Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) spoke on the House Floor in support of increased funds to reduce the benefits claims backlog that affects many Texans veterans.  Rep. Cuellar voted in support of the Fiscal Year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which passed the House on Wednesday evening.   The bill now head to the Senate for consideration where it is expected to be approved.

Click HERE to view Rep. Cuellar’s full remarks:

“Veterans of all generations deserve a benefits system that is easy to navigate and responsive to their needs,” said Congressman Cuellar.  “While progress has been made, more work needs to be done so that no veteran has to wait to receive earned benefits. I am pleased to see that the FY2015 Military Construction Appropriations bill continues to support funding to eliminate the claims backlog. I thank Chairman Culberson and Ranking Member Bishop for crafting this legislation and greatly appreciate their efforts to ensure Veterans receive the benefits they have earned.”

This bill takes several steps to reduce the disgraceful veterans’ claims backlog:

·         Provide $173.3 million for the Veterans Benefit Management System and an additional $20 million to the Veterans Benefit Administration for digital scanning of old paper files, the centralized mail initiative, and staff overtime;

·         Withhold 75% of the VistA Evolution funds until VA provides information on the system, particularly regarding planned interoperability with DoD; and

·         Continue to require the VA to provide monthly reports on claims processing and remediation efforts for underperforming regional offices.