VA DOCUMENT SHREDDING NO SURPRISE TO VETS

Doubts were raised Wednesday about whether the Bush administration can do anything to restore confidence in the Veterans Affairs Department following the discovery last month of almost 500 key benefits claims documents in shredding bins at regional offices.

By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:14:41 EST
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_VA_shreddeddocuments_111908w/

But the problem, initially discovered by teams of auditors from the VA inspector general’s office, didn’t exactly shock the veterans’ community. Veterans have complained for decades about VA losing or destroying claims documents, making an already complicated process even more difficult to deal with.

Veterans’ advocates attending a roundtable discussion arranged by the House Veterans Affairs Committee said VA’s admission of mishandling documents is a sign of the fundamental problems that veterans have seen for years.

Rick Weidman, executive director for government affairs of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the only real news is that VA now acknowledged the problem.

The VA has announced special procedures for veterans who believe lost records have led to the denial or delay of a benefits claim.