Veterans Affairs Department
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing that it will make no change in regulation to adjust for inflation the amount of civil monetary penalties that are allowed within VA's authorities. This notice is in accordance with the requirement in the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, to make annual adjustments to the penalties, based on the prior year's October Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and as interpreted and determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Memorandum M-26-11. Due to the Government shutdown, BLS was unable to produce October 2025 data. Based on the lack of October 2025 CPI-U data, needed to make adjustments under the 2015 Act, OMB determined that there is no updated cost-of- living adjustment multiplier for 2026. VA continues to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty levels.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Veterans Affairs AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice of determination; unchanged, no 2026 inflation adjustment. SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing that it will make no change in regulation to adjust for inflation the amount of civil monetary penalties that are allowed within VA's authorities. This notice is in accordance with the requirement in the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, to make annual adjustments to the penalties, based on the prior year's October Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and as interpreted and determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Memorandum M-26-11. Due to the Government shutdown, BLS was unable to produce October 2025 data. Based on the lack of October 2025 CPI-U data, needed to make adjustments under the 2015 Act, OMB determined that there is no updated cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 2026. VA continues to use the 2025 civil monetary penalty levels. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Rouch, Assistant Director, Loan Guaranty Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, terry.rouch@va.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 2, 2015, the President signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) ( Pub. L. 114-74 , sec. 701, 129 Stat. 584, 599…
Citation: 91 FR 43023
