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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 193 / Friday, October 8, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
Secretary could provide a lesser amount of assistance under section 2101b if the individual had a service-connected disability due to blindness in both eyes with a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a standard correcting lens. For the purposes of that clause, the Secretary was to have considered an eye with a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees as having a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less.
With the enactment of the Act, the loss or loss of use of one lower extremity is no longer an eligibility criterion under section 2101a for individuals with blindness in both eyes.
Further, the criterion that the serviceconnected disability for blindness be permanent and total has been changed to permanent. Eligibility for blindness in both eyes under section 2101a is no longer described as having only light perception, but is instead described as it had been under the eligibility criteria found in section 2101b: Having central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a standard correcting lens. For the purposes of this clause, an eye with a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees shall be considered as having a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less.
In effect, an individual who was eligible for SAH assistance under prior section 2101b2A is now eligible to receive SAH assistance under section 2101a2Bii instead and can receive up to $100,896 for fiscal year 2021. See 85 FR 71139. The Act removed eligibility for SAH assistance under section 2101b for service-connected disability due to blindness in both eyes.
Accordingly, VA is amending its adjudication regulations found at 38
CFR 3.809 and 3.809a and its loan guaranty regulations found at 38 CFR
36.4404 to reflect the changes in section 2101a and b. Such amendments align the regulations with current section 2101a and b. VA has also added applicability date language to clarify that these changes, which mirror the statutory changes, shall apply to all applications for benefits that were or are received by VA on or after August 8, 2020, or that were pending before VA
including the Board of Veterans Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 8, 2020. This date reflects the Acts enactment date.

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II. Amendments Under Section 3 of the Act Prior to enactment of the Act, under 38 U.S.C. 2102, an eligible individual was allowed three separate grants of assistance under 38 U.S.C. chapter 21.
Section 3a of the Act amended section 2102d3 to allow a maximum of six grants of assistance. The amendment was effective October 1, 2020. To comply with this change to section 2102d, VA is amending 38 CFR
36.4402d2, 36.4403, and 36.4406a2. VA is also clarifying that these changes, which mirror the statutory changes, shall apply to all applications for benefits that were or are received by VA on or after October 1, 2020, or that were pending before VA
including the Board of Veterans Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 2020. This date reflects the effective date provided in section 3f of the Act.
III. SAH-Related Provisions of the Act Not Covered by This Rulemaking Section 3b of the Act amended section 2101a by increasing from 30 to 120 the number of SAH applications VA
can approve annually for post-9/11
veterans described in 38 U.S.C.
2101a2Aii. These are veterans who served in the Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001, and are entitled to VA disability compensation for a permanent service-connected disability. For eligibility, the disability had to be incurred on or after September 11, 2001, and must be due to the loss or loss of use of one or more lower extremities which so affects the function of balance or propulsion as to preclude ambulating without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair. See 38
U.S.C. 2101a2Aii and 2101a2C. The amendment was effective October 1, 2020. Public Law 116154, sec. 3f. VA will, in a future rulemaking, promulgate regulatory changes regarding veterans described in section 2101a2Aii.
Section 3c through e increased the statutory aggregate dollar limits authorized for section 2101a and 2101b grants to $98,492 and $19,733, respectively, effective October 1, 2020.
Those amounts were increased for fiscal year 2021, based on an annual adjustment required under 38 U.S.C.
2102e. See 85 FR 71139 increasing section 2101a and 2101b grants to $100,896 and $20,215, respectively.
The amounts were also increased for fiscal year 2022, effective October 1, 2021 section 2101a and 2101b grants
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increased to $101,754 and $20,387, respectively. 38 U.S.C. 2102e. VA
intends to publish a separate notice in the Federal Register announcing the adjustment for fiscal year 2022.
Finally, section 4 of the Act added a new section 2102f that authorizes VA, beginning October 1, 2030, to provide an additional amount of SAH assistance under sections 2101a or b in an amount that does not exceed half of the aggregate dollar limit for the applicable section, as adjusted for the year in which VA provides the additional assistance. New section 2102f1 limits the assistance to covered veterans who meet three criteria prescribed in a new 38 U.S.C. 2102f2. To meet these criteria, the covered veteran must be eligible for SAH assistance under section 2101a2 or 2101b2. See 38
U.S.C. 2102f2A. At least ten years must have elapsed between the date of his or her application for additional assistance and his or her last use of chapter 21 assistance. See 38 U.S.C.
2102f2B. He or she must live in a home that VA determines does not have adaptations that are reasonably necessary because of his or her disability. See 38 U.S.C. 2102f2C.
VA notes that section 3 of the Act amended section 2102d3 such that the newly enacted six-use limitation described above is subject to the new section 2102f. In other words, a covered Veteran may receive the newly authorized assistance provided under section 2102f even if he or she has already obtained the six grants of SAH
assistance otherwise authorized.
As mentioned above, assistance under subsection f cannot be provided before October 1, 2030. VA intends to promulgate regulations implementing subsection f, including any amendments that would implement the relevant cross-referencing clause of section 2102d3, in a separate rulemaking.
Administrative Procedure Act VA finds good cause under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553bB to publish this rule without prior opportunity for public comment. This amendment merely revises VAs regulations to mirror the statutory changes to the criteria and assistance provided to certain veterans and members of the Armed Forces through the SAH program. These revisions reflect statutory changes VA is adopting directly, without change, into VAs regulations and do not the exercise of any discretion by VA. Therefore, prior notice and opportunity for public comment is unnecessary.

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