As the exclusive representative of the employees who process claims at the VBA Education Division, AFGE is very concerned about the impact of proposed outsourcing on the hundreds of employees who are currently processing claims for education benefits, and at a very competent level.  More than half of the workforce is veterans themselves. The VA’s plans to outsource this work and transfer most of these trained and high performing employees elsewhere, to be replaced by contractors with no experience, is a disservice to taxpayers and veterans as students and as federal employees.

AFGE’s witness, Mr. Leonard Smith, is a front line employee and service-connected disabled veteran who brings a unique dedication and compassion to his work processing these claims. He and his colleagues have been told regularly by management that their performance is excellent. Yet, without warning, they have been told that a contractor will replace them to better serve veterans when the new GI bill takes effect.  Mr. Smith and his co-workers have implemented many changes in the law in the past effectively and do not understand why outsourcing is necessary for this next change in the law. 

They are also anxious about the possibility of having to be retrained, reassigned and downgraded, as per statements made by Mr. Walcoff in pleadings provided to AFGE in connection with AFGE’s pending protest with GAO.

AFGE requests the opportunity to address questions presented by the Subcommittee regarding information technology, the bidding process and restructuring of the education service in a supplemental statement following the hearing. To reiterate, there is substantial evidence that the VA plans to outsource claims processing work, not solely IT work.  AFGE is also troubled by VA’s insistence on a closed bidding process and its refusal to provide any legal justification for ignoring legal requirements for competitive bidding and for public-private competitions that cover all federal agencies.

Thank you for allowing me to testify today on behalf of my union, the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO.

My name is Leonard Smith. I have worked in the Education Division of the VBA Regional Office in Atlanta as a Veterans Claims Examiner since February 2007.   I work on the Original Claims Processing Team. My duties are to determine eligibility of veterans based on their period of service and then process those claims appropriately.  I was recently recognized for outstanding performance for the third quarter of 2007 for performing above the standard production rate, at 113%.  

I myself am a veteran of twenty years and served in two combat zones: Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm. I am 60 percent service-connected disabled due to injuries to my knees and back. I currently attend school using a VA administered program myself, so I know what it takes to service a veteran properly.

I used my veteran’s preference to get my job at the VA.  Before this job, I worked at the Postal Service for two years but it was a more manual job with lots of lifting and it was not good for my health and hurt my knees and back. This is the same reason I was not able to stay at my earlier job at the Atlanta airport working for the contractor Airmark where I had to constantly go up and down stairs to inspect planes and in and out of vehicles.  I also left Airmark because it was the contractor for Delta which was having problems and I felt the federal government would be more secure.  In my current job, I sit at a computer. My job also involves phone contact with the veterans I am helping. 

At the end of July, my coworkers and I learned heard about the contracting out during a full staff meeting.  There were no handouts.  What management told us was that they had no information but they had directions from the Secretary that the work would be going to a contractor. They said a few people would be left in the Section. The rest would be more likely to go up to the Veterans Service Center where disability claims are processed.  Management did not mention IT work at all. But they specifically said the processing work was going to be contracted out.

People asked if they should look for other jobs and whether they would be able to do these other VBA jobs. They were told they would be trained to learn the new work. I am a little nervous about having to retrain all over again. I have a real comfort level at Education because I know how to do the job so well.

Management kept saying that they themselves did not know anything else and they were not given any specific date for when this would all happen or when they would be given more information.  Management admitted at this meeting that they were just as surprised as we were to hear about plans to contract out.

I just found out that now there’s a hiring freeze in Education.  But our managers keep telling us to do the work just like before so we can show that we are still doing a good job, and if by chance the work is not contracted out, we would still be in line to do the work. 

I am proud to say that we are still providing the same excellent service in the face of losing our jobs . In fact, even after we were told about the contracting out, management has continued to encourage us to reach our Tier 2 goal. That’s a rewards program where the employees get a monetary award based on the performance of the entire office.  The award is based on a combination of accuracy and timeliness of claims processing. Management has been telling us for awhile that we were close to our goal and could be the first ones in the Atlanta office to win this award.

I also just learned that last year, Central Office put out a press release praising the excellent work we do in Education. Although no one ever showed it to us, I am not surprised because I know how good our work is.

The contracting out announcement was a big surprise but not the new GI bill.  We had been expecting it for awhile and we were expecting the work to be done by us, just like in the past. There are always changes in the law and benefits programs that we get briefed on. It’s a regular part of the job. When management talked to us about getting trained to implement Chapter 33, it was described just like what we had done to implement past changes, nothing different or any bigger. Since I started at Education, I have had learn to implement changes after my initial training, such as how to ask for different types of information from the veterans and a different way to develop the claim.  When they announced new reserve guard benefits, we learned about it at our quarterly training on new benefits.  

As someone getting these benefits, I have also been through several changes. In fact, I started receiving benefits under Chapter 32 which is a contributory program. Now I work with Chapter 32 in my job. I know my knowledge of Chapter 30 will still be needed for veterans who convert to Chapter 33.

The initial training I got at the Education Division was one of better training programs I have experienced.  After I got the job at VBA, I was sent for classroom training to learn how to read regulations, process claims and determine eligibility. The classroom training lasted 9 months and it was mixed in with floor experience. When we were finally released on the floor, we were still heavily supervised for three more months. 

I like many things about being a Veterans Claims Examiner. Most of all, I like helping people like myself. I know where they are, I’ve been there. It is gratifying because the person I am helping is not just a number but someone who was in my position.  When I was told I would be transferred, I felt bad, because who was going to take care of these guys who need their education? The contractor won’t give them the same service, without a doubt. They’re in it for a profit. I have heard a lot about contractors wasting taxpayer dollars and giving poor service.

I know my coworkers would agree with me that we would have wanted the chance to compete with the contractor to keep this work inside the VA if given the chance. In fact, I am sure that we would have blown them away in the competition.  That’s because we as veterans are the ones who really know how to take care of others veterans. I don't believe a contractor could be as passionate about caring for my veterans as me and my colleagues. I take my job very seriously because I know how deserving of quality service our nation’s defenders are. We can not pay these men and women their worth with money. The very least we can do is show them we care by taking care of them while they take care of us.   If the Education Division needs more help implementing the new law, why don’t they just hire more veterans like me who will really understand what these veterans are going through?