WASHINGTON (Oct. 17, 2013)
– Employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are working to resume
normal operations as quickly as possible. Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) regional offices are re-opening their doors and
resuming public contact services for Veterans today.
“With the shutdown over, we are all very grateful that the Nov. 1
benefit checks will go out to approximately 5 million Veterans and
other beneficiaries as scheduled,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki. “We at VA are working quickly to resume normal
operations in order to fulfill our solemn obligation – to ensure that
Veterans receive the benefits and services they have earned through
their service. I want to thank all of our VA employees for their
dedication and resolve during this difficult period.”
During
the government shutdown, VA medical centers, clinics, and other health
services remained open. Due to the shutdown, VA claims processors were
unable to continue working 20 hours of overtime per month to reduce the
backlog of claims, overtime that has helped VA significantly reduce the
disability claims backlog by more than 190,000 claims over the last six
months. Mandatory overtime will resume immediately and will continue as
planned through Nov. 16, at a minimum.
“In
the coming weeks and months, we will fight hard to regain ground lost
as a result of the government shutdown,” said Shinseki. “We remain
committed to eliminating the disability claims backlog in 2015.”
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