After failing to hit progress benchmarks, the agency now says its pledge to make quicker decisions on all claims was never meant to include some benefits.
Veterans waiting more than two years will get answers in June and those waiting a year, within six months, the agency says. But that some veterans, lawmakers and VA workers are skeptical.
Concerned about broken promises of assistance for the nation’s veterans, the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has called for the head of the VA’s benefits administration to resign.
We’re in the process of working out an easy way to connect veteran sources with other journalists, but if you need help finding a local veteran, get in touch and we’ll see if we can help.
The Department of Veterans Affairs tracks and widely reports the average wait time for benefits: 273 days. But internal data indicate that veterans filing their first claim, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wait nearly two months longer.
“The Shooter,” today’s story about the Navy SEAL who says he killed Osama bin Laden, was written for Esquire in cooperation with the Center for Investigative Reporting. It is part of CIR’s ongoing coverage of the challenges veterans face after leaving military service.
