King Introduces Legislation to Overhaul Veterans Appeals Process

Press Release

On the heels of a press conference with the American Legion and other Veterans Service Organizations calling for action, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today introduced legislation to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) archaic process for appealing rejected disability claims. Today, there is a backlog of more than 450,000 appeals cases with veterans waiting, on average, four years to complete the entire process and receive a final decision. The VA Appeals Modernization Act would eliminate bureaucratic hurdles that are contributing to the backlog by implementing a new process that provides veterans with clear appeals options to best fit the needs of their claims and expedite the process.

"A disabled veteran deserves more than a place on a waiting list or getting caught up in a VA backlog. But, too often, Maine veterans are paying the price for bureaucratic failures," Senator King said. "Veterans deserve a full, fair, and timely review of their appeals and this legislation will help accomplish that."

Currently, there is a "single-lane" appeals process, which has resulted in the bottlenecking of claims and a substantial backlog of cases. The VA Appeals Modernization Act would replace the current appeals process with one that gives veterans three clear options, or lanes, to appeal an initial decision in a more expeditious manner:

Local Higher Level Review: This lane would provide the opportunity for a quick resolution of the claim by a higher-level adjudicator at the VA Regional Office. This lane would be a good option for veterans who are confident they have all the evidence necessary to win their claim.
New Evidence: This lane would be for submitting new evidence at the VA Regional Office. This lane would serve as a good option for veterans who believe that they can succeed on their claim by providing additional evidence.
Board Review: In this last lane, intermediate steps currently required by statute to receive Board review would be eliminated. Furthermore, hearing and non-hearing options at the Board would be handled on separate dockets so these distinctly different types of work can be better managed.
Today, Senator King joined representatives from the American Legion and other Veterans Service Organizations at a press conference to call for an end to the backlog of veterans' appeals cases. To watch video of the press conference, click HERE.

The legislation is supported by the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the American Veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The bill introduced today by Senator King is a Senate-companion to a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada.

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