VA Processing Claims at a Faster Pace

With more than one million disability claims filed since the spring, the VA is on pace to process 2.5 million of them by year's end. This surpasses VA's 2024 output by half a million, according to a VA press release.

The VA's Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which handles the Department's disability compensation claims, announced in late February that it had reached the one million mark of completed claims two weeks earlier than in 2024. This also occurred while VA saw a 16 percent increase in filed applications.

"The VFW applauds any improvement in VA providing veterans, family members and survivors with their hard-earned benefits as quickly and accurately as possible," VFW National Veterans Service Director Michael Figlioli said.

Like many at VFW, Figlioli believes the steady rise in claims is inextricably linked to the PACT Act passing in 2022, which expanded health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.

"The historic passage of the PACT Act has been life-saving for many veterans," Figlioli said, "whether that is submitting new or previously denied disability compensation claims, or allowing veterans access to VA health care systems and other VA benefits programs."

In May, the VA reinstated mandatory overtime for its VBA employees to reduce its backlog of 200,000 applications and maintain a record pace.

The American Federation of Government Employees reported that VA's Veterans Service Representatives (VSRs) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs) are expected to log 25 hours of mandatory overtime each month. By comparison, its Rating Quality Review Specialists (RQRSs) are required to work 20 hours of overtime.

VFW URGES CAUTION
This VA decision followed another in which the sprawling agency has proposed trimming its workforce through natural attrition, a goal supported by the Trump Administration.

"VFW hopes that while the VA aims to process more claims than ever and further reduce the declining excess workload, any mandated overtime or additional workforce reductions must be implemented wisely and strategically," Figlioli said.