Lieberman Urges Veterans Secretary to Reduce Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) sent a letter today to the U.S Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki urging him to expedite claims of Connecticut veterans.  Senator Lieberman expressed concern that claims which have been appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and processed through the Appeals Management Center and those claims adjudicated by the VA Pension Management Center have been unnecessarily delayed.

 

Senator Lieberman commented, “Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our county and it is our obligation that they receive the best service possible from the Veterans Administration.  The long delays in response to the veterans’ claims are simply unacceptable.”

 

Below is the text of the letter from Senator Lieberman to Secretary Shinseki:

 

July 28, 2009

 

The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Room 1000
Washington, DC 20420

 

Dear General Shinseki:

 

I am writing to express my grave concerns about several issues related to the current state of our veterans’ claims processing. 

 

As a result of my March 6, 2007 letter to former VA Secretary R. James Nicholson, we met to discuss a lack of management support for the Hartford VA Regional Office as well as an unacceptably long time for decisions on Connecticut veterans’ claims.  Since then, the increase in hiring examiners to replace those retiring coupled with the permanent assignment of Mr. David Leonard as Director have aided in reducing the frustration of veterans.

 

However, claims which have been appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and processed through the Appeals Management Center have continued to be problematic.  My staff has contacted the VAMC by phone, email and fax to either inquire on the status of specific claims, or provide additional information to aid in claim resolution.  Too many of the responses have been inadequate and require repeated follow-up requests for further clarification or updates.  Some calls and emails have not received any response.

 

A similar problem exists with pension claims processed at the VA Regional Office, Philadelphia, PA.  In one recent call, my staff was told that the widow needed to supply certain VA forms only to find out the Veteran Service officer later confirmed the forms were already contained in the claims folder.  Veteran Service Officers have reported continued difficulty in obtaining claim status or ensuring documents provided are timely received and included in claim folders.

 

As previously discussed with Secretary Nicholson, veterans, their advocates, and staff are finding it more difficult to get information on the status of claims processed outside of the Hartford VA Regional Office.  Veterans continue to be asked to resend documents which have previously been provided to ensure they are included in claims.  What is being done to ensure the continuity of claims processing, adequate and timely responses to inquiries, and that documents are being filed in a timely manner?

 

I am troubled that the increase in reassignment of claims to central locations has been met by a decrease in proper management supervision, and reduction of clear and concise communications with veterans and members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation. Again, these problems are exacerbating an already difficult situation for our veterans.

 

The Veterans Administration has a solemn duty to assist veterans in their claims.  Many documents which are required for veterans to produce are already filed in VA or available through DOD when VA requests its records.  What initiatives are being considered to improve the claims processing and promote interoperability between the DOD and VA systems?  In one case my staff was told repeatedly that information has been requested from the U.S. Marine Corps several times over an eight month period, later finding out the original address used by VAMC was outdated.

 

I believe we can do better for our veterans and their families.  I would greatly appreciate your responses to my concerns and detailed plans for reducing the backlog of claims.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN

United States Senator