{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-visits-menlo-park-veterans-memorial-home-edison-nj-mark-veterans-day-calls-end", "Pallone Visits Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home in Edison, NJ to Mark Veterans Day, Calls for End to Backlog of Benefits Claims", "2013-11-07", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Frank Pallone", "P000034", "pallone.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) visited the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home in Edison, NJ to mark the upcoming Veterans Day holiday.\u00a0 Pallone spoke with New Jersey veterans and called for an end to the backlog of disability claims within the Veterans Administration (VA).\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u201cOn the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind.\u00a0 As a nation, it must be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind,\u201d said Pallone.\u00a0 \u201cAs we approach Veterans Day 2013, on this day and every day, let us honor their service with actions that fulfill our commitment to our troops, their families, and our veterans \u2013 and that are worthy of our grateful nation.\u201d\u00a0\n\u00a0\nWith the war in Afghanistan winding down and more servicemen and women returning home, there is an even more prevalent need for a fully functioning VA, but a backlog of disability claims climbed to unprecedented levels with more than 900,000 benefits claims hanging in the balance.\u00a0 Upon the urging of Congress, the backlog was reduced by over 190,000 claims, but the Republican-led shutdown last month put that progress on hold.\u00a0\n  \n\tPallone discussed the package of legislative solutions he backs to further reduce the VA\u2019s backlog and get veterans the services they have earned.\u00a0 The package of 10 bills passed the House with bipartisan support on October 28, 2013 and is awaiting action in the Senate.\n\u00a0\nOn Monday, October 28, the House passed legislation (H.R 2189) which included key provisions from the Democratic backlog reduction package including:\n\u00a0\n Paying veterans more quickly by paying as their individual conditions are adjudicated.\n\tProviding veterans with information that may lead to quicker routes to the successful adjudication of their claim.\n\tStrengthening accountability by requiring VA to regularly track and provide information to the public on claims processing and the performance of VA regional offices.\n\tTaking steps to help ensure the VA has the needed information from other agencies to accurately process claims in a timely way.\n\tEncouraging VA to expand the use of automation in processing veterans\u2019 claims.\n\tSpeeding up claims by allowing veterans\u2019 medical examinations to be done by physicians outside the VA system and encouraging veterans to file fully developed claims.\n \u00a0\n\u201cNever again should those who served this nation hang in the balance because of political infighting or bureaucratic holdups,\u201d said Pallone.\u00a0 \u201cThis Veterans Day, the best way to honor the brave men and women who have protected our nation is to make sure they have the benefits they are due and the tools they need to thrive when they return home.\u00a0 We need to do more than just thank American servicemen and women; we need to honor and carryout the obligations we made to them and come through for them the way they did for us.\u201d", 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://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-visits-menlo-park-veterans-memorial-home-edison-nj-mark-veterans-day-calls-end"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3928201515227556, "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"}