Notice2025-14456
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
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
July 31, 2025
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
This notice describes the Department of Veterans Affairs' plans to address criminally liable regulatory offenses under the recent executive order on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 145 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 145 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 36095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14456]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes the Department of Veterans Affairs'
plans to address criminally liable regulatory offenses under the recent
executive order on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederick R. Jackson, Executive
Director, Office of Security and Law Enforcement, (202) 461-5544.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 9, 2025, the President issued
Executive Order (E.O.) 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal
Regulations. 90 FR 20363 (published May 14, 2025). Section 7 of E.O.
14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in consultation
with the Attorney General, each agency should publish guidance in the
Federal Register describing its plan to address criminally liable
regulatory offenses.
Consistent with that requirement, the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) advises the public that by May 9, 2026, VA, in
consultation with the Attorney General, will provide to the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a report containing: (1) a
list of all criminal regulatory offenses \1\ enforceable by VA or the
Department of Justice (DOJ); and (2) for each such criminal regulatory
offense, the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and
the applicable mens rea standard \2\ for the criminal regulatory
offense.
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\1\ ``Criminal regulatory offense'' means a Federal regulation
that is enforceable by a criminal penalty. E.O. 14294, sec. 3(b).
\2\ ``Mens rea'' means the state of mind that by law must be
proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. E.O.
14294, sec. 3(c).
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This notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate
exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that when VA is
deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory
offenses to DOJ, officers and employees of VA should consider, among
other factors:
<bullet> The harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused
by the alleged offense;
<bullet> The potential gain to the putative defendant that could
result from the offense;
<bullet> Whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge,
expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or
regulation at issue; and
<bullet> Evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's
general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his
knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.
This general policy is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
Signing Authority
Douglas A. Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on July 24, 2025, and authorized its submission to the Office
of the Federal Register for publication electronically as an official
document of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Taylor N. Mattson,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2025-14456 Filed 7-30-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 31, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.