[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SUPPORT OUR VETERANS

  (Mr. BERGMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. BERGMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2288, the 
Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, a bill that 
addresses the Department of Veterans Affairs' broken appeals process.
  As of April 1, 2017, the number of pending appeals for disability 
compensation with the VA has reached 470,000. That is more than a 20 
percent increase since fiscal year 2015. At current funding levels and 
using its current operational structure, the Department of Veterans 
Affairs estimates that it will take at least 5 years to address the 
backlog of appeals claims.
  That is unsatisfactory. We can do better. We must do better. Our 
veterans deserve better. They have risked their lives to protect the 
freedoms we hold so dear, and it is up to us to make sure they receive 
the benefits they have earned and deserve.
  H.R. 2288 modernizes the appeals process to efficiently and 
effectively resolve backlogged claims and prevent this kind of backlog 
from happening in the future. This bipartisan piece of legislation 
takes a giant leap toward a more efficient Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support it.

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