U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, who represents a large portion of The Villages in Congress, sat down with a top Veterans Affairs official on Tuesday to discuss the massive VA backlog.
Nugent met with Retired Brig. Gen. Allison A. Hickey who assumed the duties of Under Secretary for Benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2011.
“I want to thank VA Undersecretary Hickey for sitting down with us today to have a frank and open conversation about the veterans backlog and what we see as the way forward,” Nugent said after the meeting.
The VA pays disability benefits to veterans who are injured or become ill as a result of their active service. For years, veterans have complained that it takes too long for their claims to be processed. In late March, more than 611,000 claims, or about 70 percent, were pending longer than 125 days.
The Veterans Affairs Department has taken steps to try to deal with the backlog in recent months and under pressure from Republican lawmakers.
The oldest claims in the system were moved to the front of the line and claims processors were required to work at least 20 hours of overtime each month. That has helped to reduce the backlog to just over 531,000.