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Klein Meets with VA Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki
06/04/09
Washington, D.C. – This morning, Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) met with Veterans’ Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki in Washington. Klein communicated specific requests from his Broward and Palm Beach County Veterans’ Advisory Groups to the Secretary, and Secretary Shinseki committed to continuing to work hard together to make progress on these ideas. In response to Klein’s questions, Secretary Shinseki confirmed that receipts of claims are up 14 percent, due to an aging veterans’ population and two million new veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also said that the VA will be hiring 1,100 new processors to more swiftly handle claims and proposed new ideas, such as utilizing technology and electronic systems, in order to reduce the backlog. The VA plans on spending $3.3 billion in technology enhancements for this purpose in the upcoming fiscal year. In addition to the claims backlog, Klein and Shinseki discussed several other topics of concern to the veteran’s community in South Florida, including the opening of registration for the 21st Century GI bill, providing a seamless transition from Department of Defense service to the Veterans Administration and providing veterans with all the services they have earned, including mental health counseling, financial counseling and substance abuse counseling.