[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14491-14492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7229]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 3

RIN 2900-AN04


Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document affirms an amendment to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations regarding service 
connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that eliminated the 
requirement of evidence corroborating occurrence of the claimed in-
service stressor in claims in which PTSD is diagnosed in service. This 
amendment is necessary to facilitate proof of service connection in 
such claims. By this amendment, we intend to more quickly adjudicate 
claims for service connection for PTSD for these veterans.

DATES: The interim final rule became effective on October 29, 2008, and 
is applicable to claims pending before VA on the effective date of that 
rule, as well as to claims filed after that date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maya Ferrandino, Regulations Staff 
(211D), Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20420, (727) 319-5847. (This is not a toll-free 
number.)

[[Page 14492]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 29, 2008, at 73 FR 64208, VA 
published an interim final rule amending 38 CFR 3.304(f) to relax the 
requirement for establishing service connection for PTSD that was 
diagnosed in service. We added a new paragraph to provide that, if the 
evidence shows that a veteran's PTSD was diagnosed during service and 
the claimed stressor is related to that service, in the absence of 
clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and provided that the 
claimed stressor is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or 
hardships of the veteran's service, the veteran's lay testimony alone 
may establish the occurrence of the claimed in-service stressor.
    We provided a 30-day comment period that ended November 28, 2008. 
We received one comment. The commenter supported the relaxed standards 
for providing benefits for veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD while 
in service, but objected to requiring a veteran to show a stressor 
consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of the 
veteran's service. The commenter felt that the requirement was 
especially troublesome in a theater of combat such as Iraq where combat 
is experienced by troops with varying military occupational specialties 
and who, because of the circumstances of their service, may not be able 
to corroborate or establish the circumstances or conditions of their 
stressors.
    We make no change based on this comment. The language to which the 
commenter objects is mandated by 38 U.S.C. 1154(a). Section 1154(a) 
requires VA to include in regulations pertaining to service connection 
of disabilities provisions requiring VA to consider ``the places, 
types, and circumstances'' of a veteran's service when deciding a claim 
for service connection. Also, the inclusion of that language in the 
regulation makes it parallel to 38 U.S.C. 1154(b) in ensuring that the 
stressor claim is plausible in light of what is known of the veteran's 
service.
    VA appreciates the comment submitted in response to the interim 
final rule. Based on the rationale stated in the interim final rule and 
in this document, we now affirm as a final rule the amendments made by 
the interim final rule.

Administrative Procedure Act

    This document affirms without any changes amendments made by an 
interim final rule that is already in effect. Accordingly, we have 
concluded under 5 U.S.C. 553 that there is good cause for dispensing 
with a delayed effective date based on the conclusion that such 
procedure is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public 
interest.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This document contains no provisions constituting a collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary hereby certifies that this final rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-
612. This final rule would not affect any small entities. Only VA 
beneficiaries could be directly affected. Therefore, pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 605(b), this final rule is exempt from the initial and final 
regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 directs agencies to assess all costs and 
benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, when regulation is 
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits 
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, 
and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity). The Executive 
Order classifies a ``significant regulatory action,'' requiring review 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as any regulatory action 
that is likely to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect 
on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a 
material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, 
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, 
local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious 
inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by 
another agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of 
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and 
obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy 
issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or 
the principles set forth in the Executive Order.
    The economic, interagency, budgetary, legal, and policy 
implications of this final rule have been examined, and it has been 
determined not to be a significant regulatory action under Executive 
Order 12866.

Unfunded Mandates

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 
1532, that agencies prepare an assessment of anticipated costs and 
benefits before issuing any rule that may result in an expenditure by 
State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the 
private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for 
inflation) in any year. This final rule would have no consequential 
effect on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private 
sector.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers and Titles

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance program numbers and 
titles for this rule are 64.109, Veterans Compensation for Service-
Connected Disability and 64.110, Veterans Dependency and Indemnity 
Compensation for Service-Connected Death.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Disability benefits, 
Health care, Pensions, Radioactive materials, Veterans, Vietnam.

    Approved: March 23, 2009.
John R. Gingrich,
Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs.

Part 3--ADJUDICATION

Subpart A--Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity 
Compensation

    The interim final rule amending 38 CFR Part 3 that was published at 
73 FR 64208 on October 29, 2008, is adopted as a final rule without 
change.

 [FR Doc. E9-7229 Filed 3-30-09; 8:45 am]
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