Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 2, 2021 / Notices 7921 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

reinstatement 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 April 5, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the collection of information through 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov or to 

Terrence Moultrie (00VE), Department 

of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420 or 

email to Terrence.moultrie@va.gov. 

Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900– 

0675’’ in any correspondence. During 

the comment period, comments may be 

viewed online through FDMS. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terrence Moultrie at (202) 461–4300 or 

FAX (202) 495–5805. 

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, CVE invites 

comments on: (1) Whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of CVE’s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of CVE’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: Public Law 104–13; 44 

U.S.C. 3501–3521. 

Title: Vetbiz Vendor Information 

Pages Verification Program, VA Form 

0877. 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0675. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: Vetbiz Vendor Information 

Pages Verification Program is used to 

assist federal agencies in identifying 

small businesses owned and controlled 

by veterans and service-connected 

disabled veterans. The information is 

necessary to ensure that veteran owned 

businesses are given the opportunity to 

participate in Federal contracts and 

receive contract solicitations 

information automatically. VA will use 

the data collected to verify small 

businesses as veteran-owned or servicedisabled veteran-owned. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 10,000 

hours. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: 30 minutes. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

20,000. 

By direction of the Secretary. 

Danny S. Green, 

Department Clearance Officer, Office of 

Quality, Privacy and Risk, Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02166 Filed 2–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Draft Criteria for Section 203 of the VA 

MISSION Act of 2018 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Department 

of Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible 

for establishing a procedure for making 

recommendations in reviewing assets 

and infrastructure. This notice provides 

the selection criteria to guide this 

process in order to meet this this 

responsibility. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted through www.regulations.gov. 

Comments should indicate that they are 

submitted in response to ‘‘Notice of 

Intent and request for comments.’’ 

During the comment period, comments 

may also be viewed online through the 

Federal Docket Management System at 

www.regulations.gov. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 1, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Valerie Mattison Brown, Chief Strategy 

Officer, Veterans Health Administration, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue NW, Washington DC 

20420, (202) 461–7100 or 

VAMissionActSection203@va.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

1703C of 38 U.S.C., as added by Section 

203 of the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. 

Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA 

Maintaining Internal Systems and 

Strengthening Integrated Outside 

Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 

requires VA to establish criteria to be 

used in assessing and making 

recommendations regarding the 

modernization or realignment of 

facilities of the Veterans Health 

Administration (VHA) under the 

subtitle Selection Criteria. In 2019, VHA 

began working with various 

stakeholders and experts to identify 

factors to be considered in developing 

the criteria. VHA solicited feedback 

from Veterans Service Organizations, 

Veteran Engagement Boards and a wide 

range of interdisciplinary VA leaders. 

Six criteria and associated sub-criteria 

were developed through these robust 

engagements. VHA proposes to use 

these criteria to evaluate potential 

market opportunities for submission to 

the Asset and Infrastructure Review 

Commission. 

Foreword 

VA is honored to deliver excellent 

health care for the more than 9 million 

Veterans who entrust us with their care 

and is proud to serve as the backstop to 

the Nation’s health care system. VA was 

in the midst of a tremendous 

transformation before the COVID–19 

pandemic, working to empower 

Veterans with more excellent choices 

while modernizing our systems to 

enable an optimal experience of care 

and services. As the impacts of this 

unprecedented public health challenge 

have moved across the Nation and the 

globe, we have continued to 

demonstrate the strength of our 

nationwide, integrated system, 

positioning VA at the leading edge of 

U.S. health care on behalf of those we 

serve. We have employed each of our 

four missions—health care, education, 

research and emergency response—to 

lead the Nation forward beside our 

interagency and strategic partners. Each 

of these missions will be a vital element 

of the next step in our transformation 

journey: Designing the future of VA 

around the Veterans we serve. 

VA works each day to serve and 

honor America’s Veterans and seeks to 

ensure each individual Veteran feels 

they are cared for uniquely, wherever 

they are and however they need. As 

Veteran needs, preferences and 

demographics shift over the coming 

decades, decisions about health care 

delivery and infrastructure need to be 

made by the Secretary to ensure 

Veterans can continue to access a 

sustainable, flexible and high-quality 

health care system well into the future. 

In line with our missions, VA proposes 

the following set of criteria for making 

decisions on health care improvement, 

as required by Section 203 of the 

MISSION Act of 2018. The criteria are 

designed to keep Veterans’ needs at the 

center of the decision-making process, 


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7922 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 2, 2021 / Notices 

assuring that each Veteran can receive 

the care they have earned and deserve. 

Criteria 

VA is conducting Market Assessments 

to design high-performing networks of 

care to provide high quality, readily 

accessible cost-effective care through 

VHA, Federal partners, academic 

affiliates and other private sector 

providers. This design provides VA 

with the ability to plan for the 

continuing evolution of Veteran health 

care, incorporating major trends and 

events in the national and global health 

ecosystem (e.g., the COVID–19 

pandemic and telehealth). Each 

assessment will create opportunities to 

position the VA health care system to 

increase health equity, enhance Veteran 

experience, account for social 

determinants and serve as the 

coordinator of health care provided by 

VA. Through thoughtful and 

constructive engagements with internal 

and external stakeholders, the following 

criteria were developed for the 

evaluation of VHA realignment and 

modernization opportunities. 

The Secretary will use the criteria to 

make recommendations to the Asset and 

Infrastructure Review (AIR) 

Commission, established by the 

MISSION Act for the modernization and 

realignment of VHA facilities and to 

improve Veteran access to high-quality 

health care across the country. 

Recommendations submitted to the AIR 

Commission will focus on creating 

Veteran-centric outcomes that retain or 

improve health care services for 

Veterans through the most equitable 

modalities and through services and 

locations that most benefit those we 

serve. The recommendations will then 

go through the AIR Commission review 

process as outlined in the MISSION Act. 

Each criterion begins with a 

commitment statement, outlining VA’s 

philosophy and commitment to current 

and future Veterans, followed by the 

criterion statement, sub-criteria and 

explanatory statement: 

Veterans’ Need for Care & Services 

(Demand) 

Commitment Statement: VA is 

committed to providing Veterans the 

full range of care and services needed 

and desired throughout their lifetimes, 

to include preventive, acute and chronic 

care. These services will be carefully 

balanced to meet Veterans’ needs and 

preferences. We intend to ensure 

Veterans receive the personalized care 

they have earned. We will do this by 

matching the services and support they 

may need with our ability to provide 

those services in a timely manner, 

through VA’s direct care system, 

through our Community Care Network 

and through government, academic and 

strategic partners. 

Demand Criterion: The 

recommendation aligns VA’s high 

performing network resources to 

effectively meet the future health care 

demand of the Veteran enrollee 

population. 

Demand Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Aligns the quality and delivery of 

care and services with projected Veteran 

demand across demographics and 

geography; 

Æ Retains or improves VA’s ability to 

meet projected demand; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed utilization 

patterns (e.g., rurality and other social 

determinants of health); and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

When applying the ‘demand’ 

criterion, VA will consider how a 

recommendation will impact VA’s 

ability to meet the needs of Veterans in 

the future. VA will consider what 

Veterans may need through 

understanding the services that 

Veterans have accessed in the past and 

are projected to need and prefer in the 

future. VA will also consider how and 

where Veterans wish to receive services, 

including in ambulatory settings, 

hospitals, in the community, through 

telehealth, and through innovative 

models and modalities. 

Accessibility of Care for Veterans 

(Access) 

Commitment Statement: We intend to 

provide Veterans with an accessible, 

whole health experience, with services 

thoughtfully designed to meet their 

needs. We will do this by making the 

services and support Veterans need 

accessible through locations, models 

and modalities that most benefit them 

and match their needs and preferences. 

Access Criterion: The 

recommendation maintains or improves 

Veteran access to care. 

Access Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Aligns VA points of care and 

services with projected Veteran need 

across demographics and geography; 

Æ Retains or improves Veterans’ 

ability to access VA care; 

Æ Ensures Veterans are provided a 

range of health care options and the 

opportunity to choose care they trust, 

based on their preferences, throughout 

their lifetime; 

Æ Enables VA to serve as the 

coordinator of each Veteran’s health 

care whether provided within or beyond 

VA; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed access patterns 

(e.g., rurality and other social 

determinants of health); and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

When applying the ‘access’ criterion, 

VA will consider how a 

recommendation will impact the 

convenience of care provided to 

Veterans in the future. Key components 

of access include the time it takes to 

receive care and the barriers and 

accelerators to receiving care, such as 

distance or availability of technology. 

Impact on Mission 

Commitment Statement: VA is 

committed to delivering best-in-class 

care throughout Veterans’ lifetimes. 

This means positioning the VA health 

care system at the leading edge of the 

health care industry in education, 

research and national emergency 

preparedness. 

Impact on Mission Criterion: The 

recommendation provides for VA’s 

second, third and fourth statutory 

missions of education, research and 

emergency preparedness. 

Impact on Mission Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Aligns resources to VA’s education, 

research and emergency preparedness 

missions across demographics and 

geography; 

Æ Education: Maintains or augments 

VA’s ability to execute its education 

mission; 

Æ Research: Maintains or augments 

VA’s ability to execute its research 

mission; 

Æ Emergency Preparedness: 

Maintains or augments VA’s ability to 

execute its emergency preparedness 

mission; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed mission impacts 

of education, research and emergency 

preparedness efforts (e.g., rurality and 

other social determinants of health; and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

The ‘impact on mission’ criterion 

allows VA to consider how a 

recommendation will impact our ability 

to execute our statutory missions of 

education, research and emergency 

preparedness in support of Veterans 

and the nation. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 2, 2021 / Notices 7923 

Providing the Highest Quality Whole 

Health Care (Quality) 

Commitment Statement: VA is 

committed to providing Veterans with a 

high-quality, whole health care system 

that delivers an excellent experience of 

care and optimal health outcomes. VA 

will deliver the same high quality, 

evidence-based standards of care 

regardless of where, or by which 

modality, their care is received. 

Quality Criterion: The 

recommendation considers the quality 

and delivery of health care services 

available to Veterans, including the 

experience, safety and appropriateness 

of care. 

Quality Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Ensures the highest possible quality 

of care across demographics and 

geography; 

Æ Promotes recruitment of top 

clinical and non-clinical talent; 

Æ Maintains or enhances Veteran 

experience; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed quality patterns 

(e.g., rurality and other social 

determinants of health); and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

When applying the ‘quality’ criterion, 

VA will consider how a 

recommendation will impact the quality 

of care for Veterans. Quality in health 

care is measured through metrics and 

ratings assessed by federal and 

commercial health care entities. VA will 

consider the care needs and preferences 

of Veterans in order to provide optimal 

experience, safety, and outcomes. 

Effective Use of Resources for Veteran 

Care (Cost Effectiveness) 

Commitment Statement: VA is 

committed to optimizing our health care 

system through the effective use and 

sharing of resources, including staffing, 

space, infrastructure and funding, with 

the goal of providing Veterans with the 

best health care and outcomes. We will 

actively and mindfully manage our 

resources, allowing us to provide 

services and support that effectively 

match Veterans’ needs and preferences 

while putting their health and 

empowerment at the center of system 

design. 

Cost Effectiveness Criterion: The 

recommendation provides a costeffective means by which to provide 

Veterans with modern health care. 

Cost Effectiveness Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Reflects stewardship of taxpayer 

dollars by optimizing investments and 

resources for Veterans; 

Æ Recognizes potential savings or 

efficiencies that may free resources for 

more impactful investment for Veterans; 

Æ Considers the value of Veteran and 

employee experience, innovation, and 

other intangible elements of value; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed cost patterns 

(e.g., rurality and other social 

determinants of health); and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

When applying the ‘cost effectiveness’ 

criterion, VA will consider whether a 

recommendation optimizes funding for 

Veteran care. 

Ensuring a Safe Environment of Care 

(Sustainability) 

Commitment Statement: VA is 

committed to providing Veterans a safe 

and welcoming environment of care. 

Our goal is for Veterans to feel safe 

physically, mentally, socially and 

emotionally when in our care. We 

commit to providing standard and 

complementary types of care for our 

unique Veteran population in an 

equitable and inclusive environment. 

We will do this by ensuring points of 

care are modern and inviting, with an 

expert workforce and care options 

designed to meet them where they are 

in their health journey. 

Sustainability Criterion: The 

recommendation creates a sustainable 

health care delivery system for Veterans. 

Sustainability Sub-Criteria: 

The recommendation: 

Æ Aligns investment in care and 

services with Veteran need across 

demographics and geography; 

Æ Reflects stewardship of taxpayer 

dollars by creating a sustainable 

infrastructure system for Veterans; 

Æ Enables recruitment and retention 

of top clinical and non-clinical talent; 

Æ Considers health equity (i.e., 

demographics); 

Æ Reflects consideration of factors 

underpinning observed access patterns 

(e.g., rurality and other social 

determinants of health); and 

Æ Incorporates trends in the evolution 

of U.S. health care. 

When applying the ‘sustainability’ 

criterion, VA will consider how a 

recommendation impacts our ability to 

offer Veterans a welcoming and safe 

care environment that meets modern 

health care standards and ensures 

sustainability for future generations of 

Veterans. 

Signing Authority 

Dat P. Tran, Acting Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on January 26, 2021, 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. 

Jeffrey M. Martin, 

Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy 

& Management, Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02138 Filed 2–1–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Office of Small & 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU), Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA). 

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: VA personnel will access the 

system to find resources available to 

veteran entrepreneurs and to register 

those resources that they provide. They 

may also utilize the database to counsel 

and assist veteran entrepreneurs in 

starting a small business or expanding 

an existing small business. The Office of 

Small & Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization (OSDBU) will use the 

records and reports derived from the 

database to manage their responsibilities 

under the Veterans Entrepreneurship 

and Small Business Development Act of 

1999. Federal, State, and local 

government personnel will access the 

system to find resources available to 

veteran entrepreneurs and to register 

those resources that they provide. They 

may also utilize the database to counsel 

and assist veteran entrepreneurs in 

starting a small business or expanding 

an existing small business. The general 

public, including private sector 

companies and corporate entities, will 

access the system, via internet, to 

review the information, register those 

resources that they provide, and to 

locate potential resources for Veteran 

entrepreneurs. 

DATES: Comments on this modified 

system of records must be received no 

later than 30 days after date of 

publication in the Federal Register. If 

no public comment is received during 

the period allowed for comment or 

unless otherwise published in the 

Federal Register by VA, the modified 


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