7350 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 17 / Thursday, January 28, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Items and Services, published in the 

Federal Register on December 28, 2020, 

to allow Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) officials the opportunity for further 

review and consider the new 

regulations. 

DATES: The effective date of the rule 

amending 38 CFR part 17 published at 

85 FR 84245, December 28, 2020, is 

delayed until February 26, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Penny Nechanicky, National Program 

Director for Prosthetic and Sensory Aids 

Service (10P4RK), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20420; 

penny.nechanicky@va.gov; (202) 461– 

0337. (This is not a toll-free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This rulemaking adopts proposed 

amendments to VA’s regulations 

governing the provision of prosthetic 

and rehabilitative items and services as 

medical services to veterans. It 

establishes a new section for the 

provision of prosthetic and 

rehabilitative items and services, 

clarifies eligibility for such items and 

services, and defines the types of 

prosthetic and rehabilitative items and 

services available to eligible veterans. 

VA bases this action on the 

Presidential directive as expressed in 

the memorandum of January 20, 2021, 

from the Assistant to the President and 

Chief of Staff, entitled ‘‘Regulatory 

Freeze Pending Review.’’ That 

memorandum directed the heads of 

Executive Departments and Agencies to 

consider temporarily postponing for 60 

days from the date of the memorandum 

the effective dates of all regulations that 

had been published in the Federal 

Register but had not yet taken effect. 

The memorandum also noted certain 

exceptions that do not apply here. VA 

therefore is delaying the effective date 

for the rule entitled ‘‘Prosthetic and 

Rehabilitative Items and Services’’ to 

February 26, 2021, determining 30 days 

is sufficient time to assess without 

unduly impacting or delaying delivery 

of support and services. 

The Agency’s implementation of this 

action without opportunity for public 

comment is based on the good cause 

exception in the Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), in 

that seeking public comment would be 

impracticable, unnecessary and contrary 

to the public interest. The temporary 

delay in effective date until February 26, 

2021, will give Agency officials the 

opportunity to review and consider the 

new regulations, as required by the 

memorandum of the Assistant to the 

President and Chief of Staff, dated 

January 20, 2021. The Prosthetic and 

Rehabilitative Items and Services rule 

would have taken effect on January 27, 

2021. The effective date for this 

regulation will be extended by 30 days 

from the original effective date. It would 

not have been possible to provide a 

meaningful opportunity for public 

comment prior to that effective date, 

and delay of the effective date is in the 

public interest because it allows an 

opportunity for the new Administration 

to consider the policy implications of 

the final rule before it becomes final. 

Thus, the good cause exception in 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) applies to VA’s 

decision to extend the effective date of 

the Prosthetic and Rehabilitative Items 

and Services rule without first going 

through notice and comment. 

In taking this action, the Agency also 

invokes the good cause exception in 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), which allows the 

action to be immediately effective for 

‘‘good cause’’ rather than subject to the 

requirement in the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(d)) that a 

minimum of 60 days is required before 

a rule may become effective. The nature 

of this action is to extend by 30 days the 

effective date of a final rule that 

otherwise would become effective on 

January 27, 2021. Seeking prior public 

comment on this postponement would 

have been impracticable, as well as 

contrary to the public interest, in the 

orderly issuance and implementation of 

regulations. 

Signing Authority 

The Acting Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs, or designee, approved this 

document and authorized the 

undersigned to sign and submit the 

document to the Office of the Federal 

Register for publication electronically as 

an official document of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs. Chris Diaz, Acting 

Chief of Staff and White House Liaison, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 

approved this document on January 25, 

2021, for publication. 

Consuela Benjamin, 

Regulations Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of the Secretary, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01904 Filed 1–26–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION 

45 CFR Part 1611 

Income Level for Individuals Eligible 

for Assistance 

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Legal Services 

Corporation (LSC) is required by law to 

establish maximum income levels for 

individuals eligible for legal assistance. 

This document updates the specified 

income levels to reflect the annual 

amendments to the Federal Poverty 

Guidelines issued by the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

DATES: Effective January 28, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stefanie K. Davis, Senior Assistant 

General Counsel, Legal Services 

Corporation, 3333 K St. NW, 

Washington, DC 20007; (202) 295–1563; 

sdavis@lsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

1007(a)(2) of the Legal Services 

Corporation Act (Act), 42 U.S.C. 

2996f(a)(2), requires LSC to establish 

maximum income levels for individuals 

eligible for legal assistance. Section 

1611.3(c) of LSC’s regulations 

establishes a maximum income level 

equivalent to 125% of the Federal 

Poverty Guidelines (Guidelines), which 

HHS is responsible for updating and 

issuing. 45 CFR 1611.3(c). 

Each year, LSC updates appendix A to 

45 CFR part 1611 to provide client 

income eligibility standards based on 

the most recent Guidelines. The figures 

for 2021, set out below, are equivalent 

to 125% of the Guidelines published by 

HHS on January 15, 2021. 

In addition, LSC is publishing a chart 

listing income levels that are 200% of 

the Guidelines. This chart is for 

reference purposes only as an aid to 

recipients in assessing the financial 

eligibility of an applicant whose income 

is greater than 125% of the applicable 

Guidelines amount, but less than 200% 

of the applicable Guidelines amount 

(and who may be found to be financially 

eligible under duly adopted exceptions 

to the annual income ceiling in 

accordance with 45 CFR 1611.3, 1611.4, 

and 1611.5). 

Except where there are minor 

variances due to rounding, the amount 

by which the guideline increases for 

each additional member of the 

household is a consistent amount. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1611 

Grant programs—law, Legal services. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 17 / Thursday, January 28, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 7351 

For reasons set forth in the preamble, 

the Legal Services Corporation amends 

45 CFR part 1611 as follows: 

PART 1611—ELIGIBILITY 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1611 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996g(e). 

■ 2. Revise appendix A to part 1611 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 1611—Income 

Level for Individuals Eligible for 

Assistance 

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION 2021 INCOME GUIDELINES * 

Size of household 

48 Contiguous 

states and 

the District 

of Columbia 

Alaska Hawaii 

1 ................................................................................................................................................. $16,100 $20,113 $18,525 

2 ................................................................................................................................................. 21,775 27,213 25,050 

3 ................................................................................................................................................. 27,450 34,313 31,575 

4 ................................................................................................................................................. 33,125 41,413 38,100 

5 ................................................................................................................................................. 38,800 48, 513 44,625 

6 ................................................................................................................................................. 44,475 54,938 51,150 

7 ................................................................................................................................................. 50,150 62,713 57,675 

8 ................................................................................................................................................. 55,825 69,813 64,200 

For each additional member of the household in excess of 8, add: ........................................ 5,675 7,100 6,525 

* The figures in this table represent 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines by household size as determined by HHS. 

REFERENCE CHART—200% OF FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES * 

Size of household 

48 Contiguous 

states and 

the District 

of Columbia 

Alaska Hawaii 

1 ................................................................................................................................................. $25,760 $32,180 $29,640 

2 ................................................................................................................................................. 34,840 43,540 40,080 

3 ................................................................................................................................................. 43,920 54,900 50,520 

4 ................................................................................................................................................. 53,000 66,260 60,960 

5 ................................................................................................................................................. 62,080 77,620 71,400 

6 ................................................................................................................................................. 71,160 88,980 81,840 

7 ................................................................................................................................................. 80,240 100,340 92,280 

8 ................................................................................................................................................. 89,320 111,700 102,720 

For each additional member of the household in excess of 8, add: ........................................ 9,080 11,360 10,440 

* The figures in this table represent 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines by household size as determined by HHS. 

Dated: January 22, 2021. 

Stefanie Davis. 

Senior Assistant General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01815 Filed 1–27–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7050–01–P