6874 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 

appears in the heading of this 

document. All comments received will 

be available for examination and 

copying at the above address from 9:00 

a.m. to 5:00 p.m., E.T., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. Those 

desiring notification of receipt of 

comments must include a selfaddressed, stamped postcard or may 

print the acknowledgment page that 

appears after submitting comments 

electronically. Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70, Pages 19477–78) or you 

may visit https://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Tashia J. Clemons, Office of 

Infrastructure, 202–493–0551, 

tashia.clemons@dot.gov; or Mariya 

Tikhonova, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

202–366–1356, mariya.tikhonova@

dot.gov, Federal Highway 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 

Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing 

You may submit or access all 

comments received by the DOT online 

through: https://www.regulations.gov. 

Electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines are available on the 

website. It is available 24 hours each 

day, 365 days each year. Please follow 

the instructions. An electronic copy of 

this document may also be downloaded 

from the Federal Register’s home page 

at: https://www.federalregister.gov. 

Background 

On November 13, 2024, at 89 FR 

89506, FHWA published in the Federal 

Register an NPRM proposing changes to 

the Asset Management Plans and 

Management and Monitoring Systems 

regulations. The original comment 

period for the NPRM closes on January 

13, 2025. Stakeholders have expressed 

concern that this closing date does not 

provide sufficient time to review and 

provide comprehensive comments on 

the proposal. The FHWA recognizes that 

others interested in commenting may 

have similar concerns and agrees that 

the comment period should be extended 

by 30 days for interested parties to 

submit comprehensive comments. The 

closing date is changed from January 13, 

2025, to February 12, 2025. 

Authority: Sec. 1106 and 1203 of Pub. 

L. 112–141, 126 Stat. 405; 23 U.S.C. 109, 

119(e), 144, 150(c), and 315; 49 CFR 

1.85(a). 

Gloria M. Shepherd, 

Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal 

Highway Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00323 Filed 1–17–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Office of Justice Programs 

28 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No.: OJP (OVC) 1812] 

RIN 1121–AA91 

International Terrorism Victim Expense 

Reimbursement Program 

AGENCY: Office for Victims of Crime, 

Justice. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Office for Victims of 

Crime (‘‘OVC’’) of the U.S. Department 

of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs 

(‘‘OJP’’), proposes this rule to amend the 

program regulations for the 

International Terrorism Victim Expense 

Reimbursement Program (‘‘ITVERP’’), to 

streamline program operation, more 

expressly reflect certain policy and 

procedures adopted by OVC since it 

began administering the program in 

2006, and to adjust cost category caps. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

no later than 11:59 p.m., E.T., on March 

24, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: 

Electronic comments: OVC 

encourages commenters to submit all 

comments electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, which 

provides the ability to type comments 

directly into the comment field on the 

web page or attach a file. Please go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. Upon completion 

of your submission, you will receive a 

Comment Tracking Number. Submitted 

comments are not instantaneously 

available for public view on 

regulations.gov. If you have received a 

Comment Tracking Number, you have 

submitted your comment successfully 

and there is no need to resubmit the 

same comment. Commenters should be 

aware that the system will not accept 

comments after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 

on the last day of the comment period. 

Paper comments: OVC prefers to 

receive comments via 

www.regulations.gov where possible. 

Paper comments that duplicate 

electronic submissions are not necessary 

and are discouraged. Should you wish 

to mail a paper comment in lieu of an 

electronic comment, it should be sent 

via regular or express mail to: ITVERP, 

Office for Victims of Crime, Office of 

Justice Programs, U.S. Department of 

Justice, 810 7th Street NW, Washington, 

DC 20531. 

To ensure proper handling of 

comments, please reference ‘‘OJP Docket 

No. 1812’’ on all electronic and written 

correspondence, including any 

attachments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Victoria Jolicoeur, International 

Terrorism Victim Expense 

Reimbursement Program, Office for 

Victims of Crime, at 202–307–5134. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Posting of Public Comments 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and made available for 

public inspection online at 

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personal identifying 

information (such as your name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter. The Freedom of 

Information Act applies to all comments 

received. 

If you wish to submit personal 

identifying information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not wish for it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONAL IDENTIFYING 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also place 

all of the personal identifying 

information that you do not want posted 

online in the first paragraph of your 

comment, and identify with specificity 

what information you want the agency 

to redact. 

If you wish to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment, but do not wish it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify all confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment has 

so much confidential business 

information that it cannot be effectively 

redacted, the agency may choose not to 

post all or part of that comment. 

Personal identifying information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will be placed in the agency’s public 

docket file, but not posted online. 

Confidential business information 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 6875 

identified and located as set forth above 

will not be placed in the public docket 

file. If you wish to inspect the agency’s 

public docket file in person by 

appointment, please see the ‘‘For 

Further Information Contact’’ paragraph. 

II. Background 

The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 

(VOCA), sec. 1404C (34 U.S.C. 20106), 

added in an amendment to VOCA by the 

Victims of Trafficking and Violence 

Protection Act (VTVPA) of 2000, sec. 

2003(c), authorizes OVC to reimburse 

certain expenses to eligible victims of 

acts of international terrorism. Eligible 

victims include U.S. nationals, as well 

as foreign nationals working for the U.S. 

government at the time of the terrorist 

act. OVC published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking at 70 FR 49518–49525, on 

August 24, 2005, and published the 

current rule at 71 FR 52446, on 

September 6, 2006, and it went into 

effect on October 6, 2006. On April 11, 

2011, at 76 FR 19909, OVC published an 

interim-final rule allowing the Director 

additional discretion to accept late-filed 

claims upon a showing of good cause. 

This was finalized at 88 FR 3656 on 

January 20, 2023. Aside from the 2011 

amendment to the deadline provision, 

the overall rule, including category 

caps, has not been updated since the 

program’s inception. 

OVC proposes this rule, pursuant to 

its rulemaking authority at 34 U.S.C. 

20110(a), to make minor updates to the 

regulations to reflect contemporary 

program policies and procedures 

adopted by OVC since it began 

administering the program in 2006, and 

to adjust cost category caps. 

III. Section-by-Section Discussion of 

Proposed Changes 

The following is a summary of the 

changes that OVC proposes: 

Current provision Proposed change 

94.12(c) Definition of Collateral 

sources.

Makes patent longstanding OVC policy of presuming (unless the claimant demonstrates otherwise) that 

hostile fire or imminent danger pay for U.S. military personnel who claim expenses for incidents occurring in an officially designated combat zone or a qualified hazardous duty area, is a collateral source. 

Non-substantive changes to improve readability. 

94.12(g) Definition of Funeral and 

burial.

Allows reimbursement of travel costs for up to five family members, instead of two. This reflects OVC’s observation that it is common for more than two family members to travel to attend victim funerals. Increasing the cap to five would allow OVC to better assist victims with legitimate expenses while maintaining a 

cap on program expenses for funeral travel. 

94.12(i) Definition of Incompetent ... Minor change to replace the outdated and offensive term ‘‘mental retardation’’ with ‘‘cognitive disability.’’ 

94.12(r) Definition of Property loss Adds the word ‘‘typically’’ when providing that medical devices are to be included under the medical expense category and not the property loss category. This would replace the current limit with a presumption to allow OVC to characterize medical device loss in the category that maximizes victim reimbursement. 

94.12(u) Definition of Victim ........... Adds the words ‘‘Is otherwise unable to submit a claim as a result of the act of terrorism’’ (in a new subparagraph (iv) under (u)(2)) to allow for the surviving spouse, children, parents, and siblings to be considered victims for purposes of this program when an individual is rendered missing as a result of an act 

of international terrorism. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has indicated to OVC that it has encountered victims who would have found such support from ITVERP to be beneficial. 

94.21 Eligibility .............................. Clarifies OVC’s longstanding practice of allowing applicants to submit an initial application, followed by 

supplemental applications for expenses incurred after the initial application (e.g., ongoing medical care). 

94.23 Amount of reimbursement .. Clarifies that the reimbursement cap in effect at the time that the application (whether initial or supplemental) is received is the cap that applies to all awards under that application. Thus, an applicant may 

file a supplemental claim to take advantage of a higher cap limit in categories where that applicant previously hit the cap. This rule increases the administrative burden on OVC to determine additional supplemental claims, but OVC anticipates being able to manage this burden within current program resources 

due to the ITVERP’s relatively small size. The change has the benefit of providing better coverage of actual victim expenses and avoiding discrepancies between caps applied to claimants under the same incident who filed at different times. The proposed provision also adds language to automatically adjust the 

caps for inflation every five years. 

94.24 Determination of the award Makes patent OVC’s preferred practice of providing claimant notification via electronic means (e.g., email 

or its claims management system) by default. 

94.25 Collateral sources ............... Makes non-substantive edits to paragraph (a) to clarify the provision, which addresses when offset of 

ITVERP reimbursement because of collateral sources is required. 

94.31 Application procedures ....... Makes patent OVC’s current practice (required by the ITVERP electronic claim system) of requiring all 

claimants to submit an itemized list of incident-related expenses for which they seek reimbursement, and 

to certify and attest to the veracity of that list and the supporting documentation. Adds that such certification must be made ‘‘under penalty of perjury’’ to make patent the penalty for a false certification. It 

also permits the Director to accept the list or alternative documentation, as appropriate, in lieu of receipts, which often are not retained (and are thus ‘‘lost’’) for a variety of reasons. Finally, the provision 

would make patent OVC’s current practice of allowing claimants to submit copies of receipts, instead of 

the original document. 

94.32 Application deadline ........... Makes patent OVC’s current policy that the application deadline applies to the initial application. If the initial application is submitted in a timely manner, supplemental applications will be accepted any time after 

that at reasonable intervals (e.g., for ongoing costs). 

94.33 Investigation and analysis 

of claims.

Modifies the prohibition on sharing victim identifying information with expert examiners/reviewers to require, 

instead, that OVC make reasonable efforts to minimize victim identifying information released to such reviewers. This change would allow OVC flexibility to take alternative measures to protect victim identities 

when redacting identifying information from voluminous medical records is not feasible. 

94.41 Interim emergency payment Changes the term ‘‘interim emergency payment’’ to ‘‘conditional payment’’ to better reflect the actual processing of claims where up-front payment may be justified. As a practical matter, conditional payments 

are rare, and ITVERP typically is not an ideal payment source for ‘‘emergency’’ needs due to the multiple reviews required prior to payment. Adds mental health care to the list of care that could be provided 

under a conditional payment. 

94.42 Repayment and waiver of 

repayment.

Non-substantive simplifying and conforming (to the proposed 94.41) change to delete ‘‘interim emergency 

or final award’’ and replace it with ‘‘award’’. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
6876 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 

Current provision Proposed change 

94.51 Request for reconsideration Non-substantive conforming change to delete ‘‘initial’’ to reflect OVC’s current practice of allowing ‘‘initial’’ 

and ‘‘supplemental’’ applications. The change would clarify that the Director may make determinations 

based on material submitted with either type of application or request for additional information. 

Reimbursement caps ...................... Increases overall cap from $105,000 to $175,000 per claimant. 

Medical expenses ........................... Increases cap from $50,000 to $80,000. OVC has received 7 claims over the category cap since 2006; the 

excess averaging $17,087.89. The proposed cap would accommodate these expenses. 

Mental health care .......................... Increases cap from $5,000 to $20,000, and eliminates the timeframe during which OVC may provide reimbursement. OVC has received 57 claims (about 10%) that have requested reimbursement above the 

mental health cap; the excess averaging $6112.78. Increasing the category cap would have covered 

these expenses. The higher cap also would align better with caps in most state victim compensation 

programs. Eliminating the time limit on mental health costs better reflects the reality that victims have 

mental health needs exceeding one year. The proposed provision also makes a conforming change reflecting the proposed 94.12(u)(iv), which recognizes family members of persons missing due to a terrorist incident as victims (where such a victim ‘‘Is otherwise unable to submit a claim as a result of the 

act of terrorism’’). 

Property loss, repair, and replacement.Increases cap from $10,000 to $15,000. OVC has received 17 claims exceeding this cap; the excess averaging $5561.18. The higher cap would have covered most of these expenses. 

Funeral and burial costs ................. Increases cap from $25,000 to $35,000. OVC received four claims exceeding this cap; the excess averaging $5646.84. The higher cap would have covered most of these expenses. 

Miscellaneous expenses ................. Increases cap from $15,000 to $25,000. OVC received six claims exceeding this cap; the excess averaging $8693.81. The higher cap would have covered most of these expenses. 

All proposed amendments would 

apply to claims pending determination 

by OVC, and to all initial and 

supplemental claims filed after the 

effective date of the final rule. 

IV. Regulatory Certifications 

A. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(‘‘RFA’’, 5 U.S.C. 601–612) applies to 

rules that are subject to notice and 

comment under section 553(b) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (‘‘APA’’). 

As noted in the discussion, below, 

however, regarding the applicability of 

the APA, this proposed rule is exempt 

from the notice and comment 

requirements under section 553(b) or 

other provisions of law. Consequently, 

the RFA does not apply. 

Nevertheless, consistent with the 

analysis typically required by the RFA 

(5 U.S.C. 605(b)), OVC has reviewed this 

proposed regulation and by approving it 

certifies that it will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

This proposed regulation has no cost to 

State, local, or tribal governments, or to 

the private sector. The ITVERP is 

funded by fines, fees, penalty 

assessments, and bond forfeitures paid 

by Federal offenders, as well as gifts 

from private individuals, deposited into 

the Crime Victims Fund in the U.S. 

Treasury. Therefore, an analysis of the 

impact of this proposed regulation on 

such entities is not required under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.). 

B. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 

14094—Regulatory Review 

This proposed regulation has been 

drafted and reviewed in accordance 

with Executive Order 12866, 

‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review’’ 

section 1(b), Principles of Regulation, 

Executive Order 13563 ‘‘Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review’’ 

section 1(b), General Principles of 

Regulation; and Executive Order 14094, 

‘‘Modernizing Regulatory Review.’’ This 

proposed rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under Executive 

Order 12866, section 3(f), Regulatory 

Planning and Review. Accordingly, this 

rule has not been reviewed by the Office 

of Management and Budget. 

Executive Order 13563 directs 

agencies to propose or adopt a 

regulation only upon a reasoned 

determination that its benefits justify its 

costs; tailor the regulation to impose the 

least burden on society, consistent with 

obtaining the regulatory objectives; and, 

in choosing among alternative 

regulatory approaches, select those 

approaches that maximize net benefits. 

Executive Order 13563 recognizes that 

some benefits and costs are difficult to 

quantify and provides that, where 

appropriate and permitted by law, 

agencies may consider and discuss 

qualitatively values that are difficult or 

impossible to quantify, including 

equity, human dignity, fairness, and 

distributive impacts. 

The proposed rule would clarify and 

update the existing rule, to make patent 

in the program rule the existing OVC 

program policies and practices that have 

been developed since the program’s 

inception, increase reimbursement 

category caps to reflect the actual data 

on victim needs gathered by OVC since 

2006, and to make technical 

adjustments for clarity. It would not 

alter the underlying program structure. 

The cost to the federal government is 

largely administrative and is clearly 

outweighed by the government’s 

interest, and statutory mandate, to see 

that U.S. victims of international 

terrorism are reimbursed for the 

expenses associated with their 

victimization. This proposed regulation 

has no cost to state, local, or tribal 

governments, or to the private sector. 

The ITVERP is funded by fines, fees, 

penalty assessments, and forfeitures 

paid by federal offenders, as well as gifts 

from private individuals, deposited into 

the Crime Victims Fund in the U.S. 

Treasury, and set aside in the 

Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve Fund, 

from which OVC may obligate no more 

than $50 million in any given year. 

The proposed changes in §§ 94.12(c), 

94.12(u), 94.21, 94.24, 94.31, 94.32, 

94.12(g), 94.12(i), 94.12(r), 94.25, 94.33, 

94.41, 94.42 and 94.51, largely codify 

existing agency practices, update 

terminology, make technical 

clarifications, or make simplifying or 

conforming changes, and thus impose 

no costs but provide the substantial 

benefit of transparency in program 

administration. A few changes provide 

OVC with some additional flexibility 

(e.g., to reimburse five instead of just 

two travelers for funeral/burial, or to 

characterize medical devices in either 

the medical or property loss category to 

maximize victim reimbursement), but 

do not create costs for non-Federal 

entities or individuals or materially 

increase Federal administrative costs. 

The proposed change in section 94.23 

to apply the current cap to any 

applications filed after the effective date 

of that cap, whether those applications 

are initial or supplemental, could result 

in approximately $637,328 in one-time 

costs. That figure assumes, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 6877 

conservatively, that all claimants who 

previously hit a category cap would file 

a supplemental application. This onetime outlay would not materially change 

the budgetary impact of this program 

and would be covered within the 

existing program funding allocation 

from the Crime Victims Fund. It would 

benefit victims by allowing them to 

receive reimbursement for amounts 

closer to the actual costs that they 

incurred due to a terrorist attack. 

Based on the number of claims with 

costs exceeding the caps that were filed 

in each category and the average excess 

amount for each category (set out in the 

chart of proposed changes above), 

divided by 16 years (the span of time 

OVC’s data regarding claims with costs 

exceeding the caps covers), OVC 

estimates that the proposed change to 

the category caps would create 

approximately $39,833 in additional 

claim payment costs per year from the 

Crime Victims Fund Anti-Terrorism 

Emergency Reserve. The proposed 

increase would not change the overall 

budgetary impact of this program, nor 

would it materially change the OVC 

outlays for this program on an annual 

basis. It would, however, have 

substantial benefit to the victims that 

incur costs above the current caps. 

Moreover, the proposed overall cap of 

$175,000, is just modestly above the 

2006 cap ($105,000) as adjusted for 

inflation from 2006 to 2023, $158,411. 

C. Administrative Procedure Act 

This proposed rule concerns matters 

relating to ‘‘grants, benefits, or 

contracts,’’ 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), and is 

therefore exempt from the requirement 

of notice and comment and a 30-day 

delay in the effective date. Nevertheless, 

in its discretion, OVC has decided to 

solicit comments on this proposed rule. 

D. Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

This proposed rule will not have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Therefore, in 

accordance with Executive Order No. 

13132, it is determined that this 

proposed rule does not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a Federalism Assessment. 

E. Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform (Plain Language) 

This proposed rule meets the 

applicable standards set forth in section 

3(a) and (b)(2) of Executive Order No. 

12988. Pursuant to section 3(b)(1)(I) of 

the Executive Order, nothing in this or 

any previous rule (or in any 

administrative policy, directive, ruling, 

notice, guideline, guidance, or writing) 

directly relating to the Program that is 

the subject of this proposed rule is 

intended to create any legal or 

procedural rights enforceable against the 

United States, except as the same may 

be contained within 28 CFR part 94, 

subpart A. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This proposed rule, when finalized, 

would not result in the expenditure by 

State, local and tribal governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100,000,000 or more in any one year, 

and it will not significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments. Therefore, no 

actions were deemed necessary under 

the provisions of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 

G. Congressional Review Act 

This proposed rule is not a major rule 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804. 

H. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule does not propose 

any new, or changes to existing, 

‘‘collection[s] of information’’ as defined 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 

1320. The existing collection (ITVERP 

Application, 1121–0309) has been 

cleared by the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 94 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Victim compensation, 

Claims program, International terrorism, 

Victim expense reimbursement, Victims 

of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. 

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

in the preamble, OVC proposes to 

amend part 94 of chapter I of Title 28 

of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 94—CRIME VICTIM SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 94 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 34 U.S.C., 20103, 20106, 

20110(a), 20111. 

■ 2. Amend § 94.12 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (c), in the first 

sentence, removing ‘‘: except that any 

reimbursement received under this 

subpart shall be reduced by the amount 

of’’ and adding in its place ‘‘; and ’’; and 

adding a new sentence to the end of the 

paragraph. 

■ b. In paragraph (g), removing the 

phrase ‘‘travel for not more than two 

family members’’ and adding in its 

place the phrase ‘‘travel for not more 

than five family members’’; 

■ c. In paragraph (i), removing the term 

‘‘mental retardation’’ and adding in its 

place the term ‘‘cognitive disability’’; 

■ d. In paragraph (r), adding the word 

‘‘typically’’ before ‘‘are included in the 

category of’’; 

■ e. In paragraph (u)(2)(ii), at the end of 

the paragraph, removing the word ‘‘or’’; 

■ f. In paragraph (u)(2)(iii), removing the 

period and adding in its place ‘‘; or’’; 

and 

■ g. Adding paragraph (u)(2)(iv). 

The additions read as follows: 

§ 94.12 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * To the extent that a claimant 

is a member of the U.S. military, and the 

expenses claimed relate to a terrorist 

incident occurring in an officially 

designated combat zone or qualified 

hazardous duty area, where the member 

is also entitled to hostile fire pay or 

imminent danger pay, pursuant to 37 

U.S.C. 310, OVC will presume that such 

pay constitutes a collateral source that 

offsets the expenses claimed, unless the 

claimant demonstrates otherwise. 

* * * * * 

(u) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iv) Is otherwise unable to submit a 

claim as a result of the act of terrorism. 

■ 5. Amend § 94.21 in paragraph (a) by 

adding a new first sentence, to read as 

follows: 

§ 94.12 Eligibility. 

(a) Claimants may submit an initial 

application, and (as necessary) 

supplemental applications, in the form 

and manner required by the Director. 

* * * 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Revise § 94.23 to read as follows: 

§ 94.23 Amount of reimbursement. 

Categories of expenses are capped, as 

set forth in the chart in the appendix to 

subpart A of part 94. Those caps shall 

be adjusted on October 1, 2028, and 

every five years thereafter, to reflect the 

change in the Consumer Price Index for 

All Urban Consumers, published by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the 

preceding five years; and otherwise may 

be adjusted, from time to time, by 

rulemaking. The cap in effect within a 

particular expense category at the time 

that the application (whether initial or 

supplemental) is received shall apply to 

all awards under that application. Thus, 

a claimant whose expenses were not 

reimbursable due to a previous category 

cap may file a supplemental application 

to have expenses considered under the 

most recent cap. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
6878 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 

§ 94.24 [Amended] 

■ 7. Amend § 94.24 in the second 

sentence by removing the phrase 

‘‘mailed to the claimant at his last 

known address’’ and adding in its place 

the phrase ‘‘sent to the claimant 

electronically (or mailed to his last 

known address)’’. 

■ 8. Amend § 94.25 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 94.25 Collateral sources. 

* * * * * 

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of 

this section, the claimant’s award under 

this subpart shall not be reduced by the 

amount that the claimant receives from 

a collateral source, nor shall the 

claimant be required to subrogate the 

United States to the claim for 

reimbursement from the collateral 

source, except when combined 

reimbursement under this subpart and 

any collateral source would exceed the 

actual expense. 

■ 9. Revise § 94.31 to read as follows: 

§ 94.31 Application procedures. 

(a) To receive reimbursement, a 

claimant must submit a completed 

application under this program 

requesting payment based on a detailed 

itemized list of expenses accompanied 

by copies of original receipts (if 

available) or (as permitted by the 

Director) appropriate alternative 

documentation or certification. 

(b) The claimant must certify under 

penalty of perjury that the items and 

amounts submitted for reimbursement 

are true and correct to the best of his 

knowledge. In the event that it is later 

determined that a fraudulent 

certification was made, the United 

States may take action to recover any 

payment made under this section, and 

pursue criminal prosecution, as 

appropriate. 

■ 10. Amend § 94.32 by: 

■ a. Removing the phrase ‘‘file an 

application’’ and adding in its place the 

phrase ‘‘file an initial application’’ 

wherever it appears; and 

■ b. Adding a sentence to the end of the 

section. 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 94.32 Application deadline. 

* * * OVC will accept supplemental 

applications at any time (subject to the 

Director’s reasonable limits on the 

frequency of submission), provided that 

the initial application was filed on time. 

§ 94.33 [Amended] 

■ 11. Amend § 94.33 by removing the 

phrase ‘‘no identifying information for 

the victim or representative shall be 

released’’ and adding in its place the 

phrase ‘‘the Director will make 

reasonable efforts to minimize and 

safeguard any victim identifying 

information that is released to the 

reviewer’’ 

§ 94.41 [Amended] 

■ 12. Amend § 94.41 by: 

■ a. In the section heading, removing 

the words ‘‘Interim emergency’’ and 

adding in their place the word 

‘‘Conditional’’; and 

■ b. Removing the term ‘‘an interim 

emergency payment’’ and adding in its 

place the term ‘‘a conditional payment’’ 

wherever it appears. 

§ 94.42 [Amended] 

■ 13. Amend § 94.42 in the first 

sentence by removing the words 

‘‘interim emergency award or final’’. 

§ 94.51 [Amended] 

■ 14. Amend § 94.51 to remove ‘‘initial’’ 

before ‘‘application’’. 

■ 15. Amend Appendix to Subpart A of 

Part 94, by revising the Chart of Expense 

Categories and Limits as follows: 

Appendix to Subpart A of Part 94— 

International Terrorism Victim Expense 

Reimbursement Program (ITVERP); 

Chart of Expense Categories and Limits 

* * * * * 

Expense categories Subcategories and conditions Expense limits 

Medical expenses, including dental and rehabilitation costs.Victim’s medical care, including, without limitation, treatment, cure, and mitigation of disease or injury; replacement of medical devices, including, without limitation, 

eyeglasses or other corrective lenses, dental services, 

prosthetic devices, and prescription medication; and 

other services rendered in accordance with a method of 

healing recognized by the jurisdiction in which the medical care is administered.

Victim’s cost for physiotherapy; occupational therapy; counseling; workplace, vehicle, and home modifications.

For example, if a victim were to sustain a physical injury, 

such as blindness or paralysis, which would affect his 

ability to perform current professional duties, physical rehabilitation to address work skills would be appropriate.

Up to $80,000. 

Mental health care ......................................... Victim’s (and, when victim is a minor, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, or is otherwise unable to submit 

a claim as a result of the act of terrorism, certain family 

members’) mental health counseling costs.

Up to $20,000. 

Property loss, repair, and replacement ......... Includes crime scene cleanup, and replacement of personal 

property (not including medical devices) that is lost, destroyed, or held as evidence.

Up to $15,000 to cover repair or replacement, whichever is less. 

Funeral and burial costs ................................ Includes, without limitation, the cost of disposition of remains, preparation of the body and body tissue, refrigeration, transportation of remains, cremation, procurement of a final resting place, urns, markers, flowers and 

ornamentation, costs related to memorial services, and 

other reasonably associated activities.

Up to $35,000. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 21, 2025 / Proposed Rules 6879 

Expense categories Subcategories and conditions Expense limits 

Miscellaneous expenses ................................ Includes, without limitation, temporary lodging up to 30 

days, local transportation, telephone costs, etc.; with respect to emergency travel, two family members’ transportation costs to country where incident occurred (or other 

location, as appropriate) to recover remains, care for victim, care for victim’s dependents, accompany victim to 

receive medical care abroad, accompany victim back to 

U.S., and attend to victim’s affairs in host country.

Up to $25,000. 

Brent J. Cohen, 

Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of 

Justice Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00071 Filed 1–17–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

28 CFR Part 95 

[Docket No. OAG 182; AG Order No. 6144– 

2025] 

RIN 1105–AB70 

Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act 

AGENCY: Office of the Attorney General, 

Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice is 

proposing a rule to implement the 

Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act 

of 2021. The proposed rule would 

explain and effectuate the Act’s system 

for reviewing and, as warranted, 

reinvestigating murders investigated by 

Federal law enforcement agencies that 

remain unsolved after three years. 

DATES: Written and electronic comments 

must be sent or submitted on or before 

March 24, 2025. Comments received by 

mail will be considered timely if they 

are postmarked on or before the last day 

of the comment period. The electronic 

Federal Docket Management System 

will accept electronic comments until 

midnight eastern time at the end of that 

day. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to 

Regulations Docket Clerk, Office of 

Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 

4234, Washington, DC 20530. To ensure 

proper handling, please reference RIN 

1105–AB70 or Docket No. OAG 182 on 

your correspondence. You may submit 

comments electronically or view an 

electronic version of this proposed rule 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office of 

Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 

Washington, DC, 202–514–3273. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

Posting of Public Comments. 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written data, views, or 

arguments on all aspects of this rule via 

one of the methods and by the deadline 

stated above. The Department of Justice 

(‘‘Department’’) also invites comments 

that relate to the economic, 

environmental, or federalism effects that 

might result from this rule. Comments 

that will provide the most assistance to 

the Department in developing these 

procedures will reference a specific 

portion of the rule, explain the reason 

for any recommended change, and 

include data, information, or authority 

that support such recommended change. 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and made available for 

public inspection at http://

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personally identifying 

information (‘‘PII’’) (such as your name, 

address, etc.). 

Interested persons are not required to 

submit their PII in order to comment on 

this rule. However, any PII that is 

submitted is subject to being posted to 

the publicly accessible website at http:// 

www.regulations.gov without redaction. 

If you want to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment but do not want it to be posted 

online, you must include the phrase 

‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment has 

so much confidential business 

information that it cannot be effectively 

redacted, all or part of that comment 

may not be posted on http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Confidential business information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will not be placed in the public docket 

file. The Department may withhold from 

public viewing information provided in 

comments that it determines may 

impact the privacy of an individual or 

is offensive. For additional information, 

please read the Privacy Act notice that 

is available via the link in the footer of 

http://www.regulations.gov. To inspect 

the agency’s public docket file in 

person, you must make an appointment 

with the agency. Please see the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph above for agency contact 

information. 

II. Overview 

The Homicide Victims’ Families’ 

Rights Act of 2021 (‘‘Act’’ or ‘‘HVFRA’’), 

which was enacted on August 3, 2022, 

Public Law 117–164, 136 Stat. 1358, 

provides a system for the review of case 

files, and for carrying out further 

investigation as warranted, in murder 

cases investigated by Federal law 

enforcement agencies that have gone 

unsolved for over three years. The 

general objective of the Act is to 

facilitate the identification of the 

perpetrators of these ‘‘cold case’’ 

murders and thereby help to bring the 

perpetrators to justice and provide 

closure for the victims’ families. 

The Act specifically provides for 

carrying out case file reviews in cold 

case murder investigations on 

application by certain family members 

of the victim, and for further 

investigation if the case file review 

concludes that a full reinvestigation 

would result in probative investigative 

leads. The Act also directs the collection 

and publication of statistics on the 

number of cold case murders and 

reports to the House and Senate 

Judiciary Committees on the operation 

and results of the system established by 

the Act. 

This proposed rule would add a new 

part 95 to title 28 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to implement the Act. The 

new part would explain the Act’s 

requirements and key concepts, and it 

would specify assignments of 

responsibility and procedures to ensure 

that the Act is effectively carried out. 

III. Legal Authority 

The Department of Justice is issuing 

this rule pursuant to the HVFRA and the 

authority of the Attorney General under 

Executive Order 11396, 33 FR 2689 

(Feb. 7, 1968). 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1