VA under the gun from vets

Our buddy, Coby W. Dillard writes in the Virginian-Pilot today about the failures of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Although Dillard is critical, he doesn’t stop thee and offers some common sense and proven solutions. The first solution, of course is to dump Eric Shinseki as the director of the department;

In 2003, then-VA Secretary Anthony Principi enacted a “priority access” system for veterans claims, pushing combat wounded or disabled veterans to the front of the VA’s processing. While controversial, the practice was able to quickly assist the most deserving veterans. New leadership at the VA should revisit this system, which would include placing a temporary hold on non-service-related claims.

Most of the VA’s progress in reducing the claims backlog has come from a transition from paper-based claims to electronic applications and processing.

This change has been slow, and the systems used for applications and updates – the Veterans Online Application (VONAPP) and the eBenefits website – are cumbersome and often make the application process more frustrating for the veteran.

New leadership at the VA should work with veterans’ service organizations and the top leaders in the computer industry to improve these online systems, creating a seamless application process that automatically pulls details of a veteran’s service from the Defense Department, reducing the need to search for these details, which often adds an additional layer of difficulty and delay.

While Coby goes after the VA in the media, another of our friends, Pete Hegseth at Concerned Veterans for America will be at the White House delivering a petition demanding action in the VA’s failures;

On April 15, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) launched a White House petition calling on the President to fix the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims backlog, relieve VA Secretary Shinseki, and reform the way VA does business. On August 20th—125 days after the launch and with more than 26,000 signatures—CVA will hand deliver this petition directly to the White House.

Delivering this petition 125 days after the launch of this effort is intentional; that’s how long it takes for a VA claim to be considered “backlogged.” There are still 500,000 veterans waiting in the disability claims backlog, and this is unacceptable. CVA is keeping the heat on and will ensure the voices of veterans are heard.

President Obama and VA Secretary Shinseki both vowed to fix the VA disability claims backlog. Instead, despite some minor recent improvements, it has increased nearly 2,000% under this administration. It is time for the White House and the VA to stop making excuses, hold people accountable, and start delivering immediate results.

Category: Veterans' Affairs Department