Florida veterans waiting under nose of Congress?

With all the hoopla about veterans suffering and members of Congress pretending to be shocked, it is wise to remember none of them should be off the hook for any of what went on. Veterans contact members of Congress to complain to their elected officials. They all knew what was going on, and if they didn't, they need to start watching CSPAN to review the hearings they have already held over the last decade! Here is one more example of this.

The Miami Herald reported on veterans waiting and wondering how to pay their bills. One of them, James Pendleton, said he contacted officials many times, "“There was nothing I could do which is why I began to write,” said Pendleton, who sent a series of letters to politicians and government administrators."

Despite progress in backlog, thousands of Florida’s veterans still wait for benefits
Miami Herald
BY MONICA DISARE
August 10, 2014

While his mortgage, electric bill and child support payments fell months behind, James Pendleton, a 57-year-old U.S. Army veteran from North Lauderdale, waited years for disability compensation benefits.

Some 37,000 veterans in Florida are like Pendleton, waiting for a letter from the Veterans Benefits Administration and wondering how they will pay bills in the meantime.

While the number of pending disability claims has decreased significantly since 2013, when the nation became outraged by the number of backlogged claims, the regional benefits office in Florida still had the highest number of pending claims in the country in early August. Of those claims, 59.7 percent are backlogged — meaning the claims have been pending for more than 125 days — which is above the national average of 48.7 percent.
read more here

By the way, the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee is Jeff Miller, Florida Congressman.