8342 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 30 / Monday, February 14, 2022 / Notices 

document on February 8, 2022 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. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03124 Filed 2–11–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Department of Veterans Affairs’ Tribal 

Representation Expansion Project 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice of Tribal consultation. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) is seeking Tribal 

consultation on ‘‘The Tribal 

Representation Expansion Project (T. 

REP)’’, a project through which VA 

strives to ensure that Native American 

Veterans have access to responsible, 

qualified representation in the 

preparation, presentation, and 

prosecution of their benefit claims 

before VA. VA is seeking comments on 

whether Tribal communities currently 

have access to representation for VA 

benefit claims and, for those Tribes that 

are being underserved in terms of 

representation, whether the Tribal 

governments may be interested in 

collaborating with VA to designate an 

individual within the community as 

authorized to prepare, present, and 

prosecute VA benefit claims. In 

addition, VA is seeking comments and 

recommendations on any issues, 

concerns, or processes the Tribes 

believe should be addressed in T. REP 

to better ensure that the project is 

successful in helping to expand access 

to representation for Native American 

Veterans on their benefit claims before 

VA. 

DATES: VA will hold the virtual tribal 

consultation session on March 23, 2022, 

from 3:00–5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). 

Written comments may also be 

submitted to VA on or before March 30, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: Participants can access the 

virtual consultation session by 

registering through the following link: 

https://veteransaffairs.webex.com/ 

veteransaffairs/onstage/ 

g.php?MTID=eaa07b769b5f8a27

cfe390e0c732ee1eb; for audio by phone, 

please dial 1–404–397–1596, access 

code 2760 198 8717. Participants will 

interact by submitting written 

comments and/or questions using the 

chat function during the presentation. 

Written comments may also be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

D By email to tribalgovernment

consultation@va.gov. 

D By facsimile to 202–273–5716. 

D By mail to U.S. Department of 

Veterans Affairs, Suite 915B, 810 

Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 

20420. 

Comments should indicate that the 

submission is in response to ‘‘The Tribal 

Representation Expansion Project.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clay 

Ward, VA Office of Tribal Government 

Relations at (202) 461–7445 (this is not 

a toll-free number), or by email at 

Tribalgovernmentconsultation@va.gov, 

or by mail at Suite 915B, 810 Vermont 

Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through 

T. REP, VA strives to ensure that Native 

American Veterans and their families 

have access to responsible, qualified 

representation in the preparation, 

presentation, and prosecution of their 

benefit claims before VA. Through 

T.REP, VA aims to focus on the Tribal 

communities that are being underserved 

in terms of representation. To help 

improve access to claims representation 

in those communities, VA would like to 

collaborate with Tribal governments to 

designate an individual within the 

community as authorized to prepare, 

present, and prosecute VA benefit 

claims. 

VA has long since recognized the 

unique circumstances of Tribes and that 

cultural, geographical, or language 

barriers may exist that prevent or deter 

Native American Veterans from seeking 

out representation on their benefit 

claims before VA. In 2017, VA took 

affirmative steps to improve access to 

representation on Tribal land by 

revising its regulations to, among other 

things, permit veterans’ service offices 

affiliated with Tribal governments to be 

recognized by VA as Tribal 

organizations in a manner similar to 

State organizations (see 82 FR 6265 (Jan. 

19, 2017)). VA, however, recognizes that 

there is still more that VA can do to 

advance equity in the access to 

representation for Native American 

Veterans on their VA benefit claims. 

Accordingly, to further facilitate access 

to culturally competent representation 

for Native American Veterans, and to 

honor the unique nature of the Federal 

government’s Nation-to-Nation 

relationship with the Tribes, VA would 

like to collaborate with Tribal 

governments to expand opportunities 

for claims representation where needed. 

Through consultation, VA seeks to 

learn which Tribal communities have 

access to representation for VA benefit 

claims. VA is interested in learning 

which Tribal communities have access 

to representation that is provided by 

representatives of VA-recognized 

organizations. VA is also interested in 

learning which Tribal communities 

have access to representation by 

attorneys and agents. Moreover, VA also 

seeks to learn whether such 

representation is viewed in the Tribal 

community as culturally competent 

representation. 

In addition, from the Tribal 

communities that self-identify as being 

underserved in terms of representation, 

VA seeks comments on whether their 

Tribal governments may be interested in 

collaborating with VA to provide an 

option for representation. Specifically, 

VA is interested in learning if there are 

Tribes that may be interested in 

identifying an individual who is 

affiliated with their government, is of 

good character and reputation, and, 

who, after proper training on VA 

benefits, would be fit to be authorized 

by the VA General Counsel to represent 

on VA benefit claims. The General 

Counsel then plans to use his 

discretionary authority, pursuant to 38 

CFR 14.630, to specially authorize such 

individuals to prepare, present, and 

prosecute VA benefit claims before VA. 

In addition, to help ensure the fitness of 

these specially authorized individuals, 

VA is exploring the possibility of 

coordinating with VA-recognized 

organizations that have established 

veterans benefits training programs and 

that may be willing to make their 

training available to such individuals. 

In addition, VA is seeking comments 

and recommendations from Tribal 

leaders and representatives of Tribal 

communities on any issues, concerns, or 

processes that should be addressed in T. 

REP to ensure that the project is 

successful in expanding access to 

representation for Native American 

Veterans on their VA benefit claims. 

Accordingly, through this Tribal 

consultation, the Secretary seeks 

information on the questions listed 

below. Comments do not need to 

address every question and should focus 

on those that are relevant to the 

commenter’s Tribal community. To the 

extent possible, please clearly indicate 

which questions you are addressing in 

your response and include any rationale 

or information that may be helpful to 

VA. 

1. Are Native American Veterans in 

your community receiving any 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 30 / Monday, February 14, 2022 / Notices 8343 

assistance in pursuing their VA benefit 

claims? Are they being represented 

before VA on their VA benefit claims? 

Who is providing those services? For 

example, those claims services may be 

provided by: (a) A person employed by 

the Tribal government; (b) a member of 

your Tribe or Tribal community; (c) a 

VA-recognized organization or a 

representative of a VA-recognized 

organization; or (d) an agent or attorney. 

Please provide details as to the extent of 

the assistance provided and whom we 

may credit if your Tribal community 

currently has access to benefit claims 

assistance and/or representation before 

VA. 

2. If Veterans within your Tribal 

community have access to 

representation for their VA benefit 

claims, do you consider the option(s) for 

representation to be culturally 

competent representation? Please 

explain. 

3. If Veterans and their families 

within your Tribal community are not 

being adequately represented on their 

VA benefit claims, is there someone 

employed by, or affiliated, with your 

Tribal government that is currently, or 

could be, positioned to serve Veterans? 

For example, such individual may 

currently be serving Veterans and their 

families as a Tribal Veterans Service 

Officer (TVSO) or as a Tribal Veterans 

Representative (TVR). 

4. Are there barriers to Veterans and 

their family members within your Tribal 

community in accessing representation 

on their VA claims? For example, 

barriers may include: (a) Location or 

environmental obstacles; (b) language 

difficulties; (c) cultural differences; (d) 

distrust of the Federal or State 

government; (e) difficulties in finding 

training; (f) difficulties in securing office 

equipment and internet services; or (g) 

other circumstances. 

5. Do you believe that your Tribal 

government may want to collaborate 

with VA to identify someone affiliated 

with your government to be authorized 

to represent Veterans and their families 

on benefit claims before VA? 

6. Are you interested in being 

contacted by VA’s Office of General 

Counsel to learn more about the project? 

7. Are there issues, concerns, or 

processes that should be addressed in T. 

REP so that the project functions 

effectively in support of access to 

representation for Native American 

Veterans within your Tribal government 

and/or community? If so, how do you 

recommend VA address those matters in 

this project? 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on February 8, 2022 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. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03084 Filed 2–11–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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