Thank you Mr. Chairman,

I look forward to this afternoon’s hearing on VA’s work credit system.

The purpose of this discussion is to ascertain whether proper performance measures are in place to effectively gauge both efficiency and accuracy of work.

A system that rewards work credits based on production alone undermines quality, and as we all know, poor quality work has ramifications throughout the entire system that have contributed to the backlog of claims.

At the same time, there is also clearly a need for VA to maintain a high level of efficiency so that veterans can begin receiving compensation in a timely manner.

Where does the proper balance lie?

True quality means being effective and efficient, the key to achieving this balance lies in how employees are rewarded for the work they accomplish.

For too long, it appears that VA has placed too high an incentive on production—but it is simply counterproductive to strive for high numbers if the work has to be revisited at a later time.

Yet it would be equally detrimental to veterans if there was an overemphasis on quality and the average handle time was off the charts.

This Subcommittee passed legislation during the last session to obtain a study of the effectiveness of the VA’s employee work credit and work management system.

From this, we hope VA will be able to develop a more effective means of improving its claims processing performance.

I look forward to working with my colleagues and Department officials to delve into this issue and hopefully identify how the work credit system can help incentivize the proper balance between quantity and quality.

I want to thank the witnesses for their participation and their testimony, and I look forward to our discussion today. 

Mr. Chairman, I yield back.