Keeping our Pledge to Veterans

As a new Member of Congress, few experiences have been as moving as visiting Marine Staff Sergeant Jason Ross of Livermore as he recovered at Walter Reed Military Medical Center.  Sergeant Ross lost his legs from an I.E.D. explosion while honorably serving in Afghanistan. His service and subsequent rehabilitation journey is a poignant reminder of the lifelong sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform. 

This Memorial Day, as we salute and honor our fallen heroes, let us also reaffirm our commitment to improving care for our 22 million veterans. We owe heroes like Sergeant Ross more than “thank you for your service;” we must keep our pledge that when they return home, we serve them as well as they served us. 

Unfortunately, when you encounter the severe backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), it becomes clear that we are failing to live up to this pledge.  As a former prosecutor I am well acquainted with phrase “justice delayed is justice denied.”  In the case of disability claims, delayed care is denied care. 

Nationwide, there are close to 800,000 pending disability claims at the VA, and almost 550,000 of these claims have been pending for over 125 days.  At the Oakland VA, which serves the constituents of the 15th Congressional District, over 81 percent have been pending for over 125 days.  The Oakland VA, in fact, has one of the nation’s longest average wait times for the completion of a case: a staggering 542 days.  

These numbers are unacceptable and frankly, a national disgrace. We spend approximately $1.8 billion recruiting young Americans to join our military, but we are neglecting the needs of our veterans when they return home. 

That is why I am fighting in Congress to fix the VA backlog.  This past week I cosponsored ten bills as part of a legislative package which reflect bipartisan and common-sense solutions to help modernize the disability claims process and make the VA more efficient and accountable.  

One bill included in this package would direct the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide the service records of veterans to the VA in an efficient, electronic format.  Today, the VA spends on average 175 days waiting for DOD to send them a veteran’s records because the records are still kept on paper. It is time we bring this process into the 21st century. 

Also included is the Pay as You Rate Act, a measure that would ensure veterans receive their compensation in a timely fashion.  It would require the VA to pay veterans benefits as each element of a claim is reviewed rather than making a veteran wait until the entire claim has been processed. This is particularly important for a veteran with multiple service-related injuries, something common among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The bills in this package would help improve veterans’ access to the benefits they have earned and enable us better live up to President Lincoln’s promise in his second inaugural address: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.”  

President Lincoln’s words also happen to be at the core of the VA’s mission statement.  Words, however, are not enough.  Congress must act swiftly to fix the VA backlog with practical solutions and fulfill our pledge to our veterans.