Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/07/19/07-3466/increase-in-rates-payable-under-the-montgomery-gi-bill-selected-reserve-and-other-miscellaneous
Timestamp: 2018-02-21 13:30:57
Document Index: 234365996

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', 'art 21', 'art 21', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', 'art\n4', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921']

Federal Register :: Increase in Rates Payable Under the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve and Other Miscellaneous Issues
Increase in Rates Payable Under the Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve and Other Miscellaneous Issues
A Rule by the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, and the Veterans Affairs Department on 07/19/2007
72 FR 39562
39562-39564 (3 pages)
2900-AM50
07-3466
I. Increase in MGIB-SR Monthly Rates
II. Increase in the Percentage of Basic Educational Assistance Payable to Reservists Pursuing Apprenticeship or Other On-the-Job Training
III. Changes to Education Break-Pay Regulations Including the Removal of Obsolete Provisions
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/07-3466 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/07-3466
Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security (United States Coast Guard), and Department of Veterans Affairs.
This document amends Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations to increase the monthly rates of basic educational assistance payable under the Montgomery GI Bill—Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) program for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 in accordance with statutory requirements, increase the percentage of basic educational assistance payable to reservists pursuing apprenticeship or other on-the-job training in accordance with the Veterans Benefits Act of 2004, and remove obsolete education break-pay provisions.
Effective Date: This final rule is effective July 19, 2007.
Applicability Dates: The changes in the MGIB-SR rates for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 are applied retroactively to October 1, 2004, and October 1, 2005, respectively to conform to statutory requirements. The change in the percentage of basic educational assistance payable to reservists pursuing apprenticeship or other on-the-job training is applied retroactively to October 1, 2005, to conform to statutory requirements. The changes in the break-pay regulations contained in 38 CFR 21.7640 are effective July 19, 2007.
Brandye R. Kidd, Management and Program Analyst, Education Service (225C), Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, telephone (202) 273-7420. (This is not a toll-free number.)
Under the formula mandated by 10 U.S.C. 16131(b), the rates of basic educational assistance under the MGIB-SR payable to students pursuing a program of education full-time, three-quarter-time, and half-time must be increased by the percentage by which the total monthly Consumer Price Index-W for the 12-month period ending on June 30 preceding the fiscal year during which the increase is applicable exceeds the Consumer Price Index-W for the 12-month period ending on June 30 the previous fiscal year. Using this formula, VA calculated a 2 percent increase for fiscal year 2005 and a 3 percent increase for fiscal year 2006.
Section 16131(b) also requires that VA pay reservists, who are pursuing a program of education at less than half-time, an appropriately reduced rate. Since payment for less than half-time educational programs became available under the MGIB-SR in fiscal year 1990, VA has paid less than half-time students at 25 percent of the full-time rate. In this rule, VA continues that practice and will pay eligible reservists 25 percent of the increased full-time rate described above.
Section 16131(d) requires that reservists pursuing a full-time program of apprenticeship or other on-the-job training be paid a percentage of the basic educational monthly rate. Benefits for the first 6 months of training, the second 6 months of training, and the remainder of the program, are payable at 75 percent, 55 percent, and 35 percent respectively. Based on the section 16131(b) formula described above, there is a 2 percent increase for the apprenticeship and other on-the-job training pursued during fiscal year 2005 and a 3 percent increase for training during fiscal year 2006.
The increase in the MGIB-SR rates are applied in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions discussed above. Thus, VA began paying the 2005 and 2006 fiscal year increases effective October 1, 2004 and October 1, 2005 respectively.
The Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004, Public Law 108-454, temporarily increased the percentages payable for apprenticeship and other on-the-job training from 75 percent, 55 percent, and 35 percent, to 85 percent, 65 percent, and 45 percent of the full-time rate of basic educational assistance, respectively, after September 30, 2005, and before January 1, 2008.
VA began paying the increased rates for reservists pursuing apprenticeship or other on-the-job training effective October 1, 2005, in accordance with Public Law 108-454.
We are amending 38 CFR 21.7640(b) to remove obsolete provisions and provide greater clarity of regulations regarding benefit payments for school break periods between terms. In 2003, 38 CFR 21.4138(f), governing payment for breaks between terms, quarters or semesters, was amended to conform to statutory requirements. The final rule was published June 9, 2003, in the Federal Register (68 FR 34327-34332). The preamble to that final rule states that changes made to § 21.4138(f) are applicable to the Montgomery GI Bill—Active Duty, Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program, Veterans Educational Assistance Program, and MGIB-SR. Although we amended the language in § 21.4138(f) in that final rule, we neglected to make a conforming amendment to § 21.7640(b) regarding payment for breaks, including intervals between terms. This document amends the language in the aforementioned section in accordance with statutory requirements and the previously published rule.
The changes to the break-pay regulations, including the removal of obsolete provisions, are effective from July 19, 2007.
Changes to 38 CFR part 21 are being published without regard to the notice-and-comment and delayed-effective-date provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 since they merely conform VA's existing rules to the statutory requirements. Accordingly, these changes involve interpretive rules that are exempt from Start Printed Page 39563the notice-and-comment and delayed-effective-date requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and (d).
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 the 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 given year. This final rule would have no such effect on State, local, and tribal governments, or on the private sector.
Approved: February 9, 2007.
Approved: March 12, 2007.
Clifford L. Pearson,
Approved: May 7, 2007.
T.F. Hall,
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
For the reasons stated above, VA amends
1. Revise the authority citation for part 21, subpart L, to read as follows:
Authority: 10 U.S.C. ch. 1606; 38 U.S.C. 501(a), 512, ch. 36, and as stated in specific sections.
2. Amend § 21.7635(c)(3) by removing “§ 21.7640” and adding, in its place, “§ 21.4138(f)”.
3. Amend § 21.7636 by revising paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2)(i), and (a)(3) to read as follows:
§ 21.7636
Rates of payment.
(a) Monthly rate of educational assistance. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section or in § 21.7639, basic educational assistance is payable at the following monthly rates.
(i) For training that occurs after September 30, 2004, and before October 1, 2005:
Full time $288.00
3/4 time 216.00
1/2 time 143.00
1/4 time 72.00
(ii) For training that occurs after September 30, 2005:
Full time $297.00
3/4 time 222.00
1/2 time 147.00
1/4 time 74.25
(2)(i) The monthly rate of basic educational assistance payable to a reservist for apprenticeship or other on-the-job training full time is payable at the following rates.
(A) For training which occurs after September 30, 2004, and before October 1, 2005:
First 6 months of pursuit of training $216.00
Second 6 months of pursuit of training 158.40
Remaining pursuit of training 100.80
(B) For training which occurs after September 30, 2005:
First 6 months of pursuit of training $252.45
Second 6 months of pursuit of training 193.05
Remaining pursuit of training 133.65
(3) The monthly rate of basic educational assistance payable to a reservist for pursuit of a cooperative course is as follows:
(i) For full-time training that occurs after September 30, 2004, and before October 1, 2005, the rate payable is the rate stated in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section.
(ii) For full-time training that occurs after September 30, 2005, the rate payable is the rate stated in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section.
Start Printed Page 39564 Start Amendment Part
4. Amend § 21.7640 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
§ 21.7640
Release of payments.
(b) Payment for breaks, including intervals between terms. In administering 10 U.S.C. chapter 1606, VA will apply the provisions of § 21.4138(f) when determining whether a reservist is entitled to payment for a break, including an interval between terms.
(Authority: 10 U.S.C. 16136(b), 38 U.S.C. 3680)
[FR Doc. 07-3466 Filed 7-18-07; 8:45 am]