(ROUND ROCK, T.X.) –The Waco Veterans Affairs claims processing center is reported to be one of the slowest claims processing center in the nation. This is unacceptable to Congressman John Carter and his fellow Texas Representatives. In order to find a solution to the backlog problem, this week Congressman Carter and several Texas representatives met with Veterans Affairs staff.  

On Tuesday, Congressman Carter, along with at least 17 members of the Texas delegation met with Veterans Benefits Administration’s Under Secretary Allison Hickey to discuss the impact  the backlog of disability claims has on veterans in Texas.

“As the Vice-Chairman on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee and Co-Chairman of the House Army Caucus, I have heard from many constituents about the detrimental effect this backlog has on not only veterans, but their families,” said Congressman Carter, Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. “After dealing with the trauma of war, these heroes do not deserve to come home and fight another battle for their benefits. I will continue to fight for our veterans and work with the VA until this issue is resolved”

On Friday, Chairman Carter’s staff met with the new Waco VA Director, John Limpose, who pledged his full attention to improving the veteran’s claim process.  The meeting addressed how to:

• Reduce the average of days a claim is pending
• Prepare “fully developed” claims
• Move forward quickly with secure electronic submission process for claim applications, transport of medical evidence, VA dependent  updates ,etc to reduce wait time for Veterans

As of June 8^th, the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) nationally has 565,327 claims backlogged. This accounts for 66 percent of their total claims. Texas has 1.6 million veterans – more than any other state in America.

To combat those numbers, Carter is working alongside Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX17), Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX25), and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX16) as well and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and several other Texas representatives.

My fellow Congressional members and I are working to ensure that the federal government fulfills their end of the bargain by putting veterans first,” said Chairman Carter. “We must guarantee our vets the benefits they have earned in a timely manner. A two year waiting period is unacceptable.”