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Washington–
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
today
joined
66
of
his
Senate
colleagues
in
urging
President
Obama
to
establish
a
plan
to
end
the
disability
claims
backlog
at
the
United
States
Department
of
Veterans’
Affairs
(VA).
Currently,
more
than
600,000
veterans,
including
15,844
in
South
Carolina,
are
stuck
in
the
VA’s
disability
claims
backlog.
“Our
veterans
and
their
families
have
sacrificed
so
much
to
protect
our
nation,
and
we
must
keep
our
commitments
to
them,”
Scott
said.
“The
VA
backlog
affects
veterans
from
Normandy
to
Afghanistan,
and
there
needs
to
be
a
clear
plan
for
processing
all
of
these
claims.”
With
more
veterans
returning
home
every
day,
some
have
been
faced
with
waiting
more
than
1,000
days
for
a
decision
from
the
VA.
The
number
of
claims
pending
for
more
than
a
year
has
grown
by
over
2,000%
over
the
past
four
years,
despite
a
40
percent
increase
in
the
VA’s
budget.
A
copy
of
the
letter
to
the
President
is
attached.
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