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# FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

> December 3, 2007

## Vets, Military Receive Faster Education Benefits

> ***VA Pledges Continuing Improvements***
>
> WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today
> it has dramatically improved its ability to process applications for
> GI Bill education benefits from veterans and servicemembers.
>
> "Our processing time is good, and it's going to continue to get
> better," said Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon H.
> Mansfield. "These improvements come despite a 40 percent increase in
> applications for GI Bill benefits since 2001."
>
> For first-time recipients of educational benefits, the average
> processing time decreased from 40 days in 2006 to 32 days in 2007.
> Claims from veterans reenrolling for subsequent school terms or
> additional training programs were processed in an average of 13 days,
> down from 20 days in 2006.
>
> VA developed short-term strategies for immediately processing more
> claims.
>
> As an example, VA created a temporary call center in late 2006 to
> respond to customer service calls, freeing additional employees to
> process education claims. The center's success led VA to develop plans
> for a permanent call center, scheduled to open in early 2008 at VA's
> Regional Processing Office in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
>
> VA has also developed programs that promote self-service among GI Bill
> users. Services that once demanded the attention of VA employees \--
> from enrolling in direct deposit to updating contact information \--
> can now be performed online. In October 2007 alone, veterans and
> servicemembers completed more than 10,000 self-service transactions.
>
> **-More-**

### Education Benefits 2/2/2/2

> VA has also expanded its self-servicing approach to school officials,
> many of whom now submit veterans' enrollment information
> electronically. VA uses this electronically submitted data to process
> automatically more than 100,000 of the more than 1.5 million education
> claims received in fiscal year 2007.
>
> While these accomplishments are significant, VA remains committed to
> continued improvement in the delivery of education benefits. The
> Department's performance goals are aggressive, calling for 20 percent
> reductions in processing time during the next year.
>
> "VA is on the right track, as demonstrated by processing times last
> month of 26 days for initial applications and 10 days for
> reenrollments," said Keith Wilson, Director of VA's Education Service.
> "There are a lot of folks who share in our success, none more central
> than the hardworking employees at our Regional Processing Offices."
>
> In 2007, 524,000 veterans and beneficiaries received approximately
> \$21 billion dollars of education assistance. Since 1944, more than
> 21.4 million veterans and their beneficiaries have received GI Bill
> benefits.
>
> VA education benefits include Montgomery GI Bill for active duty
> personnel, Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserves, the Reservist
> Education Assistance Program and educational assistance for survivors
> and dependents.
>
> For more information on VA education benefits, go to VA's education
> Web site at: [http://www.gibill.va.gov](http://www.gibill.va.gov/).
>
> [\# \# \#]{.smallcaps}
>
> For the latest news releases and other information, visit VA on the
> Internet at
>
> **<http://www.va.gov/opa>.**
>
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