Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in Lieu of a Government-Furnished Graveliner for a Grave in a VA National Cemetery

AGENCY:

Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is updating the monetary allowance payable for qualifying interments that occur during calendar year (CY) 2021, which applies toward the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle (or “graveliner”) for use in a VA national cemetery. The allowance is equal to the average cost of Government-furnished graveliners less any VA administrative costs. The purpose of this notice is to notify interested parties of the average cost of Government-furnished graveliners; administrative costs that relate to processing and paying the allowance; and the amount of the allowance payable for qualifying interments that occur during CY 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. William Carter, Chief of Budget Execution Division, National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. The telephone number is 202-461-9764 (this is not a toll-free number).

DATES:

This notice is effective January 1, 2021.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

VA is authorized by 38 U.S.C. 2306(e)(3) and (4) to provide a monetary allowance for the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle for use in a VA national cemetery where its use is authorized. The allowance for qualified interments that occur during CY 2021 is the average cost of Government-furnished graveliners in fiscal year (FY) 2020, less the administrative cost incurred by VA in processing and paying the allowance in lieu of the Government-furnished graveliner.

The average cost of Government-furnished graveliners is determined by taking VA's total cost during a fiscal year for single-depth graveliners that were procured for placement at the time of interment and dividing it by the total number of such graveliners procured by VA during that fiscal year. The calculation excludes both graveliners pre-placed in gravesites as part of the cemetery gravesite development projects and all double-depth graveliners. Using this method of computation, the average cost was determined to be $381.00 for FY 2020.

The administrative cost is based on the costs incurred by VA during CY 2020 that relate to processing and paying an allowance in lieu of the Government-furnished graveliner. This cost has been determined to be $9.00.

Therefore, the allowance payable for qualifying interments occurring during CY 2021, is $372.00.

Signing Authority

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this document 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. Brooks D. Tucker, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Performing the Delegable Duties of the Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this document on December 31, 2020, for publication.