04.25.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Democrats
on
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee
announced
a
coordinated
legislative
effort
to
help
the
Department
of
Veterans'
Affairs
(VA)
in
its
efforts
to
address
the
growing
backlog
of
claims.
The
10
bills,
which
are
outlined
here,
seek
to
help
VA
accomplish
its
goal
to
eliminate
the
backlog
by
2015.
"We
need
to
address
the
unacceptably
large
backlog
of
claims
in
order
to
get
veterans
the
benefits
they've
earned
faster.
The
VA
has
set
an
aggressive
goal
of
… Read More
04.24.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
an
oversight
hearing
on
the
strategic
and
policy
implications
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
(ACA)
on
veterans
eligible
for
and
engaged
with
health
care
provided
by
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA).
Committee
members
examined
the
potential
impact
of
the
law
and
VA's
efforts
to
understand,
implement,
and
meet
the
ACA's
requirements.
"The
implementation
of
the
Affordable
Care
Act
will
be
an
historic
accomplishment.
… Read More
04.16.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
sent
a
bipartisan
letter
to
Department
of
Defense
(DoD)
Secretary
Chuck
Hagel
urging
him
to
follow
through
on
a
February
2013
plan
to
improve
disability
benefits
claims
processing
for
transitioning
service
members
and
veterans.
The
mutually
agreed
upon
plan
that
the
DoD
and
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
struck
calls
for
the
DoD
to
begin
the
transfer
of
complete
and
certified
Service
Treatment
Records
(STRs)
to
VA
… Read More
04.11.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
President
Obama's
recently
released
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
budget
request.
VA
Secretary
Shinseki,
VA
leaders
and
veteran
service
organizations
all
testified
at
today's
full
committee
hearing.
The
overall
VA
budget
request
for
fiscal
year
2014
is
$152.7
billion.
"Especially
during
a
time
of
austerity,
this
request
for
a
VA
funding
increase
represents
our
nation's
ongoing
commitment
to
those
who
… Read More
04.10.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee's
Subcommittee
on
Disability
Assistance
and
Memorial
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
the
state
of
veterans'
cemeteries,
including
upkeep
and
areas
for
improvement.
Additionally,
the
hearing
examined
a
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
Office
of
Inspector
General's
(VAOIG)
report
from
February
7,
2013,
entitled
"Audit
of
Internal
Gravesite
Review
of
Headstone
and
Marker
Placement,"
which
found
that
the
National
Cemetery
Administration
… Read More
04.10.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee's
Subcommittee
on
Economic
Opportunity
received
testimony
on
a
number
of
bills,
including
ones
related
to
the
Post
9/11
GI
Bill,
veterans'
vocational
rehabilitation
and
retraining,
transition
assistance,
work
study,
and
participation
in
U.S.
Paralympics
programs.
"This
hearing
explored
a
number
of
issues
important
to
our
veterans,
and
I'm
pleased
that
our
committee
continues
to
operate
in
such
a
bipartisan
manner,"
said
… Read More
04.09.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(ME-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
issued
the
following
statement
on
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
announcement
that
it
will
expedite
claims
for
veterans
who
have
waited
a
year
or
longer
for
compensation
decisions:
"The
announcement
today
by
Secretary
Shinseki
and
Undersecretary
Hickey
shows
that
the
VA
is
serious
about
reducing
the
backlog
and
is
willing
to
put
forward
new
ideas
to
get
it
… Read More
03.20.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
examining
the
efforts
of
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
to
address
the
nearly
900,000
pending
claims
from
veterans
seeking
compensation
and
pension
disability
benefits.
Of
the
total
inventory
of
claims,
588,011,
or
72
percent,
have
been
pending
for
more
than
125
days.
"I'm
as
frustrated
as
anyone
that
this
unacceptably
high
backlog
of
claims
has
persisted.
It
affects
our
veterans
and
their
families
… Read More
03.14.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Economic
Opportunity
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
that
looked
at
the
unemployment
rate
and
employment
challenges
among
members
of
the
National
Guard
and
Reserves.
Members
of
the
committee
also
solicited
suggestions
that
witnesses
may
have
for
reducing
unemployment.
Veterans
who
were
on
active
duty
in
2011
had
an
unemployment
rate
of
8.3
percent
while
RC
members
had
a
9.1
unemployment
rate.
"The
Bureau
of
Labor
… Read More
03.14.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Subcommittee
on
Oversight
and
Investigations
held
a
hearing
on
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs'
(VA)
policies
on
scheduling
and
measuring
patient
wait
times.
The
Subcommittee
reviewed
work
conducted
by
the
U.S.
Government
Accountability
Office
(GAO)
identifying
inconsistencies
in
patient
wait
times
reported
by
the
VA,
including
unreliable
information
and
varying
degrees
of
policy
implementation.
The
hearing
also
reviewed
VA's
metrics
… Read More
03.13.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Health
Subcommittee
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
conducted
an
oversight
hearing
on
the
Veterans
Health
Administration's
(VHA)
productivity
standards.
On
December
27,
2012,
the
VA
Office
of
the
Inspector
General
(IG)
issued
an
audit
of
physician
staffing
levels
for
specialty
care
services,
such
as
cardiology,
endocrinology,
surgery,
psychiatry
and
others.
The
IG
found
that
VA
does
not
have
an
effective
staffing
methodology
to
ensure
appropriate
… Read More
02.27.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
to
examine
efforts
by
the
Department
of
Defense
and
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
to
ensure
that
an
Integrated
Electronic
Health
Record
(iEHR)
becomes
a
reality
for
those
that
served.
While
there
is
a
long
history
of
the
two
Departments
working
toward
this
goal,
in
February
they
announced
that
they
were
no
longer
going
to
pursue
a
joint
integrated
electronic
health
record.
Representative
Mike
Michaud
… Read More
02.26.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Yesterday,
Chairman
Jeff
Miller
(FL-01)
and
Ranking
Member
Mike
Michaud
(ME-02)
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
introduced
H.R.
813,
the
Putting
Veterans
Funding
First
Act
of
2013.
The
bill
would
require
Congress
to
fully
fund
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs'
(VA)
discretionary
budget
a
year
ahead
of
schedule,
ensuring
that
all
VA
services
will
have
timely,
predictable
funding
in
an
era
where
continuing
resolutions
and
threats
of
government
shutdowns
are
all
… Read More
02.25.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(ME-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
issued
the
following
statement
on
First
Lady
Michelle
Obama's
address
to
the
National
Governors
Association
on
Administration
efforts
to
assist
states
in
translating
military
training
and
experience
into
credit
towards
professional
licenses.
"I
share
Mrs.
Obama's
view
that
while
the
war
may
be
ending,
delivering
on
our
nation's
promise
to
support
those
who
have
served
… Read More
02.14.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Economic
Opportunity
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
on
increasing
the
functionality
of
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
claims
processing
for
the
Post
9/11
GI
Bill.
Veteran
student
advocate
witnesses
at
the
hearing
testified
that
veterans
continue
to
have
concerns
about
delays
and
the
ability
to
access
information
about
their
benefits.
"We
have
spent
$263
million
dollars
on
a
system
and
questions
still
remain
on
… Read More
02.13.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
The
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
today
on
the
mental
health
care
services
provided
to
veterans.
The
hearing
examined
a
broad
range
of
issues,
including
veteran
suicide,
providing
timely
access
and
quality
care,
and
the
progress
VA
has
made
in
a
variety
of
areas
concerning
mental
health.
"The
VA's
recent
move
to
provide
more
accurate
data
on
suicide
rates
among
veterans
is
going
to
help
us
address
this
tragic
problem.
It's
clear,
however,
that
the
… Read More
02.12.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
-
Today,
Representative
Mike
Michaud
(Maine-02),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs,
issued
the
following
statement
on
the
President's
intention
to
reduce
the
number
of
U.S.
troops
serving
in
Afghanistan:
"As
the
war
winds
down,
more
of
our
men
and
women
will
take
off
the
uniform
and
seek
VA
services.
As
such,
we
must
recommit
ourselves
as
a
nation
to
ensuring
all
who've
served
and
sacrificed
receive
the
support
they
need
here
at
… Read More
02.06.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
The
chairmen
and
ranking
members
of
the
Senate
and
House
Committees
on
Veterans'
Affairs
today
faulted
the
Pentagon
and
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
for
backing
off
plans
to
create
a
single
computer
system
to
integrate
electronic
medical
records
for
troops
and
veterans.
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Chairman
Bernie
Sanders
(I-Vt.)
said:
"I
am
deeply
disappointed
by
the
VA
and
Defense
Department
decision
to
back
away
from
a
commitment
to
develop
and
implement
… Read More
02.05.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
The
Subcommittee
on
Disability
Assistance
and
Memorial
Affairs
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
today
on
issues
related
to
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs'
(VA)
100
percent
temporary
disability
rating.
According
to
a
report
by
the
VA
Office
of
the
Inspector
General
(OIG),
the
100
percent
temporary
disability
rating
is
not
being
reevaluated
in
a
majority
of
cases,
which
results
in
overpayments.
The
report
estimated
that
these
overpayments
would
… Read More
02.05.13 •
Press Release
Washington,
D.C.
-
Today,
the
Subcommittee
on
Oversight
and
Investigations
of
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
held
a
hearing
to
review
the
multiple
cases
of
Legionnaire's
Disease
at
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
Pittsburgh
Healthcare
System.
The
hearing
examined
VA's
efforts
to
prevent
such
an
outbreak,
outreach
efforts,
and
what
actions
were
taken
after
learning
of
contaminated
water
at
the
facility.
"A
lot
of
information
about
this
disturbing
outbreak
and
its
response
… Read More
