Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 9, 1996 / Notices 36109

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Veterans’ Claims Adjudication

Commission; Notice of Public Meeting

The Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA), in accordance with Public Law

92–463, gives notice that the Veterans’

Claims Adjudication Commission will

conduct its eighth public meeting on

Tuesday, July 16, and Wednesday, July

17, 1996, at the Department of Veterans

Affairs Central Office, 810 Vermont

Avenue, NW., Room 230, Washington,

DC. The Commission will meet from

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days.

This public meeting will focus mainly

on discussion and consideration of

proposed findings, conclusions, and

recommendations, which have

originated from the Commission’s new

areas of pursuit.

On July 16, the Commission will

begin to discuss and consider proposed

findings, conclusions, and

recommendations generated from new

areas of pursuit including:

• Strategic Management Planning—

Setting strategic goals and embracing

the accelerated development and

integrated strategic management

process;

• Adjudication and Appeals Issues—

Redesigning the adjudication and

appeals process to make it more

functional, fair, and efficient;

• Disability Compensation Advisory

Committee—Establishing an Advisory

Committee which reports to the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

regarding disability compensation

issues;

• Annual Report on VA’s Disability

Compensation Program—Developing

an annual report which provides

comprehensive information to be used

in the long-term management of the

program; and

• Medical Examinations—Assessing the

military separation examination test

to effect changes that will benefit

servicemembers and veterans.

At the end of the day, the Commission

will receive an update from the Veterans

Benefits Administration’s Business

Process Reengineering (BPR) Team.

On Wednesday, July 17, the

Commission will continue to discuss

and consider proposed findings,

conclusions, and recommendations

from new areas of pursuit including:

• VA Disability Compensation and

Commercial Disability Insurance

Comparisons—Consideration of

program and administrative practices

of commercial insurers for possible

adoption or adaptation by VA;

• Lump Sum Compensation Benefits at

Lower Disability Levels—Revising the

payment system to ‘‘free-up’’ time and

resources so that the needs of more

severely disabled veterans could be

better served;

• VA Pension Program/Supplemental

Security Income Program

Relationship—Determining the

relationship between the VA Pension

Program and the Supplemental

Security Income Program;

• VA Pension Reform—Reform and

streamline the Pension Program to

reduce the confusion and burden on

the veteran and VA;

• Claims Intake Issues—Simplifying the

application form and claims filing

procedures, in addition to developing

cooperative strategies with Veterans

Service Organizations to encourage

the submission of fully supported

claims; and

• Other Relevant Issues—Issues on

which the Commission will not take a

formal position/make a formal

recommendation, such as the lack of

closure for VA compensation claims,

and reevaluating the purpose of the

rating schedule.

The meeting is open to the public;

however, no time is allocated for the

purpose of receiving oral presentations

from the public. The Commission will

accept appropriate written comments

from interested parties on the subject

matter addressed during the meeting.

Such comments may be referred to the

Commission at the following address:

Veterans’ Claims Adjudication

Commission (20C), U.S. Department of

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave.,

NW., Washington, DC 20420.

Additional information concerning

this meeting may be obtained by

contacting the Commission at (202)

275–2142.

Dated: June 26, 1996.

By Direction of the Secretary.

Heyward Bannister,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 96–17365 Filed 7–8–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–M

Advisory Committee on the

Readjustment of Vietnam and Other

War Veterans, Notice of Meeting

The Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA) gives notice under Pub. L. 92–463

that a meeting of the Advisory

Committee on the Readjustment of

Vietnam and Other War Veterans will be

held July 25 and 26, 1996. This meeting

will be a field meeting conducted

primarily at VA facilities in Tacoma and

Seattle, Washington. The Committee

will also visit the Colville, Lumni and

Tulalip Indian Reservations in eastern

and central Washington to review the

availability of services for area rural and

minority veterans. The purpose of the

meeting is to provide the Committee a

first hand opportunity to review the

provision and coordination of VA

services for war-related post-traumatic

stress disorder (PTSD) and other

readjustment difficulties specific to war

veterans. For this purpose the

Committee will tour facilities, and

engage in discussions with VA service

providers and veteran consumers.

The meeting on July 25 will begin at

8: a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. The day’s

agenda will be conducted concurrently

at two different locations. Specifically

the Committee will visit the American

Lake VA Medical Center and the

Tacoma Vet Center. The day’s agenda

will consist of direct observations of VA

readjustment counseling and mental

health services with particular attention

to the PTSD Clinical Team at the

American Lake VA Medical Center. An

additional focus for the meeting is

continuity of care and clinical follow-up

between area VA medical centers and

Vet Centers. A separate Committee

group will visit the Colville Indian

Reservation in Nespelem, Washington to

review available services and meet with

area veterans.

The meeting on July 26 will begin at

8 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. The

second day’s agenda will also be

conducted concurrently at two different

locations. The regular agenda will

consist of a continuation of direct

observations of VA programs and

facilities at the Seattle VA Medical

Center and Vet Center. Concurrently a

separate Committee subgroup will be

visiting with local veterans at the Lumni

and Tulalip Indian Reservations in

Bellingham and Marysville,

Washington. In addition to the regular

agenda the Committee will conduct a

local community forum meeting and

group discussion with VA and non-VA

officials and service providers, and local

veteran representatives regarding the

post-war readjustment and service

needs of area war veterans. The meeting

will be conducted from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

at the Seattle Vet Center, 2230 Eighth

Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98121.

The meeting will be closed from 8

a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, and

from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, July 26,

in accordance with the provisions cited

in 5 U.S.C. 522b(c)(6) pursuant to

subsection 10(d) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act. During this portion of

the meeting the Committee will be

engaging in discussions with VA

clinical service providers and veteran
36110 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 9, 1996 / Notices

consumers. The discussions will

disclose information of a personal

nature for veteran patients which would

constitute a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy. The

meeting on July 26 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

will be open to the public to the seating

capacity of the facility.

Anyone having questions concerning

the meeting may contact Alfonso R.

Batres, Ph.D., M.S.S.W., Director,

Readjustment Counseling Service,

Department of Veterans Affairs Central

Office at (202) 273–8967.

Dated: June 26, 1996.

Heyward Bannister,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 96–17364 Filed 7–8–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–M