16120 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 

1The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 

U.S.C. 1951–1959, 31 U.S.C. 5311–5314 and 5316– 

5332 and notes thereto, with implementing 

regulations at 31 CFR chapter X. See 31 CFR 

1010.100(e). 

2Treasury Order 180–01 (Sept. 26, 2002). 

3 31 U.S.C. 5311. 

4 31 U.S.C. 5318(a) and (h). 

5On October 17, 2011, FinCEN published an 

NPRM (See 76 FR 64049) requesting comments on 

the proposed change to the definition of ‘‘monetary 

instrument’’ in the BSA. The comment period 

closed December 16, 2011. FinCEN received 14 

comments in response (See http:// 

www.regulations.gov/and search on RIN 1506– 

AB13). Any changes resulting from this NPRM will 

be the subject of a subsequent notice. 

www.fincen.gov/forms/files/ 

fin105_cmir.pdf. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Report of International 

Transportation of Currency or Monetary 

Instruments (CMIR). 

Office of Management and Budget 

Number (OMB): 1506–0014. 

Form Number: FinCEN Form 105. 

Abstract: FinCEN exercises regulatory 

functions primarily under the Currency 

and Financial Transactions Reporting 

Act of 1970, as amended by the USA 

PATRIOT Act of 2001 and other 

legislation. This legislative framework is 

commonly referred to as the ‘‘Bank 

Secrecy Act’’ (‘‘BSA’’).1 The Secretary of 

the Treasury has delegated to the 

Director of FinCEN the authority to 

implement, administer and enforce 

compliance with the BSA and 

associated regulations.2 Pursuant to this 

authority, FinCEN may issue regulations 

requiring financial institutions to keep 

records and file reports that ‘‘have a 

high degree of usefulness in criminal, 

tax, or regulatory investigations or 

proceedings, or in the conduct of 

intelligence or counterintelligence 

activities, including analysis, to protect 

against international terrorism.’’ 3

Additionally, FinCEN is authorized to 

impose regulations to maintain 

procedures to ensure compliance with 

the BSA and FinCEN’s implementing 

regulations, or to guard against money 

laundering, which includes imposing 

anti-money laundering (‘‘AML’’) 

program requirements on financial 

institutions.4

Pursuant to the BSA, the requirement 

of 31 U.S.C. 5316(a) has been 

implemented through regulations 

promulgated at 31 CFR 1010.340 and 

through the instructions for the CMIR as 

follows: 

(1) Each person who physically 

transports, mails, or ships, or causes to 

be physically transported, mailed, or 

shipped currency or other monetary 

instruments in an aggregate amount 

exceeding $10,000 at one time from the 

United States to any place outside the 

United States or into the United States 

from any place outside the United 

States, and 

(2) Each person who receives in the 

United States currency or other 

monetary instruments in an aggregate 

amount exceeding $10,000 at one time 

which have been transported, mailed, or 

shipped to the person from any place 

outside the United States. A transfer of 

funds through normal banking 

procedures, which does not involve the 

physical transportation of currency or 

monetary instruments, is not required to 

be reported on the CMIR. 

Information collected on the CMIR is 

made available, in accordance with 

strict safeguards, to appropriate criminal 

law enforcement and regulatory 

personnel in the official performance of 

their duties. The information collected 

is of use in investigations involving 

international and domestic money 

laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and other 

financial crimes. 

Current Actions: Renewal without 

change.5

Type of Review: Renewal of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals, business 

or other for-profit institutions, and notfor-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

280,000. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 30 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 140,000 hours. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

Records required to be retained under 

the BSA must be retained for five years. 

Generally, information collected 

pursuant to the BSA is confidential, but 

may be shared as provided by law with 

regulatory and law enforcement 

authorities. 

Request for Comments: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of 

information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and (e) estimates of capital 

or start-up costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. 

Dated: February 13, 2012. 

James H. Freis, Jr., 

Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement 

Network. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6477 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Tribal Consultations 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice of Tribal Consultation. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) Office of Tribal 

Government Relations (OTGR) will host 

a Tribal Consultation on the following 

VA programs: Native American Direct 

Loan Program, Tribal Cemetery Grants, 

and local implementation of the 2010 

VA/Indian Health Service (IHS) 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

DATES: Comments must be submitted to 

VA no later than Friday, March 30, 

2012. The Consultation Session will be 

held on April 5, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The Consultation Session 

will be held at L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 

20024, at 9 a.m., Eastern Standard Time. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Erika Moott, Executive Officer, VA 

Office of Tribal Government Relations at 

(202) 461–7400, by email at 

Tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.gov, 

or by mail at Suite 915L, 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 6, 2000, President Clinton 

signed Executive Order 13175 entitled 

‘‘Consultation and Coordination With 

Indian Tribal Governments,’’ in order to 

‘‘establish regular and meaningful 

consultation and collaboration with 

[T]ribal officials in the development of 

Federal policies that have Tribal 

implications, to strengthen the United 

States government-to-government 

relationships with Indian Tribes, and to 

reduce the imposition of unfunded 

mandates upon Indian Tribes * * *’’ 

On November 5, 2009, President 

Obama signed the Memorandum on 

Tribal Consultation, pronouncing Tribal 

consultations a critical ingredient of a 

sound and productive Federal-Tribal 

relationship. The Presidential 

Memorandum directs all Federal 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 16121 

agencies to develop a detailed plan of 

action to implement Executive Order 

13175 and to engage in regular and 

meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with Tribal officials in the 

development of Federal policies that 

have Tribal implications. The President 

stated that his Administration is 

committed to complete and consistent 

implementation of Executive Order 

13175. 

As provided in President Obama’s 

Memorandum on Tribal Consultation, 

‘‘[t]he United States has a unique legal 

and political relationship with 

[American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal 

governments], established through and 

confirmed by the Constitution of the 

United States, treaties, statutes, 

executive orders, and judicial decisions. 

In recognition of that special 

relationship, pursuant to Executive 

Order 13175 of November 6, 2000, 

executive departments and agencies 

* * * are charged with engaging in 

regular and meaningful consultation 

and collaboration with [T]ribal officials 

in the development of Federal policies 

that have [T]ribal implications, and are 

responsible for strengthening the 

government-to-government relationship 

between the United States and 

[American Indian/Alaska Native 

Tribes].’’ 

The following topics will be 

discussed during consultation: 

National Cemetery Administration: In 

January 2012, VA issued a final rule, 77 

FR 4471, amending VA’s regulations 

governing Federal grants for the 

establishment, expansion, and 

improvement of veterans cemeteries. 

This final rule implemented through 

regulation section 403 of the ‘‘Veterans 

Benefits, Health Care, and Information 

Technology Act of 2006,’’ which 

establishes eligibility for Tribal 

Organizations to apply for grants for 

Veterans cemeteries on Trust Lands. 

Public Law 109–461, 120 Stat. 3403 

(Dec. 22, 2006); see also 38 U.S.C. 

2408(f). This authority allows VA to 

award grants under the Veterans 

Cemetery Grant Program to Tribal 

Organizations in the same manner, and 

under the same conditions, as grants to 

States. VA will consult with Tribes on 

recommendations for increasing 

outreach and awareness of the funding 

opportunity in addition to seeking input 

on challenges Tribes experience in 

applying for these grants. 

Veterans Health Administration: The 

VA–IHS MOU was signed by Dr. Petzel 

and Dr. Roubideaux on October 1, 2010. 

The purpose of the MOU is to enhance 

the health care status of American 

Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) 

Veterans through the delivery of 

accessible and quality health care 

services. This will be accomplished by 

establishing greater collaboration and 

resource-sharing between both agencies. 

VA will consult with Tribes on 

recommendations for increasing Tribal 

Government involvement in MOU 

workgroups and workgroup activities at 

the national and local levels. 

Veterans Benefits Administration: The 

Native American Veteran Direct Loan 

Program (NADL), created by Congress in 

1992, enables eligible veterans the 

opportunity to obtain VA direct loan 

benefits on Federal trust land. Until the 

creation of this program, the only way 

a Native American Veteran could use a 

VA-housing benefit was to try to find a 

mortgage lender willing to make a VAguaranteed loan on Federal trust land. 

Lenders have been historically reluctant 

to lend money to finance the purchase 

of homes on land held in trust by the 

Federal Government. VA will consult 

with Tribes on recommendations for 

increasing awareness and utilization of 

the Native American Direct Loan. 

Comments must be submitted to VA 

no later than Friday, March 30, 2012, to: 

Erika Moott, Executive Officer, VA 

Office of Tribal Government Relations at 

(202) 461–7400, by email at 

Tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.gov, 

or by mail at Suite 915L, 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420. 

However, this deadline does not 

preclude anyone from providing 

testimony at the session and we will, to 

the extent that time allows, hear your 

testimony. If you plan on attending to 

present your testimony, please provide 

the name, title, and Tribe of the 

individual who will be presenting to 

Erika Moott. In order to facilitate the 

discussion, we ask that presenters 

provide a brief overview of the 

testimony and include the specific 

issues to be addressed at the session. 

For any Tribe unable to attend to 

present testimony, please be aware that 

OTGR will keep the testimony record 

open for 30 days after the date of the 

consultation. After 30 days, OTGR will 

provide written responses to all 

comments received, including those that 

were presented in person. 

To register for the consultation, please 

submit your name, Tribe or 

organization, phone, and email address 

to Tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.

gov. 

Approved: March 12, 2012. 

John R. Gingrich, 

Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6590 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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