Elaine Luria: “I am proud to rise today in support and as a co-lead of the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act. I want to…”

“I am proud to rise today in support and as a co-lead of the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act. I want to start by thanking my colleague, Mr. Barr from Kentucky, for taking the lead on this. And as you know, we have heard from countless veterans and countless veterans' advocates that this is a problem; that these forms are not available to our veterans and their providers to be able to provide the best information in the most timely manner in order to process these claims. The simple fact is that we must act to make it easier, not harder, for our veterans to receive the benefits that they deserve. As mentioned, this bill will ensure that benefit questionnaires will be public-facing again on a website. Mr. Barr and I learned from many veterans' advocates that these forms were removed and that veterans that needed to provide this vital information in order to process their claim couldn't simply have the forms that they needed in order to do that. This bill also includes the use of older versions of the form, because how many times have we heard in our offices and from our constituents that a veteran has submitted their claim only to have it sent back again requesting a different version of the form, thus, delaying the process for our veterans who desperately need these claims to be adjudicated, and need the care from the VA.…”