Sean, A shocking report just came out about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability benefits backlog. It says that delays for new vets to receive disability compensation from the VA are much longer than originally reported, which is saying a lot. (If you've had a loved one file a claim, you know what I mean.)
We must end this backlog now. Sign a petition to call for action with IAVA.
According to the report, more than 900,000 veteran's benefits claims are currently in the system, a number that VA expects to grow to over a million by the end of this month. Of the 600,000 backlogged, VA has said that the average wait time was 273 days, but this report reveals that veterans are waiting between 316 and 327 days after filing. Furthermore, despite spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on developing a digital claims process, 97% of claims are still on paper.
The wait is 490 days in New Orleans. 619 in Los Angeles. 612 in Indianapolis. 586 in Houston. 642 in New York. And 681 in Reno. That's 681 days to get benefits for injuries received while at war.
681 days. That's just ridiculous. And it's gone on for long enough. The men and women who have sacrificed so much deserve better than that.
Sign the petition today to call on President Obama to establish a Presidential Commission to end the backlog. Next week at Storm the Hill, IAVA's membership will bring the petition with your name to the White House. We'll also gather IAVA members from across the nation on the steps of the Capitol to demand the President fix this ongoing problem once and for all. We'll keep the pressure up – and we won't stop fighting until it's done.
Paul Paul Rieckhoff
Founder and CEO
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
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