{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=aa69003d-5f4e-4fbf-90e3-78139d9d766f", "ICYMI: Heller Voices Frustration with the VA Backlog in Nevada", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "NV", "Dean Heller", "H001041", "www.heller.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) spoke at the Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs hearing entitled \u201cVA Claims System: Review of VA's Transformational Progress.\u201d\r\nCurrently, 4,000 veterans in Reno, Las Vegas, and across Nevada have waited on average 433 days to have their VA claim completed. This is the longest wait time in the nation and is well over the VA\u2019s targeted deadline of 125 days.\r\nRemarks as prepared:\r\nThank you Chairman Sanders and Ranking Member Burr for holding this hearing on the claims process.\r\nIt is no secret that the veterans claims backlog is the most critical mission facing the Veterans Benefits Administration. Every person is this room knows the seriousness of this problem, but I specifically want to underscore how this is affecting veterans in Nevada.\u00a0\r\n4,000 veterans in Reno, Las Vegas, and across Nevada have waited more than the VA\u2019s target deadline of 125 days for their claim to be completed.\u00a0 On average, Nevada veterans waited 433 days to have their claims completed\u2014this is the longest wait in the nation and it is simply unacceptable.\r\nUnder Secretary Hickey, I know you are committed to fixing this issue and appreciate you recognizing the gravity of this problem, but it\u2019s important to me and my constituents that I bring this story to your attention.\r\nA Las Vegas Veteran wrote to me recently: \u201cI am just one more Disabled Veteran still fighting the appeals process with the VA.\u00a0 I understand now that no one is going to expedite my appeal and I will probably die before I get any successful resolution, but there are huge numbers of vets just like me and some in worse shape. None of us deserve to be put on hold forever.\u201d\r\nFrustration\u2014That is what this veteran and veterans across the nation are feeling.\r\nI, as well as my colleagues, want this to be fixed for the good of our veterans, there\u2019s no doubt about that.\u00a0 I am proud to have teamed up with some of my colleagues to thoroughly examine the claims process front to back and from every perspective.\r\nThe reality is\u2014VA has a 1945 process. This outdated process no longer makes sense both for the VA and for the Veteran.\u00a0\r\nLooking back at two decades of VA backlog, I found that VA has always fixed the problem with short-term solutions rather than asking the difficult question of whether the entire process needs to be updated.\u00a0\r\nVA needs a 21st Century benefits delivery system for our nation\u2019s Veterans.\u00a0 But there is not going to be one silver bullet that solves this problem.\r\nIt is going to take multiple proposals that address multiple aspects of the claims process for us to really reach a resolution.\r\nBut that means it\u2019s time that all stakeholders open up about what needs to be fixed and how to fix it.\r\nThe VA has a role to play. Veteran Service Organizations and Congress have a role to play.\u00a0 Even the Veterans themselves have a part to play in resolving this.\u00a0 And it no longer makes sense to point fingers and place blame.\r\nInstead, Congress needs to give the VA and Regional Offices the tools and resources they need to bring the backlog down.\u00a0 But this cannot be done without an open and frank discussion about what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not.\r\nCongress needs to work together with the VA and VSOs to solve this problem and solve it permanently so that this Committee isn\u2019t back here in a few years having the same discussion.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nI know that the Chairman and Ranking Member are committed to that, and I will be reaching out to them about solutions that I\u2019ve identified.\r\nOur nation owes it to Veterans to resolve this problem together and keep our promise to care for them when they return home from war.\r\nThank you again, Under Secretary Hickey for being here to testify.\u00a0 I look forward to hearing about what progress VA has made and working with you, VSOs, and Veterans to end this backlog.\r\nThank you, Mr. Chairman.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=aa69003d-5f4e-4fbf-90e3-78139d9d766f"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1326947025954723, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}