[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10934]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    VETERANS ADMINISTRATION BACKLOG

  (Mr. HOLDING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, last week, our Nation celebrated 237 years 
of independence.
  It is the dedication and sacrifice of the members of our armed 
services that allows us to celebrate this each year. Yet it is 
troubling that our servicemembers are struggling to utilize the job 
retraining and placement programs that they deserve.
  After returning home, a veteran seeking health and education benefits 
runs into over 600 forms that he or she must fill out from over 18 
Federal agencies. This is not only burdensome for them, but it has 
created an enormous backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs. As 
of March, the agency had roughly 70 percent of its claims pending over 
125 days.
  House Republicans have passed several bills this year to improve 
veterans' work programs and to decrease the VA backlog through funding 
for technological improvements like digital scanning and paperless 
claims processing. This is a start, but we need to do more.
  Our troops put their lives on the line for our country. We must do 
whatever we can to help veterans obtain the benefits they have so 
honorably earned.

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