|
Press
Releases 2006
Press Releases
2005
Press
Releases 2004
Press
Releases 2003
Press
Releases 2002
Press
Releases 2001
From
the Newsroom:
August
30, 2006
STRICKLAND
URGES VA TO ADDRESS CLAIMS BACKLOG
WASHINGTON
– In an effort to “avert a full-blown crisis
within the VA,” Congressman Ted Strickland sent a letter to Department of
Veterans’ Affairs Secretary James Nicholson expressing his concern about a
growing backlog of benefits claims in the VA system.
“I have been contacted by several veterans in my District who have made me
aware of the substantial length of time it takes to settle a VA claim,”
Strickland said. “It is my
understanding there is a backlog of several thousand claims in the
Cleveland
VA
office alone.
“If there is something my Congressional colleagues or I can do to alleviate
this wait for those who have served our country so honorably, I urge Sec.
Nicholson to communicate to the Congress what actions we should take to
address the backlog,” Strickland said.
Ohio
is one of six states Congress designated as “special outreach” because of
the disproportionately low amount paid out in benefits to veterans who file
claims, and the VA must take special steps to ensure
Ohio
’s veterans receive just compensation.
The VA office in
Cleveland
, which processes claims for many veterans in the Sixth Congressional
District, has seen a steady increase in the number of claims being filed and
processed, and the subsequent backlog is delaying claims.
“The intent of this letter is not to criticize or find fault,” Strickland
wrote, “but instead to ascertain how my colleagues and I in Congress can
assist the VA in alleviating these drastically high pending claims.
I know the VA is in the process of hiring additional claims processors,
and that is a positive step.
“However, given the ever increasing number of veterans returning home from
serving overseas, we must take aggressive, immediate action to avert a
full-blown crisis within the VA,” Strickland wrote.
“Our service men and women have answered – and continue to answer -- their
country’s call to serve,” Strickland said.
“We should do everything in our power to ensure their calls for help
are addressed as quickly as possible, whether it’s supplying additional
funding, manpower or technical upgrades.
We owe that to our veterans.”
###
|
