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60528

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Notices

Retaliation against a USDOT
employee or applicant for making a
protected disclosure is prohibited (5
U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)). If you believe you are
a victim of whistleblower retaliation,
you may file a written complaint with
the U.S. Office of Special Counsel using
Form OSC–14. While the Federal
Government is on maximum telework,
OSC is accepting Form OSC–14 only
electronically. When the Federal
Government is no longer on maximum
telework, you may choose to submit the
form electronically or complete Form
OSC–14 and mail it to the Complaints
Examining Unit, U.S. Office of Special
Counsel at 1730 M Street NW, Suite
218, Washington, DC 20036–4505. You
may also contact the USDOT Office of
Inspector General Hotline by phone at
1–800–424–8071, by email at
hotline@oig.dot.gov, or online at https://
www.oig.dot.gov/hotline. In addition,
when the Federal Government is no
longer on maximum telework, you may
also contact the USDOT Office of
Inspector General by mail at 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, West Bldg 7th Floor,
Washington, DC 20590.

agency to take unfounded disciplinary
action against a USDOT employee, or to
violate the procedural rights of a
USDOT employee accused of
discrimination.

Retaliation for Engaging in Protected
Activity
A Federal agency cannot retaliate
against an employee or applicant
because that individual exercises his or
her rights under any of the Federal
antidiscrimination or whistleblower
protection laws listed above. If you
believe that you are the victim of
retaliation for engaging in protected
activity, you must follow, as
appropriate, the procedures described in
the Antidiscrimination Laws and
Whistleblower Protection Laws sections
or, if applicable, the administrative or
negotiated grievance procedures in
order to pursue any legal remedy.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 26,
2021.
Irene Marion,
Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights,
U.S. Department of Transportation.

Disciplinary Actions
Under existing laws, USDOT retains
the right, where appropriate, to
discipline a USDOT employee who
engages in conduct that is inconsistent
with Federal Antidiscrimination and
Whistleblower Protection laws up to
and including removal from Federal
service. If USDOT takes an adverse
action under 5 U.S.C. 7512 against an
employee for a discriminatory act, it
must include a notation of the adverse
action and the reason for the action in
the employee’s personnel record. If OSC
initiates an investigation under 5 U.S.C.
1214, USDOT must seek approval from
the Special Counsel to discipline
employees for, among other activities,
engaging in prohibited retaliation (5
U.S.C. 1214). Nothing in the No FEAR
Act alters existing laws or permits an

AGENCY:

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Additional Information
For more information regarding the
No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR
part 724, as well as the appropriate
office(s) within your agency (e.g., EEO/
civil rights offices, human resources
offices, or legal offices). You can find
additional information regarding
Federal antidiscrimination,
whistleblower protection, and
retaliation laws at the EEOC website at
http://www.eeoc.gov and the OSC
website at http://www.osc.gov.
Existing Rights Unchanged
Pursuant to section 205 of the No
FEAR Act, neither the No FEAR Act nor
this notice creates, expands, or reduces
any rights otherwise available to any
employee, former employee, or
applicant under the laws of the United
States, including the provisions of law
specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d).

[FR Doc. 2021–23814 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0666]

Agency Information Collection
Activity: Information Regarding
Apportionment of Beneficiary’s Award;
Withdrawn
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice; withdrawal.
On Wednesday, October 27,
2021, the Veterans Benefits
Administration published a notice in
the Federal Register announcing an
opportunity for public comment on the
proposed collection Information
Regarding Apportionment of
Beneficiary’s Award (VA Form 21–
0788). This notice was published in
error; therefore, this document corrects
that error by withdrawing this FR
notice, document number 2021–23380.
DATES: As of October 27, 2021, the FR
notice published at 86 FR 59449 on
Wednesday, October 27, 2021, is
withdrawn.
SUMMARY:

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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 maribel.aponte@va.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FR Doc.
2021–23380, published on October 27,
2021 (86 FR 59449), is withdrawn by
this notice.
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. 2021–23797 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0618]

Agency Information Collection Activity
Under OMB Review: Application by
Insured Terminally Ill Person for
Accelerated Benefit
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, 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 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 ‘‘OMB Control
No. 2900–0618.
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 maribel.aponte@va.gov. Please
refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0618’’
in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 209 / Tuesday, November 2, 2021 / Notices

jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1

Authority: Public Law 104–13; 44
U.S.C. 3501–3521.
Title: Application by Insured
Terminally Ill Person for Accelerated
Benefit, SGLV 8284.
OMB Control Number: 2900–0618.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: VA has amended regulations
for the Servicemembers’ Group Life
Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group
Life Insurance (VGLI) programs to add
accelerated death benefit (Accelerated
Benefit) provisions that permit
terminally ill policyholders access to
the death benefits of their policies
before they die. Traditionally, an
individual purchases life insurance in
order to safeguard his or her dependents
against major financial loss due to his or
her death. Life insurance serves to
replace the lost income of an insured
and to provide for his or her final
expenses. In recent years, the insurance
industry has recognized the financial
needs of terminally ill policyholders
and has begun offering policies with
accelerated benefit provisions. A recent
statutory amendment (Section 302 of the
Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of
1998, Pub. L. 105–368, 112 Stat. 3315,
3332–3333) added section 1980 to Title
38, United States Code, which extends
and accelerated benefit option to
terminally ill persons insured in the
SGLI and VGLI programs.
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 86 FR
161 on August 24, 2021, pages 47374
and 47375.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 40 hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 12 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
200.

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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. 2021–23854 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0161]

Agency Information Collection Activity
Under OMB Review: Medical Expense
Report
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of
1995, 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 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 ‘‘OMB Control
No. 2900–0161.’’
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 maribel.aponte@va.gov. Please
refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0161’’
in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:

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Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1503; 38 CFR
3.262, 3.271 & 3.272.
Title: Medical Expense Report (VA
Form 21P–8416).
OMB Control Number: 2900–0161.
Type of Review: Extension of a
previously approved collection.
Abstract: A claimant’s eligibility for
needs-based pension programs are
determined in part by countable family
income and certain deductible
expenses. When a claimant is awarded
compensation by another entity or
government agency based on personal
injury or death, the compensation is
usually countable income for VA
purposes (38 CFR 3.262(i)). However,
medical, legal or other expenses
incident to the injury or death, or
incident to the collection or recovery of
compensation, may be deducted from
the amount of the award or settlement
(38 CFR 3.271(g) and 3.272(g)). In these
situations, VBA uses VA Form 21P–
8416 Medical Expense Report, to gather
information that is necessary to
determine eligibility for income-based
benefits and the rate payable; without
this information, determination of
eligibility would not be possible. This is
an extension only with no substantive
changes. The burden remains the same.
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 86 FR
161 on August 24, 2021, page 47375.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 30,000.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 30 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
60,000.
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. 2021–23665 Filed 11–1–21; 8:45 am]
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