Committee Approves Rep. Negrete McLeod's Veteran Legislation

Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Veteran's Affairs voted and unanimously approved Rep. Negrete McLeod's (CA-35) Veteran's Claims Bill, HR 1623, the VA Claims Efficiency Through Information Act.

"I believe Congress must do all it can to ensure that the VA is adequately and efficiently processing claims because many veterans are still waiting too long to receive their disability benefits -- a fact that affects their health and economic well-being," said Negrete McLeod. "This legislation is a step in the right direction towards implementing more transparency in the Veterans' Administration. I look forward to working with veteran groups and the VA to ensure this backlog of veterans' claims is addressed."

As of July 29, 2013, the VA had 785,889 veterans' benefits claims pending. The Los Angeles Regional Office has more than 14,000 claims pending taking an average of 616 days to complete each claim, almost twice the national average. This legislation would direct the VA to make information concerning pending and completed claims of compensation for a veteran's service-connected disability or death publicly accessible.

The bill was incorporated into Chairman Jeff Miller's (FL-1) bill, which establishes a task force to evaluate the backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veteran's Affairs (HR 2189). It will now be considered for a vote in the House after Congress returns in September.

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