Chairman Bost Delivers Remarks at Hearing on Trump Administration’s Work to Reduce the Disability Claims Backlog, Get Veterans their VA Benefits Faster

Chairman Bost Delivers Remarks at Hearing on Trump Administration's Work to Reduce the Disability Claims Backlog, Get Veterans their VA Benefits Faster

Today, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the start of the Full Committee's oversight hearing to discuss how under the leadership of Secretary Collins, the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) has made landmark progress in reducing the VA disability compensation benefits backlog - which has dropped by more than 57% since the start of the Trump administration - decreasing by over 150,000 claims since the end of the Biden administration. This hearing will also discuss how the agency is using recent policy changes provided by Congress to modernize the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) processes and get VA benefits decisions to veterans faster.

Good morning.

The Committee will come to order.

Without objection, the Chair may declare a recess at any time.

Thank you all for joining us today.

We are here today to discuss some good news at the V.A.

I want to first acknowledge the seriousness of the Super Typhoon Sinlaku, a dangerous category four hurricane affecting the Northern Mariana Islands.

Representative King-Hinds represents the great people of that U.S. territory, and I ask that you all keep her and her constituents in your prayers.

Thank you all, and now we will return to the subject of our hearing today.

Thanks to the strong leadership of Secretary Collins and President Trump, the backlog of veterans waiting for a decision from V.A. for their benefits has decreased dramatically.

That is great news.

In fact, the backlog has dropped by more than 57 percent since the start of the Trump administration, decreasing by over 150,000 claims since the end of the Biden administration.

Under the last administration, V.A. saw a 24% increase in the disability claims backlog.

That dysfunction left veterans and their families waiting far too long for their earned benefits.

However, in 2025, V.A. processed a record setting 3 million disability compensation and pension claims.

These accomplishments are a testament to what the hard-working men and women at V.A. can do under the right leadership.

V.A.'s reported accuracy has improved from 91.6 percent in October 2024 to 93.5 percent in September 2025.

That's a step in the right direction, but maintaining high quality decisions remains a core concern of mine.

In 2025, O.I.G. published its investigation of a Senior V.S.R. at the Philadelphia Regional Office.

This employee personally authorized 85 thousand claims from 2022 until 2024, under the Biden administration.

To be clear, that is 19 times the national average.

This SVSR spent 4.7 minutes on each claim.

The national average is 21 minutes.

OIG estimated these errors resulted in $2.2 million in improper payments.

V.A. has assured me new leadership is in place to ensure this never happens again.

But OIG's recommendations remain open.

I look forward to a timely update on this case from V.A. to me and my staff.

President Trump has had a singular focus: making sure government runs better, cutting through red tape and political bureaucrats, and empowering the regular folks at this agency who help our government run.

But this administration knows quality matters.

We are moving in the right direction, but I look forward to hearing more from our witnesses today on how V.A. plans to sustain these gains.

I support the targeted use of mandatory overtime, but we need permanent solutions and long-term planning.

I also want to thank our friends at VBA for their partnership in improving the processing of Survivor Benefits.

Due to a recent rule change, VBA now processes DIC and Survivors Pension together-ensuring eligible survivors receive the higher of the two benefits.

V.A. also moved the Office of Survivor's Assistance back to the Office of the Secretary, ensuring that Survivor's issues are accounted for across V.A.

These changes help real people.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about these changes and the use of the modernization tools Congress has provided to V.A. to get veterans their decisions faster.

Now, I want to thank Ms. Margarita Devlin for being here today.

Ms. Devlin is the Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits at VBA, performing the delegable duties of the Under Secretary for Benefits.

She oversees the VBA, which delivers the full array of non-medical benefits to servicemembers, veterans, their families, and their survivors.

Ms. Devlin is accompanied by Ms. Sandra Flint, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations.

VBA runs a nationwide network of 56 regional offices and oversees delivery of more than $194 billion in benefits to over 6 million beneficiaries.

VBA plays an important role and that role is only growing.

Many of these benefits and processes were designed in the 1950s.

It is important that we have a VA that leverages innovative technologies and approaches to improve outcomes for the veterans of tomorrow.

I know we are all looking forward to hearing more from you, Ms. Devlin.

Ranking Member Takano, I now recognize you for your opening statement.

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