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(U.S. Senate) – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester led a hearing today with Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) leaders and Veterans Service Organizations to discuss VA’s proposed budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 and to assess how funds will be used to better serve veterans and their families.

During the hearing, Tester questioned VA Secretary McDonough on the agency’s plans to address critical problems facing the agency through additional resources, such as investing in the benefits claims process.

“We are coming out of a global pandemic in which more than 600,000 Americans lost their lives—including 12,000 veterans in the VA health care system and likely more outside that system,” said Chairman Tester. “We know statistics related to the claims backlog and wait times at VA facilities were negatively impacted...Mr. Secretary, as VA emerges out of this pandemic, can you highlight some of your efforts to address the claims backlog and VA wait times?”

“The staffing enhancements that are envisioned in the President’s budget request will allow us to bring [the backlog] down further still, so that we get it entirely accounted for by next Fiscal Year. Importantly, this is all happening while we are managing existing claims,” answered McDonough. “And last week, VBA [Veterans Benefits Administration] rated our one millionth veteran benefit claim this year at record pace. There’s only been one other year that we’ve rated that many cases, a million, that quickly. And by the way, we did that during the pandemic. So we have significant investments here Mr. Chairman, to allow us to continue that performance. And we have anticipated increases in the backlog, for example Blue Water Navy, coming in August. But we have a plan to account for that and more.”

Following the Chairman’s impassioned speech on the Senate floor yesterday, Tester went on to question the Secretary on the urgency to confirm four pending VA nominees—including the agency’s second highest ranking official—following a partisan hold on their confirmations at a critical time for the Department. McDonough stressed the need confirm Donald M. Remy to be Deputy Secretary, who would have a strong hand in reducing the claims backlog.

In the second panel, Tester also heard from various Veterans Service Organizations leaders—authors of this year’s Independent Budget—who provided an informed perspective on VA funding needs.

Tester’s Q&A is available HERE.