News List

A House panel moved Wednesday to prevent financially incompetent veterans from being cheated by fiduciaries appointed to help manage their money. Read more »

Veterans' advocacy groups, Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs have a variety of explanations for the backlog of disability claims, but one fact remains clear: Far too many disabled vets are waiting far too long for the benefits they need. Read more »

Veterans Affairs Department officials pledged Wednesday that its backlog of benefits claims will begin to shrink, with hopes for a modest 5 percent improvement by the end of the year and a more significant drop in 2013 as changes in claims handling and employee training take root. Read more »

Express service is on the way for tens of thousands of pending veterans benefits claims. Veterans Affairs officials on Wednesday announced plans for a new processing model designed to get through those claims more efficiently, including an “express lane” for simpler or fully documented claims. Read more »

Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs advanced three bills to the full House for consideration. The Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012, as amended (H.R. 4057), the Military Family Home Protection Act, as amended (H.R. 5747), and the Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012, as amended (H.R. 5948) all unanimously passed the Full… Read more »

The House of Representatives moved Monday to try to eliminate one bit of financial uncertainty by passing a bill guaranteeing a Dec. 1 cost-of-living adjustment in veterans disability and survivor benefits that will match whatever increase is provided to Social Security beneficiaries. Read more »

Today, the House of Representatives affirmed its ongoing commitment to America’s veterans by overwhelmingly passing the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012 (H.R. 4114). “Congress knows that veterans are dependent upon us acting in a timely manner with regards to their needs,” stated Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial… Read more »

Much like the Constitution is not just a piece of paper or the flag a piece of a cloth—the Fourth of July is not just another day of the year. Read more »

This week, the four Subcommittees of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held markups on pending legislation. In total, 13 bills were favorably forwarded to the Full Committee. The Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012 (H.R. 4057), introduced by Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Gus Bilirakis and a member of the Subcommittee on Economic… Read more »

VA’s goal within two years is to have a claims-adjudication system that gets a first-time claim decision to a veteran within 125 days with 98% accuracy. The agency has a long way to go. Read more »