According to android documentation, this is added automatically if one of the manifests does not specify a minimum sdk with api >4. There is an AndroidManifest that appears after building in the temp\stagingarea\android-libraries\ovrplugin -- it does not have this specified so I suspect that what ever is generating this file is the culprit in causing the unwanted line in the primary AndroidManifest.
My question is: What in OVR is creating this manifest (temp\stagingarea\android-libraries\ovrplugin\AndroidManifest) and how do I go about changing it so that when it is generated it adds the proper minimum sdk information.
Note1: This happens with a project with almost nothing in it. Clicking VR Oculus in player settings does it.
Note 2: one of the "fixes" is to add another permissions line with tools to remove, however, this solution is not one that will work for me due to google play requirements.