PA Chapter of American Veterans Convenes in Greensburg

Press Release

On Friday, Congressman Murphy was on hand for the opening of the 66th Annual Convention of the Pennsylvania Chapter of American Veterans (AMVETS). With approximately 180,000 members nationwide, AMVETS is a leading service and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of veterans across America.

"Our veterans have sacrificed so much in service to our nation," said Murphy. "I'm very thankful and appreciative of the tireless work that AMVETS and other organizations do to help make our veterans' lives just a little bit easier and make sure no one takes their enormous contributions for granted."

Congressman Murphy shared the recent news that he succeeded in adding an amendment to the 2012 Defense Authorization bill that would greatly increase access to care for returning soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Presenting service medals and commendations to Sgt. Nathan Reilly.

In addition to discussing important issues facing today's veterans, Congressman Murphy was given the honor of awarding medals to Sgt. Nathan Reilly of Greensburg. A veteran of Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan, Sgt. Reilly earned numerous commendations and medals for his service, including Army Commendation, Army Achievement, Good Conduct and National Defense Service Medals, and the Combat Infantry Badge and Parachutist Badge.

"We salute the service of Sgt. Reilly, who embodies the most honorable characteristics of our nation's Armed Services. We thank him for his sacrifice and dedication to American security and freedomes across the globe," said Murphy. "I'm honored to be presenting him with these well deserved awards today. Our community wishes him the best in welcoming him home to Southwestern Pennsylvania."

In related news, the House of Representatives approved with Congressman Murphy's support on May 31 legislation that would expedite claims processing for veterans. The VA has more than 783,000 pending claims, with more than half of those outstanding for more than four months. As a result, veterans must wait even longer to receive payments for service-related disabilities. It now takes the VA six months on average to process each compensation demand for illnesses or injuries.

The VA says that the backlog has grown because of the complexity of claims from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and more than 200,000 new Agent Orange-related claims. To reduce the backlog, Congress has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars for the VA to hire more staff and invest in better information systems that can link in with the Department of Defense records. The VA believes that the number of claims processed each week will exceed the number of new claims that arrive in early 2012 after recently-hired staffers have been fully trained.

From a veterans' perspective, when the VA processes a claim, the VA wants all information in support of the claim up front. If a vet has new information to support their request for benefits after processing has begun, the veteran must go to the back of the line in many instances. The House-approved Veterans Appeals Improvement Act will require the VA to consider this new information without sending the vet to the back of the line.

HR 1484 now awaits further action in the Senate.

Congressman Murphy also informed the crowd of the many services a congressional office can provide to veterans and active duty servicemen and women. The Congressman and his staff stand ready to help provide assistance with VA claims, pay and benefits, and other issues. Anyone needing help is encouraged to contact Congressman Murphy's Mt. Lebanon District Office and speak with a caseworker.

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