Congressman John Carter, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Defense and Co-Chairman of the House Army Caucus released the following statement on the VA’s new low in backlogged claims:

“After months of actively investigating the VA backlog problem locally and nationally, I am thankful that the VA is finally making progress towards eliminating their backlog. As the Representative of Fort Hood, I am aware of the devastating affects this backlog has on service members and veterans. I have taken numerous actions to help the VA resolve this issue from meeting with Veterans Benefits Administration’s Under Secretary Allison Hickey to voting to establish a VA Backlog Task Force. 

While our work is nowhere near done, the VA has taken positive steps towards fixing this problem and has reduced the number of backlogged claims by 44%. Additionally, the VA has reduced their average waiting time by 119 days over the past year. Our veterans have sacrificed enough for us and it’s time for us to return the favor and fight for them.  While this problem is not yet solved, my fellow Congressional members and I will not stop working until the federal government fulfills their end of the bargain and puts veterans first.”