George Holding: “Last week, our Nation celebrated 237 years of independence. It is the dedication and sacrifice of the members of our…”

“Last week, our Nation celebrated 237 years of independence. It is the dedication and sacrifice of the members of our armed services that allows us to celebrate this each year. Yet it is troubling that our servicemembers are struggling to utilize the job retraining and placement programs that they deserve. After returning home, a veteran seeking health and education benefits runs into over 600 forms that he or she must fill out from over 18 Federal agencies. This is not only burdensome for them, but it has created an enormous backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs. As of March, the agency had roughly 70 percent of its claims pending over 125 days. House Republicans have passed several bills this year to improve veterans' work programs and to decrease the VA backlog through funding for technological improvements like digital scanning and paperless claims processing. This is a start, but we need to do more. Our troops put their lives on the line for our country. We must do whatever we can to help veterans obtain the benefits they have so honorably earned. ____________________”