Our nation’s veterans understand the necessity of proper and adequate training – their lives have depended on it.  The military trains for its operations and everyone knows every detail of their job prior to the mission.  These same veterans should be able to expect the same level of competence when they seek assistance from the Veterans Benefits Administration.  Unfortunately, that is not the case, as we have heard at other meetings and hearings throughout the year that this Subcommittee has held regarding the VA disability claims processing system. 

VA has standardized its training curriculum and requires that all claims processors must complete 80 hours of annual training.  This is a lot of hours because in fact some health care providers don’t need to meet that level of continuing education to maintain their clinical license or credentialing.

The VBA training topics are identified by Central Office or by the individual’s Regional Office (RO).  New employees go through an orientation process and there are additional online learning tools available through the VBA’s Training and Performance Support System. 

Yet, with all of this effort, VA training seems to be falling short of its intended goals.  Less than 50 % of the Ratings Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs) passed the certification exam, even though it was an open-book test.  But, frankly, I’ve seen the training manual and it can be measured in pounds not pages, so I don’t know how useful their book is and that can be the crux of the matter right there.  More importantly, as outlined in previous hearings, there are significant inconsistencies in ratings between VA’s 57 ROs and a high rate of remanded cases.

I am pleased that the AFGE is here to shed light on this issue.  You are a critical link to those on the front lines working to improve outcomes for our disabled veterans.   

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in May 2008 entitled, “Veterans’ Benefits: Increased Focus on Evaluation and Accountability Would Enhance Training and Performance Management for Claims Processors” that documented the areas in which VA needs to improve its training and hold accountable those it does train. 

According to the GAO, staff is not held accountable for completing the required training, since VBA does not track completion, so there are no consequences for not taking the training.  Additionally, VBA does not evaluate its training, so it does not know if it has successfully designed and implemented an educational program.  Feedback is not consistently collected from RO employees on the training that they do received and many have reported difficulty in accessing training because of their stringent productivity demands.  I look forward to hearing more from the GAO about this report. 

But, these are not surprising conclusions to the Veterans Service Organizations, which have complained for years about the inadequacies of the VBA training program.  So, I am grateful that they have joined us here today as well. 

Training is not an issue that should be taken lightly.  We all know the importance of good training, but effective implementation that ensures consistency and accountability can be elusive and that is what I hope we can address today.  I have taken steps to ensure improved training outcomes when I introduced the “Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Modernization Act”, H.R. 5892.  These policy enhancements will lead to compensation claims processing improvements and more accurate claims adjudication results for our veterans and their families.  Moreover, I am not sure that VBA’s current training regimen complements its current Claims Processing Improvement model, or CPI.  In fact, I am positive that the current coupling detracts from increased accountability efforts.

I am pleased to report, with the help of many in this room, H.R. 5892 passed the House on July 31, 2008, by a 429 to 0 vote. On August 1, 2008,Senator Clinton introduced companion legislation to my bill, S. 3419.  So, Congress is well on its way to rectifying the inadequacies in the VBA that have already been identified to us. 

Today’s oversight hearing will allow us to drill deeper into this issue and gauge where VA is at in its training protocol and see where other improvements can still be made.  I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and hope to learn more about best practices and strategies for measuring performance and building better training protocols and accountability standards.