Here are 3 things the VA needs from Congress right now
Current VA Secretary Bob McDonald and former VA Secretary James Peake just posted an op-ed at The Hill listing the things they believe Congress needs to do to help the VA right now:
While the Department is making significant progress, VA needs Congress' help to achieve all of the breakthrough priorities on behalf of veterans . . . particularly in three pressing areas:1. Untangle the seven different ways VA provides care in the community today
Today's rules make the process inefficient, they cause confusion for both the veterans and providers, they are in place because of legislation added over the years, and they must be legislatively corrected.
2. VA needs the authority to enter into partnerships
VA needs the authority to enter into partnerships to make needed changes to our West Los Angeles campus and more quickly end veterans' homelessness in the city with the largest concentration of homeless veterans.
3. VA needs Congress's help to finally fix the claims appeal process
VA needs Congress's help to finally fix the broken process by which veterans appeal unfavorable claims decisions—a process conceived over 80 years ago that is unlike any other appeals process in the federal government. Over the decades, layers of additions to the process have made it more complicated, more unpredictable, less clear, and less veteran-friendly.
Read the entire story at The Hill.
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