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VFW Washington Weekly - February 13, 2009
Posted at 03:18 PM on Friday, February 13, 2009 by post252
In This Issue:1. Advance Funding Bill Reintroduced
2. Senate Holds VA Appeals Process Hearing
3. FY 2010 Independent Budget Now Online
4. TRICARE for Retired Reserve
2. Senate Holds VA Appeals Process Hearing: The Senate VA Committee held a hearing to examine ideas that could improve the timeliness of claims at the appeals level, as well as the relationship between the Board and the Court. According to witnesses, the complexity of the appeal process adds months and sometimes years to the timeliness of a decision, and increases the workload at every level. One witness said about 100,000 appeals were generated from the VA's 824,844 claims decisions in 2007. In 2009, it is estimated 132,000 appeals will be created from the 942,700 claims decisions VA will make this year. Members of the Committee questioned the need for drastic changes to include a military style "surge" to decrease claims decisions. Other ideas discussed were holding federal workers more accountable for errors, and shortening deadlines for filing and ruling, to include reducing the amount of time a veteran has to appeal a case. For more on the hearing, visit the Senate committee website at: http://veterans.senate.gov/
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