“As is so clear by visiting West Point, with its two centuries of military heritage, our men and women in the armed forces and our veterans have made countless sacrifices to protect our nation, our freedoms, and our American way of life. During my time in Congress and serving on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I have made it a priority to improve the accountability, accuracy, and the use of technology to ensure our veterans receive their benefits in a timely fashion.” – Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-5)

As the Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Congressman Lamborn has been working on behalf of all veterans to make it easier for them to receive the benefits they deserve and to receive them in a timely manner. Congressman Lamborn introduced H.R. 3047, the Veterans Claims Processing Innovation Act of 2007, which would provide our veterans with rapid and accurate service to secure their benefits.

“It was an honor to meet with veterans and West Point cadets, today. Representing the Air Force Academy and walking through the halls at West Point, I can’t help but be awed by the commitment and dedication our servicemen and women have to excellence and to protecting America. Is it so much to ask that they receive the benefits they are entitled to and that they do so in a timely fashion? I think not. That is why, since coming to Washington, I have worked hard to fight for our veterans by sponsoring the Veterans Claims Processing Innovation Act. I would like to thank Congressman Hall for this opportunity. I look forward to his visit to the Air Force Academy when I will be hosting a veterans committee field meeting in Colorado Springs.”

H.R. 3047 would improve the Department of Veterans Affairs claims processing by:

• Changing the work credit system so VA gets credit only when a claim has either been affirmed by the Board of Veterans Appeals or a veteran has not appealed within the statutory appeal period. This would improve accuracy and ensure that a claim is adjudicated correctly the first time, reducing appeals.
• Authorizing qualified family members to substitute for claimants if they die and the claim has not been settled. The survivor must now start the process afresh instead of where the veteran left off, causing the family undue inconvenience and stress, and adding unnecessarily to the backlog. Substitution is the right thing to do.
• Authorizing a “Regional Office of the Future” pilot that would use fully scanned claimant files and would be automated with a rules-based adjudication system, similar to proven systems used in the private sector.
• Requiring VA to use a private entity that has experience evaluating quality assurance in other benefit programs (similar to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations that evaluates VA health care) to evaluate VA’s quality assurance program.

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