White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014

UPDATE
VA budget has $63.5B for care, benefits

OK, I read the article again this morning and it looks like I was not seeing things last night.

This is the part I can't believe.

Currently, the backlog hovers around 600,000 cases, up dramatically from around 80,000 just four years ago. The average wait for completion of a claim is almost nine months.

This was in a report from April 2, 2012 and addresses what the claims looked like in 2009. Shinseki noted the monumental challenge VA has been up against. During 2009, VA produced 900,000 claims decisions, but also received 1 million new claims. The next year, VA increased its claims decisions to 1 million, but received 1.2 million new claims. “Last year, we produced another 1 million claims decisions and got 1.3 million claims in,” Shinseki said. “So the backlog isn’t static. The backlog is a bigger number than we would like, but it is not the same number as three years ago.”

I am getting really tired of correcting what reporters get wrong and beginning to wonder if they all have an agenda that is not in the best interests of our veterans. For Heaven's sake they should be important enough to get the story straight.

Researching THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, has opened the door to a whole new world the press has not dared to enter into. All these years I thought they were getting the story straight and letting the public know what was going on. WOW! I was wrong to trust them because the searches are all available for anyone to find if they take the time and actually care beyond getting today's story out.

VA Claims as of December 31, 2012

Post-9/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) claims make up 21% of the total inventory and 22% of the backlog

Gulf War (definition) claims make up 23% of the total inventory and 21% of the backlog Peacetime (period between end of Vietnam and Gulf War) claims make up 11% of the total inventory and 11% of the backlog

Vietnam claims make up 37% of the total inventory and 38% of the backlog

Korean War claims make 4% of the total inventory and 4% of the backlog

World War II claims make up 3% of the total inventory and 3% of the backlog

Other era claims make up 1% of the total inventory and 1% of the backlog

Original vs. Supplemental Claims

40% were first time claims and 60% were Supplemental as of March 29, 2013

VA’s current Inventory of compensation claims contains both "original" claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who are claiming disability compensation from VA for the first time, and “supplemental” claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who have previously filed for disability compensation with VA. Below is a breakout of the original and supplemental claims in the current VA inventory:

60% of pending claims are supplemental, 40% are original.

77% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are receiving some level of monetary benefit from VA.

11% of Veterans filing supplemental claims already have a 100% disability rating (receive $2800 or more per month) or qualify for Individual Unemployability (compensated at the 100% disabled rate).

40% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are already rated at 50% disability or higher.

43% of supplemental claims are from Vietnam-era Veterans; 19% are from Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Considering it is almost 10:00 and I've been working since 7:00 this morning, my brain is tired. Check back tomorrow morning on this because I can't believe what I am reading in the rest of the report so I really think I need to go to bed because I must be delusional or the rest of this report it totally out of whack.

White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 5, 2013

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs would receive a 4 percent funding increase for its fiscal 2014 discretionary budget and a $2.5 billion infusion to battle the growing claims backlog under White House budget plans to be announced next week.

The funding boost comes as most government departments face steep cuts as the president and lawmakers search for ways to rein in the national debt. It still must be approved by Congress before it becomes law.

But White House and VA officials said the extra money for veterans programs shows President Barack Obama’s commitment to help servicemembers returning from combat with their transition to civilian life, and to make sure the lifelong war wounds aren’t forgotten.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the budget emphasizes “the president’s commitment to our veterans and their families” but also acknowledged that more money doesn’t promise immediate results for veterans impatient with the VA bureaucracy.

“At the end of the day, it’s not the inputs or investments, but the outputs: questions being answered, tax credits being utilized, jobs being created,” he said. “That’s going to prove to people whether the system is working.”
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