THOMPSON LANGUAGE ADDRESSING VA BACKLOG PASSES HOUSE
June 5, 2013
Monthly Reporting On Claims Backlog to be Required by Regional, National VA Offices
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson announced today that the House of Representatives passed legislation with language called for by Thompson and other California Democrats that would hold the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) accountable for ending the backlog of claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration. The language was included with H.R. 2216, the Fiscal Year 2014 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.
“We must make sure our veterans and their families receive the benefits they have earned,” said Thompson. “It is unacceptable for a veteran to be forced to wait for care and benefits, in some cases for more than a year, because the VA is backlogged. We're going to make sure the VA continues to do everything possible to get this problem fixed.”
Currently, new claims by veterans can take almost 300 days to process, delaying access to care and benefits. Many California veterans in the 5th Congressional District are serviced by the Oakland Regional Office which has one of the longest claims backlog in the country.
The language included in H.R. 2216 will require a monthly report from each regional office and the national VA office detailing the current backlog of claims. Additional reporting will be required from offices with backlogs averaging more than 200 days.
In an April letter to the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Thompson and other members of the California delegation requested these additional reporting requirements that were included in the bill passed out of Committee and then by the House.
A full copy of the letter is below.
The Honorable John Culberson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
HVC-227, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Sanford Bishop
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
1016 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Culberson and Mr. Bishop:
On the battlefield, the motto is to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, it is our duty to ensure that we leave no veteran behind. Sadly, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has had a backlog in veteran disability claims for many years, and the Oakland Regional Office has the dubious distinction of having the largest backlog in the country. I know you share our concern about the unacceptable amount of time VBA takes to process a new benefits claim and the unacceptable volume of the existing, unprocessed backlog. We appreciate the recently announced VBA policy to provide provisional expedited claims decisions for those veterans waiting longer than a year. Coupled with the changes VBA is making to address the backlog, including new technology and new intake procedures, we understand that VBA believes it will eliminate the backlog by 2015. However, there is still much work to be done.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the VBA's backlog reduction plan does not articulate performance measures for each initiative, including their intended impact on the claims backlog. Furthermore, while improvements in technology can speed up many processes and eliminate unnecessary or duplicative paperwork, we remain skeptical that new technology alone is the magic bullet for this complex problem.
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
Veterans Benefits Administration
Report Language
The Committee finds the VBA justification for the backlog of claims unacceptable. For the last four years, the Committee has fully funded the President's budget request for additional FTEs and increased IT funding, yet the claims backlog remains largely unchanged from 2008. The Committee understands the VBA thinks it will be able to process claims within 125 days by 2015 when the new VBMS system is fully operational. While the Committee supports VBA's use of technology to improve performance, as noted in House Report 112-491, the Committee is skeptical that the new VBMS procedures will ensure timely processing of the backlog by 2015. Therefore, the Committee expects the VBA to report to the Committee on the progress made to eliminate the backlog, at each regional office, 90 days, 180 days, and one year after VBMS is operational at each regional office, to ensure that the Committee can track the progress made on the backlog.
Thank you for your commitment to resolving the claims backlog at the Veterans Benefits Administration and specifically, the Oakland Regional Office.
Sincerely,
___________________________ ____________________________
SAM FARR BARBARA LEE
Member of Congress Member of Congress
___________________________ ___________________________
MIKE THOMPSON JACKIE SPEIER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
JOHN GARAMENDI ZOE LOFGREN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
JERRY MCNERNEY AMI BERA
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
TONY CARDENAS ERIC SWALWELL
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
GRACE NAPOLITANO DORIS O. MATSUI
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
HENRY A. WAXMAN JARED HUFFMAN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
“We must make sure our veterans and their families receive the benefits they have earned,” said Thompson. “It is unacceptable for a veteran to be forced to wait for care and benefits, in some cases for more than a year, because the VA is backlogged. We're going to make sure the VA continues to do everything possible to get this problem fixed.”
Currently, new claims by veterans can take almost 300 days to process, delaying access to care and benefits. Many California veterans in the 5th Congressional District are serviced by the Oakland Regional Office which has one of the longest claims backlog in the country.
The language included in H.R. 2216 will require a monthly report from each regional office and the national VA office detailing the current backlog of claims. Additional reporting will be required from offices with backlogs averaging more than 200 days.
In an April letter to the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Thompson and other members of the California delegation requested these additional reporting requirements that were included in the bill passed out of Committee and then by the House.
A full copy of the letter is below.
April 22, 2013
The Honorable John Culberson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
HVC-227, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Sanford Bishop
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
1016 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Culberson and Mr. Bishop:
On the battlefield, the motto is to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, it is our duty to ensure that we leave no veteran behind. Sadly, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has had a backlog in veteran disability claims for many years, and the Oakland Regional Office has the dubious distinction of having the largest backlog in the country. I know you share our concern about the unacceptable amount of time VBA takes to process a new benefits claim and the unacceptable volume of the existing, unprocessed backlog. We appreciate the recently announced VBA policy to provide provisional expedited claims decisions for those veterans waiting longer than a year. Coupled with the changes VBA is making to address the backlog, including new technology and new intake procedures, we understand that VBA believes it will eliminate the backlog by 2015. However, there is still much work to be done.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the VBA's backlog reduction plan does not articulate performance measures for each initiative, including their intended impact on the claims backlog. Furthermore, while improvements in technology can speed up many processes and eliminate unnecessary or duplicative paperwork, we remain skeptical that new technology alone is the magic bullet for this complex problem.
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
Veterans Benefits Administration
Report Language
The Committee finds the VBA justification for the backlog of claims unacceptable. For the last four years, the Committee has fully funded the President's budget request for additional FTEs and increased IT funding, yet the claims backlog remains largely unchanged from 2008. The Committee understands the VBA thinks it will be able to process claims within 125 days by 2015 when the new VBMS system is fully operational. While the Committee supports VBA's use of technology to improve performance, as noted in House Report 112-491, the Committee is skeptical that the new VBMS procedures will ensure timely processing of the backlog by 2015. Therefore, the Committee expects the VBA to report to the Committee on the progress made to eliminate the backlog, at each regional office, 90 days, 180 days, and one year after VBMS is operational at each regional office, to ensure that the Committee can track the progress made on the backlog.
Thank you for your commitment to resolving the claims backlog at the Veterans Benefits Administration and specifically, the Oakland Regional Office.
Sincerely,
___________________________ ____________________________
SAM FARR BARBARA LEE
Member of Congress Member of Congress
___________________________ ___________________________
MIKE THOMPSON JACKIE SPEIER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
JOHN GARAMENDI ZOE LOFGREN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
JERRY MCNERNEY AMI BERA
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
TONY CARDENAS ERIC SWALWELL
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
GRACE NAPOLITANO DORIS O. MATSUI
Member of Congress Member of Congress
____________________________ ___________________________
HENRY A. WAXMAN JARED HUFFMAN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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Issues:Veterans