{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-calls-for-additional-action-on-va-disability-appeals-backlog-", "McCaskill Calls for Additional Action on VA Disability Appeals Backlog", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McCaskill Calls for Additional Action on VA Disability Appeals Backlog  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t VA had disability appeals backlog of 427,000 in FY 2015, veterans often wait more than three years before receiving a decision \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFriday, November 17, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is calling for action from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on what it will do to process veterans\u2019 disability appeals faster. The agency has hundreds of thousands of pending appeals, and veterans often wait over three years before receiving a decision from the VA.\r\n\r\n\u201cAfter all they've sacrificed for our country, many veterans in Missouri and across the country have to wait years before hearing back from the government,\u201d McCaskill said. \u201cVeterans can't afford to wait over three years for a decision from the VA while they struggle to make ends meet. Our veterans deserve better than this, and the VA needs to continue taking necessary steps to reduce their disability appeals backlog.\u201d\r\n\r\nAt the end of FY 2015, the VA had more than 427,000 pending appeals. Veterans can appeal claims to the Veterans Benefits Administration\u2014where veterans wait an average of more than three years for a decision, and then to the Board of Veterans\u2019 Appeals\u2014where veterans wait an average of more than five years for a decision. \u201cFor many veterans applying for disability benefits, these delays can exacerbate existing challenges due to age and disability status,\u201d wrote McCaskill in her letter to VA Secretary David J. Shulkin. The Government Accountability Office made a number of recommendations to the VA about how to reduce the backlog and process appeals faster, but the VA said that additional action is not necessary. McCaskill is calling for answers on why the VA dismissed the Government Accountability Office\u2019s recommendations and what the agency is doing to improve the appeals process.\r\n\r\nThe daughter of a World War II veteran, McCaskill has a long history of standing up for veterans. She is seeking answers from the VA after a recent report finding that thousands of servicemembers with PTSD or other mental health conditions who received \u201cother than honorable\u201d discharges were potentially barred from receiving mental healthcare and other benefits. Following issues with construction at VA facilities in Missouri, McCaskill called for answers on what the agency\u2019s Inspector General is doing to improve oversight over major construction projects.\r\n\r\nAiming to continue improvements to the quality of customer service at statewide VA facilities, McCaskill\u00a0created a \u201csecret-shopper program,\u201d the Veterans\u2019 Customer Satisfaction Program, which allows veterans to share timely, confidential feedback about their VA health care visits, and helps provide oversight and accountability for VA health care facilities. The program is now active in five regions:\u00a0St. Louis;\u00a0Kansas City;\u00a0Columbia;\u00a0Poplar Bluff;\u00a0Southwest Missouri (Fayetteville).\u00a0Last year,\u00a0following advocacy\u00a0from McCaskill and more than one-thousand rural veterans in Missouri, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would expand the hours of operation at the Salem Veterans Clinic to be open Monday through Friday.\r\n\r\nRead McCaskill\u2019s letter to the VA Secretary HERE.\r\n\r\nVisit\u00a0mccaskill.senate.gov/veterans\u00a0to learn more about McCaskill\u2019s fight for military veterans\u00a0\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 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.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-calls-for-additional-action-on-va-disability-appeals-backlog-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1208411306142807, "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"}