[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5641-5642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VA DISABILITY CLAIMS

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss issues affecting 
veterans throughout California, particularly the VA disability claims 
backlog and inaccuracy rates at the Oakland regional office.
  A Vietnam veteran from my district, like many others across the 
country, is suffering from stage 4 lung cancer caused by exposure to 
Agent Orange. He made great sacrifices to defend our country, but 
waited for more than a year for the Oakland office to process his 
claim.

[[Page 5642]]

  My office was able to help him, but such delays are unacceptable. 
Unfortunately, long waits have become the norm for veterans in northern 
California. With more and more veterans returning from Iraq and 
Afghanistan, it is imperative that the VA take action now to address 
the backlog in Oakland.
  While I welcome the news that the entire staff at the facility will 
be retrained, much more is needed. I call on the VA to implement a 
concrete plan to address the inaccuracies and delays at the Oakland 
office. Our region's and Nation's veterans deserve no less.

                          ____________________