NC Sen. Hagan Urges President Obama to Take Action on VA Backlog

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan today continued her efforts to end the unacceptable Veterans’ Administration (VA) disability claims backlog by urging action from President Obama. Hagan joined 66 of her colleagues in sending a letter to the President urging him to take direct action to end the backlog, which has prevented more than 65,000 veterans inNorth Carolina from receiving their benefits they are due.

“In the last four years, the number of claims pending for over a year has grown by over 2000%, despite a 40% increase in the VA’s budget,” Hagan and her colleagues wrote in the letter to President Obama. “During this same time period, Congress has given VA everything it has asked for in terms of more funding and more employees; however, this has not eliminated the backlog of claims. Solving this problem is critical for veterans of all generations. We need direct and public involvement from you to establish a clear plan to end the backlog once and for all.”

To read the entire letter to the President, please click here.

“North Carolina is the most military-friendly state in the nation, and we are proud that almost one million veterans call our state home,” said Hagan. “The men and women who sacrificed for our country deserve better than this, and I am committed to reducing the VA claims backlog effectively and efficiently by whatever means necessary.”

Last month, Hagan sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki asking him to dispatch additional personnel to the Winston-Salem VA Regional Office to address the claims backlog. Last week, Hagan responded to the VA’s new initiative to end the backlog by saying that the effort marks a step in the right direction, but more must be done.

More than 7,000 veterans have been waiting at least a year for that office to rule ontheir disability claims and more than 700 veterans have been waiting more than two years.

In the last year, delays for disability claims have gotten worse for North Carolina veterans. Most claims from North Carolina veterans are processed at the Winston-Salem office, including those from the Fayetteville and Cape Fear region. On average it takes the Veterans Benefits Administration’s claims office in Winston-Salem 365 days to process a claim, up from 329 in September. The wait time is the second longest in the Agency’s southern region.

Hagan, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, comes from a strong militaryfamily. Her father-in-law was a two-star Marine General; her brother and father served in the Navy; her husband, Chip, is a Vietnam veteran who used the GIBill to help pay for law school; and she has two nephews who have served inIraq and Afghanistan.