February 5, 2015 

Today Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First District and Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs called on Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to immediately increase staffing levels to combat the growing backlog for veterans who have appealed their benefit decisions. Nationwide, veterans are waiting almost 1,300 days to have their appeals adjudicated. In Nevada, some 1,400 appeals claims are waiting to be decided. The full text of Titus’ letter to Secretary McDonald is below.

“Since joining the Veterans Affairs Committee two years ago, I have been very concerned about the prospect of an appeals backlog. Unfortunately, the VA has failed to implement a comprehensive strategy to address this backlog,” said Titus. “While increasing staffing to address the backlog will not be a silver bullet, it is an important step to ensure veterans’ appeals are evaluated in a more timely fashion.”

A copy of Titus’ letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald can be read here:

February 5, 2015

Dear Secretary McDonald,

Since becoming the Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA) Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs (HVAC) in 2013, I have been increasingly concerned about a looming backlog of appeals at the Veterans Benefits Administration. In June 2013, the DAMA Subcommittee hosted a hearing at which I warned that we were trading a claims backlog for an appeals backlog. 

While the VA and the BVA have increased their output, metrics continue to show that the appeals problem is indeed growing; and veterans in Nevada and across the country are waiting far too long for a VA decision. Nationally, the average length of time to receive a decision on an appeal that went to BVA in FY 2013 was 1,255 days.  In Nevada, there are close to 1,400 appeals waiting to be adjudicated. When a veteran asks my office for help appealing a claim, it is difficult to inform him or her that the process could take more than three years. 

The VA does not have a detailed plan for how it will address this pressing issue. We are once again receiving piecemeal recommendations rather than a comprehensive strategy to eliminate this looming backlog.  

In the 113th Congress, I introduced legislation mandating that VA form a task force that included key stakeholders and encouraged an all-hands-on-deck approach to recommend solutions to this problem. I was pleased to have HVAC Chairman Jeff Miller’s support, and the bill ultimately passed the House.  I have recently re-introduced this legislation and will work with my colleagues to ensure its swift passage.  

In the meantime, I respectfully request that you consider an immediate increase in temporary FTE to focus on appeals. For both VBA and BVA, I recommend increasing staffing levels at a rate that would reduce the appeals backlog by 33% per year, theoretically ending the backlog within three years. While this approach should not replace the less costly and more efficient approaches that would result from the recommendations of a task force, it does put in place immediate resources to reduce the wait times faced by our veterans. 

Furthermore, I understand that the VA has conducted a study to better understand the appeals process from the perspective of veterans, and I ask that these findings be shared with DAMA Chairman Ralph Abraham and me as soon as possible.  

I look forward to working with you on efforts to prevent a major backlog of appeals and ensure veterans will receive the benefits they have earned in a timelier manner. Thank you for your consideration of these requests. 

Sincerely,

Dina Titus
Ranking Member – Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs