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May 20, 2014 - 4:55 PM
Senator Burr Releases Statement on new VA Inspector General Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today,
the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (IG)
released a report on the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Quick
Start Program. The Quick Start Program was designed to help
servicemembers smoothly transition to civilian life by beginning the
disability claims process for veterans prior to their separating from
the Armed Forces. However,this newly released IG report reflects that numerous factors, such as ineffective use of resources, inadequate training, and insufficient program controls, led
to problems with the timeliness and quality of VA’s decisions on these
claims. The IG noted that VA does not include in its statistics the
time spent processing claims before military personnel leave the
service, meaning that VA “does not accurately report the total time
taken to process claims and provide veterans their benefits.”
Additionally, the IG found that the VBA accurately processed only 69% of
Quick Start claims during 2013. That is 29% lower than VA’s 98% goal
and well below VA’s reported quality measures.
“In
light of last week’s hearing regarding the accuracy and trustworthiness
of Veterans Health Administration’s wait time data, I question the
Administration’s claim that the VA disability claims backlog is
improving. The findings in this report are symptomatic of the ongoing,
pervasive problems at the VA,” said Senator Burr. “Congress must conduct
aggressive oversight to make sure that the VA is treating our veterans
with the respect that they deserve.”
To read IG's full report, click here.
veterans
