Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Endorse Rep. Negrete McLeod's Legislation
Press Release
Today, two major veteran service organizations testified before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in support of Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod's (D-Calif) legislation, HR 1623, the Veterans Administration (VA) Claims Efficiency Through Information Act of 2013.
"Timely and accurate information are critical elements to mission success, something to which every veteran can attest," said Tom Tarantino, Chief Policy Officer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "In order to have a veteran fully prepared for the claims process, VA should be providing as much crucially important information as possible, and this bill seeks to make sure that happens."
"The American Legion supports full transparency of the Veterans' Benefits Administration," said Verna Jones, Director of the American Legion's Veteran Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission during today's testimony. "Increasing transparency and access to the data necessary to make informed decisions about their claims is vital to continuing the improvement process in the overall claims system."
VA currently includes statistics about the number of pending claims at regional offices in a Monday Morning Workload Report located on the agency's website. Negrete McLeod's legislation would require VA to include the number of completed claims by region and by medical condition for the current and preceding month and year.
Presenting the bill in her first legislative hearing, Negrete McLeod argued that more transparency would put more pressure on the VA to end the claims backlog while also ensuring Congress is better informed.
"The lack of public information about the claims backlog does both VA and veterans a disservice," said Negrete McLeod. "Each month, veterans suffer economic hardship from delays in their disability benefits. If we knew how many claims were completed from month to month and which offices are struggling to process particular medical conditions, the VA could quickly direct resources to address the problem."
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