Rule2023-01023
International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 20, 2023
Effective
January 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentJustice Programs Office
Abstract
The Office for Victims of Crime ("OVC") is promulgating this final rule for its International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program ("ITVERP"), in order to finalize the interim final rule published on April 11, 2011, which removed a regulatory limitation on the discretion of the Director of OVC to accept claims filed more than three years after the date that an incident is designated as an incident of international terrorism. This final rule also makes non- substantive technical corrections to update citations to reflect the current location of the cited provisions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 13 (Friday, January 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3654-3657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01023]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Justice Programs
28 CFR Part 94
[Docket No.: OJP (OVC) 1539]
RIN 1121-AA78
International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program
AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Justice.
ACTION: Adoption of interim rule as final; technical corrections.
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SUMMARY: The Office for Victims of Crime (``OVC'') is promulgating this
final rule for its International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement
Program (``ITVERP''), in order to finalize the interim final rule
published on April 11, 2011, which removed a regulatory limitation on
the discretion of the Director of OVC to accept claims filed more than
three years after the date that an incident is designated as an
incident of international terrorism. This final rule also makes non-
substantive technical corrections to update citations to reflect the
current location of the cited provisions.
DATES: This final rule is effective January 20, 2023.
ADDRESSES: For further information, see the ITVERP website at <a href="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/intdir/itverp">http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/intdir/itverp</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Jolicoeur, ITVERP, Office for
[[Page 3655]]
Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of
Justice, 810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20531; (202) 307-5134.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
ITVERP is a Federal program that provides reimbursement to
nationals of the United States and Federal Government employees (and
certain family members of such individuals, under some circumstances),
who are victims of international terrorism and who incur expenses as a
result of such incidents. For further information, see the ITVERP
website at <a href="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/intdir/itverp">http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/intdir/itverp</a>.
Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. 20106 and 34 U.S.C. 20110(a), OVC promulgated
an interim-final rule to provide the Director of OVC with express
discretionary authority to accept claims filed more than three years
after the date that an incident is designated as one of international
terrorism. Largely owing to considerations of administrative
convenience, the original ITVERP rule (promulgated in 2006) among other
things limited the period within which OVC would entertain waivers of
claim-filing deadlines. In 2011, based on experience administering the
program since it went into effect in 2006, OVC determined that this
limit on waivers of late claims could lead to denials of reimbursement
for victims with otherwise meritorious claims, even under circumstances
where tolling of the deadline would be justified.
This rule adopts as final the interim rule published April 11,
2011, at 76 FR 19909, which allows the Director of OVC to toll or
extend the deadline for a late-filed claim where the Director finds
good cause to do so. In the ordinary course, a showing of good cause
generally requires that the claimant submit a written explanation--
satisfactory to the Director--for missing the deadline. Generally
speaking, examples of good cause might include situations such as where
a victim's treatment for injuries sustained in an incident were covered
initially by collateral sources, but these sources later become
unavailable after the filing deadline has expired; where outreach to
overseas claimants has not been effective; and where a claimant's
extended illness, living abroad in remote areas for extended periods of
time, or barriers to accessing information about the program led to the
late filing. Absent circumstances consonant with the foregoing, good
cause would not exist; thus, for example, a claimant's missing the
deadline due to mere inattentiveness to the program's deadlines would
not be sufficient to establish good cause.
The interim final rule did not alter any then-existing regulatory
deadlines, nor did it impose any new deadlines (or any burden
whatsoever) on claimants, but instead merely operated to relieve an
administrative restriction, in the then-existing rule, on claim filing
(such rule having been promulgated largely for the administrative
convenience of OVC, which had found it, over the course of four years
of program administration, to be unnecessary). In these respects, the
final rule is the same.
OVC had intended to finalize this interim-final rule as part of a
larger revision of the program rules shortly after publication of the
interim-final rule, but that effort ended up not moving forward. Other
priorities, including updating program rules for the Victims of Crime
Act of 1984 (``VOCA'') Victim Assistance Program, and administration
and oversight responsibilities relating to the substantial increase in
VOCA funding that started in FY 2015, took priority after that.
The non-substantive updates to the citations are to ensure that the
citations accurately point to the substantive provision originally
intended when subpart A was promulgated in 2006, and when subpart B was
promulgated in 2016. In 2017, many citations to provisions in Title 42
of the United States Code were reclassified to Title 34. In addition, 2
CFR part 200 was amended in 2020, and certain sections were shifted by
one number. The updates herein adjust the citations to reflect the new
locations of the same substantive provisions.
III. Regulatory Requirements
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563--Regulatory Review
This final rule has been drafted in accordance with Executive Order
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' section 1(b), The Principles
of Regulation, and in accordance with Executive Order 13563,
``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review'' section 1, General
Principles of Regulation. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct
agencies, in certain circumstances, to assess all costs and benefits of
available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to
select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including
potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects,
distributive impacts, and equity).
OVC has determined that this final rule is not a ``significant
regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning
and Review, section 3(f), and, accordingly, this rule has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. This rule finalizes
the 2011 interim final rule, which OVC also determined was not a
``significant regulatory action,'' without change.
Cost/Benefit Assessment
This regulation has no cost to state, local, or tribal governments,
or to the private sector. It merely alleviates an administrative
restriction on victim claim filing by permitting the OVC Director to
allow late filing where the Director determines that this is
appropriate. 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,
which is capped at $50 million in any given year. The cost to the
Federal Government consists both of administrative expenses and amounts
reimbursed to victims. Both types of costs depend on the number of
claimants, prospective as well as retroactive. This rule is not
expected to significantly increase the number of eligible claimants,
and therefore OVC has determined that the negligible cost potentially
associated with allowing certain late-filed claims to be processed is
outweighed by considerations of fairness in the program's
administration and the benefit of ensuring that U.S. victims otherwise
eligible for, and in need of, reimbursement for injuries and losses
from overseas terrorism are provided such reimbursement. This rule has
not, and is not expected to, materially increase the overall budgetary
impact of the ITVERP.
Administrative Procedure Act
This rule concerns matters relating to ``grants, benefits, or
contracts,'' 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2). It is therefore statutorily exempt
from the requirement of notice and comment and a 30-day delay in the
effective date. Moreover, to the extent that it ``recognizes an
exemption or relieves a restriction'' on claimant filing, it is exempt
from the 30-day delay in the effective date per 5 U.S.C. 553(d).
Moreover, with regard to the citation corrections, OVC finds that
notice and comment would be unnecessary because the citation updates
are non-substantive--the underlying substantive provisions remain the
same, and therefore good cause exists to dispense
[[Page 3656]]
with notice and comment per 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), and a delayed effective
date, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d).
Although it was not required to do so, upon publication of the
interim-final rule in 2011, OVC provided for post-promulgation public
comment. OVC received two comments, one of which was not responsive.
The only responsive comment advocated for a statutory-definition change
beyond the scope of this rulemaking, questioned the cost of the
program, requested that information about payments be posted on the
internet, and opposed ``paying claims that are more than 3 years old
and leaving that to the `discreation' [sic] of the director . . . .''
OVC does, in fact, post detailed information on its website about
program payments, with breakouts by number of claims, amounts paid in
each expense category, and other claim processing information, and has
done so since 2008. Moreover, the Director's discretion is limited to
situations where a claimant shows good cause to waive the filing
deadline. For example, in FY 2018, of the 36 new applications received
during the reporting period, 4 were granted an extension; in FY 2019,
of 33 new applicants, 1 was granted an extension. ITVERP is a very
small program, both in terms of number of claims and amounts paid. It
received an average of 35 claims per year from FY 2011 through FY 2019.
The total amount paid for all claims added together in the FY 2017
reporting period was $264,734.07; in FY 2018 was $145,046, and in FY
2019 was $155,298. Consequently, the entire program has a de-minimis
budgetary impact, and the limited number of extensions granted each
year do not materially change that.
This rule finalizes that interim-final rule, which made a minor
amendment to alleviate a procedural restriction on ITVERP claimants
that might otherwise have led to the denial of meritorious claims from
victims, even where such victims show good cause for delayed filing.
Executive Order 13132--Federalism
This regulation will not have a substantial direct effect 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 Exec. Order
No. 13132, 64 FR 43255 (Aug. 4, 1999), it is determined that this
regulation does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant
the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
Executive Order 12988
This final rule meets the applicable standards set forth in
sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, ``Civil Justice
Reform.''
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. This 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 regulation on
such entities is not required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed rule contains no new information collection or
record-keeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.).
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This regulation will 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.
Congressional Review Act
This rule is not a major rule as defined by the Congressional
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804. It will not result in an annual effect on the
economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices
for consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local
government agencies, or geographic regions; or significant adverse
effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity,
innovation, or on the ability of United States-based enterprises to
compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and export markets.
List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 94
Administrative practice and procedures, International terrorism,
Victim compensation.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Office
of Justice Programs adopts the interim rule published April 11, 2011,
at 76 FR 19909, as final without change and makes technical corrections
to title 28, part 94 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 94--CRIME VICTIM SERVICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 94 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 34 U.S.C. 20103, 20106, 20110(a), 20111.
Subpart A--International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement
Program
Sec. 94.11 [Amended]
0
2. Amend Sec. 94.11 in paragraph (a) by removing ``42 U.S.C. 10603c''
and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20106''.
Sec. 94.12 [Amended]
0
3. Amend Sec. 94.12 in paragraph (u) introductory text by removing
``42 U.S.C. 10603c(a)(3)(A)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C.
20106(a)(3)(A)''.
Sec. 94.21 [Amended]
0
4. Amend Sec. 94.21 in paragraph (a) by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10603c(a)(3)(A)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20106(a)(3)(A)''.
Subpart B--VOCA Victim Assistance Program
Sec. 94.101 [Amended]
0
5. Amend Sec. 94.101 in paragraph (a) by removing ``42 U.S.C. 10603''
and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103'' and in paragraph (b) by
removing ``42 U.S.C. 10604(a)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C.
20110(a)''.
Sec. 94.102 [Amended]
0
6. Amend Sec. 94.102, in introductory text of the definition of Direct
services or services to victims of crime, by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10603(d)(2)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103(d)(2)''.
Sec. 94.103 [Amended]
0
7. Amend Sec. 94.103 in paragraph (b) introductory text by removing
``42 U.S.C. 10603(a)(2)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C.
20103(a)(2)'' and in paragraph (g) by removing ``2 CFR 200.336'' and
adding in its place ``2 CFR 200.337''.
Sec. 94.104 [Amended]
0
8. Amend Sec. 94.104 in paragraph (b) introductory text by removing
``42 U.S.C. 10603(a)(2)(A)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C.
20103(a)(2)(A)'' and in paragraph (c) by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10603(a)(2)(B)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103(a)(2)(B)''.
[[Page 3657]]
Sec. 94.106 [Amended]
0
9. Amend Sec. 94.106 in paragraph (a) by removing ``2 CFR 200.331''
and adding in its place ``2 CFR 200.332''.
Sec. 94.107 [Amended]
0
10. Amend Sec. 94.107 in paragraph (a) by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10603(b)(3)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103(b)(3)''.
Sec. 94.108 [Amended]
0
11. Amend Sec. 94.108 in paragraph (b)(2) by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10604(h)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20110(h)''.
Sec. 94.111 [Amended]
0
12. Amend Sec. 94.111 by removing ``42 U.S.C. 10603(b)(1)'' and adding
in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103(b)(1)''.
Sec. 94.112 [Amended]
0
13. Amend Sec. 94.112 in paragraph (b) introductory text by removing
``42 U.S.C. 10603(b)(1)(B)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C.
20103(b)(1)(B)''.
Sec. 94.113 [Amended]
0
14. Amend Sec. 94.113 in paragraph (b) by removing ``42 U.S.C.
10603(b)(1)(C)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20103(b)(1)(C)''.
Sec. 94.114 [Amended]
0
15. Amend Sec. 94.114 in paragraphs (a) and (b) by removing ``42
U.S.C. 10604(e)'' and adding in its place ``34 U.S.C. 20110(e)''.
Dated: January 11, 2023.
Maureen A. Henneberg,
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Operations and Management, Office
of Justice Programs.
[FR Doc. 2023-01023 Filed 1-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P
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