{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kuster-stresses-need-to-eliminate-va-claims-backlog-during-veterans", "Kuster Stresses Need to Eliminate VA Claims Backlog During Veterans Roundtable", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Ann Kuster", "K000382", "kuster.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "With more than 700 disability claims backlogged at the Manchester VA Medical Center, Kuster met with local veteran and advocates to discuss improvements to health care and benefits delivery\nEarlier this year, the House passed Kuster\u2019s legislation that would help encourage greater use of automation in claims processing; legislation was part of comprehensive legislative package to help eliminate the backlog\nKuster: I will keep fighting to end the backlog until we finish the job\nCONCORD, N.H.\u00a0 \u2013 As part of her commitment to improving health care services for Granite State veterans, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) today stressed the need to eliminate the growing backlog of disability compensation claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). During a roundtable discussion at New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) in Concord, Kuster addressed her ongoing efforts in Congress to eliminate the claims backlog with state and federal officials.\n\u201cIt is unacceptable that so many of our heroic veterans do not have timely access to the care and benefits they have earned,\u201d Kuster said. \u201cThey have given so much to this country, and I will not stop fighting until we end this backlog and get our veterans access to the benefits they deserve.\u201d\nEarlier this year, Kuster introduced legislation that encourages the VA to make greater use of automation in claims processing to help boost efficiency and free up resources to provide more timely services for veterans in New Hampshire and across the country. Kuster\u2019s bill, the Claims Efficiency Through Automation Act, recently passed the House as part of a comprehensive legislative package designed to help get veterans\u2019 claims settled faster and more efficiently.\n\u201cI am pleased to report dramatic improvement in meeting the needs of New Hampshire\u2019s Veterans this past year as evidenced by a 30 percent decrease in our inventory and an improvement of 38 percent in our average wait time for a decision on a disability compensation claim, which is currently 136 days \u2013 we are well on our way to achieving the goal of 125 days,\u201d said \u00a0Bradley Mayes, Director of the Boston Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration. \u201cThis progress would not have been possible without our Congressional and Veterans Service Organization partners supporting us in our transformation efforts with initiatives like the fully developed claims program and paperless claims processing.\u201d\u00a0\nAcross the country, nearly 649,000 veterans\u2019 claims are currently waiting to be heard by the VA\u2019s Board of Veterans Appeals, more than 375,000 of which are considered backlogged. In New Hampshire alone, 1,508 claims are pending at the Manchester VA Medical Center, 725 of which are considered backlogged. An additional 847 claims are pending at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, 506 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 legislative package to help the VA meet its goal of eliminating the backlog in full 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 over incompatible electronic medical record systems.\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-stresses-need-to-eliminate-va-claims-backlog-during-veterans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5900100115686655, "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"}