FOR RELEASE: November 06, 2001

Evans Questions VA Decision To Reward 
Veterans Claims Office With High Error Rates:  
Productivity Is Not Repeating Mistakes Lawmaker Says
Urges VA to Stop Rewarding Offices with Poor Quality 

WASHINGTON, DC - Lane Evans (D-IL), the senior Democratic member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, today questioned a recent decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to reward the Columbia, South Carolina, office of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) for its high productivity.  In a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi (VA), Evans noted that among all VBA regional offices, the Columbia Office had the highest rate of decisions reversed or remanded by the Board of Veterans Appeals.  The so-called productivity of the Columbia office has come at the expense of accurate decision-making on veterans’ benefit claims according to Evans.  

By adopting a “not being too picky about quality” work philosophy, Evans said VA may be returning to the days of rewarding so-called productivity at the expense of getting it right.  Evans was particularly concerned that a large number of Columbia Regional Office claims were remanded because the office had failed to obtain VA medical records.  Deciding a disability claim without obtaining and reviewing medical records is unfair to veterans and violates the Veterans Claims Assistance Act.  Evans said “rewarding as ‘productive’ VBA regional offices with high error rates as measured by Board reversals and remands certainly sends the message that activity, not quality, is the foremost goal.”  

Evans said if baseball used the VA reward system, the golden glove would be awarded to the player with the most – not the fewest – errors.  “VA needs to make claims decisions right the first time,” Evans said and he urged Secretary Principi to cease rewarding offices for being highly “productive” when the quality of the work is poor.

-30-