United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-09-23 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-03-1172T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T P0b002ee180375144 f:d031172t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T GAO-03-1172T Disability benefits Veterans benefits Veterans disability compensation Program evaluation Strategic planning Testimony A08542 This testimony discusses our past reviews of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability programs as you consider the fundamental issue of eligibility for benefits and the related issue of concurrent receipt of VA disability compensation and Department of Defense (DOD) retirement pay. Our work has addressed these issues in addition to identifying significant program design and management challenges hindering VA's ability to provide meaningful and timely support to disabled veterans and their families. It is especially fitting, with the continuing deployment of our military forces to armed conflict, that we reaffirm our commitment to those who serve our nation in its times of need. Therefore, effective and efficient management of VA's disability programs is of paramount importance. In January 2003, we designated VA's disability compensation programs, as well as other federal disability programs including Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, as high-risk areas. We did this to draw attention to the need for broad-based transformation of these programs, which is critical to improving the government's performance and ensuring accountability within expected resource limits. In March 2003, we cautioned that the proposed modification of concurrent receipt provisions in the military retirement system would not only have significant implications for DOD's retirement costs but could also increase the demands placed on the VA claims processing system. This would come at a time when the system is still struggling to correct problems with quality assurance and timeliness. Moreover, we testified that it would be appropriate to consider the pursuit of more fundamental reform of the disability programs as the Congress and other policy makers consider concurrent receipt. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T.htm GAO-03-1172T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-1172T Testimony GAO-03-1172T; VA Benefits: Fundamental Changes to VA's Disability Criteria Need Careful Consideration; Disability benefits Veterans benefits Veterans disability compensation Program evaluation Strategic planning