Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

The best way to honor our nation's veterans is to keep the promises we made to them. Our country is deeply indebted to its veterans, who have fought with courage and valor to protect the world from tyranny and to defend the freedoms that Americans hold so dearly. Since being elected to Congress in 1992, I have fought to provide veterans with the health benefits they earned.

The men and women who put their lives on the line for our country did so with the understanding that we would take care of them in their time of need, and Congress has a moral obligation to improve the military health system. Providing quality care and services to our veterans is one of my top priorities. On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. And with this national investment, we will begin to fulfill our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.

If you would like more information on how to receive veterans' benefits, please visit our Veterans Resources page at http://green.house.gov/resources/veterans or contact our office at (281) 999-5879. Our office also hosts an annual Veterans Forum that features an informative discussion on veterans' legislation and program updates. Various service-related organizations also present information about veterans support services.

TRICARE

The Veterans Administration (VA) operates the largest direct health care delivery system in the country, providing care at over 800 locations to about 5.5 million veterans. Since 1995, the Defense Department and the VA have coordinated their medical care in the program known as TRICARE. TRICARE provides beneficiaries with the opportunity of choosing a health maintenance organization (HMO) option, a preferred provider option (PPO), or a fee-for-service option.

I am strongly committed to ensuring that all our military retirees get the health coverage they have earned. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that TRICARE remains an effective and successful health care program for the members of our Armed Forces, retired service members, and their families. I am adamantly opposed to efforts by the Defense Department to increase fees and co-pays for TRICARE beneficiaries. We must address our nation's growing deficit, but it cannot be done by cutting services earned by our veterans and their loved ones. That is why I have consistently supported legislation that would prevent the Defense Department from unilaterally increasing fees and co-pays without Congress' approval.

VA Backlog

One of the biggest issues confronting our veterans today is the VA disabilities claims backlog. Texas, with 1.6 million veterans, is home to the nation's second highest number of veterans. Our state has also experienced one of the largest backlogs in the country. Nationwide, the backlog numbers nearly 500,000 with over 66,000 Texas veterans having waited over four months for an answer.

There are four main reasons for the backlog:

Increasing Demand: Roughly 2 million American military personnel had been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or both since 9/11. Of that total, 1.4 million have since left the military.
Increasing Reporting: The number of claims from returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are higher than previous wars. Due to medical advancements and numerous deployments, returning veterans are coming home with a higher rate of multiple service connected wounds.
Paper claims: Lack of technological tools to assist in the process. In 2012, the VA was still relying on hard copy files to process a veteran's claim. The lack of paperless filings and a reliance on snail mail can cause delays in the claims process anywhere from weeks to months.
Agent Orange/Other Presumptive Conditions: In recent years, the number of veterans whose service-related injuries qualify for care under the VA has grown, this is particularly true for Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange.

The VA's response to the backlog has been the "Transformation Plan," with the goal of processing all claims 125 days or older with 98 percent quality effectiveness in 2015 and to eliminate the backlog. Other changes the VA has instituted include digitizing the claims process, making overtime mandatory for all VA claims raters until the backlog is closed, and issuing provisional decision on the oldest claims in the inventory. I will continue to closely monitor this issue.

If you have any questions or are experiencing problems with an ongoing VA claim, please visit my Help with a Federal Agency page.

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