Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Notices 41161 

1995, Federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

revision 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 September 28, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

on the collection of information through 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov or to 

Nancy J. Kessinger, Veterans Benefits 

Administration (20M33), Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20420 or email to 

nancy.kessinger@va.gov. Please refer to 

‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0171’’ in any 

correspondence. During the comment 

period, comments may be viewed online 

through FDMS. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise 

and Integration, Data Governance 

Analytics (008), 1717 H Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266–4688 

or email maribel.aponte@va.gov. Please 

refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0171’’ 

in any correspondence. 

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, VBA invites 

comments on: (1) Whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of VBA’s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of VBA’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: Section 903 of Public Law 

96–342, and the Omnibus Diplomatic 

Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986. 

Title: Application for Individualized 

Tutorial Assistance 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0171. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: VA uses the information 

collected to determine eligibility and 

payment for tutorial assistance. Without 

the information on this form, VA would 

be unable to determine the applicant’s 

eligibility for tutorial assistance. 

Affected Public: Individuals and 

households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 2,571 

hours. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: 30 minutes. 

Frequency of Response: Once 

Annually. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,143. 

By direction of the Secretary. 

Maribel Aponte, 

VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

Enterprise and Integration/Data Governance 

Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16321 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900–0876] 

Agency Information Collection Activity 

Under OMB Review: Clearance for A– 

11 Section 280 Improving Customer 

Experience Information Collection 

AGENCY: Veterans Experience Office, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, this notice announces that the 

Veterans Experience Office, Department 

of Veterans Affairs, will submit the 

collection of information abstracted 

below to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and comment. 

The PRA submission describes the 

nature of the information collection and 

its expected cost and burden and it 

includes the actual data collection 

instrument. 

DATES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. Refer to ‘‘Clearance for 

A–11 Section 280 Improving Customer 

Experience Information Collection’’ in 

any correspondence. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise 

and Integration, Data Governance 

Analytics (008), 1717 H Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266–4688 

or email maribel.aponte@va.gov. Please 

refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–0876’’ 

in any correspondence. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–21. 

Title: Clearance for A–11 Section 280 

Improving Customer Experience 

Information Collection. 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0876. 

Type of Review: ICR Revision. 

Abstract: This ICR Revision seeks to 

enhance and expand the scope of the 

‘‘burden hours’’ associated with the 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

customer experience data collection 

system from 625,000 to 1,750,000. 

‘‘Burden Hours’’ are defined as the total 

time, effort, or financial resources 

expended by persons to generate, 

maintain, retain, or disclose or provide 

information in a survey or other 

associated data collection instrument. In 

layman’s terms, burden relates to the 

time it takes a respondent to complete 

and submit a customer satisfaction 

survey or questionnaire. VA, when it 

submitted the original Clearance for A– 

11 Section 280 Improving Customer 

Experience Information Collection, 

calculated total the Burden needed 

based on the number of Customer 

Satisfaction surveys under management 

(43 in calendar year 2020) and our 

informed estimate of growth in number 

of surveys under management. As a 

result of unexpectedly strong and robust 

need (and corresponding requests) for 

new customer experience surveys by VA 

customers (stakeholders and partners), 

VA has already reached 94 surveys 

under management and anticipate to 

reach 130 or 140 by the end of Fiscal 

Year 2022. This anticipated FY22 

growth, and per our models for growth 

from now until our current ICR expires 

in March, 2023, directly translates into 

a corresponding need for an increase in 

associated ‘‘burden hours’’ from 625,000 

to 1,750,000 to accommodate the 

current and future demand. This action 

is necessary now so that our ICR 

remains in good standing and VA does 

not exceed our approved burden hour 

grand total approved figure and risk 

being in non-compliance of our 

approved ICR. 

General Background on our Customer 

Experience data collection listening 

tools Whether seeking a loan, Social 

Security benefits, Veterans benefits, or 

other services provided by the Federal 

Government, individuals and businesses 

expect Government customer services to 

be efficient and intuitive, just like 

services from leading private-sector 

organizations. Yet the 2016 American 

Consumer Satisfaction Index and the 


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41162 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Notices 

2017 Forrester Federal Customer 

Experience Index show that, on average, 

Government services lag nine 

percentage points behind the private 

sector. A modern, streamlined and 

responsive customer experience means: 

Raising government-wide customer 

experience to the average of the private 

sector service industry; developing 

indicators for high-impact Federal 

programs to monitor progress towards 

excellent customer experience and 

mature digital services; and providing 

the structure (including increasing 

transparency) and resources to ensure 

customer experience is a focal point for 

agency leadership. To support this, 

OMB Circular A–11 Section 280 

established government-wide standards 

for mature customer experience 

organizations in government and 

measurement. To enable Federal 

programs to deliver the experience 

taxpayers deserve, they must undertake 

three general categories of activities: 

Conduct ongoing customer research, 

gather and share customer feedback, and 

test services and digital products. 

These data collection efforts may be 

either qualitative or quantitative in 

nature or may consist of mixed 

methods. Additionally, data may be 

collected via a variety of means, 

including but not limited to electronic 

or social media, direct or indirect 

observation (i.e., in person, video and 

audio collections), interviews, 

questionnaires, surveys, and focus 

groups. Veterans Experience Office will 

limit its inquiries to data collections 

that solicit strictly voluntary opinions or 

responses. Steps will be taken to ensure 

anonymity of respondents in each 

activity covered by this request. 

The results of the data collected will 

be used to improve the delivery of 

Federal services and programs. It will 

include the creation of personas, 

customer journey maps, and reports and 

summaries of customer feedback data 

and user insights. Veterans Experience 

Office will collect this information by 

electronic means when possible, as well 

as by mail, fax, telephone, technical 

discussions, and in-person interviews. 

Veterans Experience Office may also 

utilize observational techniques to 

collect this information. 

Collections will be targeted to the 

solicitation of opinions from 

respondents who have experience with 

the program or may have experience 

with the program in the near future. For 

the purposes of this request, 

‘‘customers’’ are individuals, 

businesses, and organizations that 

interact with a Federal Government 

agency or program, either directly or via 

a Federal contractor. This could include 

individuals or households; businesses 

or other for-profit organizations; not-for 

profit institutions; State, local or tribal 

governments; Federal government; and 

Universities. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The Federal Register 

Notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on this collection 

of information was published at 84 FR 

149 on August 2, 2019, pages 37953 and 

37954. No comments on this data 

collection request were submitted by the 

public. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

Households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 1,750,000. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: Varied, dependent upon 

the data collection method used. The 

possible response time to complete a 

questionnaire or survey may be 2 

minutes or up to 2 hours to participate 

in an interview. 

Frequency of Response: Varied, 

dependent upon the data collection 

method used. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

3,500,000. 

By direction of the Secretary. 

Maribel Aponte, 

VA PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance 

Analytics, Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16224 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

AR27—Notice of Request for 

Information on the Department of 

Veterans Affairs’ Eligibility 

Considerations for the Veterans 

Cemetery Grants Program 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: State and Tribal veterans’ 

cemetery grant applicants that seek to 

participate in the Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans 

Cemetery Grants Program (VCGP) must, 

to qualify for a grant, solely inter and 

memorialize eligible persons, which 

includes Veterans and certain family 

members. Through this request for 

information, VA seeks comments to 

help inform VA’s understanding of 

issues affecting States and Tribal 

Organizations in meeting burial and 

other needs of their National Guard and 

Reservist populations with respect to 

burial in VA grant-funded cemeteries. 

DATES: Comments are due by August 30, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comments must be 

submitted through www.Regulations.gov 

and will be available for public viewing, 

inspection or copies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Eisenbach, Director, Veterans 

Cemetery Grants Program, National 

Cemetery Administration (40), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 632–7369 (this is not a tollfree telephone number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA seeks 

stakeholder input to improve our 

understanding of issues impacting 

States and Tribal Organizations (as 

those terms are defined in 38 CFR 39.2) 

in serving their National Guard 

servicemembers and Reservists. The 

Secretary seeks information on the 

questions listed below. Commenters do 

not need to address each question and 

should focus on those that relate to their 

expertise or perspectives. To the extent 

possible, please clearly indicate which 

questions you address in your response. 

We are particularly interested in 

feedback from States and Tribal 

Organizations that are participating in 

VCGP or that are contemplating 

participation. 

Currently for VCGP purposes, a State 

or Tribal veterans cemetery must be 

operated solely for the interment of 

Veterans, their spouses, surviving 

spouses, minor children, unmarried 

adult children who were physically or 

mentally disabled and incapable of selfsupport, and eligible parents of certain 

deceased service members, as set out in 

section 38 CFR 39.10(a). We seek input 

on the below questions: 

D Should VCGP cemeteries be able to 

inter non-Veteran members of the 

Reserve components of the U.S. Armed 

Forces (including members of the Army 

and Air National Guard of the United 

States) who otherwise would not be 

eligible for burial in a VA national 

cemetery, as well as their spouses and 

certain dependents? Why or why not? 

D If VCGP cemeteries were permitted 

to inter these individuals, are there any 

conditions that should be met or certain 

ways that VA should administer this 

extension to the program? For example, 

should grantees pay costs associated 

with cemetery development, interment, 

and memorialization relating to the nonVeteran decedents referenced above? 

Again, we welcome your feedback on 

these questions. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This request for information 

constitutes a general solicitation of 


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