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78–768 2013

BREAKING THROUGH THE BACKLOG:

EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE

NEW STATE STRIKE FORCE TEAM

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE 

AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

Serial No. 112–78

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

(

ii

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS

JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman

CLIFF STEARNS, Florida 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee 

MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

JEFF DENHAM, California 

JON RUNYAN, New Jersey 

DAN BENISHEK, Michigan 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas 

MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada 

ROBERT L. TURNER, New York 

BOB FILNER, California, Ranking

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

SILVESTRE REYES, Texas 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa 

JERRY McNERNEY, California 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

JOHN BARROW, Georgia 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri

HELEN W. TOLAR, Staff Director and Chief Counsel

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS

JON RUNYAN, New Jersey, Chairman

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana 

ROBERT L. TURNER, New York 

JERRY McNERNEY, California, Ranking

JOHN BARROW, Georgia 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota

Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records 

of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed 

hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to 

prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting 

between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process 

is further refined. 

iii

C O N T E N T S 

September 21, 2012

Page

Breaking Through The Backlog: Evaluating The Effectiveness of The New 

State Strike Force Team ...................................................................................... 1

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Chairman Jon Runyan ............................................................................................ 1

Prepared Statement of Chairman Runyan ..................................................... 22

Hon. Jerry McNerney, Ranking Democratic Member ........................................... 2

Hon. Bill Flores ........................................................................................................ 4

WITNESSES 

Mr. Eliseo ‘‘Al’’ Cantu, Jr., Chair, Texas Veterans Commission .......................... 5

Prepared Statement of Mr. Cantu, Jr. ............................................................ 22

Mr. James O. Richman, Director, Claims Representation and Counseling, 

Texas Veterans Commission ............................................................................... 7

Prepared Statement of Mr. Richman .............................................................. 24

Mr. Steve Hernandez, County Veterans Service Officer, McLennan County, 

Texas ..................................................................................................................... 8

Prepared Statement of Mr. Hernandez .......................................................... 26

Ms. Diana Rubens, Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations, Veterans 

Benefits Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs ....... 15

Prepared Statement of Mrs. Rubens ............................................................... 27

Accompanied by:

Mr. John Limpose, Director, Waco Regional Office, Veterans Benefits 

Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs 

QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Hon. Jon Runyan, Chairman, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and 

Memorial Affairs to Ms. Diana Rubens, Deputy Under Secretary for Field 

Operations: ........................................................................................................... 30

(1)

BREAKING THROUGH THE BACKLOG: 

EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE 

NEW STATE STRIKE FORCE TEAM 

Friday, September 21, 2012

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE

AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS, 

Washington, D.C. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in 

Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Jon Runyan 

[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Runyan, McNerney, Barrow, and Waltz. 

Also Present: Representative Flores. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JON RUNYAN 

Mr. RUNYAN. Good morning and welcome, everyone. This oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and 

Memorial Affairs will now come to order. 

As is often the case when this Subcommittee convenes, we are 

here to discuss the backlog of veterans disability benefits claims. 

Unfortunately, when such a discussion takes place, we often find 

ourselves having the same discussion over and over. Frustrated 

veterans want to know why it takes so long to process their claim; 

frustrated lawmakers want to know why the backlog keeps increasing; and frustrated VA employees want everyone to know what the 

folks on the front lines are doing, that they are doing the best they 

can to try to keep up with the increasing amount of claims. However, every so often we have an idea that is interjected into the discussion, and we are here today to discuss one such idea. 

In 2009, the State of Texas created a Claims Processing Assistance Team that helped reduce pending claims at the State’s two regional offices, or ROs, in Waco and Houston. Four hundred thousand dollars was allocated toward a dozen employees over several 

months. Those employees reduced the number of pending claims in 

Waco and Houston by 17,000. Despite this success, the situation 

has since worsened for veterans not only in Texas but across the 

country as the amount of pending claims has doubled since that 

time. 

As a recent Center for Investigative Reporting study reveals, the 

impact of the backlog varies by region. The study finds that veterans in sparsely populated States often have their benefit claims 

processed faster than those in more populated States. In addition 

2

to this study, the media has also been paying close attention to veterans who must wait the longest to receive their benefits, which 

are veterans in Texas, and, as is well-known to the Ranking Member Mr. McNerney, veterans in California. But the fact remains no 

matter where the veteran is located, more often than not the veteran is waiting too long to receive their benefits decision. 

Once again, taking action into their own hands in late July of 

this year, the Texas State legislature created a State Strike Force 

Team led by the Texas Veterans Commission. This time they have 

allocated $1.5 million and 16 full-time employees. The goal of the 

State Strike Force Team is to assist veterans and their families in 

receiving disability compensation and pension payments earlier 

than expected. 

Specifically, eight claims counselors will be located at both the 

Waco and Houston regional offices to help process claims. There 

will also be fully developed claims teams located throughout the 

State to improve access to and assist veterans with fully developed 

claims. By examining this process today we are hoping that the 

State Strike Force Team will serve as a model to other States and 

perhaps even lead to the creation of a similar Federal Strike Force 

Team. 

I want to thank the VA, the Texas Veterans Commission, and 

Mr. Hernandez for their valuable input as we work together to find 

important solutions to the growing backlogs of claims. I welcome 

today’s witnesses to continue this ongoing discussion and offer their 

own specific recommendations on how to improve the current system of processing veterans’ disability claims. 

At this time I would like to welcome Mr. Flores to our hearing. 

Although he is not a member of the Subcommittee, he is a member 

of the full Committee. 

At this time I would like to yield to Ranking Member, Mr. 

McNerney, for any opening statement he might have.

[The statement of Jon Runyan appears in the Appendix] 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MCNERNEY, RANKING 

DEMOCRATIC MEMBER 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today’s hearing on possible ways to address the VA’s mounting backlog of claims and appeals. Today over 1.3 million claims and appeals are jammed in a flawed processing system and in an organization with a current management culture that often overemphasizes production over quality. It is our collective quest to vanquish 

BVA’s backlog of claims and appeals, which as I mentioned previously, currently exceeds 1 million. It is my hope that we can improve the performance of the system as a whole while ensuring accurate and accountable claims outcomes for our veterans. 

Since 2007, the VBA has added over 10,000 claims processing 

personnel and Congress has funded these requests. Yet the backlog 

still climbs. Merely adding more people to the same broken system 

does not expedite benefits to veterans and their families. We need 

to continue to look at the system with fresh eyes to help the VA 

with managing its claims processing mission. 

As the VA OIG recently concluded in its report after inspection 

reviews of 16 VA ROs, the VBA is processing 23 percent of its 

3

claims erroneously. To change this, the VA OIG recommended that 

VA needs to enhance policy guidance, compliance, workload management, training and supervisory review in order to improve 

claims processing operations. 

These conclusions echo many of the provisions of the Veterans 

Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, P.L. 110–389, as well as the 

continued course from Congress and other stakeholders that say 

time and again that the backlog is just a symptom of a much larger 

problem. The current system is broken and in need of a major overhaul. We need to focus on getting the claims right the first time. 

Today we have representatives here from the Texas Veterans 

Commission (TVC), and I welcome you here this morning. TVC has 

hired employees to create strike force teams out of the monies from 

State coffers. These teams are working side-by-side with VA employees to help process claims. The Waco and Houston Texas regional offices that serve these veterans are considered underperforming by the VA’s own standards, where wait times exceed the 

national averages. 

I know that in California, particularly in the Oakland and Los 

Angeles regional offices, we are experiencing similar extraordinary 

wait times for claims decisions, including lengthy work stoppages, 

which means delays will only increase. As a Representative from 

the State with the most veterans per capita, I agree that we need 

to come up with solutions that put veterans first, and this is what 

the VA is not doing enough of. 

There is no shortage of getting around the basics of having welltrained employees who are empowered with the right tools and the 

right systems to get the job done the first time. We need claims 

done right the first time, as if a do-over was not an option, and 

that is why I still remain concerned that the work credit system 

may not keep the focus on the veterans but rather on churning out 

more work. 

We have veterans committing suicide in shameful numbers. The 

most recent figure is 18 veterans per day. That is one veteran 

every 80 minutes, over 6,500 a year. That means that before this 

hearing is over, a veteran may take his or her life. That breaks my 

heart. Having a system like the current claims processing system 

where over 65 percent of claims are in backlog also breaks my 

heart, with many veterans and families suffering while waiting for 

a decision. 

We need to get this right so that no claims are languishing and 

veterans, their families and survivors get the benefits that they 

have earned and deserve without delay. 

With this in mind, I look forward to the hearing, I thank the 

Chairman and I yield back. 

Mr. RUNYAN. I thank the gentleman. At this time I would like 

to ask unanimous consent that Mr. Flores be able to sit in on the 

Committee and participate and ask questions. Hearing no objection, so ordered. 

I would also at this time like to ask any of the members, I know 

Mr. Flores has an opening statement he would like to make, but 

do any of the other members wish to? 

If not, with that, Mr. Flores, you are now recognized. 

4

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BILL FLORES 

Mr. FLORES. Thank you, Chairman Runyan and Ranking Member McNerney, for allowing me to be part of this important hearing 

today. 

I think it is important that we hold this hearing so that we can 

take a closer look at this issue, which is important not only to veterans living in Texas, but also to veterans across this country. The 

growing problem with processing disability claims that the Department of Veterans Affairs faces in serving Texas veterans is merely 

a microcosm of a problem at large that our veterans face around 

the country today. 

Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, Texas is only one example of the 

glaring problems and service trials our veterans are facing 

throughout the country. It is also important that we work through 

the problems within our VA and implement a flawless claims processing system for our Nation’s veterans. 

I am concerned about the VA claims issue, particularly those at 

the Waco VARO, which is in my district. I appreciate the fact that 

the VA has appointed a new director to the Waco VARO to address 

this issue. I have met with Director Limpose and I am pleased with 

his efforts thus far and his commitment in particular to address 

the Waco backlog claims. He and I have agreed to meet again in 

late November or early December to follow up on his progress. 

I applaud Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Speaker Joe Straus and the leadership of 

the Texas Veterans Commission for committing valuable State resources to help address this issue by creating the Texas State 

Strike Force—that is a lot of vowels to say at one time—Texas 

State Strike Force Team and for being proactive to help our Nation’s veterans. I appreciate Mr. Cantu and Mr. Richman for agreeing to testify today. 

I suggested that Mr. Hernandez be allowed to speak at this hearing. The reason for that is we are going to hear a lot of numbers 

today. We are going to hear about claims backlogs and the claims 

delays and the time to process claims. But behind every one of 

those numbers is the face of a veteran and Mr. Hernandez can help 

put a face on each of those numbers. So I think his testimony will 

be valuable. 

In my district in McLennan County, which is the home of the 

Waco VARO, we have tens of thousands of veterans, given that we 

are a neighbor to Fort Hood, the largest Army base in the country. 

Mr. Hernandez has a quote in his testimony that I think is particularly poignant, and it says this: ‘‘The effects of the prolonged 

backlog are affecting the veteran in the most adverse way. If the 

data is possible, I am certain it would be a travesty to know how 

the backlog has affected veteran homelessness, relationships, 

crime, addiction, mental health, and suicides. The prolonged wait 

on claims decisions cannot be productive on our society and unfortunately will continue to lead to social problems at the national 

level. A sad and embarrassing end to the dedicated patriots who 

have braved austere conditions, family separation, traumatic experiences, and multiple deployments to provide us with the freedom 

and the liberty as a free society.’’

5

That is what we need to think about. Behind every number that 

we talk about today is the face of a veteran. 

Before I close I think it is important that we as a Committee and 

we as a Congress think outside the box and think about solutions. 

I personally could care less about the bureaucracy. I care about the 

veterans. Our goal ought to be as a Congress and as a Nation to 

deliver the benefits to the veterans. So whatever it takes, and if it 

takes thinking outside the box, let’s think about how we do that 

to take care of the veterans versus taking care of the bureaucracy. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. RUNYAN. I thank the gentleman. 

At this time I would like to welcome our first panel to the witness table. We will be hearing from Al Cantu, the Chair of the 

Texas Veterans Commission. Next we will hear from James 

Richman, the Director of Claims Representation and Counseling 

with the Texas Veterans Commission. And our final witness on this 

panel will be Mr. Steve Hernandez, the McLennan County Veterans Service Officer. 

Your complete and written statements will be entered into the 

hearing record. Mr. Cantu, you are now recognized for 5 minutes 

for your oral statement. 

STATEMENTS OF ELISEO ‘‘AL’’ CANTU, JR., CHAIR, TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION; JAMES O. RICHARDSON, DIRECTOR, 

CLAIMS REPRESENTATION AND COUNSELING, TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION; AND STEVE HERNANDEZ, COUNTY VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER, MCLENNAN COUNTY, TEXAS 

STATEMENT OF ELISEO ‘‘AL’’ CANTU, JR. 

Mr. CANTU. Good morning, Mr. Chairman Runyan, Ranking 

Member McNerney, and members of the Subcommittee. For the 

record, my name is Eliseo ‘‘Al’’ Cantu, Jr., Chair of the Texas Veterans Commission. I am humbled by the invitation to testify before 

you today on behalf of the Texas Veterans Commission. I would 

like to thank the Subcommittee for this opportunity and for your 

interest in the efforts the State of Texas has undertaken to serve 

its 1.7 million veterans. 

I am accompanied today by Mr. Jim Richman, Director of the 

Texas Veterans Commission’s Claims Representation and Counseling Program. Mr. Richman has been with the agency for over 25 

years. 

My testimony today will provide you with some background information regarding Texas’ State Strike Force and Fully Developed 

Claims Teams Initiative directed by the State leaders this past 

July. Mr. Richman’s testimony will provide you with the details of 

the initiative and an update on our progress and our keys to success. 

The Texas Veterans Commission is the veterans advocacy agency 

for the State of Texas. Our mission is to advocate for and provide 

superior service to veterans through four programs: Claims representation and counseling; veterans employment services; veterans education; and the Fund For Veterans’ Assistance that will 

significantly improve the quality of life for all Texas veterans, their 

families, survivors and spouses. 

6

No other State has centralized all of these program areas within 

their State’s veterans agency. Texas is becoming recognized for aggressively leading on veterans issues. National leaders have referred to the Texas model when advocating for the integration of 

veterans services. 

Texas Veterans Commission’s Claims Representation and Counseling Program assists veterans prepare compensation and pension 

claims with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. In 

2011, our claims counselors handled 179,981 benefit claims on behalf of our veterans and dependents, filed 125,000-plus monetary 

claims and 16,000-plus new appeals. 

In November 2009, Governor Rick Perry and the State Veterans 

Commission launched a special Claims Processing Assistance Team 

to assist veterans who had their claims for monetary benefits pending with our two VA regional offices in Waco and Houston, Texas. 

This project built upon the succession of a pilot project between the 

Texas Veterans Commission and the VA in 2008. 

At the time the CPAT project was announced, a total pending 

caseload of 39,000 Federal benefit claims existed in Texas’ two VA 

regional offices. These CPAT teams consisted of 12 additional 

claims counselors, six at each office. They targeted specific areas 

within the claims process, doing all development needed on the individual’s claim and working directly with the claimants in identifying and acquiring necessary evidence. The project was funded for 

the period November 2009 to July 2011. In that time, the special 

CPAT teams returned to the VA 17,000-plus cases ready for decision or award action. 

Since that time, the situation has become worse. On July 16, 

2012, the Commission testified before the State Senate Veterans 

Affairs and Military Installation Committee regarding the state of 

backlog in Texas. According to the VA, in January 2010 the total 

pending caseload in Texas was 59,000 plus claims and 15,000 plus 

appeals. The number of cases that had been pending for over 125 

days, which is what the VA considers backlog, was 16,800 claims. 

On July 14, 2012, the total pending caseload in Texas was 107,000-

plus claims and 28,000-plus appeals. The number of cases that 

have been pending for over 125 days was 68,612 claims. The backlog has more than quadrupled from 2010 to present. Presently the 

real world average for getting a decision from VA is 18 to 24 

months. 

Following the hearing, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and 

House Speaker Straus directed the Texas Veterans Commission to 

implement a team and a force to get behind eliminating the backlog. The State of Texas committed over $100,000 from the first pass 

and $1.5 million in 2012–2013 biennium to address the backlog of 

claims. The teams will be working on both ends of the claim process to ensure that the backlog is removed or brought down. We 

make sure that all the claims are processed and all the information 

is available. We work directly with the claimant. And we hope to 

be able to reduce the backlog in Texas by 17,000 claims. 

Mr. Richman is going to share with you how his team will make 

that goal a reality. 

Again I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before 

you today. Thank you for the work the Committee is doing and will 

7

do on behalf of the Texas veterans and all veterans of this Nation’s 

Armed Forces. 

Thank you, sir.

[The statement of Eliseo ‘‘Al’’ Cantu appears in the Appendix]

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you, Mr. Cantu. 

Mr. Richman, you are now recognized. 

STATEMENT OF JAMES O. RICHMAN 

Mr. RICHMAN. Good morning, Chairman Runyan, Ranking Member McNerney, and members of the Subcommittee. I am Jim 

Richman. I am the Texas Veterans Commission Director of Claims 

Representation and Counseling and it is truly a privilege to serve 

in that capacity. This morning I will provide you with the details 

of the Texas Veterans Strike Force Team and the Fully Developed 

Claims Team and provide an update at only one month into the 

project and highlight some keys to successful implementation. 

As soon as the direction came this past July from Governor Rick 

Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and House Speaker 

Joe Straus to reinstate a form of this initiative, we began building 

two separate teams. We expanded on the old method. 

First, there are two State Strike Force Teams, one in Waco and 

one in Houston. Rather than talk about what we have already said, 

I am going to tell you what they are going to do. These 16 members 

will take cases that are over 125 days old and not only identify the 

development that still needs to be done, but actually accomplish 

that development with the intention of handing it back to the VA 

completely ready to rate. 

The Fully Developed Claims Teams, if you consider the Strike 

Force Team working on cases over 125 days old and the Fully Developed Teams working at the front end of the process to make 

sure that every claim that can possibly fit the Fully Developed 

Claim Initiative is done so, then we are working both ends against 

the middle. We feel like this is a very needed addition to what we 

have done in the past in certain projects. 

The update, within days of the State leaders’ authorization of the 

teams, we posted the positions. We now have filled all of those positions in the initiative, and those hires include personnel with significant VA claims experience, including former and retired VA and 

TVC employees with a total combined experience with the VA 

claims process of over 700 years. This is critical in the success of 

this program. We have returning to work a former TVC Waco regional director, we have a VA former assistant service manager, a 

hearing officer, numerous decision review officers, VSRs, RVSRs 

and coaches. 

During this initial period lead TVC and VA personnel have been 

working together very closely to create a standard operating procedure. I would like to point out with no absolute, with all certainty, 

that Area Director Beth McCoy, Houston Director Pritz 

Navaratnasingam and Waco Director John Limpose and their staffs 

have completely bought into what we can accomplish with this endeavor. Both VA regional offices in Waco and Houston have provided TVC with additional space, training materials and the 

logistical support that we need to cooperate in this endeavor and 

make it truly successful. 

8

Are we cooperating with the VA or coordinating with the VA and 

assisting the VA, helping the VA? Absolutely, yes we are. But our 

mission in this endeavor is to improve the timeliness and get veterans and their families the benefits they have earned and very 

desperately need, especially in this economy. 

As of Monday, September 17th, members of the State Strike 

Force Teams have reviewed 2,525 cases. I would like to bring to 

your attention, this is in the first month of operation while we are 

even hiring up. Of those backlogged claims, identifying and executing all required additional development, they have already delivered to the VA 852 claims fully developed and ready to rate. 

Mr. Chairman, we have identified the keys to success, because to 

coin a phrase, this ain’t our first rodeo based on those two previous 

projects, and there are several essential elements required for the 

successful implementation of these or like initiatives: Complete 

support from the VA regional offices involved, which we have all 

the way from upper management down. The individuals hired to 

staff such an initiative must be experienced with the VA’s claim 

process. This is imperative. Any initiative should utilize identified 

best practices for claims development and dedicated funding to support the initiative for a set period of time in order to realize meaningful reduction of the backlog. 

In closing, I would like to thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to share this information with you, the State leaders that 

have provided TVC with the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of veterans in the State of Texas, and TVC has 

demonstrated the capability to have a positive impact on this issue 

twice before. 

I mean absolutely no disrespect by what I am fixing to say, because the VA is full of hard-working, dedicated, well-intentioned 

people, but the backlog has been talked about for so long and has 

continued to grow that the VA has become institutionally desensitized to the backlog. Make no mistake, the veterans are not desensitized to the backlog and to the timeliness of claims. 

We hope with the support of this Subcommittee and Federal 

funding, we believe that Texas and other States have the capability 

to successfully replicate and implement similar initiatives. Like 

those famous Texans who drew a line in the sand at the Alamo, 

Governor Perry, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, and Speaker 

Straus have drawn a line in the sand regarding the backlog of 

claims in Texas and say ‘‘no more.’’ The Texas Veterans Commission is making a difference now because the veterans we serve already did. 

Thank you for your time, sir.

[The statement of James O. Richman appears in the Appendix]

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you, Mr. Richman. 

I now recognize Mr. Hernandez for his statement. 

STATEMENT OF STEVE HERNANDEZ 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member McNerney, members of the 

Subcommittee, my name is Steve Hernandez. I am the McLennan 

County Veterans Service Officer located in Waco, Texas. On behalf 

of the Veteran Community of Texas, the Veteran Community of 

9

Central Texas, the citizens of McLennan County, the Commissioner’s Court of McLennan County and the McLennan County Veterans Service Office, thank you for allowing me to provide testimony on this very important issue that is affecting the Nation, the 

chronic backlog of benefit claims form our Nation’s veterans. 

As you are well aware, nationally benefit claims submitted to the 

Veterans Affairs Regional Office have increased dramatically. We 

attribute the influx to an increased average of single digit to double 

digit individual disability claim submittals, economic stagnation, 

employment difficulties, issues involving social reintegration, and a 

continued stream of past era veterans submitting claims for the 

first time or resubmitting previously denied claims, just to mention 

a few. 

Unfortunately, from the regional perspective, the Waco VA Regional Office has been identified as the worst of the 57 regional offices under the ASPIRE database. Because of this dubious distinction the Waco Regional Office is under intense scrutiny for the 

backlog and discussions continue on how the Federal Government 

can resolve this dilemma. 

Realizing the economic benefit in breaking through the backlog 

and the catastrophic condition under the current Federal system, 

State leaders have authorized the State veteran component of the 

Texas Veterans Commission to dedicate State assets to assist with 

the backlog claims with a commitment of $1.5 million Teams—for 

the State Strike Force Teams. I am having the same trouble you 

were, Congressman—a team of counselors who will assist in fully 

developed claims as well as assisting in claims assistance and development. 

To fully understand the Waco VA Regional Office’s dismal performance requires an in-depth evaluation on the causes for such a 

backlog. The major cause for the spike in the backlog has been the 

Nehmer claims as well as the most recent presumptive Agent Orange illnesses, illnesses that have been long overdue in recognition. 

The Federal directive posed on the VA regional office as a responsible party on Nehmer death claims has proved to be a 

daunting task. Not only were there 40,000 more claims added to 

the operation for decision, but the award distribution became extremely complex as these claims involved estate succession that 

proved unprecedented like never before in deciding the rightful 

beneficiaries. 

In evaluating the backlog at the grassroots level, eliminating the 

claims backlog will require what hopefully will be a short-term 

commitment from States that have the ability to supplement State 

assets to assist in claims processing. The investment should yield 

an equitable rate of return for the State economy. Also the local 

private sector could become more involved as community partners 

in creating one-stop shops utilizing Federal, State and private 

funds and grants in assisting in the diagnosis of certain specialized 

claims that could relieve the decision process and the backlog also 

being experienced by the VA’s health care system. The Veterans 

Benefit Management System must also be a priority in the development of advancing into the 21st century with new technology. The 

continued review of evaluating the effectiveness of the rating 

schedule diagnostics codes also should be considered. 

10

As a local Veterans Service Officer, I am the recipient of direct 

public contact from the veterans who are being confronted with life 

challenges as they await word on the status of their claim. The 

level of frustration, the coded threatened innuendoes, some uncontrolled anger outbursts, misunderstanding and the system confusion on the process, and dire economic need are the most common 

and frantic interactions that I have with the veteran while waiting 

on the decision. The most disheartening part of the prolonged process is that they could potentially be denied, which is a reality. 

Many have invested their future on the decision while waiting, 

leaving many with few alternatives but to become further dependent on other VA programs. 

The effects of prolonged backlog are affecting the veteran in the 

most adverse way. If the data is possible, I am certain it would be 

a travesty to know how the backlog has affected veteran homelessness, relationships, crime, addiction and mental health and suicides. The prolonged wait on claim decisions cannot be productive 

on our society, and, unfortunately, will continue to lead us into social problems at the national level. A sad and embarrassing end to 

the dedicated patriots who have braved austere conditions, family 

separation, traumatic experiences and multiple deployments to provide us the freedom and liberty as a free society. 

Thank you.

[The statement of Steve Hernandez appears in the Appendix]

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. With that, I will begin 

the first round of questions. 

Touching on what you, Mr. Hernandez, and Mr. Richman alluded 

to, I forget the exact words you used, but you are talking about the 

institution in general being callous to what is going on. I just wanted to really give you the opportunity—I would think you would say 

the Strike Force has truly done a good job in assisting veterans. 

Could you put a personal face to that, a faster decision or more accurate decision and the outcome of that that the Strike Force has 

really accomplished and put a personal face to it? 

Mr. RICHMAN. Yes, sir. When the vets come back and they are 

discharged, they are facing some of the most important times of 

their lives. They are trying to come back home, resocialize into civilian society, care for their families, get jobs, get education or 

training. No reasonable thinking individual being the vet coming 

back and filing for injuries that were incurred in service, taking 2 

years to get an answer and their compensation for those conditions. 

This is making the life struggle more and more difficult every day. 

So that is what we want to work on with the Fully Developed 

Teams, is to get every possible claim that is fully developed into 

the fully developed claims process and then my staff, the team will 

work with keeping it in the track to make sure that the time period 

of processing is as short as possible. 

Then with the Strike Force Teams, they are reviewing the older 

cases that are 125 days old or more, and many of them, in Waco 

for example, because of the Nehmer cases, hundreds if not thousands of cases are 730 days old. They have a flash on them. And 

they are working those as feverishly as possible. But that is a long 

time to wait for an answer on monetary benefits, sir. 

11

Mr. RUNYAN. Talking about part of the problem, do you really 

think lack of access to the records slows down the process? I know 

Congressman Walz and myself had a piece of legislation just on the 

floor the other day actually to really address that. But do you see 

that as a hurdle, just lack of access to the information? 

Mr. RICHMAN. Sir, development is one of the toughest parts of 

the entire claim process and anything we can do to get the VA 

quicker access to whatever records and documents from DOD, their 

service treatment records, all of those things can do nothing but 

improve the situation. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Do you have any suggestions through your experience as to how to make that process a little faster? 

Mr. RICHMAN. Sir, the bureaucracy is substantial. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Understood. 

Mr. RICHMAN. That is too long of an answer to address in this 

setting. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you. Mr. Cantu, can you talk about the level 

of cooperation you have received from the VA employees and the 

RO, do you see the same level of cooperation with the Strike Force 

Team to the VA central office? Talk about each level and if there 

is uniform cooperation. 

Mr. CANTU. Well, the cooperation has been great. They do cooperate. They have given us space and access to information that we 

would not have gotten had we not developed a strong relationship 

with them in the past with our CPAT teams. They continue to do 

well. However, the problem is, as Mr. Richman says, is the bureaucracy. I mean, it is just ridiculous to have to wait that long before we can get action. 

Earlier you mentioned about a story. In the Texas Veterans Commission we had a letter from a daughter of a World War II veteran 

a while back that said her father had applied for benefits and it 

had been over a year and still no result, then a year-and-a-half and 

what have you. And then finally about 2 years after that she wrote 

us a letter and said, I certainly appreciate that my father’s rating 

finally came in service-connected. I am sorry to inform you that he 

passed away 3 weeks ago. 

So this is America’s greatest generation warrior that put his life 

on the line for our country and did not get the proper compensation 

that he was entitled to. 

Again, something has to be done at this level, at the congressional level. Something has to be done to ensure that our regional 

offices understand the need that is out there. Mr. Hernandez said 

many veterans are dying every day because of suicides and what 

have you. And what does that tell us? It tells us that we need to 

think outside the box, as Congressman Flores said, go after those 

that control the situation and demand answers and ensure that we 

get them done. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you very much for that. With that I will recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. McNerney, for his questions. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

We all want the same thing here. We want the VA claims processing to be fast and right. I know the people in the VA are working hard. They have got a big program in place. I appreciate what 

the State of Texas is doing and trying to do. 

12

My problem with this hearing is that it is kind of premature in 

my opinion to really make any conclusions about the program 

based on a fairly short implementation. But, nonetheless, you clearly learn some things. The underlying thing is here, and whoever 

wants to take this, what do you think would be the best thing the 

VA could do to address this backlog? What would be the single 

most important thing you could think of to help us get the VA 

steered in the direction that would reduce this backlog? 

Mr. CANTU. Well, I certainly believe that one of the most important things is to ensure that there is timely communications between the ROs and the claimant, because sometimes there are no 

communications. When you call a number, it takes forever to answer. You do not get clear answers. Sometimes it takes a while before mail gets to you to say we need additional information. I think 

communications is very, very important. They try. Their call centers are taking too, too many calls. They call our Texas Veterans 

Commission to find the status of their claims. That takes away 

from us working claims and doing that. 

So I think that communications, implementation, and ensuring 

that we are on board with the sensitivity of the individuals in the 

awards that we are dealing with. I mean, it is not something that 

we can turn our back on and say, well, you know, they can wait 

another 6 months or whatever. I am not saying they are doing that. 

But I would certainly encourage communications, constant communications from the RO office to the claimant and some of the 

State agencies to let them know what is going on. At our conference the other day we had Ms. McCoy from the Central Region 

of the VA came to our conference and spoke. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. We are really limited. We have been called to 

vote. So if Mr. Richman or Mr. Hernandez has a fairly quick response. 

Mr. RICHMAN. Congressman, the VA has over the years instigated numerous wonderful ideas, wonderful processes, but it gets 

over regulated to the point of non-functionality. The first example 

that comes to my mind is the QR review, the quality review, where 

every organization needs quality review, quality control. But they 

take a case, the quality review team reviews it, and then another 

quality review member reviews that quality review member’s work, 

and it has created a paralysis of people being afraid to make a decision. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. That is a definition of bureaucracy. 

Mr. RICHMAN. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And one thing, the reason our 

teams have always been so successful is we speed up the development process by using every possible venue to contact the veteran; 

telephone, email, family members, whatever, third party providers, 

doctors, hospitals. In the DAT program that the VA came to us and 

asked us to participate in, we concluded our development, full development in cases in 10.71 days. The VA’s control cases that were 

the same types of cases and number of indications was 131 days, 

sir. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Mr. Hernandez? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Yes, sir, real quick, just a knee-jerk reaction to 

your question there. I would say easing restrictions. I do know on 

a lot of packages that are sent to the veteran there are probably 

13

15 pages, and out of those 15 pages there are probably 12 that do 

not necessarily pertain specifically to their claim. How you can 

eliminate that or what you need to do, I can’t answer that. But I 

will tell you——

Mr. MCNERNEY. I see heads shaking behind you, so you are on 

to something here. 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Well, I will be the first to tell you as a kneejerk reaction, just answering your question directly as a direct 

question, I would say if we could maybe visit that first, along with 

some others. But that would be my first reply to you. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Thank you. I yield back. 

Mr. RUNYAN. I thank the gentleman. With that I recognize Mr. 

Flores. I am watching the floor very closely, so we do have time. 

Mr. FLORES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Cantu, one of the statements you said is that something has 

to be done. Mr. Richman, you said that the bureaucracy has become desensitized. So I would ask you this: We have people in this 

world that process millions of claims a day in the private sector 

and they do it with very high accuracy. So what do you think about 

a potential pilot program where we pick a private contractor to 

process claims in a particular VARO and see how they do? 

Again, if you remember what I said at the beginning, I care 

about taking care of veterans. I really don’t care as much about the 

bureaucracy. I want the bureaucracy to do their job. So we have 

given them lots of money, we have given them more people, but as 

you guys said, it hasn’t worked. 

So what would you think about a pilot program, thinking outside 

the box again, to have a private contractor process claims in a particular area? 

Mr. CANTU. I would certainly concur that that is a step in the 

right direction, because a contractor will be loyal to the veterans, 

to ensure that they do their work. They don’t have a bureaucracy 

that ties one of the quality assurance guys to be inspected or reviewed by someone else, by someone else, by someone else. They 

ought to have the authority to review that claim, and if all the evidence is there, make an award. 

Mr. FLORES. Mr. Richman, any comments? 

Mr. RICHMAN. Yes, sir. Let the State of Texas be the contractor. 

Mr. FLORES. Okay. You know what you could do. 

Mr. RICHMAN. We have proven it twice. The legalities, the VA is 

an administrative law process that takes years to understand. That 

is one of the problems. It takes years to understand. The people 

that we are hiring for these teams have 700 years of experience, 

but they are also highly motivated. They are the people that when 

they worked for the VA wanted to be turned loose to accomplish 

the mission. 

Mr. FLORES. I am going to try to get to Mr. Hernandez in a 

minute so I am going to try to keep the answers short. For instance, let’s say we hired the State of Texas to do this, we subcontracted with the State of Texas. You have done processing on each 

end of the claims process. Could you do it from A to Z, do you 

think? 

Mr. RICHMAN. Yes, sir. 

14

Mr. FLORES. Mr. Hernandez, what are your thoughts about a 

pilot process like this? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Sir, I think at this present time anything that 

could help the veteran would be very well received. In regards to 

a private contractor, I do agree with my colleagues here that it 

would be good to cut some of the bureaucracy and some of the red 

tape, have a focus more on the claim itself and either denying or 

approving the claim with that emphasis and not necessarily regulations. And I don’t want to make that sound in a bad way, but naturally I just feel like it has become so complex that that particular 

part, the claim itself, is, like I said earlier, two pages of a 15-page 

disclosure. 

Mr. FLORES. Mr. Hernandez, in your written testimony you had 

a couple of examples you wanted to share with us, real world examples. Can you share one of those examples in a minute and 46 

seconds? 

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Yes, sir. The first example is that of a 40-yearold Gulf War I veteran. He submitted a new claim for PTSD and 

an increased evaluation for a recognized back condition. Once submitted, the letter received indicated that his claim had been received by the VA and the claim process had begun. Approximately 

6 months later he received a VARO letter stating more information 

was requested to prove the nexus of his claim which, of course, is 

the relationship between his service and his claim condition. He 

provided a personal narrative with information on his experience 

and his current diagnosis. He also stated that he had service treatment—only had service treatment records from the VA health care 

system for medical records on his medical evidence. 

Approximately 3 months later he came in to inquire about his 

claim again—I am sorry, I thought my microphone had cut off—he 

came in to inquire about his claim again because he was experiencing some life challenges. His wife had been diagnosed with 

breast cancer and was losing her job and he had no other source 

of income. After the inquiry, he was told that he still needed additional information pertaining to the nexus. He then resubmitted 

the original narrative with a follow-up letter explaining his HTRs 

in VA medical treatment files as the sole basis of medical evidence 

once again. 

Another 3 months passed and no correspondence from the VA. 

We then called the VA again to be told that they had located the 

original information and he would be receiving a C&P exam in the 

near future. The C&P schedule did come in 6 weeks later and he 

was told when to report, which he did. At this time he was becoming agitated and anxious because his wife was receiving chemo 

treatment and the travel and expense was taking a toll on his overall mental and physical health. 

After taking the C&P, he waited another 3 months before coming 

to inquire again. He was then told that his exams had not been received from the VA health care system. He then decided to go talk 

to the RO and explain his plight so the public contact staff could 

put a face with the claim. He was distraught at this time. 

Apparently his demeanor concerned the RO because he was then 

advised to go to the VA hospital in Waco. Upon arrival at the hospital, he was admitted for a psychological exam and held for 72 

15

hours because he appeared unstable. He was then counseled and 

released instead of concentrating on his claim for decision. He then 

did receive an award from Social Security disability which helped 

with his finances. 

He inquired once again approximately 2 weeks later only to be 

told that he would have to take another C&P exam on both claims. 

He was told the C&Ps were in August of 2012 and is now scheduled for both in October of this year. His wife’s cancer is in remission but he continues to have financial difficulties, mental anguish 

and depression over the overall experience. His file is still pending 

and the decision has not been rendered. He is in his 18th month 

of the claim process. 

Mr. FLORES. Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. As I said in my opening 

testimony, my opening comments, every number has a face. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Mr. RUNYAN. I thank the gentleman. 

Gentleman, on behalf of the Subcommittee, I would like to thank 

you for your testimony and look forward to working with you on 

these important matters and continuing to have updates from your 

progress as you tackle this issue. With that, you are now excused. 

That being said, the Committee will stand in recess until approximately 12 noon as we go vote.

[Recess.]

Mr. RUNYAN. At this time the Committee will come to order, and 

we will welcome the second panel to the table. First, we will have 

Ms. Diana Rubens, Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations, 

Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Ms. Rubens is accompanied by Mr. John Limpose, the Director of Waco’s Regional Office at the U.S. Department of Veterans 

Affairs. We appreciate your attendance today. Your complete and 

written statements will be entered into the hearing record. And 

Ms. Rubens, you are now recognized for 5 minutes for your opening 

statement. 

STATEMENT OF DIANA RUBENS, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY 

FOR FIELD OPERATIONS, VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; ACCOMPANIED BY JOHN LIMPOSE, DIRECTOR, WACO REGIONAL OFFICE, VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

STATEMENT OF DIANA RUBENS 

Ms. RUBENS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, Ranking Member McNerney, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank 

you for the opportunity to discuss the Veterans Benefits Administration’s work with the Texas Veterans Commission. I am accompanied today by Mr. John Limpose, the Waco Regional Office Director. 

VA is committed to achieving our goal of processing all claims 

within 125 days with 98 percent quality by 2015, and assistance 

from stakeholders like TVC is critical to our success in improving 

the claims process. 

As you know, VBA is in the midst of implementing its transformation plan and is relying on support from stakeholders to imVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:38 Mar 11, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Y:\112CONG\DAMA\9-21-12\GPO\78-768.XXX LEN
16

plement this transformation which changes interactions with our 

employees, other Federal agencies, veteran service organizations, 

and State and county service officers such as TVC. 

VBA’s transformation is demanded by a new era of emerging 

technologies, the latest demographic realities, and our renewed 

commitment to today’s family, veterans, family members, and their 

survivors. In the face of dramatically increasing workloads, VBA 

must deliver first-rate and timely benefits and service and they 

must be delivered with greater efficiency. 

I would like to touch on several components of our transformation plan. eBenefits: Veterans now have the access to benefit 

information from multiple channels, on the phone, online, or 

through DOD and VA shared portal called eBenefits. This 

eBenefits portal provides 45 self-service features to check the status of a claim, or an appeal, review a history of payments, access 

military personnel records, numerous other benefit actions. 

eBenefit enrollment now exceeds 1.8 million users. Also, disability 

benefits questionnaires. DBQs are a template that solicit the medical information necessary to evaluate veterans’ medical conditions. 

VA has made 71 DBQs available to the public so that veterans can 

take them to their private physicians for completion. Ten additional DBQs for specialized medical examinations and opinions are 

used by VA physicians, bringing the total number of DBQs to 81. 

Also, our fully-developed claim, it is a veteran’s disability benefit 

claim that consists of a complete application, all military and civilian treatment records, and relevant military personal records, to 

include the DD–214. Veterans participating in the FDC program 

are often supported by their VSOs, would send in all of the required evidence with their claims, and certify that they have nothing left to provide. The more claims that we receive that are fully 

developed, the faster that we can make decisions. 

In fact, today, claims submitted under the FDC program are 

processed in an average of 115 days; however, only 3 percent of 

claims from VSOs and State and county service officers are currently submitted through the FDC program. VBA’s target for 2013 

is to increase this percentage to 20 percent participation rate. 

TVC and the Waco RO first conducted a pilot, the Development 

Assistant Pilot Program. In this partnership four TVC employees 

assisted with review and development of cases needing rating decisions. A second pilot with TVC, the Claims Processing Assistance 

Team, was conducted with Waco and Houston regional offices 

where TVC dedicated 12 full-time counselors to contact claimants 

by telephone, email, or other means to facilitate completion of required development. 

The Texas State Legislature 2013 biennial budget includes $1.5 

million to create Task Strike Force Teams to work side by side 

with Houston and Waco regional offices to reduce the number of 

pending claims and appeals. On August 15, a planning meeting 

was conducted between TVC and Houston and Waco where TVC 

committed counselors to the strike force teams. Counselors will be 

stationed at each RO, will concentrate both on gathering evidence 

and working with veterans to submit fully-developed claims, as 

well as focus on pending appeals and claims. 

17

The TVC counselors on the strike force teams will assist by gathering evidence from veterans and securing health care records to 

expedite claims processing. However, the new partnership will do 

much more to support submission of fully developed claims as well 

as the disability benefits questionnaires. 

VBA hopes that with the assistance of TVC’s strike force team 

we will far exceed our goal of receiving 20 percent of the claims 

from veterans represented by TVC by the end of 2013. 

Other partnerships across the States with FDC include the Chicago regional office having provided a pilot of the FDC initiative 

confirming that the FDC allows employees to spend less time developing gathering evidence, and spend more time rating claims, 

reducing the backlog. VBA also would like to especially recognize 

the Maine Department of Veterans Services, for their outstanding 

assistance as they today are providing up to 42 percent of their 

claims as fully developed. 

In July of this year, an FDC workshop was held here in Washington with representatives from 10 different VSOs. The goal was 

to emphasize the positive impact of filing FDCs and emphasized receipt of FDCs with disability benefits questionnaires would further 

improve processing time. 

VSO and State and county service officers are important partners in our transformation to better serve veterans, their families, 

and survivors. In our pilot projects with TVC, we experience positive outcomes. We believe there are greater opportunities to improve service and productivity in the new partnership and the 

broader scope from the new strike force teams will assist VBA in 

decreasing the backlog in Houston and Waco. VA will carefully 

track and monitor the strike force teams and assess the potential 

for future partnerships or pilots to be expanded at our ROs. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I am pleased to answer any questions you or any other members may have.

[The statement of Diana Rubens appears in the Appendix]

Mr. RUNYAN. Thank you, Ms. Rubens, I appreciate that. Actually, 

passing the Ranking Member in the hallway on the way here I had 

a question. We know it is early in what the strike force is doing, 

but can you give a sense of if you feel it is working, and it is benefiting and helping you actually be able to execute what you are 

supposed to do at the regional office? 

Ms. RUBENS. I would tell you, sir, that in fact we are building 

on the benefits that we have seen in the past and as they help us 

provide review of claims and make things, if you will, ready for decision, it will speed the process by which a claim is able to move 

through the system and enhance the timeliness of the decision we 

provide to the veteran. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Are you finding statistically that they are done correctly? 

Ms. RUBENS. Mr. Chairman, I am going to tell you I am going 

to defer that one to Mr. Limpose, who is on the ground with the 

folks in Waco. 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Sir, TVC is working very, very well with the Waco 

Regional Office and also the Houston Regional Office. Currently, 

they are, one of every three cases they are reviewing, for about a 

33 percent gathering of information, or making the case ready for 

18

decision is helping us make those cases work in a more timely fashion. So they are helping and I think it is a very, very positive story 

that we can branch out into just not only TVC, but all of our stakeholders. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Is there a metric of following a claim’s processing 

by the strike force through the whole process and a comparison at 

the end between the traditional realm ? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Sir, we are early in the stages currently working 

with Mr. Richman on a standard operating procedure between both 

eastern Waco and Texas Veterans Commission. We have some 

metrics we will be putting in place to be able to aggregate some 

data in the future. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Ms. Rubens, given the statistics on claims processing in Waco, why was this RO chosen for the Nehmer claims 

after the new Agent Orange presumptives were added? 

Ms. RUBENS. Chairman Runyan, as we identified locations to aggregate the previously denied Nehmer conditions, Waco had a dayone brokering center already in place. They were the focus for 

where we would process the reviews of those things that had been 

previously denied. Frankly, it was a function of the fact that they 

had the resources, if you will, to capacity, that as we looked at it 

was in addition to what was already in the service center, whose 

focus was on the Waco jurisdiction claims. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Was it more of an issue of expertise than anything 

else? 

Ms. RUBENS. I would say that for all of the day-one brokering 

centers that we moved the roughly 93,000 claims that needed review, we did actually extensive training around the conditions for 

those three new presumptives that were added and as those folks 

worked those claims, I would tell you that many of them with the 

volume of ischemic heart disease claims that they worked, became 

true experts in those issues, and frankly, as a function of moving 

away from once they completed the review of those claims, it was 

an opportunity and a requirement that we, if you will, refresh everybody that was doing that work so that they would then be able 

to move back to general rating claims. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Moving on to, what I think most of us think is 

going to help another part of the backlog is VBMS. Do you know 

where we are when Waco and Houston are scheduled to start using 

VBMS? 

Ms. RUBENS. Yes, sir, as part of our transformation, one of the 

things that VBA is doing is first implementing, if you will, the people and the process components of the transformation plan. Houston has actually already implemented the people and the process 

components, with Waco coming somewhere down the line. The expectation would be then that VBMS, as it continues to, I will say 

mature, will then follow that same path with an expectation that 

that being the case, Houston will see VBMS first and Waco shortly 

thereafter, recognizing that retraining your entire workforce on a 

new technology all at once might not be the right way to go, but 

we are moving out smartly working to get both people and process 

and the VBMS, the technology component for the processors rolled 

out as quickly as we can. 

19

Mr. RUNYAN. Mr. Limpose, what is the average processing time 

for fully developed claims versus non-fully developed claims in the 

Waco—between the Waco and Houston offices? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. The fully developed claims are being processed on 

average of about 100 days sooner than our normal workload is 

right now. We fully expect to improve upon that. Obviously, I am 

not happy with that, and we are going to do everything we can to 

fully, fully take advantage of the work with our stakeholders to 

make sure that we deliver timely services and that overall the normal workload has had an impact due to, obviously, some of our 

Agent Orange work that we have completed under the national 

mission. We are proud to say that the office completed an extraordinary number of cases. We finished up last August and it had 

some impact and we are feverishly working some of our oldest 

cases out there which has a negative impact on the way our claims 

are aggregated. 

So I fully expect that we will continue to trend in a more positive 

direction, and that I am happy to say that last month the Waco Regional Office successfully completed 4,400 cases in service output 

to veterans, which is a 50 percent increase over the strategic target 

that we had for last month. 

Mr. RUNYAN. That all being said and simply put, would you 

agree that fully developed claims not only help the process move 

faster, but also, ease the strain on the veteran just as a general 

statement? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Absolutely, sir. Those claims that we will be working with all of our stakeholders to bring in the front door as fully 

developed will help us in that market of evidence gathering during 

our claims process timeliness, should shorten that, and then in the 

long run give us better timeliness and service and output to veterans. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Do you believe, between VSRs, RVSRs, DROs, that 

both of the offices are adequately staffed or do they need additional 

adjudicators required to help us tackle this? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Sir, I cannot answer for Houston. However, at the 

Waco Regional Office I feel that in my veteran service center with 

approximately 470 employees that I am adequately staffed and 

that we are fully focused and feverishly processing cases as fast as 

we can, sir. 

Mr. RUNYAN. Are you diverting any appeals staff to do the work 

on the initial claims at all? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Sir, that is a very delicate balance. We are working 

all facets of the claims process to include the appellate work. 

Mr. RUNYAN. On July 10, 2012, VBA released a report on challenge training showing an increased productivity among VBA rating specialists after receiving the training. How many of your Waco 

staff have received the challenge training? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. All of our new employees, sir, go through challenge 

training. I have only been there 5 months. Every new VSR and 

RVSR goes through our challenge curriculum, and I would have to 

ask to get the exact number back to you on the entire staff of the 

Waco Regional Office. 

20

Mr. RUNYAN. I would appreciate that because my next question 

was, were you measuring it. So I would appreciate those numbers 

if you would get them to the Committee. 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Yes, sir.

Mr. RUNYAN. Were there any employees at the Waco RO held accountable for the office’s dismal performance in claims processing? 

Mr. LIMPOSE. Sir, we hold people accountable for their individual 

performance standards and we will take appropriate action, when 

deemed necessary, for poor performance in serving our veterans. 

We have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I am always looking to have the best and brightest individuals serving our veterans and our claimants, and I will continue 

to raise the bar to make sure we meet all expectations out of the 

Waco Regional Office. 

Mr. RUNYAN. I appreciate that. I don’t have anything further, but 

like the conversation I had with the Ranking Member earlier 

today, we know we are early in this process, and I think we all 

agree that fully developed claims make it a lot easier on everybody. 

And I think we all have a hand in that, whether it is from my personal congressional office helping a veteran, whether it is our county VSO officers doing the same thing, and I think that the team 

approach to doing this, which the State of Texas has taken an honest attempt at it to truly, take care of our veterans. We have to be 

open-eyed to this, and know there is multiple solutions and multiple ways to get there. As the Ranking Member said, we are still 

early in this process, but I think we can see some uptick from it 

and some positives. 

So I look forward to hopefully continuing this discussion down 

the road as we can get some more statistical analysis, some more, 

I would say, comforting stories from our veterans that we are serving. This is the one biggest thing where they can see the light because, specifically in this room let alone up on the Hill, bureaucracy is a word that just makes the back of your neck tingle sometimes because of the uphill battles we have to climb to not give our 

men and women what we promised them, especially our warriors, 

is something I think most of us would not sleep well at night thinking about. 

So I thank you for coming and doing this, and also everybody 

from the State of Texas with the strike force, and thank you for 

your testimony. 

And with that being said, I want to thank everyone for being 

here this day. I would like to again emphasize that the fact that 

all veterans in central Texas face the longest time for claims processing is an issue. The backlog for claims processing is one that affects veterans nationwide, including many in my home State of 

New Jersey. Therefore, I applaud the State strike force in their efforts at addressing the issue, and thank the VA for being here 

today to participate in a discussion on the new approaches, and 

there probably will be many more to come on this very long-standing problem. 

I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative 

days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials. Hearing no objection, so ordered. I thank the 

21

members that were in attendance today, and this hearing is now 

adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 12:41 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

(22)

A P P E N D I X 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Jon Runyan, Chairman 

Good morning and welcome everyone. This oversight hearing of the Subcommittee 

on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs will now come to order. 

As is often the case when this Subcommittee convenes, we are here to discuss the 

backlog of veterans’ disability benefits claims. Unfortunately, when such discussions 

take place, we often find ourselves having the same discussion over and over. 

Frustrated veterans want to know why it takes so long to process their claim. 

Frustrated lawmakers want to know why the backlog keeps increasing. And frustrated VA employees want everyone to know that the folks on the front lines are 

doing the best they can to try to keep up with an increasing amount of claims. 

However, every so often a new idea is interjected into the discussion, and we are 

here today to discuss one such idea. 

In 2009, the State of Texas created a ‘‘Claims Processing Assistance Team’’ that 

helped reduce pending claims at the State’s two Regional Offices, or ‘‘ROs’’, in Waco 

and Houston. $400,000 was allocated toward about a dozen employees over several 

months, and those employees reduced the number of pending claims in Waco and 

Houston by 17,000. Despite this success, the situation has since worsened for veterans not only in Texas but across the country, as the amount of pending claims 

has doubled since that time. 

As a recent Center for Investigative Reporting study reveals, the impact of the 

backlog varies by region. The study finds that: veterans in sparsely populated states 

often have their benefits claims processed faster than those in more populous states. 

In addition to this study, the media has also been paying close attention to veterans who must wait the longest to receive their benefits – which are veterans in 

Texas and, as is well-known to the Ranking Member Mr. McNerney, California. 

But, the fact remains that no matter where a veteran is located, more often than 

not, that veteran is waiting too long to receive their benefits decision. 

Once again taking action into their own hands, in late July of this year, the Texas 

State Legislature created a ‘‘State Strike Force Team,’’ led by the Texas Veterans 

Commission. This time around, they have allocated $1.5 million dollars and 16 full 

time employees. The goal of the State Strike Force Team is to assist veterans and 

their families in receiving disability compensation and pension payments earlier 

than expected. 

Specifically, eight claims counselors will be located at both the Houston and Waco 

Regional Offices to help process claims. There will also be ‘‘Fully Developed Claims’’ 

Teams located throughout the state to improve access and assist veterans in filing 

fully developed claims. 

By examining this process today, we are hoping that this State Strike Force Team 

will serve as a model to other states and perhaps even lead to the creation of a similar Federal Strike Force Team. 

I want to thank the VA, the Texas Veterans Commission, and Mr. Hernandez for 

their valuable input as we work together to find important solutions to the growing 

backlog of claims. 

I welcome today’s witnesses to continue this ongoing discussion and offer their 

own specific recommendations on how to improve the current system of processing 

GREETING 

veterans’ disability claims.

Prepared Statement of Mr. Cantu, Jr. 

f Good morning, Chairman Runyan, Ranking Member McNerney, and Members of 

the Subcommittee. For the record, my name is Eliseo ‘‘Al’’ Cantu, Jr., Chair of the 

Texas Veterans Commission. I am humbled by the invitation to testify before you 

23

today. On behalf of the Texas Veterans Commission, I would like to thank the Subcommittee for this opportunity and for your interest in the efforts the state of Texas 

has undertaken in order to better serve the 1.7 million veterans in our state. 

I am accompanied today by Mr. Jim Richman, Director of Texas Veterans Commission’s Claims Representation and Counseling program. Mr. Richman has been 

with the agency for over 25 years, working his way up from entry-level claims counselor to becoming the program director in 2006. 

My testimony will provide you with some background information regarding 

Texas’ State Strike Force and Fully Developed Claims Teams Initiative, directed by 

state leaders this past July. Mr. Richman’s testimony will provide you with the details of the initiative, and an update of our progress, keys to its success. 

TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION 

The Texas Veterans Commission is the veterans advocacy agency for the state of 

Texas. Our mission is to advocate for and provide superior service to Veterans in 

the areas of claims assistance, employment services, education, and grant funding 

that will significantly improve the quality of life for all Texas Veterans, their families and survivors. The Texas Veterans Commission provides these services through 

four program areas: Claims Representation and Counseling, Veterans Employment 

Services, Veterans Education Program, and the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. 

No other state has centralized all of these program areas within their state’s veterans agency. Texas is becoming recognized for aggressively leading on veteran 

issues. National leaders have referred to the ‘‘Texas-model’’ when advocating for the 

integration of veterans services. 

Texas Veterans Commission’s Claims Representation and Counseling Program assists veterans prepare compensation and pension claims with the U.S. Department 

of Veterans Affairs (VA). In 2011, Mr. Richman’s claims counselors handled 179,981 

benefit cases on behalf of veterans and dependants, filed 125,179 new monetary 

claims, and 16,101 new appeals. 

CLAIMS PROCCESSING ASSISTANCE TEAMS (CPAT) 

In November 2009, Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Veterans Commission 

launched the special Claims Processing Assistance Team (CPAT) project to assist 

Texas Veterans who had their claims for monetary benefits pending with the two 

VA regional offices in Texas (Waco and Houston). This project built upon the success 

of a pilot project between the Texas Veterans Commission and VA in 2008. At the 

time the CPAT project was announced, a total pending caseload of 39,000 federal 

benefit claims existed in Texas’ two VA regional offices. These CPAT Teams consisted of 12 additional claims counselors (6 at each regional office). They targeted 

specific areas within the claims process, doing all development needed on the individual claims and working directly with the claimants in identifying and acquiring 

necessary evidence. The project was funded for the period from November 2009 to 

July 2011. In that time, these special CPAT teams returned to the VA 17,325 cases 

ready for decision or award action. 

STATE STRIKE FORCE AND FULLY DEVELOPED CLAIMS TEAMS INITIATIVE 

Since that time, the situation has become measurably worse. On July 16, 2012, 

the Commission testified before the State Senate’s Veterans Affairs and Military Installations Committee regarding the state of the backlog in Texas. According to the 

VA, in January 2010, the total pending caseload in Texas was 50,934 claims and 

15,644 appeals. The number of cases that had been pending over 125 days, what 

the VA considers backlogged, was 16,803 claims. On July 14, 2012, the total pending 

caseload in Texas was 107,279 claims, and 28,183 appeals. The number of cases that 

had been pending over 125 days, what the VA considers backlogged, was 68,612 

claims. In essence, in Texas, the total pending caseload has more than doubled 

while the backlog has more than quadrupled from 2010 to present. Presently, the 

real world average for getting a decision on a VA claim is 18 to 24 months. 

Following that hearing, on July 19, 2012, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, 

working with Governor Rick Perry and State House Speaker Joe Straus, directed 

the Texas Veterans Commission to reinstitute the ‘‘State Strike Force Teams’’ that 

were implemented in 2009 to help reduce this federal backlog of veterans’ claims 

for disability benefits. The state leadership also directed the Texas Veterans Commission to help the backlog by assisting veterans in filing fully developed claims, 

which are processed faster by the VA, and to address critical staffing needs in areas 

where Veterans need additional access to Texas Veterans Commission Claims Counselors. On July 25, 2012, Governor Perry provided $100,000 to the Texas Veterans 

Commission to immediately implement these teams. On July 26, 2012, Governor 

Perry, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, and Speaker Straus authorized the Texas 

24

Veterans Commission to utilize $1,511,267 in the 2012–2013 biennium to address 

the backlog of federal disability claims. 

These teams will be working on both ends of the claims process to ensure that 

the backlogged claims and new claims have all the information and evidence needed 

in order to allow a more timely decision. The goal of this initiative, with the single 

year of funding we have been authorized, is to reduce the current backlog of claims 

in Texas by 17,000 claims. 

Mr. Richman is going to share with you how he and his teams will make that 

goal a reality, momentarily. Again, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify 

before you today. Thank you for the work are doing, and will do, on behalf of Texas 

INTRODUCTION 

veterans, and all veterans, of this Nation’s Armed Forces.

Prepared Statement of Mr. Richman 

f Good Morning, Chairman Runyan, Ranking Member McNerney, and Members of 

the Subcommittee. My name is Jim Richman and I have the privilege of serving as 

the Director of Claims Representation and Counseling at the Texas Veterans Commission. As the Chairman mentioned, I have been with the agency for over 25 years. 

I am a veteran myself and come from a family where military service was expected, 

as is the case with countless families across this Nation and across the great State 

of Texas. My father and uncles were members of the greatest generation and participated in some of the toughest combat in WWII. By the grace of God, they all 

came home and they taught me to be a part of something bigger than myself. I instill that virtue in my Claims Counselors, all of whom are veterans, many of them 

disabled veterans. Serving the veterans of Texas, their families and survivors is not 

only our mission, it is our duty, as veterans serving fellow veterans. 

This morning, I will provide you with the details of Texas’ State Strike Force and 

Fully Developed Claims Team Initiative, provide an update, one month in to the initiative, and highlight some keys to successful implementation. 

In his remarks, Chairman Cantu outlined the gravity of the situation for us in 

Texas, that in the years from 2010 to 2012, the total pending caseload of claims has 

doubled and the number claims pending longer than 125 days, backlogged, has 

quadrupled. I will only emphasize that the end of combat operations in Iraq, a decreased military presence in Afghanistan, and force shaping measures announced by 

the Department of Defense in January 2012 are expected to greatly increase the demand and need for these services. This influx, coupled with the increasing demand 

of an aging population of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War I Era veterans 

threatens to compound the workload of a system already operating beyond capacity. 

As I am confident that this Subcommittee has received prior testimony from the 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and others regarding the overwhelming 

backlog of claims and the unacceptable current timelines of 18–24 months associated with claims processing, I will not belabor the point any further. What I will 

add is that this situation exists, despite the fact that, in Texas, the VA is full of 

dedicated, hard-working people who are trying to do the right thing for the veterans 

they serve. The problem is the complexity of the process. 

The information that follows is how we propose to assist the VA in Texas with 

regard to reducing the backlog and improving processing timeliness of current 

claims. 

DETAILS OF THE INITIATIVE 

The concept for the State Strike Force and Fully Developed Claims Teams was 

developed as the result of best practices and lessons learned from two previous cooperative projects with the VA in Texas. The first, in 2008, was the Development Assistance Pilot Project (DAPP) wherein the VA Central Office requested a TVC team 

to conduct claims development parallel to a team from the VA. In the final analysis 

of this project, development of the claims processed by the TVC Claims Counselors 

was accomplished in 10.73 days compared to the VA’s 131 days. At the time, VA 

Undersecretary for Benefits Patrick Dunn commended the results and the VA Office 

of Field Operations provided all of its regional offices with a copy of the final report, 

and encouraged them to implement the best practices identified by the project. 

The second, the Claims Processing Assistance Teams (CPAT), Chairman Cantu 

covered in his remarks. CPAT was a state project, funded by the Governor’s Office 

from November 2009 to July 2011. Twelve (12) TVC Claims Counselors targeted 

specific areas within the claims process, doing all development needed on the individual claims and working directly with the claimants in identifying and acquiring 

25

necessary evidence. By the end of the project, TVC had handed back to the VA 

17,325 cases ready for decision or award action. 

As soon as the direction came this past July from the Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus to reinstate a 

form of this initiative, we began building two separate teams. 

STATE STRIKE FORCE TEAMS 

First, there are two (2) State Strike Force Teams, each consisting of eight (8) 

members located at each of the two VA Regional Offices in Texas (Houston and 

Waco). The purpose is to assist the VA by accomplishing all necessary development 

on cases that have been pending for over 125 days (backlogged) and return to the 

VA ready for decision. These teams will review cases and not only determine what 

development needs to be done, but to actually accomplish that development utilizing 

best practices identified in previous projects, which include:

• Utilizing every resource available (telephone, email, fax, family members, and 

mail as a last resort) to contact the veteran, clarify or get additional information on his or her claim. • Contacting private physicians, hospitals or any other party or entity that has 

information to give the Veteran the highest possibility of a favorable decision 

on the claim. • Expediting claims and appeals through submission of waivers, as appropriate. • Contacting claimants with Decision Review Officer (DRO) hearing requests. 

• Contacting claimants with Board of Veteran Appeals (BVA) partial grants for 

resolution of appeal. 

• Identifying inadequate exams. 

• In our review, if we find ‘‘directed development’’ or things that have been overlooked or not finalized, we will make recommendations regarding what is needed. 

FULLY DEVELOPED CLAIMS TEAMS 

The Fully Developed Claims Teams were the critical missing piece of our previous 

projects to assist the VA with reducing the backlog of claims. While the State Strike 

Force Teams are attacking cases already caught in the backlog, the Fully Developed 

Claims Teams will work on the front end of the process to ensure that qualifying 

new cases being filed by TVC Claims Counselors (an average of 500 claims and appeals per day) are filed in a fully-developed status. They will work with the TVC 

field counselors and Veterans County Service Officers (VCSO’s) to assist them in 

making every claim possible a fully developed claim, and work with the VA Regional 

Offices to expedite their ratings. 

There are two (2) Fully Developed Claims Teams of five (5) members in each of 

the two VA Regional Offices in Texas (Houston and Waco). The five Fully Developed 

Claims Team members inside the VA Regional Offices will be working with our TVC 

field staff to:

• Provide additional training, resources, and assistance in properly preparing 

fully developed claims prior to submission. 

• Utilize ‘‘Informal Claims’’ whenever necessary to insure the Veterans date of 

claim is protected. 

• Review incoming claims to identify those which could be made fully developed 

claims. 

• Review existing claims and determining if they could be ‘‘re-filed’’ as fully developed claims. 

There are an additional eight (8) Fully Developed Claims Team members in the 

field will be utilized to augment the staff of field office locations that have the highest daily volumes of veteran clientele, thereby allowing the counselors in those offices to have more time to develop the claims they file, ensuring they meet the 

threshold of fully developed. 

UPDATE 

Within days of state leaders’ authorization of the teams, we posted the positions 

and began hiring. As of September 1, we filled all 34 positions created as a result 

of the initiative. Those hires include personnel with significant VA claims experience, including former and retired TVC and VA professionals with a total combined 

experience with the VA claims process of over 700 years. 

During this initial period, lead TVC and VA personnel have been working together to create the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). I would like to point out 

that VA Area Director, Beth McCoy, Houston Regional Office Director, Pritz 

Navaratnasingam, Waco Regional Office Director, John Limpose, and their staffs 

have completely bought in to what we can accomplish with this endeavor. Both VA 

26

Regional Offices have provided TVC with the additional space, computers, training 

materials and support we need to make this a truly successful endeavor. We have 

already devised workflow and workload tracking because we must be able to track 

all of our production from both teams. The VA has provided us with specific people 

and/or locations to receive the files, use of the ‘‘Covers’’ computer program to track 

our work, and to locations to deliver our work. Of course, everything we do is subject to adjustments and improvements as we progress into the project. 

As of Monday, September 17, members of the State Strike Force Teams have reviewed 2,525 case files of backlogged claims, identifying and executing all required 

additional development. They have already delivered 852 claims to the VA, fully developed and ready to rate. 

KEYS TO SUCCESS 

Based on experience gleaned from previous projects and with Texas’ State Strike 

Force and Fully Developed Claims Teams initiative, there are several essential elements required for the successful implementation of these, or like, initiatives. 

1. Complete support from the VA Regional Offices involved.

No state level initiative can succeed without the complete support of the VA Regional Offices involved, in particular the Regional Office Directors. The need for additional workspace, computers, training materials, and access to VA systems and 

applications, necessitates the need for a solid working relationship between the 

state agency and VA personnel. VA Regional Office Directors need to direct their 

entire staff to recognize the experience of the team members and be accepting of 

their suggestions when devising workflow and workload tracking. As with any cooperative effort, transparency and feedback from both parties regarding the effectiveness of efforts is critical to refining processes and procedures. 

2. The individuals hired to staff such an initiative must be experienced 

with the VA claims process. 

Based on our previous experience with the projects referenced, an experienced 

workforce is critical to the success of a project like this. 

3. Any initiative should utilize identified best practices for claims development. 

As previously discussed, our prior cooperative projects (DAPP and CPAT) have 

identified best practices for claims development. The effective implementation of 

these practices has demonstrated that they can drastically reduce the time required 

to get claims through the development process to a rating decision. 

4. Dedicated funding to support the initiative for a set period of time in 

order to realize meaningful reduction in the backlog of claims. 

The value of federal funding such initiatives is obvious. The specific situation 

faced by the particular state veteran agency or VA Regional Office will dictate the 

funding requirement and length of time such funding would be required in order 

to affect reduction in the claims backlog. In Texas, state leaders have currently authorized $1.5 million in state funds for the State Strike Force and Fully Developed 

Claims Teams initiative for one fiscal year. TVC’s goal for this initiative, for this 

single year, is to reduce the backlog of claims in Texas by 17,000 claims. 

CLOSING 

In closing, I would like to thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to share 

this information with you today. State leaders have provided TVC with the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of veterans of the state of Texas. 

TVC has demonstrated the capability to have a positive impact on this issue twice 

before. With the support of this Subcommittee and federal funding, we believe that 

Texas and other states have the capability to successfully replicate and implement 

similar initiatives. Like those famous Texans who drew a line in the sand at the 

Alamo, Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, and House 

Speaker Joe Straus have drawn a line in the sand regarding the backlog of claims 

in Texas to say ‘‘No More’’. The Texas Veterans Commission is making a difference 

now, because the veterans we serve already did.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, 

Prepared Statement of Mr. Hernandez 

f My name is Steve Hernandez. I am the McLennan County Veterans Service Officer, located in Waco, Texas. On behalf of the veteran community of Central Texas, 

the citizens of McLennan County, the Commissioners Court of McLennan County, 

and the McLennan County Veterans Service Office thank you for allowing me to 

27

provide testimony on a very important issue that is affecting the Nation: The Chronic Backlog of Benefit Claims for our Nations’ veterans. 

As you are all aware, nationally, benefit claims submitted to the Veterans Affairs 

Regional Office (VARO) have increased dramatically. We attribute the influx to an 

increased average of single digit to double digit individual disability claim submittals, economic stagnation, employment difficulties, issues involving social reintegration, and a continued stream of past era veterans submitting claims for the first 

time or resubmitting previously denied claims, just to mention a few. 

Unfortunately, from a regional perspective, the Waco VARO has been identified 

as the worst of the 57 RO’s under the ASPIRE database. Because of this dubious 

distinction, the Waco RO is under intense scrutiny for the backlog and discussion 

continues on how the federal government can resolve this dilemma. Realizing the 

economic benefit in breaking through the backlog and the catastrophic condition of 

the current federal system, state leaders have authorized the state veteran component of the Texas Veterans Commission to dedicate state assets to assist with the 

backlogged claims with a commitment of $1.5 million dollars for the State Strike 

Force Teams, a team of counselors who will assist in fully developed claims as well 

assisting in claims assistance and development. 

To fully understand the Waco VARO’s dismal performance requires an in-depth 

evaluation on the causes for such a backlog. The major cause for the spike in the 

backlog has been the Nehmer claims as well as the most recent presumptive Agent 

Orange illnesses. Illnesses that have been long overdue in recognition. The federal 

directive posed on the Waco RO as a responsible party to Nehmer death claims 

proved to be a daunting task. Not only were there 40,000 more claims added to the 

operation for decisions but the award distribution became extremely complex as 

these claims involved estate succession that proved unprecedented like never before 

in deciding the rightful beneficiaries. 

In evaluating the backlog at the grass root level, eliminating the claims backlog 

will require what hopefully will be a short term commitment from states that have 

the ability to supplement state assets to assist in claims processing. The investment 

should yield an equitable rate of return for the state economy. Also, the local private 

sector could become more involved as community partners in creating ‘‘one stop’’ 

shops utilizing federal, state, or private funds and grants in assisting in the diagnosis of certain specialized claims that could relieve the decision process and the 

backlog also being experienced by the VA’s health care system. The Veterans Benefit Management System must also be a priority in the development of advancing 

into the 21st century with new technology. The continued review of evaluating the 

effectiveness of the rating schedule diagnostics codes should also be considered. 

As the local veterans service officer, I am the recipient of direct public contact 

from the veterans who are being confronted with life challenges as they await word 

of the status of their claim. The level of frustration, coded threatening innuendos, 

some uncontrolled anger outbursts, misunderstanding and system confusion on the 

process, and dire economic need are the common and frantic interactions with the 

veteran while waiting for a decision. The most disheartening part of the prolonged 

process is if they are denied, which is a reality. Many have invested their future 

on the decision while waiting, leaving many with few alternatives but to become further dependent on other VA programs. 

The effects of the prolonged backlog are affecting the veteran in the most adverse 

way. If the data is possible, I am certain it would be a travesty to know how the 

backlog has affected veteran homelessness, relationships, crime, addiction, mental 

health, and suicides. The prolonged wait on claim decisions cannot be productive on 

our society and unfortunately will continue to lead to social problems at the national 

level. A sad and embarrassing end to the dedicated patriots who have braved austere conditions, family separation, traumatic experiences, and multiple deployments 

to provide us the freedom and liberty as a free society.

Good morning Chairman Runyan, Ranking Member McNerney, and Members of 

Prepared Statement of Mrs. Rubens 

f the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Veterans Benefits 

Administration’s (VBA’s) work with the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) to expedite claims processing for Texas Veterans. I am accompanied today by Mr. John 

Limpose, Director of VBA’s Waco Regional Office (RO). VA is committed to achieving 

our goal of processing all claims within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy in 2015, 

and assistance from stakeholders like TVC is critical to our success in improving 

the timeliness and accuracy of the claims process. 

28

VBA Transformation 

VBA is in the midst of implementing its Transformation Plan and is relying on 

support from stakeholders to better serve our Veterans, Servicemembers, and their 

families. This transformation changes interactions with our employees, other Federal agencies, Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), and state and county service 

officers, such as TVC. 

VBA’s transformation is demanded by a new era, emerging technologies, the latest 

demographic realities, and our renewed commitment to today’s Veterans, family 

members, and survivors. In the face of dramatically increasing workloads, VBA 

must deliver first-rate and timely benefits and services – and they must be delivered 

with greater efficiency. VBA is aggressively pursuing its Transformation Plan, a series of tightly integrated people, process, and technology initiatives designed to 

eliminate the claims backlog and achieve our goal of processing all claims within 

125 days with 98 percent quality in 2015. 

VBA is working to simplify processes and reduce the burden of paperwork for both 

Veterans and our workforce. Many of our transformation initiatives will improve efficiency and customer service. While stakeholder engagement is important to nearly 

all of VBA’s transformation initiatives, I would like to highlight three initiatives, the 

eBenefits web portal, disability benefit questionnaires (DBQs) and the fully developed claims (FDC) program, in which Veterans service officers play a vital role. 

eBenefits: Veterans now have access to benefit information from multiple channels—on the phone, online, or through the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shared portal called eBenefits. The eBenefits portal provides over 45 self-service features to check the status of a claim or appeal; 

review the history of VA payments; request and download military personnel 

records; secure a certificate of eligibility for a VA home loan; and numerous other 

benefit actions. eBenefits enrollment now exceeds 1.8 million users, and VA expects 

enrollment to exceed 2.5 million by the end of 2013. VA is engaging our VSO, state 

and county partners in registering Veterans for eBenefits accounts. 

DBQs: DBQs are templates that solicit the medical information necessary to 

evaluate Veterans’ medical conditions. VA has made 71 DBQs available to the public, so that Veterans can take them to their private physicians for completion. Ten 

additional DBQs for specialized medical examinations and opinions are used by VA 

physicians, bringing the total number of DBQs to 81. DBQs facilitate submission of 

a fully developed claim, the fastest means of getting a claim processed. VBA is informing stakeholders, particularly VSOs and state and county partners, about DBQs 

so they can encourage Veterans to utilize these templates and receive more timely 

and accurate rating decisions. 

FDC: A Fully- Developed Claim (FDC) is a Veterans disability benefit claim that 

consists of a complete application, all Military and civilian medical treatment 

records, and relevant Military personnel records to include the DD 214. Veterans 

participating in the FDC program, often supported by their VSO representatives, 

send all the required evidence with their claims and certify that they have nothing 

further to provide. By doing this, they dramatically reduce the processing time of 

their claim. The more claims we receive that are fully developed, the faster we can 

make decisions. Currently, claims submitted under the FDC program are processed 

in an average of 115 days. However, only three percent of claims from VSOs and 

state and county service officers are currently submitted through the FDC Program. 

VBA’s target for FY 2013 is to increase this percentage to 20 percent – meaning 

VBA will have the ability, if this goal is reached, to complete 153,000 more claims 

before they can become backlogged. VBA is exploring both monetary and nonmonetary incentives for its VSO partners to increase FDC submission because of the impact this would have on claims-decision timeliness. 

Initial TVC Pilots 

The Waco RO first conducted a pilot, the Development Assistant Pilot Project 

(DAPP), from June 2008 through January 2009. In this partnership, four TVC employees assisted with the review and development of cases needing rating decisions. 

VA gave TVC counselors 32 hours of training in claims processing. Follow-up training was also given to counselors on an ‘‘as needed’’ basis. A VBA first-line supervisor 

was assigned to provide subject matter expertise, oversight, guidance, and review 

of the work each counselor completed. TVC touched over 1,600 claims, 33 percent 

of those claims were made ready for decision. Evidence was received in an average 

of 11 days during our initial partnership with TVC. 

An additional pilot, the Claims Processing Assistance Team (CPAT), was conducted with TVC and the Waco and Houston ROs from November 2009 through 

July 2011. TVC had funding available to support CPAT. TVC dedicated 12 full-time 

counselors to contact claimants by telephone, e-mail, or other means to facilitate 

29

completion of required development. CPAT members also worked with health care 

providers and DoD to expedite receipt of requested information needed to complete 

claims. 

TVC’s review was limited to claims where TVC was designated as the claimant’s 

accredited representative. They were and are unable to assist with the entirety of 

the Waco and Houston ROs’ workload. Claims determined to be ready-for-decision 

were forwarded to the ROs’ decision makers for expedited action. 

TVC Strike Force Teams 

The Texas State Legislature’s 2012–2013 biennial budget includes $1.5 million to 

create TVC Strike Force Teams to work side-by-side with the Houston and Waco 

ROs to reduce the number of pending claims and appeals. On August 15, 2012, a 

planning meeting was conducted between leadership of TVC and the Houston and 

Waco ROs. At the meeting, TVC committed to assign 34 counselors to the Strike 

Force Team. Thirteen TVC counselors will be stationed at each RO, five of whom 

will concentrate on gathering evidence and working with Veterans to submit FDCs, 

and the other eight will focus on pending claims and appeals. The remaining eight 

counselors will be stationed at key field locations around the state. 

Similar to the previous pilots, TVC counselors on the Strike Force Teams will assist by gathering evidence from Veterans and securing health-care records to expedite claims processing. However, the new partnership will do much more than the 

CPAT pilot to support submission of FDCs as well as DBQs. VBA hopes that with 

the assistance of TVC’s Strike Force Team, we will far exceed our goal of receiving 

20 percent of claims from Veterans represented by TVC through the FDC program 

by the end of fiscal year 2013. 

As of September 11, 2012, the Houston RO’s inventory of pending disability claims 

included 38,088 claims, of which 27,981 or 75 percent were pending longer than 125 

days and are considered to be part of VA’s backlog. The Waco RO’s inventory included 50,039 claims, of which 38,217 or 76 percent were pending over 125 days. 

The ultimate goal of our partnership with TVC is to impact these numbers in a positive manner, and provide the Veterans in Texas with fast and accurate service. 

In addition to FDC claims, TVC will also assist the Houston and Waco ROs with 

their appeals inventory by working with appellants to identify cases in which appealed issues may be resolved through written submissions or informal conferences 

without the need for a hearing and to determine whether a partial grant of benefits 

by VA resolved the appeal to the appellant’s satisfaction. 

VBA has provided desk space in the in both Houston and Waco ROs for all TVC 

employees. They will be provided training with a special focus on FDC. The TVC 

Strike Force Teams will also have VBA tools and training materials at their disposal and may consult with members of the ROs’ Quality Review and Training 

Teams on an as-needed basis. RO staff will provide regular feedback regarding the 

quality of the cases deemed ready-for-decision by TVC. 

FDC Partnerships in Other States 

Since our last partnership with TVC, VA has been reviewing and reengineering 

our business processes in collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders, including VSOs, state and county service officers, and Congress, to constantly improve our claims process using best practices and ideas. There are approximately 8,000 Veterans service officers nationwide, and they are an integral 

part of our transformation initiatives, particularly the FDC program. 

In December 2009, the Chicago RO was selected to pilot the FDC initiative. Since 

the beginning of the FDC program, open and continual communication has occurred 

between the Chicago RO and the collocated VSOs. Through this pilot, VBA confirmed that the FDCs allow employees to spend less time developing and gathering 

evidence for claims and spend more time rating claims and reducing the backlog. 

The Togus Regional Office has also established a robust FDC program by forming 

a strong relationship with VSOs in the Maine. VBA especially recognizes the Maine 

Department of Veterans Services for the outstanding assistance they are providing 

to the Veterans they represent, submitting 42 percent of their claims as FDCs. 

On July 31, 2012, an FDC workshop was held in Washington, DC, for representatives from 10 VSOs. The goal of the workshop was to emphasize the positive impact 

of filing FDCs, and VBA emphasized that the receipt of DBQs with FDCs would further improve processing time. A presentation on the technical process of submitting 

a FDC was provided, and the Director of the Chicago Regional Office led a discussion on how ROs and VSOs can work together to increase participation in the FDC 

program. 

30

Conclusion 

VSOs and state and county service officers, such as TVC, are important partners 

in VBA’s transformation to better serve Veterans, their families, and survivors. In 

our pilot projects with TVC, VBA experienced positive outcomes; we believe there 

are greater opportunities to improve service and productivity in the new partnership 

with TVC. The broader scope from the new Strike Force Teams can assist VBA in 

decreasing the backlog in the Houston and Waco RO’s. VA is working on a standard 

operating procedure that will clearly outline the responsibilities of both VA and TVC 

and assist the agencies in ensuring a smooth process. VA will carefully track and 

monitor the Strike Force Teams and assess the potential for future partnerships or 

pilots to be expanded to other ROs. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any 

questions you or other Members of the Subcommittee may have.

Questions from Honorable Jon Runyan, Chairman, Subcommittee on DisQuestions for the Record 

f ability Assistance and Memorial Affairs to Ms. Diana Rubens, Deputy 

Under Secretary for Field Operations:

(1) How many employees at the Waco Regional Office have gone through VA’s new 

Challenge training? 

(2) How is VA measuring the progress of those going through the Challenge training against those who have not been through the training? 

(3) What have the results been so far?

Responses from Ms. Diana Rubens, Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations to Honorable Jon Runyan, Chairman, Subcommittee on Disability 

Assistance and Memorial Affairs:

1. Answer: Deliverables: The number of Waco and Houston VARO employees that 

have received the new eight week Challenge Training. 

The number of Waco and Houston Regional Office employees that received the 

new eight week Challenge training is provided below. Also included is the number 

of VSRs that attended the four week Challenge session. The eight week VSR Challenge session included both Pre- and Post-Determination training, allowing employees to work on either team. The four week VSR training session provided training 

on either Pre-or Post-Determination, but not both.

Challenge Sessions 2011–6 through 2012–5

Regional Office RVSR

(8 Week) 

VSR

(8 Week) 

VSR

(4 Week) 

Houston ............................................. 23 6 10

Waco .................................................. 103 49 31

2. Answer: Comparing a current cohort to employees to a previous Challenge cohort is not feasible. Beginning in FY 2012, Compensation Service modified the employee performance tracking system (ASPEN) so VBA could begin tracking Challenge students’ production. Before we implemented that modification, comparing the 

aggregate performance of previous cohorts of Challenge students or existing journeylevel employees who have not been through Challenge would have been extremely 

time consuming and difficult, requiring manual generation and timely aggregation 

of hundreds of individual reports. 

3. Answer: THe first group of VSRs who completed the revised Challenge curriculum in September 2011 produced an average of 5.58 weighted cases per day during September 2012. The national production standard for a VSR GS-9 (typically the 

grade after 12 months) is 5 weighted cases per day. The September 2011 cohort of 

Challenge-trained VSRs is exceeding its aggregated performance expectation by 

more than 10 percent. 

The first group of RVSRs who completed the revised Challenge curriculum in September 2011 produced 2.92 weighted cases per day during September 2012. The production standard for RVSRs on the job for 12 months is typically between 1.5 and 

2 weighted cases per day. (There are no national production standards for non-journey level RVSRs at this time. Each office negotiates locally). The September 2011 

31

cohort of Challenge-trained RVSRs is exceeding its aggregated performance expectation by approximately 50 percent.

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