Dr. Ruiz Bill to Help Reduce VA Claims Backlog Passes House with Bipartisan Vote

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 404 to 1 in favor of passing H.R 2189. This legislation contains a provision Dr. Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) introduced in April that aims to reduce the backlog of veteran’s claims through the Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) by encouraging federal agencies to provide information to the VA in a timelier manner. Currently, the VA spends a significant amount of the claims processing time waiting for information from other federal agencies.

“This legislation is a firm step toward eliminating the unacceptably large backlog of veteran claims at the VA,” said Dr. Ruiz. “By identifying bureaucratic logjams in the VA system, my bill will reduce red tape in the claims process and help the VA accomplish its goal of eliminating the backlog by 2015 for veterans in CA-36th and across the country. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill without delay. “

Dr. Ruiz’s bill will require the VA to provide annual updates to Congress regarding the timeliness of other federal agencies in fulfilling their information requests. By having clearer and more definitive data on the number of requests made by the VA to other agencies and the average response time of these agencies, the VA and Congress can better work to identify bottlenecks in the system and bring further accountability to the benefits claims process.

Dr. Ruiz is a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. He is also a member of the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus.

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