{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-bill-to-address-va-claims-backlog-passes-house-with-strong", "Kuster Bill to Address VA Claims Backlog Passes House with Strong, Bipartisan Support", "2013-10-28", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Ann Kuster", "K000382", "kuster.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Common sense measure would encourage greater use of automation in claims processing to boost efficiency and settle claims faster; current backlog is holding up claims by nearly 410,000 veterans nationwide, including many in NH\nBill is part of comprehensive legislative package designed to help eliminate the VA claims backlog\nKuster: I will keep fighting to end the backlog until we finish the job\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation introduced by Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) to help eliminate the backlog of disability compensation claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Kuster\u2019s bill, the Veterans Claims Efficiency Through Automation Act, encourages the VA to make greater use of automation in the processing of veterans claims to help boost efficiency and free up resources to provide more timely services for veterans in New Hampshire and across the country. The bill passed as part of a comprehensive legislative package designed to help get veterans\u2019 claims settled faster and more efficiently.\n\u201cI am grateful that my legislation to help eliminate the VA claims backlog passed the House with strong, bipartisan support,\u201d Kuster said. \u201cIt is simply unacceptable that so many of our heroic veterans are unable to get timely access to the care and services that they\u2019ve earned. I will keep fighting to end the backlog until we finish the job.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\nOver the past six months, the Administration has significantly reduced backlog claims by over 30%, or 190,000 claims. However, the unnecessary government shutdown reduced the progress made on the veterans backlog and halted appeals. Currently, there are more than 700,000 disability claims pending nationally, with nearly 410,000 in the backlog. There are 1,628 claims pending at the Manchester VA Medical Center, 886 of which are considered backlogged. There are an additional 821 claims pending at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, 488 of which are considered backlogged.\nA member of the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee, Kuster has consistently spoken out about the need to eliminate the VA benefit claims backlog. In May, she announced a coordinated legislative package to help the VA meet its goal of eliminating the backlog in full by 2015. Kuster also joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in urging President Obama to help end the back and forth between the VA and Department of Defense (DoD) over incompatible electronic medical record systems. In August, Kuster launched a three-day \u201cNorth Country Listening Tour\u201d to meet with Granite State veterans and discuss ways to eliminate the backlog and improve services to our veterans.\n###", 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": ["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-bill-to-address-va-claims-backlog-passes-house-with-strong"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3058580700308084, "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"}