[House Hearing, 109 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE ROLE OF
NATIONAL, STATE, AND COUNTY
VETERANS SERVICE OFFICERS IN
CLAIMS DEVELOPMENT
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE
AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
_____________
JULY 19, 2006
_____________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Serial No. 109-61
_____________
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29-565 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Chairman
MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida LANE EVANS, Illinois, Ranking
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama BOB FILNER, California
CLIFF STEARNS, Florida LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois
DAN BURTON, Indiana CORRINE BROWN, Florida
JERRY MORAN, KANSAS VIC SNYDER, Arkansas
RICHARD H. BAKER, Louisiana MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine
HENRY E. BROWN, Jr., South Carolina STEPHANIE HERSETH, South
JEFF MILLER, Florida Dakota
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas TED STRICKLAND, Ohio
JEB BRADLEY, New Hampshire DARLENE HOOLEY, Oregon
GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
JOHN CAMPBELL, California TOM UDALL, New Mexico
BRIAN P. BILBRY, California JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado
JAMES M. LARIVIERE, Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE
AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS
JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada,
JERRY MORAN, Kansas Ranking
JEB BRADLEY, New Hampshire, Vice Chairman TOM UDALL, New Mexico
GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida LANE EVANS, Illlinois
PAIGE MCMANUS, Subcommittee Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
July 19, 2006
Page
Oversight Hearing on the Role of National, State, and County
Veterans ................................................. 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Chairman Miller ............................................ 1
Hon. Shelley Berkley, Ranking Democratic Member ............ 1
Prepared statement of Ms. Berkley .......................... 20
STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD
Hon. Ginney Brown-Waite .................................... 21
Doran, James W., National Servcie Director, AMVETS ......... 69
Basher, George P., Director, New York State Division of Veter-
ans' Affairs ........................................... 75
Cullinan, Dennie M., Director, National Legislative Service,
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ......... 80
WITNESSES
McPherson, Col. Warren R. USMC (Ret.), Executive Director,
Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs .................. 2
Prepared statement of the Col. McPherson ................... 22
Tetz, Timothy M., Executive Director, Nevada Office of Veteran
Services ................................................. 5
Prepared statement of Mr. Tetz, ............................ 34
Knowles, Ann G., President, National Association of County
Veterans Service Officers ................................. 8
Prepared statement of Ms. Knowles .......................... 41
Violante, Joseph A., National Legislative Director, Disabled
American Veterans ........................................ 10
Prepared statement of Mr. Violante ......................... 47
Ortner, Blake C., Associate Legislative Director, Paralyzed
Veterans of America ....................................... 12
Prepared statement of Mr. Ortner ........................... 53
Page
WITNESSES (CONTINUED)
McCoy, Jack, Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits for
Policy and Program Management, Veterans Benefits Admini-
stration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ............. 20
Prepared statement of Mr. McCoy ............................ 60
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Memorandum of Gift from Veterans Consultation Group, Lin-
coln, NE., submitted by Ms. Berkley ....................... 84
POST-HEARING QUESTIONS FOR TEH RECORD
Chairman Miller from Mr. Jack McCoy, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs .......................................... 86
Hon. Shelley Berkely from Mr. Jack McCoy, U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs .......................................... 89
Chairman Miller from Mr. Blake Ortner, Paralyzed Veterans of
America ................................................... 91
Chairman Miller from Ms. Ann Knowles, National Association
of County Veterans Service Officers, Inc. ................. 93
Chairman Miller, Joseph Violante, Disabled American Veter-
ans ....................................................... 96
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE ROLE OF
NATIONAL, STATE, AND COUNTY VETERANS
SERVICE OFFICERS IN CLAIMS DEVELOPMENT
_________________
WEDNESDAY, July 19, 2006
U.S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and
Memorial Affairs,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:33 p.m., in Room 334,
Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Jeff Miller [Chairman of the
Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Miller, Berkley, Udall. Majority Staff
Counsel: Paige McManus, Minority Staff Counsel: Mary Ellen McCarthy
Mr. Miller. Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for coming. This
hearing will come to order. I also want to thank the witnesses for
their flexibility. I know we have changed the date and time, and let
the record show the Chairman was late for the very first time. We
appreciate you being here with us today and we are going to go ahead
and start the hearing. Ms. Berkley, our Ranking Member, is on the way,
and other members as you well might expect will be coming in and out as
the hearing progresses.
Under Admiral Cooper's watch the Veterans Benefits Administration has
attempted to make the claims adjudication process more efficient by
creating specialized teams, improving training, and hiring additional
personnel to prepare and rate claims. For a while, we had seen some
improvements in timeliness and the backlog; however, those gains have
eroded. The backlog is growing again and it is taking longer to render
a decision.
We all know that the claims process is complex, and veterans are better
served when they are working with someone who is trained in this area
of the law. Over the years, various reports from, among others, the
Veterans Claims Adjudication Commission, the VA Inspector General, and
the VA Claims Processing Task Force have recommended a greater role for
veterans services organization representatives in assisting veterans
with submitting fully developed claims. I am not advocating today that
VBA staff be supplanted by veterans service officers. There are 6,000
local, county, and State service officers who could augment VBA's
workforce, especially since they already have the power of attorney for
the claimant.
Today, we are going to receive testimony from veterans' representatives
to get a better understanding of the role they play in assisting
veterans in submitting fully developed claims so that VBA staff can
focus on the decision-making process. We will also hear from VBA on
their efforts to collaborate with these organizations. And as I said,
Ms. Berkley will be coming in shortly to participate, and we may give
her an opportunity if she wishes to make an opening statement at that
time, with your indulgence.
At 2:00 o'clock today, as most of you know, there is a ceremony in the
Capitol to commemorate VA's 75th anniversary. Therefore, without
objection, any other opening statements that other members have will be
submitted into the record. I also ask the witnesses, if you would, to
keep your remarks to five minutes. Your full statements have been
received by the Subcommittee, and will appear in the printed record of
the hearing. The first panel is already seated at the table. We
appreciate it. If you give me a moment, I can introduce everybody that
is at the table now.
Colonel Warren ``Rocky'' McPherson, is the Executive Director of the
Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and Mr. Tim Tetz is the
Executive Director of the Nevada office of Veterans Services. We
certainly appreciate your coming to Washington to share your views with
us. We also have Ms. Ann Knowles, President of National Association of
County Veterans Service Officers. Joe Violante is here, National
Legislative Director for DAV. And Mr. Blake Ortner is Associate
Legislative Director for Paralyzed Veterans of America.
So my script says ``Colonel McPherson,'' but Rocky, it is good to have
you here, and you may proceed.
STATEMENT OF COLONEL WARREN R. MCPHERSON, USMC (RET.), EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS� AFFAIRS; TIMOTHY M. TETZ,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEVADA OFFICE OF VETERANS SERVICES; ANN G. KNOWLES,
PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY VETERANS SERVICE OFFICERS;
JOSEPH A. VIOLANTE, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, DISABLED AMERICAN
VETERANS; AND BLAKE C. ORTNER, ASSOCIATE LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR,
PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA
STATEMENT OF COLONEL MCPHERSON
Colonel McPherson. Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank
you for your opportunity to provide comments concerning the role of
national, State, and county veterans service officers in claims
development. As Governor Bush's executive director for Florida
Department of Veterans Affairs, we meet regularly with the leaders of
all of the State veterans service organizations, including the County
Veterans Services Association. In fact, I meet with their leadership
monthly. Also, I am served by an advisory commission of Governor's
appointees from all regions of our State, and we meet with them
quarterly.
Florida has almost 1.8 million veterans, as you know. The Florida
Department of Veterans Affairs is a State veterans' service agency
created by the Florida legislature, following a successful citizens'
constitutional initiative to authorize our department in State
government. We provide information, advocacy, and quality long-term
healthcare services to our veterans. We maintain strong positive
relationships with both VHA and VBA leadership in Florida. We
currently employ about 580 folks, and about 70 of those are performing
service officer duties on a daily basis. Florida continues to expand
our facilities and our services, primarily through the growth of the
State homes program, but also through new outreach programs to contact
more of the veterans' population in Florida. As a result of
strong advocacy on behalf of veterans and their dependents, their
economic well-being and health status is improved through the
acquisition of all of the benefits earned through their service. We
are an arm of State government, which has statutory responsibilities
concerning State benefits and citizens services, as well as providing
service delivery responsibilities representing veterans in their
dealings with the claims process in VBA.
Our statement for the record includes a more expansive elaboration of
our department structure and capabilities. I won't dwell on that. But
it also includes the issues that I would like to mention in this brief
summary. The major issues confronting our department, and other State
veterans department as well when dealing with VBA processes, include
the following four items.
First, is timely access to VA information on returning severely injured
veterans, and also dealing with families of the fallen. And I would
note for the record that yesterday we were able to meet with VA Central
office senior staff on this issue to work on moving forward. We also
have a concern about timely access to case files of veterans when they
seek State assistance on Federal issues. There are issues in the
privacy world that need to be resolved so that if a constituent calls
your office or mine, I need to be able to get to the data to help solve
that problem.
We are working on a program designed by Governor Bush to look at
long-term follow-up on State veterans' benefits, and also benefits for
the families of those lost in battle. Florida has a substantive set of
State benefits that augment the Federal benefits system, and in order
to implement that kind of a program for the long term, we need good
data on who these folks are, and we are working with the VA on those
privacy issues. We also note that there has been a national issue
regarding training and standardization of veterans' service officers at
the State and county level, and I would note that that is a key issue,
that if efforts are put forth to standardize the training, it can help
with the types of claims that you are looking for; fully-developed,
ready-to-rate claims.
We note that House Resolution 4264 regarding proposed Federal funding
of State and county service officers in the VA budget is an initiative
that is under consideration, and the State of Florida would certainly
support that. We think it would provide valuable additional resources
for us, and that of course is a part of outreach enhancement
opportunities, and we would focus especially on returning veterans with
serious injuries.
Each of these topics contain policy issues that must be developed and
improved in order to allow State and local government service as an
extension of VA programs that already provide more extensive and higher
quality services to our nation's veterans than any other country in the
world.
The VA is a terrific organization, but as we all know, primarily
because of the huge numbers of veterans who have served, their
workload, the VA's, in many areas is constantly challenged by resource
availability, and many of the policies which have evolved over 75 years
of growth in service.
As I mentioned, our primary challenge is timely access to VA
information concerning veterans. As described in our written
statement, improved flow of information to State government is needed,
and is vital to improving the timely delivery of State benefits to
these warriors and families. A method must be developed to allow
increased and more timely access to this critical data, and we are
working on that with the VA and DoD.
The final challenge I would like to address just for a moment is the
enhanced outreach to veterans, particularly in the large states, where
the largest population is. I mentioned Florida has almost 1.8 million
veterans, and it deserves focused attention, additional outreach
efforts, and additional national resources, to meet the continuing
demands of our older World War II and Korean veterans, but also our
newest generation from the Global War on Terror. The Federal efforts
to coordinate seamless transition of injured servicemembers from DoD to
VA is improving, and it is actually quite good. But the State and local
government role in providing and administering State veterans benefits
must be understood, and policy adjustments must be made to enhance a
cooperative effort to deliver the best support our nation can, for all
levels of government.
Governor Bush's letter to Secretary Nicholson on this topic is in our
written remarks. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be
here today representing Governor Bush and our 1.8 million veterans, and
we appreciate your Committee's continuing efforts to improve benefits
and services to our veterans, and certainly would be available to take
any questions, sir.
[The statement of Colonel McPherson appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much, Colonel. Mr. Tetz?
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY M. TETZ
Mr. Tetz. Chairman Miller and members of the Subcommittee, thank you
for this opportunity to present the role of the Nevada Office of
Veterans' Services in veteran claim development.
Veterans' advocacy in its most simple form doesn't vary between
Florida, North Carolina, or Nevada. At the end of the day, every
advocate in a veterans service organization, county service office, or
State agency such as NOVS, desires to help every veteran receive all
individual benefits and opportunities earned by their honorable
military service to this country.
In its most basic form, a veterans advocate is someone who cares about
veterans and supports their causes. This broad representation of a
veterans advocate could include everyone from the World War II
veteran's grandchild, to a radio talk show host, to a member of
Congress. With respect to the claims process, through the Department
of Veterans Affairs, the veterans advocate takes a greater role and
responsibility; it's advocate's obligation to present the veteran and
his or her claim in the most succinct, accurate, and complete manner,
so the VA ratings officer has a complete package on which to base a
decision.
Veterans advocacy through the claims process has five distinct steps.
First, the service officer must work directly with the veteran or
family to identify all the possible benefits the claimant may be
entitled. This often involves hours of interviewing and analysis of
medical and military records to ascertain the status of the veteran's
health or financial situation. Next, the service officer must
determine if additional records, tests, or materials are necessary to
establish the facts or conditions presented by the veteran.
Then, the service officer must take great care to present the veteran
in a concise but complete package that identifies all the benefits for
which the veteran is entitled. This package must be sufficient to
persuade the rating specialist to grant the claim. Once the decision
has been rendered it is incumbent upon the advocate to explain the
results to the veteran and determine if additional actions are
necessary.
It is only once the veteran and advocate have exhausted all avenues of
review that the case can be set aside for this final step. Often
overlooked, the final step is a periodic evaluation with the veteran to
determine if medical or financial conditions warrant the claim to be
reopened.
However the role of NOVS doesn't start with the veteran walking through
our door. It begins long before, in our attempts to educate the public
and veterans on services we offer and the benefits they have earned.
Although the veteran may not realize how military service ultimately
affected their health, talking about wounds or injuries has never been
something people hide. For example, when one veteran receives
compensation for agent orange exposure and resulting conditions caused
by it, every other veteran he runs across is quickly informed of
conditions that may be caused by exposure or service, and urged to
follow the appropriate claim.
In contrast, financial status or well-being is not often discussed
outside of family. This coupled with an overwhelming pride not to take
advantage of programs such as welfare brings about the relative
obscurity of the VA pension benefits. In 2005 Knight Ridder published
an article based on the Sanford Center for Aging study of low income
veterans in Reno, Nevada. In short, an estimated 2 million veterans or
widows are missing out on as much as $22 billion a year in VA pensions.
The primary reason is lack of public awareness of the program. While
the estimated population of veterans and widows eligible for the
benefit has remained the same, benefits have decreased at a dramatic
rate.
Once a veteran enters, or the veteran's family enters our office, it is
our responsibility to determine eligibility for compensation, pension,
and other benefits through the VA. Like all our counterparts
throughout the nation, we must develop the case, review the pertinent
information, and prepare a claim for the veteran to submit. However,
at this juncture we differ from our counterparts at the county level in
that we are located in a regional office and approve and submit all the
veterans advocates for benefits. Located within the same building, we
are often able to facilitate the compilation of additional information
when it is necessary, thereby limiting the longer waiting times than
would be associated if we needed to send it to a local office. In
addition, we receive our complimentary copy of the notice of decision
for our records, so that we can be proactive in reviewing the decision
and determining a course of action before the veteran has received the
same letter. Unfortunately, with these spoils comes some added
burden. If a veterans submits a claim for composition and lists one of
our 14 service organizations as a limited power of attorney, we are
obligated to serve that veteran once a notice of decision has been
issued. Through this, we inherit many claims we did not initially
develop, and did not submit to our standards, but must somehow maintain
the necessary information and data to reverse the original decision.
This is often more time-consuming than the establishment and
development of the case from the beginning. I estimate I lose one of
my six service officers entirely to the appeal process.
Our biggest challenge in Nevada is to serve the approximate 300,000
veterans in Nevada with only six service officers. Even if you look at
the veterans' service organizations and their accredited service
officers, there are still more than 10,000 veterans in Nevada for each
qualified service officer. It is not uncommon for a veteran to have to
wait four to six weeks to meet with a service officer. If you couple
this with a six-month wait for a decision at the regional office, the
veteran lucky enough to walk into our office today may not receive a
decision on the claim for a year. This may not seem like a long time
to the 21 year-old returning from Afghanistan, but it is an eternity to
a Korean War veteran dying of a service-connected medical condition.
And in conclusion, if I were to clear the room and ask if anyone knew
Jack Prelutsky, I am almost certain no one would recognize the name.
However, asked the same question about Dr. Seuss, most of us could list
our favorite book and tell you why they don't like green eggs and ham.
But Jack Prelutsky was responsible for taking the notes, sketches, and
thoughts of Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, and compiling them into a
highly acclaimed book that few knew was not written by Dr. Seuss. If
Jack Prelutsky had written `` Hooray for Diffendoofer Day'' and put
his name on the cover, he would have been ridiculed as a fraud and sold
very few books. But the same compilation of words and thoughts became
a bestseller when associated with Dr. Seuss, even though he passed away
seven years prior.
The service officer is a ghost writer of the veteran's claim before the
VA. It is the service officer's job to take a veteran's service
record, medical history, personal recollections, and current medical
conditions, and weave a story that characterizes the veteran for the VA
rating specialist. The veterans service officer must take all the
resources and develop a package that will become a bestseller. Although
in this case, the satisfaction will not come from critical acclaim in
the New York Times, but rather the compensation and pension for the
veteran or family by the VA. In most cases, the rating specialist may
never even talk to or meet the veteran. But if the service officer is
successful, the veteran is as well known to the rating officer as the
``Grinch Who Stole Christmas.''
Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving Nevada Office of Veteran
Services an opportunity to present our perspective on such an important
issue. This hearing is very timely and addresses an ongoing need to
service the veterans throughout America. We look forward to working
with the Subcommittee to see that no veteran goes without qualified
representation.
[The statement of Timothy M. Tetz appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much. Ms. Knowles.
STATEMENT OF ANNE G. KNOWLES
Ms. Knowles. Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, it is truly my
honor to be able to present this testimony before your committee. As
president of the National Association of County Veterans Service
Officers, I am commenting on the relationship between the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the county veterans service officer,
recommendation of the creation of a new Federal, State, and local
government partnership to provide outreach to veterans and their
dependents to assist in filing their claims for disability and pension
benefits.
The National Association of County Veterans Service Officers is an
organization made up of local government employees. Our members are
tasked with assisting veterans in developing and processing their
claims. We exist to serve veterans and partner with the national
service organizations, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to
serve veterans.
Our association focuses on outreach, standardized quality training,
claims processing. We are an extension, an arm of government, not
unlike the VA itself, in service to the nation's veterans and their
dependents. The relationship between the Department of Veterans
Affairs and the county service officers throughout our great nation has
traditionally been professional, mutually advantageous. The DVA has
assisted the CVSOs in providing limited training and providing limited
access to information to DAV the DVA holds on the CVSO's clients.
By a large majority of disability of pension claims, the county service
officer serves as the primary entry point nationwide for local veterans
to access the services offered by the VA. Most veterans view the local
county service officer as the VA, and they do not realize that the VA
and the CVSO are not one in the same. And in many ways, we are the VA
to our communities. We see the role of the county veterans service
office as one of advocacy. We sit across the table daily and prepare
these claims. We are the ones that cry with the widows, and pat the
veterans on the backs. Because of this direct access to the veterans,
we believe that we are in a position to assist the VA in the claims
development, developing and completing ready-to-rate claims. It eases
the burden of the VA, the backlog of inventory, whatever we call it.
The process begins with that face-to-face, and it builds the trust
between the veterans and the VA because as I said, they view us as the
VA, and we can tell them ten dozen times a day we are not the VA, but
we are to them, because we are the one they are helping.
The initial interview accomplishes many things. The CVSO honestly
explains the process with the veteran while building realistic
expectations for the veteran. This results in lessening the impact
of previous claims or unrealistic appeals that the VA is mandated to
process and develop. Once complete, the application package is then
passed on to the State or the national service organization for their
review and presentation to the VA, and then they in return send it back
to us if they have more questions. It is truly a partnership.
The CVSO then interprets the decision for the veteran and explains what
the decision means when the veteran gets his rating decision back.
Many of them go home and they read those eight or ten pages, and they
come back and say, `` Tell me what it means,'' and that is what we are
there for, is to tell them what it means, and where we can go further;
if they have had a negative decision, if we truly have an appeal, and
how to truly help them get this appeal established.
We believe the division of responsibility between the two arms of
government benefits the veteran, the CVSO, and the DVA, as potential to
provide a clear understanding for the veteran, of the process of claims
development, and how the VA system works. I will not go into a lot of
detail on our outreach. It is published for you. The VA does have
limited outreach. They do go to the hospitals, they advertise in the
organizations, but the county service officer or the State service
officer are on the front line. We are looking for those veterans that
don't know that they have benefits. They don't go to the hospitals.
They don't belong to the service organization.
That is where your outreach is needed, to those veterans that don't
know, those veterans coming back that don't want any part of anything.
I thank you for your opportunity to provide this testimony. I invite
any questions. I know we are very limited, so I will hold it down.
And thank you so much.
[The statement of Ann G. Knowles appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much, Ms. Knowles. I would like to
recognize the Ranking Member Ms. Berkley. Ms. Berkley?
Ms. Berkley. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and please accept my
apologies for being detained in my Transportation Committee hearing.
We had a markup on an important issue regarding pipeline safety in this
country, and I thought it was important that I share my thoughts with
my fellow committee members.
I want to welcome all of you. Your testimony is very important to
this Subcommittee, and our understanding of exactly what you do and how
it affects and benefits our veterans. A particular welcome to Mr.
Tetz, from my home State of Nevada. We work very closely together. He
does an extraordinary job. I invited him, and I hope this has been a
positive experience for you.
I am going to submit my comments for the record. I would like to
commend Mr. Tetz' testimony, and I am sure all of you that heard him
know that in the State of Nevada, which is a very large State with a
lot of area, we not only have hundreds of thousands of veterans in the
Las Vegas metropolitan area, but we have veterans across the State of
Nevada in small towns and hamlets, sometimes very far away from any VA
service, and it is very important for them to be able to access our VA
services. There is, for every 10,000 veterans, we have one service
officer in Nevada, and many veterans are simply unable to access a
veterans service officer.
We know that if a veteran is able to access the help of a service
officer, it could often make the difference between having a claim
denied and having a claim approved, or the amount of the claim. And we
also know statistically, that it is a little more than $6,000
difference between a veteran who has had the help of a service officer
and one that has not. So what you do is extraordinarily important.
And I think it is important for the Subcommittee, and ultimately the
entire VA committee, to learn about what you do. So thank you very
much, and I thank you for your efforts in helping our veterans access
the VA system.
[The statement of Ms. Berkley appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you, Ms. Berkley. Your statement will be included
in the record in its entirely.
Mr. Violante?
STATEMENT OF JOSEPH A. VIOLANTE
Mr. Violante. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the
Subcommittee. On behalf of the more than 1.3 million members of the
Disabled American Veterans, I am honored to appear before you today to
discuss the role of DAV's national service officers in our effort to
assist veterans and their families an filing claims for benefit from
the Department of Veterans Affairs. DAV has several classifications of
our accredited representatives: department service officers, transition
service officers, national service officers, national appeals officers,
and appellate counsel.
DAV hires only wartime service-connected disabled veterans for
positions of DAV NSO trainees. These men and women have had personal
experience with the VA claims process, and the vocational
rehabilitation program. The initial training program generally does
not exceed 25 months, of which 16 months is on-the-job training. Each
individual also receives academic instruction through an accredited
college or university in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology,
composition or legal writing, and public speaking.
Successful completion of a compensation and pension service TRIP
certification training is mandatory for all NSOs. The DAV structured
and continuing training program is designed for use by all NSOs.
Recognized by the highly regarded American Council on Education, the
DAV's course of study uses the latest technology to provide almost 1200
hours of updates and refresher training to enhance the NSO's base
knowledge. I have provided two copies of our CD-ROM library to the
Subcommittee staff.
Mr. Chairman, for 86 years the DAV has been dedicated to one single
purpose: Building better lives for disabled veterans and their
families. The DAV employs 260 NSOs, located throughout the country.
Last year alone, these highly trained men and women represented, free
of charge, over a quarter million veterans and their families in claims
for VA benefits, obtaining for them more than $2.7 billion in benefits.
Of the 34,000 appeals decisions decided by BVA during 2005, 11,000
appeals were represented by DAV NSOs. During the period, the average
BVA allowance rate among veterans service organizations was 21.7
percent. The allowance rate for attorneys was 21.1 percent. During
2005, DAV represented about 2500 appeals that were allowed by VBA, or
22 percent of our represented appeals. In another 4400 appeals, or 39.2
percent, the appeal was remanded to the agency of original
jurisdiction. DAV-represented appeals were higher than the overall
averages for allowances: 20.8 percent, and remands, 38.6 percent.
Average allowance rates among veterans service organizations are again
higher than allowance rates for attorneys thus far in 2006. With a
21.3 percent allowance rate, as of the end of April 2006, attorneys are
below the overall average BVA allowance rate for all appeals, including
those with no representation, of 21.6 percent.
DAV's appellate counsels filed 374 notice of appeals with the Court of
Veterans Appeals between May 2005 and April 2006. During this period,
the court disposed of 433 appeals filed by DAV. Of these, 291 appeals
were reversed, vacated, or favorably settled. There were joint motions
for remands in 126 appeals, and only 16 appeals were affirmed by the
court.
Several years ago, DAV undertook two additional initiatives to enhance
and expand benefits counseling and claims representation services to
the veterans community. The first of the two programs involve outreach
to members of the armed services at locations and times of their
separation from active-duty. The second involves services to veterans
in the communities where they live. I am very proud of what DAV stands
for and what we have accomplished in our 86-year history.
I thank you for this opportunity to submit our views on this important
issue, and I would be happy to answer questions. Thank you.
[The statement of Joseph A. Violante appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much. Mr. Ortner?
STATEMENT OF BLAKE C. ORTNER
Mr. Ortner. Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Berkley, and members of
the Subcommittee, on behalf of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, I
would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the
role of national, State, and county veterans service officers in claims
development.
Through 60 years of service, PVA has developed a unique expertise on a
wide variety of issues involving the special needs of our members,
veterans with spinal cord injury and dysfunction. One of the services
PVA provides is assistance to veterans as they navigate the maze of
rules and regulations associated with submitting claims for veterans
benefits and compensation. This is done through PVA's veterans
benefits department, which provides assistance and representation, at
no cost, to veterans seeking healthcare and benefits.
This assistance is offered through a network of 58 service offices
located at VA medical centers and regional offices, and 76 PVA-employed
national service officers, or NSOs, many of whom are spinal
cord-injured.
In 2005 our NSOs conducted more than 23,000 counseling sessions,
serving more than 20,000 paralyzed veterans and their families,
provided assistance to over 12,000 more severely disabled veterans, and
their families and survivors, and conducted more than 15,000 visits to
paralyzed veterans in hospitals and nursing homes, logging more than
206,000 road miles.
There are many veterans service programs across the nation. VA sets
requirements for organizations to be approved to provide assistance to
veterans, and these regulations contain sufficient requirements for
organizations to meet, but only if they actually comply with the
regulations. If VA does not ensure requirements are met, then veterans
may receive inadequate assistance. While PVA exceeds all the
requirements, variances in levels of training and competence of other
veterans representatives, including State and county veterans service
officers, can be extreme.
Training is the other key. PVA is concerned about accuracy in claims,
and emphasizes extensive training of our service officers while taking
great pride in our rigorous training program. New service officers
undergo a 16-month on- the-job training program. Each candidate is
paired with an experienced NSO supervisor at a VA medical center or
regional office. Throughout the training program candidates take
courses to improve medical knowledge, as well as gain ever greater
exposure to actual casework, learning relevant Federal relations,
codes, and how to prepare a claim.
The candidate must pass a series of quizzes and exams during the
program, and to be certified as an NSO II, must pass a comprehensive
final exam. The NSO takes a more extensive exam after 18 months, to be
promoted to NSO III, and after a second 18 months, takes an exam to be
promoted to senior NSO. We believe that our standardized training is a
vital component to the success of this program.
But NSO training does not end there. PVA conducts ongoing regional
training, as well as participation in VA training at the local level,
permitting valuable interaction with VA claims processors. NSOs also
complete the VA training, responsibility, involvement, and preparation
program, annual cyber security training, and 28 hours of annual
national service officers' continuing education program training.
PVA'S NSO program assigns NSOs to VA medical centers with spinal cord
injury centers, then to areas with a high population of our members or
other veterans. This system is most effective because it is maintained
and supervised at the national level, which provides important
uniformity and speedy dissemination of vital information.
PVA does not limit our training. If requested, we will provide
training to other local, State, and county veterans service officers in
any field that the office believes they may need. This provides
information and ensures a level of consistency with claims preparation.
Even with training, other challenges face veterans as they weave their
way through the maze of claims preparation.
One challenge is that many county service officers are political
appointees, often required to justify their existence, and their
budgets, by the number of claims filed. PVA believes that many of these
claims are submitted without regard to merit. This clogs the VA system
and may discredit claims coming from those offices. This is such a
concern that in May 2006, the commitment was made by PVA, the American
Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and Amvets, to support training for
State and county VSOs. This would go a long way to increase
professionalism and consistency of claims preparation, and would be a
tremendous service to those veterans who have served the nation so
well.
Another challenge is a lack of appeals representation at the national
level for county and State VSOs, which hinders a claimant's opportunity
to succeed at the appellate level. Because of the significant number of
errors in VA claims, this can create an almost insurmountable roadblock
to a veteran's claim being granted.
Thousands of American veterans benefit every day from the programs
provided by veterans service organizations. The critical requirement
is training. Without an adequate level of initial training, follow-up
training, and appropriate oversight and accreditation of VSOs by VA, a
valuable service for veterans can potentially cause more delay, rather
than shorten the time needed for claims processing.
PVA would like to thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and
we would be happy to answer any questions that you might have.
[The statement of Blake C. Ortner appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. I thank you all very much for your testimony. I have some
questions, but I will submit them for the record in view of the time
that we have, and I will yield to our Ranking Member, Ms. Berkley.
Ms. Berkley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your courtesy. I know that
many people are going to the ceremony commemorating the 75th
anniversary of the Veterans Administration, which starts in a few
minutes, so I will try to be very brief. But I do have three
questions.
The Committee has received a report of at least one county veterans
service officer who refers claims to attorneys and agents, who agree to
represent the veteran without charge, obviously, but who then solicits
gifts from the veterans who are rewarded benefits. And I would like to
submit for the record, Mr. Chairman, a memo of gift that I have in my
possession, that a veteran has signed, giving $16,000 to an attorney
for having handled his case, although it is not called a fee; it is a
``gift.''
Can you comment on this practice? I don't know if this is an isolated
incident, whether it is one person in Nebraska or whether this is
widespread, whether you have heard rumors of it. But can you tell me
if this is something that you have heard of before? And what ethical
rules govern county service officers? And anybody and everyone can
answer this.
Mr. Miller. Prior to the witnesses answering, are you asking this be
entered in the record?
Ms. Berkley. Yes. Yes, sir.
Mr. Miller. Any objection?
(No response.)
Mr. Miller. Without objection, so ordered.
[The attachment appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. The witnesses may answer the question.
Ms. Knowles. I would like to first take a stab at this as I represent
the county veterans service officers. This just came to our attention
last month in Reno, and we do not support this. We think that veterans
deserve free representation from the county service officers and the
service organizations in their counties, and in their states. I
understand there is a big push to get this through, to get it where
they can. And we are very opposed to that.
We do not think veterans should have to pay. They have already paid
their dues. Now we need to represent them with nothing, with no
charge. And for county veterans service officers, we are opposed to
this. And in my own State, we had people that have started this, and
we were able to squash them.
Ms. Berkley. Okay. Do you think that this is something that Veterans
Service Officers Association can handle on their own without
congressional intervention? This really is horrible.
Ms. Knowles. Absolutely not. We cannot handle this on our own,
because this group in Nebraska is going forward with it. It is going
to have to be looked at on a national level. Lawyers should not come
into the play with handling claims for veterans until we hit the
appeals. The veterans should have the opportunity to handle their
claim on a local level. And when it goes to the appeals, absolutely,
but up until then I think the veteran can receive and should be able to
receive the claims without cost.
Ms. Berkley. I couldn't agree with you more. This was breathtaking
when I read it, and shameful, quite frankly.
Second question: according to Mr. Tetz, Nevada, as I mentioned in my
statementas well, has only one service officer for every 10,000
veterans. Is access to veterans service officers a problem in other
areas of the country? What is your personal experience in your own
states?
Ms. Knowles. In North Carolina it is not. In dealing with our service
officers across the State, we knew that Nevada had a large veteran
population and very few, and I am sure that is something that you are
looking at, to help put more money there for them to hire more service
officers. But I don't think it is -- I am not sure how many states
are like yours. Tim, do you know?
Mr. Tetz. Well, I am sure none are. But with the population
explosion, in Nevada particularly, in my part of the State, it is
almost un-handle-able. And I was wondering how, what it is like in
your particular states?
Colonel McPherson. Madam, Chairman, Rocky McPherson from Florida. In
our department, I have approximately almost 600 employees. About one
sixth, about 100 of those are in the State veterans service officer
business. I would note, though, for the record, I think it is import
that even though there are 10,000 veterans per service officer, not
every veteran had a service-connected injury, and requires work on
submitting a claim. Matter of fact, the percentage is probably -- I
would ask the VA for a number, but I would say it is 20 percent or
less. And so, that particular statistic needs to bear in mind the
number of veterans in need of preparing claims, rather than the total
number.
Ms. Berkley. Mr. Tetz, would you like to comment? How are things in
Nevada?
Mr. Tetz. Madam, Chair, Tim Tetz from Nevada Office of Veterans
Services. It is tough in Nevada, with the six service officers that we
pay. I would agree, certainly, with my director from Florida that not
every one of those 10,000 need it. But I would also argue that if we
don't have adequate representation of service officers out there, and
you can't get the word out and service as many of those 10,000, then
you miss out on claims and the ability to get them the right care they
need.
Ms. Berkley. How many service officers would it take in the State of
Nevada to handle the load you have, since you have six?
Mr. Tetz. Ma'am, the next legislative session I am going to be asking
for an additional six, to spread throughout the rural areas mostly. We
have an unfortunate scenario, where they had to travel 400 miles to see
the nearest service officer; unheard of in other states, and yet for
Navadans, they don't think anything of it.
Ms. Berkley. And one last question if I may, knowing the shortness of
time.
Mr. Ortner, I reviewed your testimony, and it seemed in your testimony
you said problems can arise when a veteran is represented by county or
State veterans service officer that does not handle appeals to the
board. How common is this problem, and what procedures exist, to your
knowledge, to assure veterans with meritorious appeals that they will
be represented on appeal to the board, and the court?
Mr. Ortner. I think the main issue is just the problem with the way
the system is set up for their inability to actually just do the
appellate process. I would ask to have the question submitted for the
record, so that I could take it to our veterans benefits department
that deals specifically with that sort of issue, to make sure that we
can give you the most detail on exactly what would be the best process
to remedy that.
Ms. Berkley. Mr. Chairman, may I submit that question?
Mr. Miller. It will be submitted.
Ms. Berkley. All right, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
witnesses.
Mr. Miller. Mr. Udall?
Mr. Udall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just submit my statement
for the record, and not have any questions, and submit any for the
record from the witnesses. Thank you very much.
[No statement was submitted.]
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much to everybody here for their testimony
today, and this panel is excused.
And we have a second panel to come forward. As he comes forward, I
will introduce him. Mr. Jack McCoy is Associate Deputy Under Secretary
for Policy and Program Management at the Veterans Benefits
Administration. He is accompanied by Mr. Steve Simmons, Deputy
Director of the Compensation and Pension Service. We appreciate you
being here today, and Mr. McCoy, if you are ready, you may begin.
STATEMENT OF JACK MCCOY, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS
FOR POLICY AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; ACCOMPANIED BY STEVE SIMMONS,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, COMPENSATION AND PENSION SERVICE
Mr. McCoy. Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Berkely, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the
role of national, State, and county veterans service officers in the
disability claims process. I am accompanied today by Mr. Steve
Simmons, Deputy Director of the Compensation and Pension Service.
Veterans Service Officers work in partnership with VA to assist
veterans, their dependents, and their survivors in obtaining VA
benefits to which they are entitled. Congress traditionally chartered
Veterans Service Organizations but today that authority has been
delegated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. VA currently
recognizes 87 veterans service organizations, including 26 national
organizations, 45 State organizations, and five territorial agencies,
as well as 11 regional or local organizations.
In order to be recognized by VA as a Veterans Service Officer, an
organization must have as its primary purpose a substantial service
commitment to veterans. It must also be able to demonstrate this
either by either having a sizable organizational membership, or by
performing services for a sizable number of veterans.
Recognizing Veterans Service Organizations allows representatives of
the organization to apply for accreditation to represent the interest
of claimants in the processing their benefits claims. A Veterans
Service Organization must file an application for accreditation with
the Office of General Counsel for each person it desires to have
accredited. The organization must certify that the applicant is of good
character and reputation, and has demonstrated an ability to represent
claimants before VA; has completed a course of training and an
examination which has been approved by VA's regional counsel with
jurisdiction for the State; understands and will respect the
confidentiality of veterans' information; and will receive either
regular supervision and monitoring or annual training to ensure
continued qualification as a representative in the VA claims process.
Veterans service officers and State accredited representatives help
claimants prepare claim forms and assemble relevant information and
evidence for presentation to VA to substantiate claims. They
personally contact veterans to expedite the gathering of necessary
evidence, such as private medical records or employment background.
Because of their knowledge of VA requirements and processes, they can
ensure that their clients have the documentation needed before a claim
is filed, which saves a great deal of time and effort in VA's
processing of the claim. Their knowledge of the law helps ensure that
claims submitted to VA meet the requirements for service connection, or
for the grant of the particular benefits sought, and all that relevant
evidence is submitted for consideration.
As part of their responsibilities as representatives for veterans and
dependence, Veterans Service Organizations and State and local
government veterans agencies participate in outreach and other
activities that support the claims process by making veterans and
dependents aware of changes in the law, and other significant events
that may impact their eligibility for benefits. These efforts
complement those of the Department and ensure that, to the maximum
extent possible, the veteran community is aware of changes in VA
entitlement.
They assist VA with claims development through their active role in the
Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program. The Benefits Delivery at
Discharge Program is a cooperative effort of both VA and DoD, wherein
VA personnel assist servicemembers leaving military service to obtain
the VA benefits they earned. A number of our BDD operations are
supported by the efforts of national, State, and county Veterans
Service Officers. The role of the Veterans Service Officer and State
and local government veteran agencies and the BDD -- complementary to
that of veterans service center personnel. They support VA efforts by
sponsoring classes on how to complete VA claims forms, interviewing and
assisting individual servicemembers with filing claims for VA benefits,
including reviewing their service medical records and obtaining proper
documents needed for VA claims adjudication.
In 1998, VBA began the Training Responsibility Involvement and
Preparation of Claims Program, known as TRIP. Today, all 57 regional
offices have successfully provided TRIP instruction to Veterans Service
Organizations' representatives. TRIP includes extensive training in
claims development that helps veterans service officers submit their
fully developed claims, so that VA can decide claims in a more timely
manner.
When a Veterans Service Organization representative completes TRIP
training and passes a VBA-administered examination, he or she is
qualified to access VBA's electronic records of veterans for whom he or
she has power of attorney. To date, 1661 Veterans Service Organization
representatives have completed and passed the TRIP training.
And I would summarize, Mr. Chairman, by saying that I hope this
testimony has demonstrated the important collaborative relationship
between VBA and the national, State, and county service officers in
VA's claims adjudication process.
Mr. Chairman, this completes my statement. I will be happy to answer
any questions.
[The statement of Jack McCoy appears on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much, Mr. McCoy. I will submit my
questions for the record.
Ms. Berkley?
Ms. Berkley. In light of the ceremony awaiting us, I will also submit
two questions for review and answer. Thank you very much.
Mr. Miller. Mr. Udall?
Mr. Udall. I would do the same. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Miller. Thank you very much. And thank you for waiting, Mr.
McCoy. Obviously, you know, we are trying to make the ceremony in the
Rotunda, but I think it is safe to say that in the end we all want the
same thing - we want the system to work for those who were injured in
service to our country. The experience and dedication exhibited by
State, county and national service officers needs to be harnessed, thus
bringing true meaning to the VA service officer partnership.
Without objection, statements from Mr. James Doran of AMVETS, Mr.
Dennis Cullinan of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Mr. George Basher
of the New York Department of Veterans Affairs will be entered into the
record.
[The attachments appear on p. ]
**********INSERT**********
Mr. Miller. Members will have five legislative days to submit material
for the record as well as post-hearing questions to the witnesses.
With nothing further, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:54 p.m. the Subcommittee was adjourned.]