Jon Runyan: “I thank Chairman Miller for yielding to me. As chairman of the House Veterans' Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and…”

“I thank Chairman Miller for yielding to me. As chairman of the House Veterans' Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, I am keenly aware that one of the most critical issues impacting our Nation's veterans is the severe veterans' claims backlog. Recently, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported it had a backlog of more than 400,000 veterans' benefits claims as the fiscal year ended in September. This is simply unacceptable. To help speed up the veterans' claims process, we must look at every phase of that process. One of the first steps in this process is the medical exam to determine benefit eligibility. That is why earlier this year I introduced H.R. 2423, the Disabled Veterans' Access to Medical Exams Improvement Act, provisions of which are now contained within section 201 of H.R. 2189. This section would extend the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts with private physicians to conduct veterans' medical disability evaluations. With the passage of this bill, this successful program allowing physicians outside the VA to conduct contract examinations would continue for an additional 3 years, until 2016. This would allow VA to more quickly evaluate veterans' disabilities and facilitate quicker access to the care they need.…”