VA rejects proposed fixes for case backlog

Gregory Wilson, injured in Iraq, waited two years to get his first disability payment.

No, no, no and no was the response Tuesday from the Department of Veterans Affairs to four bills pending before Congress to reduce the 600,000-case backlog of veterans’ benefits claims.

That means “no” to HR 67, sponsored by Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., that would allocate $25 million a year — about $1 for each living veteran — to improve veterans’ outreach programs, and would give grants to states to pay for education and training programs for state and local veterans’ agencies.

This also means “no” to HR 1435, sponsored by Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., that orders a three-year, five-state test in which benefits claims that are not complete would be referred to a county or municipal office for help developing the claim

And it means double “no” to two unusual bills that would radically change the veterans’ claims process.

Read the rest at Marine Corps Times

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