Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

On behalf of the 1.3 million members of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), I am honored to appear before you today to discuss the effectiveness of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA’s) outreach efforts.  In accordance with our congressional charter, the DAV’s mission is to “advance the interests, and work for the betterment, of all wounded, injured, and disabled American veterans.”  Such a goal is not attainable for all disabled veterans without proper outreach efforts.

Outreach to service members, veterans, and their dependents is an integral part of the VBA.  Outreach is a cooperative effort among the five VBA business lines (Compensation and Pension, Education, Loan Guaranty, Insurance, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) and among VA elements including field organizations, VHA, NCA, and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA).  This testimony will focus on VBA outreach centered in the field of compensation and pension.   

In June 2006, Congress passed the “Veterans’ Housing Opportunity and Benefits Improvement Act of 2006” (S. 1235).  Pub. L. No. 109-233, Title IV, § 402(a), 120 Stat. 408 (codified at 38 U.S.C. chapter 63).  Congress intended this legislation to, among other things, improve and extend outreach and benefits programs provided under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (the “Secretary”). 

Congress declared in S. 1235 that the outreach services program is to ensure that all veterans (“especially those who have been recently discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service and those who are eligible for readjustment or other benefits and services under laws administered by the Department”) are provided timely and appropriate assistance to aid and encourage them in applying for and obtaining benefits.  Such benefits and services are to assist those veterans in achieving a rapid social and economic readjustment to civilian life, and to obtain a higher standard of living for themselves and their dependents.  Specific to the outreach services program authorized by S. 1235, Congress charged the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with “the affirmative duty of seeking out eligible veterans and eligible dependents and providing them with such services.”  38 U.S.C.A. § 6301(a) (West 2002 & Supp 2007). 

Under section 6302 of the forgoing statute, the Secretary must, during the first nine months of every odd-numbered year (2007 being the first odd-numbered year), prepare a biennial plan for the outreach activities of the VA for the two-fiscal-year period beginning on October 1 of that year—October 1, 2007, was the beginning of the current two-fiscal-year period.  The statute requires the VA to include the efforts in each biennial plan utilized to identify eligible veterans and dependents who are not enrolled or registered for benefits or services under the programs administered by the VA.  The report must also include plans for informing eligible veterans and dependents of modifications of the benefits and services under the programs administered by the VA.  Based on DAV’s research, we must conclude that the VA has failed to issue this report, despite its due date of October 1, 2007.

In carrying out the purposes of title 38, United States Code, Chapter 63, the VA is required to provide outreach services as follows:

(b) Individual notice to new veterans.  The Secretary shall by letter advise each veteran at the time of the veteran's discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service (or as soon as possible after such discharge or release) of all benefits and services under laws administered by the Department for which the veteran may be eligible. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure, through the use of veteran-student services under [38 U.S.C.A. § 3485] that contact, in person or by telephone, is made with those veterans who, on the basis of their military service records, do not have a high school education or equivalent at the time of discharge or release.

(c) Distribution of information.  (1) The Secretary--

(A) shall distribute full information to eligible veterans and eligible dependents regarding all benefits and services to which they may be entitled under laws administered by the Secretary; and

(B) may, to the extent feasible, distribute information on other governmental programs (including manpower and training programs) which the Secretary determines would be beneficial to veterans.

(2) Whenever a veteran or dependent first applies for any benefit under laws administered by the Secretary (including a request for burial or related benefits or an application for life insurance proceeds), the Secretary shall provide to the veteran or dependent information concerning benefits and health care services under programs administered by the Secretary. Such information shall be provided not later than three months after the date of such application.

Through this Act, Congress also mandated that VA provide, “to the maximum extent possible, aid and assistance (including personal interviews) to members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and eligible dependents with respect to subsections (b) and (c) and in the preparation and presentation of claims under laws administered by the Department.”  38 U.S.C.A. § 6303(d).  

In December 2006, Congress passed another bill affecting, among other things, outreach to veterans concerning health care:  The “Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” (S. 3421).  Pub. L. No. 109-461, Title II, § 213(a), 120 Stat. 3422.  Since health care is not the subject of this hearing, we are providing this for informational and persuasive purposes only.  In the foregoing section of S. 3421, Congress mandated the following:

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct an extensive outreach program to identify and provide information to veterans who served in the theater of operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom and who reside in rural communities in order to enroll those veterans in the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the period when they are eligible for such enrollment. 

The foregoing provisions of law, and other existing provisions, have proven rather successful in ensuring that Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans receive outreach that truly sets new standards for the very proposition.  For example, According to VA Pamphlet 2-01-08, which briefly outlines the Department’s strategic goals, OEF/OIF initiatives are reported as follows:

• In 2007, prioritized claim processing for OEF/OIF veterans, finalizing claims received in an average of 110 days.
• Hired 100 new outreach coordinators to provide services to returning OEF/OIF veterans.
• Created an Advisory Committee on OEF/OIF Veterans and Families to advise the Secretary.
• Coordinated 8,236 transfers of OEF/OIF service members and veterans from a military treatment facility to a VA medical facility.
• Received 39,000 referrals from the Post Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) initiative.
• Participated in 805 PDHRA On-Site and 247 Call Center events since November 2005. A total of 32,321 referrals were made to VAMC and 15,842 to Vet Centers.
• Contacted 91% of severely-injured or ill OEF/OIF service members/veterans, by a VA case manager, within 7 days of notification of transfer to the VA health care system.

In addition to the above, VBA employees conducted 8,154 Transition Assistance Program (TAP) briefings in 2007 with 296,855 attendees, including 100,976 individual interviews.  Through April of FY 2008, those numbers are 4,877; 195,037; and 47,909 respectively.  The Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP) works in conjunction with the TAP program for those members leaving service because of disability. 

Under the Veterans Assistance at Discharge (VADS) program, VA generates the mailing of a “Welcome Home Package” that includes a letter from the Secretary, VA Pamphlet 21-00-1, A Summary of VA Benefits, and VA Form 21-0501, Veterans Benefits Timetable, to all veterans recently separated or retired from active duty.  A follow-up letter is mailed six months later. 

The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program is a program that provides transition assistance and continuity of care to service members who are separating from active duty.  Under the BDD Program, service members may begin the disability claims process with VA up to 180 days prior to separation.  As of December 2006, there were 140 BDD sites that actively process claims from separating service members.  VA and DoD signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in November 2004 which established a Cooperative Separation Process/Examination under the BDD program.  The MOA stipulates that only one examination is to be conducted, using VA protocols, which meet the needs of VA and DoD.

Another program, Coming Home to Work (CHTW) is an early outreach effort with special emphasis on OEF/OIF service members at military treatment facilities who are pending medical separation from active duty.  Participants work with a VA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) to obtain unpaid work experiences at government facilities to learn skills they may use to ease transition to civilian employment. 

The VA and DoD are also collaborating to ensure VA is notified of service members referred to the Physical Examination Board (PEB) who may be medically separated or retired and transitioning to VA and civilian life.  Under this initiative, DoD is providing VA with the names of service members entering the PEB process.  The monthly list enables VBA to contact service members who have not yet applied for disability compensation to ensure that they are informed of potential benefits administered by VA.

The VA now employs Casualty Assistance Officers (CAOs) that visit family members of veterans who die on active duty and assist them in applying for benefits.  The visits are coordinated with military CAOs to ensure that family members are aware of and linked with the necessary VA services.

In addition to the foregoing, the VA recently announced in an April 24, 2008, Department News Release that beginning May 1, 2008, VA would “begin contacting nearly 570,000 recent combat veterans to ensure they know about VA’s medical services and other benefits.”  The News Release quoted the Secretary as stating:  “We will reach out and touch every veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom to let them know we are here for them,” and that “VA is committed to getting these veterans the help they need and deserve.”

A contractor-operated “Combat Veteran Call Center” will telephone two distinct populations of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.  In the first phase, calls will go to an estimated 17,000 veterans who were sick or injured while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.  The VA will offer these veterans a “care manager” to ensure they each receive appropriate care and know about their VA benefits.

The second phase will target 550,000 OEF/OIF veterans who have been discharged from active duty but have not contacted VA for services.  Once contacted, these veterans will be informed about VA’s benefits and services.  VA employees will make follow-up calls if needed.  The Chief of the joint VA and Department of Defense coordination office, Dr. Edward Huycke, was quoted in the News Releases stating:  “We will leave no stone unturned to reach these veterans[.]” 

These outreach efforts are truly unprecedented.  They appear to be mainly the result of Congress’ passage of S. 1235.  However, these and other ongoing outreach efforts may be in part the result of the “Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004” (S. 2486), passed in December 2004.  Pub. L. No. 108-454 (see Title VIII, § 805).  

Just as section 402 of S. 1235 requires VA to prepare a two-year plan for outreach activities, for which it has not complied, section 805 of S. 2486 also requires a similar plan, but for which it has only partially complied.  Specifically, section 805 of S. 2486 requires the Secretary to submit a report to Congress setting forth a detailed description of:

(1) the outreach efforts of the [VA], as of the date of the enactment of this Act, to inform members of the uniformed services and veterans (and their family members and survivors) of the benefits and services to which they are entitled under laws administered by the Secretary, and (2) the current level of awareness of those members and veterans (and family members and survivors) of those benefits and services.

Congress required this report to include the following: 

1. A description of the outreach activities conducted by the Secretary in each of the three Administrations of the [VA] and outreach activities conducted by other entities within the Department.
2. The results of a national survey, conducted as described in subsection (c), to ascertain service members’ and veterans’ level of awareness of benefits and services referred to in subsection (a) and whether service members and veterans know how to access those benefits and services.
3. Recommendations by the Secretary on how outreach and awareness activities to veterans and service members may be improved.

The national survey required by subsection (b)(2), is outlined in subsection (c), and must include a statistically valid sample of persons in each of the following groups:

1. World War II veterans;
2. Korean conflict era veterans;
3. Vietnam era veterans;
4. Persian Gulf era veterans;
5. Active duty service members;
6. National Guard and Reserve members activated under title 10, United States Code;
7. Family members and survivors

Public Law 108-454 prompted VA to publish an Interim Report on Outreach Activities (Interim Report) in December 2006, despite its due date to Congress of December 2005. 

The VA claimed that its Interim Report complied with the first and third requirements of P.L. 108-454.  However, as to the second requirement, that VA report on the results of a national survey of service members and veterans to determine their level of awareness of benefits and services available to them, the Interim Report states that “VA reviewed all available survey and program data, but none was able to provide us with a comprehensive or objective measure of awareness.”  The reason given by VA for its noncompliance with the second requirement of P.L. 108-454 was that “existing information was collected only from those veterans who were already receiving a VA service or benefit.  This excluded the possibility of measuring awareness among all populations identified.”

To address this deficiency, the Interim Report states that VA's Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) is planning a Department-wide effort to develop awareness measures and implement these measures in the conduct of the next national survey scheduled for 2008.  Acknowledging this, the DAV senses a disconnect between Congress’ mandate and the VA’s resulting actions. 

For example, P.L. 108-454 expressly requires VA to conduct a survey that includes a statistically valid sample of the following:  (1) World War II veterans; (2) Korean conflict era veterans; (3) Vietnam era veterans; (4) Persian Gulf era veterans; (5) active-duty service members; (6) National Guard and Reserve members activated under title 10, United States Code; and, (7) family members and survivors.  The VA is then required to use the results of that study to determine the collective awareness of benefits and services available to those groups under laws administered by the Secretary. 

The VA’s actions were nothing more than a review of available data on-hand, followed by a determination that the available data did not comply with Congress’ mandate.  Further, the VA’s plan to utilize the previously scheduled 2008 national survey as its compliance with requirement two of P.L. 108-454 will continue to be in non-compliance with that requirement.  Moreover, the DAV does not believe that the VA could have possibly complied with the third requirement of P.L. 108-454, that it recommend how to improve outreach and awareness activities, before it is able to understand the true results of the second requirement of P.L. 108-454. 

The DAV can only commend VA’s outreach efforts concerning the newest generation of veterans—efforts that are unprecedented in the entire history of the VA.  These new veterans will not live a single year, much less multiple decades, ignorant of the benefits that they have earned.  Their lives, shattered by disability and the unshakable memories of war, will be set forth on a path of improvement and rebuilding immediately upon discharge from service. 

Nonetheless, we can and do condemn the VA for practically ignoring all other groups of veterans.  In the 2004 legislation mentioned herein, Congress made clear its intentions for the VA to locate and reach out to those older groups of veterans, and we commend it for such.  In turn, the VA failed to honor the mandate of Congress and it appears poised to continue such failure. 

Congress’ mandate in the 2006 legislation mentioned herein concerning older groups of veterans was much more discretionary, however.  See 38 U.S.C.A. § 6301(a) (stating “purpose” of outreach services program as to ensure all veterans “especially those who have been recently discharged . . . and those who are eligible for readjustment or other benefits . . .” are provided assistance to aid and encourage them in obtaining benefits).  While the statute’s language is not all-inclusive to the newest generation of veterans, it is certainly suggestive of such.  Therefore, we fault Congress for allowing this slight discretion—we fault the VA for capitalizing on such discretion.

The DAV firmly believes that VBA’s outreach efforts should be uniformly distributed across the veteran population, which includes the newest generation, the greatest generation, and everyone in-between.  The reasons for this are obvious.

For example, according to the 2001 National Survey of Veteran (NSV), there were approximately 25, 095,000 living veterans in 2001.  Of those, veterans of World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War, made up 73.5 percent, or 18,444,825 of all living veterans as of 2001.  Of those, 8,193,824 were reported as combat veterans.  Yet, according to the survey, only 2.3 million total veterans were receiving compensation as of September 2000.  In contrast; however, only 19,246 veterans 56 years old and older began receiving benefits for the first time in 2001. [1]  In 2005, 68,195 veterans over the age of 56 began receiving benefits for the first time; 67,629 veterans over the age of 56 began receiving benefits for the first time during FY 2006.[2]  The VA’s ABR for FY 2007 has not yet been published.  However, a recapitulation of DAV’s monthly reporting system for the past 16 months reveals the DAV represented 2,611 World War II veterans, 3,391 Korean War veterans, and 26,869 Vietnam War veterans that received new awards for service-connected disabilities for the first time. 

To put these numbers into a different perspective, approximately 10 percent of World War II veterans, 5 percent of Korean War veterans, and 12 percent of Vietnam War veterans are service-connected for disabilities incurred during military service.  These numbers are scant when compared to the percentage of discharged OEF/OIF veterans already receiving benefits.  By 2007, there was slightly more than 630,000 OEF/OIF veterans discharged from service. [3]  Approximately 224,000 of these veterans filed disability compensation claims well before the end of 2007, which is over 35 percent.  Approximately 70 percent of those claims, or 156,800, which is nearly 25 percent of the total number of discharged OEF/OIF veterans, resulted in a favorable decision.[4] 

The above numbers do not show that OEF/OIF veterans are disabled at more than twice the rate of older veterans, but that they are receiving benefits at over twice the rate.  The VA’s current and unprecedented efforts of placing phone calls to nearly 600,000 OEF/OIF veterans will undeniably increase the rate of which the newest generation obtains benefits when compared to veterans of past wars, which is already, on average, an approximate 3 to 1 ratio. 

Do not interpret the DAV’s position as one of disagreement with enhanced outreach for the nation’s newest veterans.  Rather, we feel that the lopsided degree of outreach to these new veterans in comparison to the outreach offered to our oldest veterans, has now reached a level of absurdity.  World War II veterans are still receiving benefits, by the tens of thousands, for the first times in their entire lives—between six and seven decades after their service.  This same group continues to die at approximately 1,000 per day.  Many have died and will continue to die without ever receiving the benefits to which they are lawfully entitled, not because VA refused to grant such benefits, but because many simply never knew they were ever entitled to any benefits. 

In light of the laws passed in 2004 and 2006, it is apparent that the VA does not have any plans to reach out to the older groups of veterans in the same manner they are reaching out to the newest group of veterans.  Congress can and should rectify this situation by removing the discretion provided to the VA in 38 U.S.C.A. § 6301(a), which allows it to place emphasis on newly discharged veterans by stating:  “especially those who have been recently discharged or released from active military, naval, or air service and those who are eligible for readjustment or other benefits and services under laws administered by the Department.”  This change would require VA to focus on outreach efforts that would apply equally to veterans of all wars.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony and I will be pleased to consider any questions by you or other members of the Subcommittee.

[1] VBA Annual Benefits Report Fiscal Year 2006 (ABR 2001 et seq), Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, p. 20.

[2] ABR 2005, 2006.

[3] Blimes, Linda. Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.  Jan. 2007.

[4] VA Pamphlet 2-1-08