Last week I introduced H.R. 5948, The Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012.

Since the fall of Mubarak, we may have seen the end of authoritarian regime, but we have yet to see the rise of a new democratic leadership.

The VA's fiduciary program suffers systemic weaknesses.

It is abundantly clear that VA's fiduciary program requires significant improvement.

The legislation would require a credit and criminal background check each time a fiduciary is appointed.

This access to promised benefits has been made ever more difficult in recent years, as VA continues to struggle with unconscionable backlogs and unacceptable delays in getting our Nation's veterans the benefits they need.

Unfortunately, as is often the case when dealing with VA, they have waited until the eleventh hour to address this contract expiration.

Under Secretary Hickey, the VRAP legislation is intended to retrain unemployed veterans and we cannot let even one of those slots go unfilled.

However, despite the development of this transformation process, the backlog continues to grow, and the rate of accuracy and processing time has, at best, remained stagnant.

Through their service and sacrifice on behalf of our Nation, veterans have ensured that our American way of life can continue long into the future.

I know that I, and my fellow Committee Members, have many questions as to when this system will be ready for national rollout.

This access to promised benefits have been made ever more difficult in recent years in my opinion as VA continues to struggle with backlogs and unacceptable delays in getting our Nation's veterans the benefits that they need and have…