[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           VICE PRESIDENT HONORS NEW YORK VA BENEFITS OFFICE

                                 ______


                      HON. G.V. (SONNY) MONTGOMERY

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 1994

  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, on March 11, Vice President Al Gore 
presented the first National Performance Review Hammer Award to the New 
York City regional benefits office of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in recognition of its commitment to improved Government 
service.
  I know my colleagues will join with me in congratulating and 
commending Joe Thompson and the staff of the New York City regional 
office for their initiative, dedication and hard work. They bring great 
credit to VA and to the Federal Government through their achievements, 
which can serve as a model for other offices both within VA and in 
other Government agencies.
  What this office did was streamline, or reinvent, the procedure for 
adjudicating veterans' claims for benefits through a team concept 
approach. Instead of an assembly line process, whereby an individual 
performs a single task and passes the paperwork along, team members 
assume broader responsibilities and increased personal interest in each 
case. In other words, a veteran works with the same people from start 
to finish. This has several results: First, a veteran receives a timely 
decision of greater quality; second, there is improved customer--
veteran--satisfaction; and third, employee morale and sense of mission 
is enhanced.
  This innovative process, which is still being developed, is now being 
applied to approximately one-half of the claims filed by veterans 
through the New York VA regional benefits office. It should be noted 
that other VA offices have established pilot efforts to improve 
efficiency.
  I would like to share with my colleagues the following Washington 
Post account of the award ceremony:

                       Gore Puts the Hammer Down

                           (By Stephen Barr)

       There have been some great moments in ``reinventing 
     government''--the forklift on the White House South Lawn 
     loaded with documents wrapped in red tape, the vice president 
     smashing a glass ashtray built to government specifications, 
     the wheelbarrow full of redundant personnel regulations and 
     the streamlined fish ladder.
       Now, there's a hammer--Vice President Gore's award to honor 
     successful reinventions across the government.
       The first National Performance Review Hammer Award, 
     presented by Gore on Friday, went to the Veterans Affairs New 
     York City regional office for improving services to veterans.
       ``You've heard the old song, `If I had a hammer,''' Gore 
     began. ``You also heard, as I have over the years, about the 
     legendary $600 hammers that the government buys, and you may 
     also have seen the hammer that I used to break the ashtry on 
     the David Letterman show.
       ``We decided that the very first $6 Hammer Award should be 
     presented to the New York Veterans Affairs regional office. 
     Thanks for building a government that works better and costs 
     less.''
       The crowd broke into applause as Gore handed the hammer to 
     members of the New York staff, led by regional director 
     Joseph Thompson, an Air Force veteran.
       Gore told the crowd he would present other hammers this 
     year as he begins a second tour of departments and agencies 
     to celebrate reinvention success stories. He devoted his 
     first stop Friday to the importance of customer service.
       Taxpayers deserve service equal to or better than that 
     provided by the best private companies, Gore said, noting 
     that President Clinton last year issued an executive order 
     directing agencies to set customer service standards.
       The order also asked agencies to survey their customers to 
     determine their satisfaction with existing services, to post 
     service standards and measure results against them and to 
     provide the means to address customer complaints.
       Gore said the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal 
     Service and the Social Security Administration have 
     undertaken projects aimed at improving the products and 
     services they provide citizens.
       Referring to Clinton's executive order, Gore said, ``In the 
     past we have designed programs and systems to satisfy bosses, 
     now the boss is telling us to design programs and systems 
     that satisfy the customer. That is the critical difference.''
       Before presenting his award, Gore talked with Thompson, VA 
     case manager Kelly Chicko and Leonard Davis, a Vietnam 
     veteran who has received medical and education benefits from 
     the VA.
       The New York office, which administers benefits such as 
     disability compensation, pensions, education and home loan 
     guarantees, has revamped its claims processing. The 25 steps 
     that once were spread among a dozen or more employes have 
     been cut to eight. Teams now handle a veteran's case from 
     beginning to end.
       Davis said in the past he experienced ``a lot of 
     frustration'' dealing with VA offices that could not answer 
     his questions and could not tell him the status of his 
     claims.
       At the New York office, he said, ``As soon as I called up, 
     there was an immediate difference. . . . I've always dealt 
     with the same person.''
       He added that ``from my perspective . . . I had a very 
     positive experience.''

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