’’
in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–21.
Title: Clearance for A–11 Section 280
Improving Customer Experience
Information Collection.
OMB Control Number: 2900–0876.
Type of Review: ICR Revision.
Abstract: This ICR Revision seeks to
enhance and expand the scope of the
‘‘burden hours’’ associated with the
Department of Veterans Affairs
customer experience data collection
system from 625,000 to 1,750,000.
‘‘Burden Hours’’ are defined as the total
time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate,
maintain, retain, or disclose or provide
information in a survey or other
associated data collection instrument. In
layman’s terms, burden relates to the
time it takes a respondent to complete
and submit a customer satisfaction
survey or questionnaire. VA, when it
submitted the original Clearance for A–
11 Section 280 Improving Customer
Experience Information Collection,
calculated total the Burden needed
based on the number of Customer
Satisfaction surveys under management
(43 in calendar year 2020) and our
informed estimate of growth in number
of surveys under management. As a
result of unexpectedly strong and robust
need (and corresponding requests) for
new customer experience surveys by VA
customers (stakeholders and partners),
VA has already reached 94 surveys
under management and anticipate to
reach 130 or 140 by the end of Fiscal
Year 2022. This anticipated FY22
growth, and per our models for growth
from now until our current ICR expires
in March, 2023, directly translates into
a corresponding need for an increase in
associated ‘‘burden hours’’ from 625,000
to 1,750,000 to accommodate the
current and future demand. This action
is necessary now so that our ICR
remains in good standing and VA does
not exceed our approved burden hour
grand total approved figure and risk
being in non-compliance of our
approved ICR.
General Background on our Customer
Experience data collection listening
tools Whether seeking a loan, Social
Security benefits, Veterans benefits, or
other services provided by the Federal
Government, individuals and businesses
expect Government customer services to
be efficient and intuitive, just like
services from leading private-sector
organizations. Yet the 2016 American
Consumer Satisfaction Index and the

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Notices

2017 Forrester Federal Customer
Experience Index show that, on average,
Government services lag nine
percentage points behind the private
sector. A modern, streamlined and
responsive customer experience means:
Raising government-wide customer
experience to the average of the private
sector service industry; developing
indicators for high-impact Federal
programs to monitor progress towards
excellent customer experience and
mature digital services; and providing
the structure (including increasing
transparency) and resources to ensure
customer experience is a focal point for
agency leadership. To support this,
OMB Circular A–11 Section 280
established government-wide standards
for mature customer experience
organizations in government and
measurement. To enable Federal
programs to deliver the experience
taxpayers deserve, they must undertake
three general categories of activities:
Conduct ongoing customer research,
gather and share customer feedback, and
test services and digital products.
These data collection efforts may be
either qualitative or quantitative in
nature or may consist of mixed
methods. Additionally, data may be
collected via a variety of means,
including but not limited to electronic
or social media, direct or indirect
observation (i.e., in person, video and
audio collections), interviews,
questionnaires, surveys, and focus
groups. Veterans Experience Office will
limit its inquiries to data collections
that solicit strictly voluntary opinions or
responses. Steps will be taken to ensure
anonymity of respondents in each
activity covered by this request.
The results of the data collected will
be used to improve the delivery of
Federal services and programs. It will
include the creation of personas,
customer journey maps, and reports and
summaries of customer feedback data
and user insights. Veterans Experience
Office will collect this information by
electronic means when possible, as well
as by mail, fax, telephone, technical
discussions, and in-person interviews.
Veterans Experience Office may also
utilize observational techniques to
collect this information.
Collections will be targeted to the
solicitation of opinions from
respondents who have experience with
the program or may have experience
with the program in the near future. For
the purposes of this request,
‘‘customers’’ are individuals,
businesses, and organizations that
interact with a Federal Government
agency or program, either directly or via
a Federal contractor. This could include

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individuals or households; businesses
or other for-profit organizations; not-for
profit institutions; State, local or tribal
governments; Federal government; and
Universities.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The Federal Register
Notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on this collection
of information was published at 84 FR
149 on August 2, 2019, pages 37953 and
37954. No comments on this data
collection request were submitted by the
public.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 1,750,000.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: Varied, dependent upon
the data collection method used. The
possible response time to complete a
questionnaire or survey may be 2
minutes or up to 2 hours to participate
in an interview.
Frequency of Response: Varied,
dependent upon the data collection
method used.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
3,500,000.
By direction of the Secretary.
Maribel Aponte,
VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance
Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2021–16224 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
AR27—Notice of Request for
Information on the Department of
Veterans Affairs’ Eligibility
Considerations for the Veterans
Cemetery Grants Program
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Request for information.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

State and Tribal veterans’
cemetery grant applicants that seek to
participate in the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans
Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) must,
to qualify for a grant, solely inter and
memorialize eligible persons, which
includes Veterans and certain family
members. Through this request for
information, VA seeks comments to
help inform VA’s understanding of
issues affecting States and Tribal
Organizations in meeting burial and
other needs of their National Guard and
Reservist populations with respect to
burial in VA grant-funded cemeteries.

SUMMARY:

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DATES:

Comments are due by August 30,

2021.
Comments must be
submitted through www.Regulations.gov
and will be available for public viewing,
inspection or copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
George Eisenbach, Director, Veterans
Cemetery Grants Program, National
Cemetery Administration (40),
Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20420, (202) 632–7369 (this is not a tollfree telephone number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA seeks
stakeholder input to improve our
understanding of issues impacting
States and Tribal Organizations (as
those terms are defined in 38 CFR 39.2)
in serving their National Guard
servicemembers and Reservists. The
Secretary seeks information on the
questions listed below. Commenters do
not need to address each question and
should focus on those that relate to their
expertise or perspectives. To the extent
possible, please clearly indicate which
questions you address in your response.
We are particularly interested in
feedback from States and Tribal
Organizations that are participating in
VCGP or that are contemplating
participation.
Currently for VCGP purposes, a State
or Tribal veterans cemetery must be
operated solely for the interment of
Veterans, their spouses, surviving
spouses, minor children, unmarried
adult children who were physically or
mentally disabled and incapable of selfsupport, and eligible parents of certain
deceased service members, as set out in
section 38 CFR 39.10(a). We seek input
on the below questions:
D Should VCGP cemeteries be able to
inter non-Veteran members of the
Reserve components of the U.S. Armed
Forces (including members of the Army
and Air National Guard of the United
States) who otherwise would not be
eligible for burial in a VA national
cemetery, as well as their spouses and
certain dependents? Why or why not?
D If VCGP cemeteries were permitted
to inter these individuals, are there any
conditions that should be met or certain
ways that VA should administer this
extension to the program? For example,
should grantees pay costs associated
with cemetery development, interment,
and memorialization relating to the nonVeteran decedents referenced above?
Again, we welcome your feedback on
these questions.
ADDRESSES:

Paperwork Reduction Act
This request for information
constitutes a general solicitation of

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