Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 47371 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Veteran Listening Sessions on 

Advancing Racial Equity and Support 

for Underserved Communities Through 

the Federal Government 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Announcement for public 

meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Veterans Health 

Administration (VHA) will conduct 55 

virtual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

(DE&I) listening sessions for Veterans 

August–September 2021 on Advancing 

Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities through the 

Federal Government. 

DATES: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) will execute 48 site-specific 

virtual listening sessions. Below are the 

dates and locations, which may be 

adjusted due to ongoing developments 

with COVID–19: 

• August 16–17, 2021—San Francisco 

VA Health Care System (San 

Francisco, CA) 

• August 19, 2021—VA Northern 

California Health Care System 

(Sacramento, CA) 

• August 23–24, 2021—Kansas City VA 

Medical Center (Kansas City, MO) 

• August 26, 2021—Jack C. Montgomery 

Medical Center (Tulsa, OK) 

• September 13–14, 2021—Charlie 

Norwood Medical Center (Augusta, 

GA) 

• September 15–16, 2021—Robley Rex 

VA Medical Center (Louisville, KY) 

• September 20–21, 2021—Hampton 

VA Medical Center (Hampton, VA) 

• September 22–23, 2021—Baltimore 

VA Medical Center (Baltimore, MD) 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Andringa, Office of Healthcare 

Transformation (Mail code 10T), 810 

Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 

20420, 727–409–1293. (This is not a 

toll-free telephone number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On January 20, 2021, President Joseph 

R. Biden issued E.O. 13985 on 

Advancing Racial Equity and Support 

for Underserved Communities through 

the Federal Government. 

Consultation With Interested Parties 

Executive Order 13985 requires VA to 

consult with members of communities 

who have been historically 

underrepresented in the Federal 

Government and underserved by, or 

subject to discrimination in, Federal 

policies and programs. 

The term ‘‘underserved communities’’ 

refers to populations sharing a 

particular characteristic, as well as 

geographic communities, that have been 

systematically denied a full opportunity 

to participate in aspects of economic, 

social, and civic life, such as Black, 

Latino, and Indigenous and Native 

American persons, Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders and other persons 

of color; members of religious 

minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender, questioning/queer and 

related identities (LGBTQ+) persons; 

persons with disabilities; persons who 

live in rural areas; and persons 

otherwise adversely affected by 

persistent poverty or inequality. 

VHA will execute listening sessions to 

gather feedback on: 

• Veterans’ experiences and 

perceptions related to Diversity, Equity 

& Inclusion (DE&I) at VA healthcare 

facilities. 

• Ways Veterans feel they can be 

included. 

• Barriers to effective healthcare for 

diverse Veteran populations. 

• Unmet needs of diverse Veteran 

populations. 

Comments received in response to 

this notice will be evaluated and, as 

appropriate, incorporated into VA’s 

efforts to improve support to 

underserved communities. 

Additional Registration Information 

Individual registration: VA 

encourages individual registrations for 

those not affiliated with or representing 

a group, association or organization. 

Group registration: Identification of 

the name of the group, association or 

organization should be indicated in 

your registration request. Due to virtual 

platform meeting limitations of WebEx 

and the statutory mandate that VA 

consult with certain entities, VA may 

select certain entities to speak or may 

limit the size of a group’s registration to 

allow receipt of testimonies and/or 

technical remarks from a broad, diverse 

group of stakeholders. Oral comments, 

testimonies and/or technical remarks 

may be limited from a group, 

association or organization to no more 

than two (2) individuals representing 

the same group, association or 

organization. Efforts will be made to 

accommodate all attendees who wish to 

participate. However, VA will give 

priority to Veterans, family members, 

caregivers, survivors of underserved 

communities or their representatives 

who register before September 15, 2021, 

at 4 p.m. Eastern, and wish to provide 

oral comments, testimonies and/or 

technical remarks. The length of time 

allotted for all participants to provide 

oral comments, testimonies and/or 

technical remarks during the meeting 

will be no more than 60 minutes total 

and is subject to the number of 

participants selected to speak, to ensure 

time is allotted. There will be no 

opportunity for audio-visual 

presentations during the meeting. 

Audio (For listening purposes only): 

Limited to the first 200 participants, on 

a first-come, first-served basis. 

Advanced registration is not required. 

Audio attendees will not be allowed to 

offer oral comments, testimonies and/or 

technical remarks as the line will be 

muted. 

Note: Should it be necessary to cancel 

the meeting due to technical issues or 

other emergencies, VA will take 

available measures to notify registered 

participants. 

Listening Session Agenda 

• Welcome and Introduce Team—2 min 

• Opening Remarks—VHA Senior 

Leader(s)—5 mins 

• Open comment period—DE&I 

Facilitator(s)—48 mins 

• Closing Remarks—VHA Senior 

Leader(s)—5 mins 

Site-specific virtual listening sessions. 

Each location will execute six (6) virtual 

sessions on the dates scheduled above. 

Each session will be approximately 60 

minutes. All sessions will be held 

virtually as a WebEx Event. The links to 

register are available at www.va.gov/ 

ormdi. Advanced registration for 

individuals and groups is strongly 

encouraged. Individuals or groups who 

seek to speak must register by 72 hours 

before the start of each session. Speakers 

must virtually check-in one hour prior 

to the listening session to test WebEx 

access and resolve any technical issues. 

All other comments may be submitted 

in writing during the listening session. 

Target audiences are listed below and 

include Veterans, family members, 

caregivers, survivors, community 

leaders and partners, and other 

representatives who provide support to 

underserved communities: 

• Session 1: Racial/ethnic minorities 

• Session 2: LGBTQ+ 

• Session 3: Veterans with disabilities 

• Session 4: Women Veterans 

• Session 5: Religious minority 

Veterans and Veterans otherwise 

adversely affected by persistent 

inequality 

• Session 6: Community partners 

Virtual listening sessions for 

participants from all eight locations. 

General virtual listening sessions will be 

held on September 28 & 30, 2021, will 

be approximately 60 minutes each, and 

will target participants from the eight 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
47372 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Notices 

locations listed above who were unable 

to attend the site-specific virtual 

sessions. The links to register are 

available at www.va.gov/ormdi. 

Signing Authority: Denis McDonough, 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved 

this document on August 17, 2021, 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. 

Jeffrey M. Martin, 

Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy 

& Management, Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18153 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900–0829] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activity: Income and Asset Statement 

in Support of Claim for Pension or 

Parents’ DIC (VA Form 21P–0969) 

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Veteran’s Benefits 

Administration (VBA), Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an 

opportunity for public comment on the 

proposed collection of certain 

information by the agency. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, Federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension 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 October 25, 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. 2900–0829’’ 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. 2900–0829’’ 

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: 38 U.S.C. 1503, 38 U.S.C. 

1543, and 38 U.S.C. 1315. 

Title: Income and Asset Statement in 

Support of Claim for Pension or Parents’ 

DIC (VA Form 21P–0969). 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0829. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: Under the authority of 38 

U.S.C. 1503, 38 U.S.C. 1315, and 38 

U.S.C. 1543, VA Form 21P–0969 will be 

used by claimants for VA Pension or 

Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation (DIC) to provide 

information pertaining to income and 

assets to establish entitlement to 

Pension or Parents’ DIC. This form will 

be completed only by those claimants 

who had income other than Social 

Security benefits during the calendar 

year before claiming benefits or who 

disposed of assets or have significant 

assets which may affect their 

entitlement to needs-based benefits. 

Affected Public: Individuals and 

households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 31,250 

hours. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Respondent: 25 minutes. 

Frequency of Response: Once. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

75,000. 

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. 2021–18182 Filed 8–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

[OMB Control No. 2900–0635] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activity: Suspension of Monthly Check 

(VA Form 29–0759) 

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA), is announcing an 

opportunity for public comment on the 

proposed collection of certain 

information by the agency. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995, Federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension 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 October 25, 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. 2900–0635’’ 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. 2900–0635’’ 

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 


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