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▶ 0:15:44sub commmittee will come to order thank you all for joining us today we are here to discuss 13 bills that would help veterans and their survivors navigate the va8 claims and appeals process as well as improve access to VA benefits the bills we will discuss today will will en would and will ensure that service members and Veterans can be buried together with their family members improve the VA appeals process including including by increasing accountability and transparency for the VA board of veterans appeals ensure there is medical
▶ 0:16:14research available to pave the way to compensate military pilots and air crew for conditions due to service related radiation and other exposures make the VA claims process more transparent and understandable by providing veterans and their families with clear updates and instructions ensure that VA issues accurate decisions on claims based on military sexual trauma and that MST survivors are not ret traumatized during the claims process and require the VA to give equal attention to the needs of our nation's Veterans as well as their survivors including
▶ 0:16:45educating survivors who may not be aware of va survivor benefits I'm proud to introduce two bills on today's agenda HR 2137 the review every Veteran's claim act would prevent VA from denying a veteran's V benefit claims solely because they miss their disability claims exams under current law when a veteran misses their exams without providing good cause or scheduling VA automatically denies their VA disability compensation claim many of these veterans have pursued their VA claims for years and
▶ 0:17:15appeared for multiple exams veterans should not should not be forced to start their claims over because they miss one exam this bill would stop va's unfair practice of automatically denying those claims by ensuring that VA makes a comprehensive decision on every Veteran's claims after reviewing all the evidence including every including every exam each veterans has already been through HR 2138 the veterans compensation cost of living adjustment act of 2025 would give a cost of living adjustment to Veterans and survivors
▶ 0:17:45receiving certain VA benefits they would receive the same increase as what Social Security recipients receive this bill would adjust certain VA benefits with inflation rates to help veterans and their families pay their bills and put food on the table I would like to thank ranking member McGarvey for co-leading these bills with me I look forward to working with chairman BOS ranking member McGarvey and other members of the subcommittee to advance these important proposals today I thank the witnesses who are here and have joined us and look forward to discussing how these bills
▶ 0:18:15would improve their the lives of veterans and their families I now yield to the ranking member for his remarks thank you Mr chairman and thank you for your leadership in today's Committee hearing I'm honored to be sponsoring a lot of those bills with you that are going to make a difference in our veterans lives I think in this committee we are fortunate we're fortunate that our Guiding Light is not partisan or party it is a veteran centered committee a veteran centered approach where veteran centered policy is not uh right or left we deal more with right and wrong
▶ 0:18:45it's it's a deep thing that we held in this it's a belief that that we are here based on a commitment to those who stand for something greater than themselves for the men and women who are willing to put on a uniform and quite literally sacrifice everything to keep us safe and free we must do what we can to honor their service and give them the benefits they have earned I want to highlight a few Bills starting with the veterans claims Education Act by my colleague Mr Peters this bill is a worthy measure to stop claim sharks from taking advantage of our service members and their families
▶ 0:19:16it's a topic that we know is important as we repeatedly hear calls of don't feed the sharks our veterans aren't Chum and they can't be treated like they are uh this committee will not be complicit in the exploitation of veterans so I support all the efforts to provide them with the information they need to make the best decision for their claims preparation ranking member Tano survivor benefits delivery Improvement act seeks to capture important information regarding veterans surviving spouses children and parents to ensure that we ensure we are serving all who earned their
▶ 0:19:46benefits not just some currently as a direct result of the VA not dedicating sufficient staff and attention to the task these benefits go underutilized recent Doge Cuts have decreased the for person team working on this down to three luckily the employee reinstated uh but you can do the math pretty quickly and and understand that three employees is insufficient to manage a nationwide program of survivors finally I want to highlight my bipartisan Bill the board of veterans appeals attorney
▶ 0:20:17retention and backlog act I honestly wish we'd come up with a better title for that um because it does really important work uh this will help cut down the egregious amount of time veterans have to wait for their appeals to be reviewed the bill is going to broaden the board of veterans appeals Workforce by attracting highly skilled educated and effective attorneys to dig through the backlog and get our veterans these claims decisions in a timely manner to attract and retain the best talent the bill creates a gs15 position for the best vva
▶ 0:20:47attorneys it doesn't matter how many attorneys we hire if they burn out and leave before a claim has been adjudicated that level of turnover we're seeing right now is not efficient it's not good for our veterans right now it is clear that the board of veterans appeals is not able to serve our veterans adequately appeal times are in excess right now of like two years this is unacceptable and here's the truth the only way out is through this is a problem that will not go away if we simply ignore it if we
▶ 0:21:17do ignore it the backlog will continue to grow it'll continue to frustrate veterans and placing bva employees in an impossible situation where they simply cannot work every claim because there are not enough people to do the work and get them completed so we must employ and retain more attorneys to get to the bottom of the pile and dig the VA out of the hole it is in let me be clear this is not to say the VA doesn't serve our veterans doesn't care about the process that's far from the truth this bill though does highlight the need to retain more skilled and profession employees at the VA
▶ 0:21:47to take care of these claims we cannot expect things to get better for our veterans while we take the chainsaw to the very Administration that is tasked with funding the benefits to them Mr Peters Mr T I have proposed bills which have broad support in the veteran Community but to deliver on those bills we must fight for a stable institution we cannot attract quality professionals willing to serve if they are joining an organization that injects uncertainty into every aspect of their life a staff at the appropriate levels uh pay grades to provide veterans and
▶ 0:22:17their families what they have earned thank you Mr chairman I yield back thank you sir moving on to M member testimony we've got a very full agenda today so I'll be holding everyone to 3 minutes per bill so that we can get through them all this morning we are joined by several of our colleagues both on and off the committee we're going to um who are going to be testifying about the bills they have sponsored representative self sir you're recognize for three minutes to speak on your bill uh thank you
▶ 0:22:47chairman for holding this hearing uh I share ranking member mcgarvey's uh concerns with the appeals process I'm going to discuss one of my two bills that will deal with the Appeals process today uh hr1 1741 the veterans appeals transparency act this bill is a crucial step toward restoring transparency to the VA board of veterans appeals process veterans have three docket options when filing an appeal the board tells veterans that the average time to receive a decision on their Appeal
▶ 0:23:18on the fast board docket is one year but as of October 2024 even veterans who chose the fastest board docket the direct review docket are waiting an average of 1.5 years to receive a decision on their appeal and there are veterans there are veterans in the fastest board docket who have been waiting over five years to receive a decision on their appeal it is clear to me that the average wait times that the board tells veterans and Congress are misleading
▶ 0:23:48these averages provide veterans and their Advocates with no accurate sense of where they are in line the board must do better to provide veterans with realistic expectations for how long they will have to wait for a decision my bill will do just that the veterans appeals transparency act would require the board to publish weekly updates on its website about which appeals they are working on in each board docket this will ensure greater transparency from the board for our veterans
▶ 0:24:19as well as for congress additionally my bill requires the board's weekly updates to include a statement clarifying that these weekly updates do not mean a decision will be made that week this will prevent veterans from mistakenly believing that a decision is imminent our veterans deserve Clarity and transparency in the appeals process my bill will help to ensure exactly that again I'd like to thank the chairman for his support and ranking member McGarvey for his concern on this process we need to fix it and I yield back
▶ 0:24:49thank you Mr self Miss Kim you recognized for three minutes thank you chairman lell and ranking member macgarvey for hosting uh us and uh holding this very important legislative hearing today I am really excited to see hr2201 the improving VA training for military sexual trauma claims act that is on the docket and being discussed in today's hearing approximately one in three women and one in 50 men experien military sexual
▶ 0:25:19trauma or MST as a service member currently the VA must help veterans filing disability benefits claims for MST gather evidence for their claims unfortunately VA claims processors and examiners often do not have the sufficient training to recognize those indirect markers of MST or to avoid forcing victims to relieve their trauma in fact disability compensation examiners
▶ 0:25:50are only required to complete and outdated online sensitivity training once every 5 years filing these claims is burdensome enough the examination process shouldn't cause more pain the bipartisan improving VA training for military sexual trauma act would require all VA employees involved with MST uh mstd claims to complete annual training to identify evidence of
▶ 0:26:20mstd claims and annual sensitivity training to avoid ret traumatizing those victims additionally to to ensure victims cases are processed in a timely manner the VA would be required to automatically obtain all service Personnel medical records for a service member filing an MST disability claim the VA secretary would also submit both an annual report to Congress on the progress of the MSC MSD sensitivity training program
▶ 0:26:50and a detailed plan to improve it hr2201 is a common sense bipartisan measure that ensures VA staff are prepared to provide veterans with the support and protection they deserve streamlining the MST claim process and improving VA training is a win for our veterans so I want to thank the committee for considering hr2201 and representatives of bazinsky hulahan and bacon for co-leading this
▶ 0:27:20bip uh bipartisan bill with me thank you and I Y back thank you m k Mr fluger Sir you recognized for three minutes thank you chairman ranking member I'm not on this committee uh but this is my top priority in Congress this bill that I'm about to talk about is my number one priority and I appreciate the opportunity military aviators and crew members are tragically being diagnosed with various forms of cancer at alarming Rage which is why I'm proud to lead HR 530530 The Aviator cancers examination study also known as the aces act the aces
▶ 0:27:50act directs the VA to partner with the nationaly of science to study cancer prevalence among military aviators and identify service connected factors ultimately saving lives through earlier detection developing targeted SC screening protocols and ensuring our veterans receive the Specialized Care they've earned this is critical because in 2021 an Air Force cancer incident study revealed troubling findings about the health risks faced by fighter pilots and their Crews when compared to the general population it shows air crew had a 29% greater
▶ 0:28:21probability of testicular cancer a 24% higher probability for melanoma and 23% higher rate of prostate cancer Additionally the dod's military Aviator cancer study also found elevated rates of cancer among military aviators and Aviation ground personnel and I understand that there's potential duplication concerns these are not true let me clarify the ases ACT is complimentary it's not duplicative it leverages the national Academy's expertise in meeting the va's evidentiary requirements for determining
▶ 0:28:52service connections and includes veterans who might not qualify Under The Pact act through more comprehensive focused research on this issue than the affirmed studies the aces act will help us develop tailored interventions improv screening protocols and provide better care for aviators affected by cancer this is not a partisan issue over 20 veterans cancer and medical professional organizations have rallied behind this bill because they're tired of waiting year after year while aviators continue to suffer they demand action now moving this
▶ 0:29:22legislation forward isn't just about providing critical care it's it's about finally acknowledging the true cost of service that these aviators have paid and continue to pay daily myself as an aviator a fighter pilot with over 20 years of service I have witnessed firsthand the incredible dedication bravery and resilience of our nation's aviators but I've also seen many of my brothers and sisters affected by this and their toughest battles actually weren't in the air unfortunately they're in hospital rooms as they fight cancer that's why
▶ 0:29:52I'm honored to invite uh my dear friend Colonel Annie Pablo schliff who will testify with us today you need to hear his story his fight against non Hodgkins lymphoma the ases ACT is not just a bill it's a Lifeline for those who have already given and continue to give so much for our freedom we owe it to them they were wingmen for for our country they provided the service to fight for our country for the freedoms and now is the time to do the right thing and be their
▶ 0:30:22wingman and provide the service and find the causal factors for what they're going through in the battles that they're currently fighting I yield back thank you Mr fuger um Mr Brenan you recognized for three minutes sir thank you Mr chair ranking member McGarvey appreciate you having me I'd like to open by thanking the committee for taking interest in my bill the simplifying forms for veterans claims act and invited me to come speak on it today with you our veterans must complete VA standard forms to initiate and pursue their claims for VA benefits
▶ 0:30:53these forms include those filled out by surviving spouse or other family members following the pth passing of their veteran loved one these are benefits our veterans and their dependents have earned yet these forms are often difficult to understand and complete understandably the complexity of these forms can be overwhelming for the veterans grieving family there's no reason for veterans or their survivors to be subjected to a process more difficult than necessary when these forms can be improved making them user friendly this bill would require the VA to contract with a nonpartisan federally funded
▶ 0:31:23research entity to conduct a study on and provide recommendations for advising VA forms to be more understandable for veterans and their survivors the research entity would collaborate with the VA and the veterans and survivors Advocates and require the VA secretary to report the findings to Congress and implement the recommendations that are compliant with VA law the simplifying forms for veteran claims Act is common sense bipartisan legislation that would ensure veterans are able to complete VA forms correctly without unneeded stress
▶ 0:31:53so they can receive fair and timely decisions on their claims for VA benefits I look forward to continuing to work with the committee to get this legislation signed into law and I yield back thank you Mr President Mr Barrett sir you're recognized for three minutes thank you Mr chairman appreciate uh you and the committee's uh attention to this uh Bill uh the bill that I sponsored um in the opportunity to testify on the importance of my bill HR 1039 the clear communication for veterans claims act I'm
▶ 0:32:23proud to lead this bipartisan legislation with chairman Bost and representative bazinsky a priority of mine is to ensure that veterans understand how to access the benefits that they've earned and this bill will do just that after a veteran files a disability claim the VA sends letters throughout the claims process these notice letters are critical to ensuring that veterans understand how to pursue their claims and receive the V VA benefits that they've rightfully earned through their service I've too often heard from my constituents and other veterans across Michigan
▶ 0:32:54and across our country that these claims letters are difficult to understand they're filled with legal jargon many times they are automated from computer systems that are Antiquated and outdated and they can be upwards of 40 pages long making it extremely challenging to distill out from that exactly what the response and required information is this can discourage veterans and their surviving family members from pursuing their claims and receiving benefits and far too often we've heard stories of veterans who have given up their claim because the
▶ 0:33:24process becomes bureaucratically difficult to navigate our veterans and their families deserve better and that's why I sponsored this legislation these letters should be shorter clearer and more easily communicating for the veterans and their survivors it shouldn't take a lawyer to explain to them what a letter says my bill would require the VA to contract with a third-party research entity outside of the VA to really review these notice letters to make them more understandable for veterans and their families the men and women who
▶ 0:33:54serve in our military deserve a claims process that's simple and clear not confusing stressful I know firsthand just in my own interaction with the VA the confusion that can follow when you file a particular claim you get a letter automated back in the mail you don't know if it is requiring you to furnish further information if this is adjudicating a claim that you've put in if it's summarizing what you've done so far it can be very confusing to follow along in the next steps so I'm proud the first bill
▶ 0:34:24that I introduced in into Congress is this bill which will help Ensure veterans receive the support that they deserve I'm grateful to Chairman boss and congresswoman bazinsky support and Mr chairman appreciate you taking up this bill and look forward to our committee leading on this important issue and I yield back thank you thank you Mr Barrett we will foro around a questioning for the members any questions may be submitted for the record you are now excused although I understand some of the members may be staying to ask questions during the next panel I now invite the second panel to take the
▶ 0:34:55table in accordance with yeah yeah in accordance with committee rules I ask unanimous consent that the following members be permitted to participate in today's subcommittee hearings representative Kim from California representative fluger from Texas Mr yakum from Indiana Mr Barrett from Michigan and Mr brahan from Pennsylvania without objection so order
▶ 0:35:42is everyone ready and well rested that's rhetorical you don't have to answer it thank you for coming today thank you for all of those that traveled to get here our second panel includes miss Patricia Chris Fus Chris FY apologies Chris FY Maxon the sister M Sergeant Dennis Chris fi where am I at Stand
▶ 0:36:13By and now you to representative fluger to introduce our next witness thank you Mr chairman uh it really is an honor to introduce my friend Colonel Andrew J shirtliff but he's known to me is Pablo uh and I've known Andy for over 20 years he's an exceptionally uh distinguished and accomplished Air Force veteran fighter pilot leader husband uh to Julie who is also here and father
▶ 0:36:44he's got he has flown over 1500 hours um the accomplishments are too numerous to list we would be here uh and I fear that you would gavel me out if I were to talk about all the accomplishments that uh Colonel shirtliff uh has done throughout his his career but probably the most important one is that when there was a task given when there was an assignment to be had when there was uh any sort of activity that needed to be done he was the first person to raise his hand he was the first person to volunteer he was the first person to
▶ 0:37:14lead uh and as a squadron commander uh and and someone who served on in many different roles he was the most trusted individual that I've served with but he's fighting the biggest uh fight of his life life right now uh against cancer and that's why we're here today Andy I want to thank you for your courage as I mentioned you were a wingman to all of us um at every every moment throughout our active duty career um and it's time for us to be a wingman to you
▶ 0:37:45thank you for the courage thank you for standing up not just for you but for so many of our our friends that that we know who have fought the same battles that you're going through and I want to sincerely thank you for being here and thank your family for allowing you to be here as well yield back thank you Mr fluger and Colonel thank you for your your service and your family service um Mr fluger speaks highly of you and I hold him in the highest regard so you must be one
▶ 0:38:15amazing human being which as a Navy G it's very challenging for me to say to you next on the panel is Miss Diane Bor rower good to see you again as always Executive Director of National organiz of veterans Advocates and Miss Leslie Witter senior vice president of agus advocacy at the national Funeral Directors Association would all the witnesses please stand and raise your hand do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to provide is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you
▶ 0:38:46God thank you and let the record reflect that all Witnesses answered answered in the affirmative Miss Chris FY Maxon you are now recognized for five minutes to present your testimony thank you for having me today I greatly appreciate your help for the veterans I am here for my brother Dennis Chris fi my brother was raised in a small town in Western Pennsylvania we were blessed to have wonderful parents and siblings Chuck Cindy and Lisa my brother
▶ 0:39:16graduated from California Area High School class of 1961 we were very proud when he made the decision to join the military as my father served in World War II in the in the Army my brother Denny's smile lit up the room his kindness is memorable from bringing home strange stray animals and people helping neighbors and friends and creating a famous ball game called rubber
▶ 0:39:47hose my brother was physically fit he jogged he lifted weights and he ate very healthy recently a friend remarked your brother was so kind but you knew better than to mess with him being around my brother was joyous filled with warmth love and pranks the day he left for basic training it was filled with tears and sadness when he came home it was a holiday my mother
▶ 0:40:17always made his favorite ethnic foods and the house was filled with family and relatives uh he was stationed in Davis monthon Air Force Base he went to a dance one evening came home and immediately called my mother to tell her that he met a beautiful kind girl and her name was Lois they were married in June 19 1965 out he immediately was bonded with her family and her
▶ 0:40:47sisters and they welcomed him to the family as we welcomed her they enjoyed traveling their dog family and friends while they were stationed in Germany they got to travel Europe Denny served the Tour of Duty in Vietnam we were always concerned about his safety and Lois remained loyal and his very best friend this time seemed to make them Bond a little closer they they built a house in Arizona
▶ 0:41:18they completed 20 years of service Denny became a meal carrier went to LA in September of 1985 they made it decision to go to Mexico to find a retirement home the year before he made that decision my mother passed away suddenly he came home to Pennsylvania discussed with us if something ever happened to Lois he would not want to live at the time they traveled they always sent
▶ 0:41:48postcards home to our family my grandmother received a postcard from Mexico City she realized that my brother and sister-in-law were there during the earthquake a 8.1 magnitude earthquake that killed 10,000 people September 19th 719 a.m.
▶ 0:42:11in the morning this occurred before there was a computer cell phones internets communication was impossible due to the devastation we made contact with my brother's co-workers and and Friends in LA and realized that my brother did not return to work that he was lost in the earthquake we immediately contacted our family friend Congressman Murphy John Hines
▶ 0:42:41the Veterans Administration the Red Cross to help us we were informed that the concern was for the living and they had to bury the dead if my brother was alive they assured us that they would notify us I asked about going to Mexico I was told that there would be Devastation beyond my belief we did not go to Mexico we trusted that we were being led the right way uh the day that my brother
▶ 0:43:13died and we found out he did not make it was the day my father died we buried my father in 2006 Lois's mother waited for her to come home till the day she died in 200000 23 we decided to finally honor Denny in the cemetery of the alagan in Washington County I contacted the cemetery we worked with the veterans we planned a beautiful ceremony now we were told after everything was planned that
▶ 0:43:43Lois's name could not be permitted on the stone because of the time of her death I work very closely with the Veterans Administration uh Congressman rothen's office Senator fed's office to see if we can make a change what I must tell you that I was treated so fairly with empathetic and respect I was impressed with the constant
▶ 0:44:13communication of everyone that was involved in the situation what we are asking for today is that the we hope we can continue to collaborate on changing the current law which prevents spous of veterans like our Lois who died before 1998 from being honored by passing the dentist and Lois chrisy act to ensure no veteran spouses forgotten thank you thank you ma'am Colonel you recogniz for five minutes
▶ 0:44:44sir good morning chairman of the trial ranking member m McGarvey and committee members thank you for this opportunity to address you this morning and it's quite an honor to represent all active duty in veteran military air crew members on the topic of the aces act HR sorry HR 530 I'm joined this morning by my wife Julie who is sitting behind me in the gallery and supports me each and
▶ 0:45:14every day I retired from the United States Air Force in December of 2022 after another nearly 23 years of service to our nation I was trained as a fighter pilot in the f-15c and the F20 2 culminating in approximately 1500 total flight hours of flying operational missions and training the next generation of fighter pilots and I had a promising career handpicked to stand up the so F-22 flying unit early promotion to Lieutenant Colonel top marks as a squadron commander and
▶ 0:45:44distinguished graduate from senior education in 2018 while serving at Langley Air Force Base Virginia I was looking forward to the next challenge promotion to Colonel a flying' 06 command tour and endless future possibilities I was also in the best shape of my life training for my first half Iron Man simply I was on top of the world and that world came crashing down on January 8th 2019 when I received a call from my doctor saying
▶ 0:46:14I had cancer scans revealed I had a fist sized tumor growing on my left kidney additional tests revealed that the cancer had already spread to both of my lungs I was 41 years old married with a 10 and 13-year-old Sons at home and I had stage cancer while I was selected for promotion to 06 a few weeks after my my diagnosis I was also permanently grounded and eventually medically disqualified from Aviation service
▶ 0:46:44my promising flying career was over scheduling and attending doctor appointments became a near full-time job for the next several months and in the last six years I've undergone two surgeries multiple proced procedures three rounds of radiation treatment Untold number of scans and blood draws I participated in a clinical trial and quite frankly I've exhausted all known uh treatment options in June of 2019 following my partial lung resection
▶ 0:47:15surgery I awoke with a half inch tube protruding from my back attached to a vacuum that was designed to suck out additional fluid from my chest cavity my friend and fellow fighter pilot August photo fluger now Congressman fluger came to visit me in the hospital and slowly walked the halls with me while he carried that vuum it is something I will forget the last six years have been an emotional roller coaster for me and my family and I still remain in the fight for my
▶ 0:47:45life today I would say it's natural for people to question the need for the aces act when the packed Act was just enacted 2022 the packed Act is a great piece legislation that expands VA Healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits agent orange and other toxic substances the ACT removes the burden from the veteran of having to prove service connection for certain medical conditions and while the packed act will likely help millions of veterans
▶ 0:48:15and their families it is also limited certain time periods and specific locations to be clear the pack act does not cover aviators like me and thousands of others who have been proven to have significantly elevated cancer diagnosis and deaths simply from doing their daily flying duties is documented in three studies from 2021 to 2024 in a way I was lucky though because
▶ 0:48:45my cancer was diagnosed while I was on active duty and was therefore automatically service connected and as such I do receive VA Healthcare and benefits for my condition but there are an Untold number of veterans uh who who are not so lucky whose cancer is diagnosed after their military service and therefore they do not receive those benefits the purpose of the aces Act is to write this wrong by identifying the hazards in the military Aviation operating environment that more likely than
▶ 0:49:15not cause cancer we must identify the root cause affecting otherwise healthy air crew the health and continued service of our military air crew directly impact impacts National Security and should be prioritized appropriately the United States need to address the health risks posed to military air crew by their unique work environment by dedicating the resources to fully investigate understand and eventually mitigate those risks that is
▶ 0:49:45why the ases ACT is needed thank you again for this opportunity to address a subcommittee and I look forward to your questions thank you colel Mr Robert you recognized for five minutes chman TR ranking member forve and members of the subcommittee on behalf of Nova thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the bills before you today Nova members are accredited attorneys and agents who represent veterans family members survivors and caregivers in their VA disability claims and appeals therefore Our Testimony today
▶ 0:50:16focuses on those bills designed to improve the adjudication process Nova supports HR 1039 clear Communications for veterans act claims Act and HR 1286 simplifying forms for veterans claims act these bills would create centers to assess VA letters and forms and would include critical input from Advocates we testified in March 2024 regarding VA letters and participated in the discussions led by the subcommittee on ways to improve
▶ 0:50:46them given the vast number of letters VA drafts and sends on a daily basis this work needs to be ongoing likewise we have long advocated for simpler and clearer for forms while we support HR 1286 Nova and other veterans organizations have sought greater flexibility from VA when accepting forms from veterans we previously testified about the problem of va rejecting a wrong form submitted by a veteran and asking for a different form even when it can be determined from the first
▶ 0:51:16form what benefit the veteran is seeking last Congress chairman Bost introduced legislation that would require VA to accept an incorrect form as an intent to under 38 CFR 3155 we urge the subcommittee to consider strengthening this bill with a similar provision as detailed in our written statement Nova supports the review every veterans claim act this bill would prohibit VA from denying a claim solely because the veteran does not appear for a medical examination
▶ 0:51:47Nova members frequently report instances where a veteran communicates an inability to attend an exam for a host of reasons conflict with work schedule illness or mobility issues family responsibilities or a lack of Transportation sometimes they are unable to reach someone to reschedule sometimes that request is not honored and sometimes they never receive notice of the exam in the first place this bill reflects a more veteran Centric policy we expect it will also result in
▶ 0:52:17more scrutiny on a of a file to determine if the claim can be granted based on ongoing VA treatment or private medical evidence already of record as required re ired under 38 USC section 5125 Nova supports the improving training for military sexual trauma claims act this bill Builds on successful bipartisan efforts of past congresses to improve adjudication of these claims we support all efforts to ensure veterans who make a claim for a condition based on military
▶ 0:52:47sexual trauma are not ret traumatized in particular given that contract examiners handle most VA disability exams training for healthcare profession professionals and those who communicate with veterans to schedule these exams is important Nova supports the veterans appeals transparency act which would require the board to provide weekly notice of the assignment of certain docket dates to VJs for consideration with the passage of the appeals modernization act claimants were provided with more choice and control
▶ 0:53:17over the course of their appeals the board of veterans appeals now operates three dockets direct review evidence and hearing on its website the board notes that it is finally deciding far more cases in the new am AMA system than the Legacy system however it also notes that as of December 2025 average days pending for a decision in the direct review docket is 56 days with 713 and 791 days respectively
▶ 0:53:48for the evidence and hearing dockets therefore this is a good time for more transparency for veterans on where their case is in the process as as well as to help veterans and their Advocates make informed decisions on how to proceed with current and future appeals we also support the board of veterans appeals attorney retention and backlog reduction act this bill would allow for non-supervisory attorneys EMP employed by the board to achieve promotion to a grade gs15 Nova maintains that individuals with
▶ 0:54:18appeals pending at the board are best served by decision writing attorneys who are experienced and knowledgeable about the everchanging field of veterans law someone who has stayed at the board and produced quality work to be eligible for this grade but who chooses not to become a supervisor should not be penalized finally Nova supports the veterans claims Education Act this bill would provide veterans family members survivors and caregivers with information to help them understand and select accredited representation if they seek assistance with their claims
▶ 0:54:49given the ongoing problem with unaccredited claims Consultants this information can save claimants from receiving potentially incorrect and costly information from unaccredited actors thank you again for the opportunity today and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have thank you Mr R Miss Whitter you recognized for five minutes thank you chairman detr Rank and member McGarvey and members of the subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today on behalf of nearly 20,000 licensed funeral directors
▶ 0:55:19and EMB bombers from Across the Nation who are members of nfda the national Funeral Directors Association I'm Leslie Whitter and I'm the senior vice president of nfda the role of Funeral Directors in ensuring the veterans receive a dignified funeral and burial cannot be overstated the vital collaboration between Funeral Directors Congress the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense is crucial in supporting bere veteran families during their time of profound
▶ 0:55:49grief and loss Mr chairman nfda supports HR 647 which is common legislation that would allow families to enter their veteran loved ones in a VA National Cemetery even if they had previously opted for the earn or plaque benefit thus ensuring that families have flexibility to make the best decision for their loved ones final resting place this legislation provides a thoughtful solution to a problem that adds unnecessary
▶ 0:56:19stress and grief to federan families I would like to thank representative yakum for his efforts to address this Nuance but incredibly important issue and nfda encourages passage of this legislation I'm also honored to speak today in support of HR 1344 the Dennis and Lois Chris fi act I want to thank representative Russian Tyler for his efforts to ensure that no veteran or family member is denied the recognition they rightfully
▶ 0:56:50deserve for their service to our nation hr3 1344 corrects and Injustice by addressing an arbitrary and outdated restriction that prohibits the VA from providing a memorial headstone or marker for military spouses and dependent children who passed away on or after November 11th 1998 and ensures that military families are properly honored together by fixing this Injustice we're uring
▶ 0:57:20that families like the Chris valoi family can be laid to rest together Andor memorialized with dignity and nfda encourages passage of this legislation Mr chairman in preparation for today's testimony I spoke with Funeral Directors who assist grieving families as they navigate their way through the sometimes complicated process of applying for benefits from multiple agencies within the VA the office of Survivor assistance is a crucial resource
▶ 0:57:50overseeing all benefits and services furnished by the VA to survivors and depend end of deceased veterans so recently the office of Survivor assistance was moved out of the office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and that this hampers osa's ability to serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and that impacts the Fior families so nfda believes that there should be no barrier between the office of survivors assistance
▶ 0:58:21and the office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and for this reason we support HR 1228 and encourage passage of this legislation chairman lrel Rank and member McGarvey and members of the subcommittee on behalf of the national Funeral Directors Association I want to thank you for your tireless leadership dedication and diligent work in support of our nation's veterans and their families in closing I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to testify before you today
▶ 0:58:51on behalf of funeral service and nfda and affirm our unwavering commitment to honoring our nation's veterans and their families I hope that my testimony has provided valuable insights and I am happy to address any questions you may have thank you Mr wter the written statements of our Witnesses today will be entered into the hearing record we will now begin questioning I recognize the ranking member five minutes thank you Mr chairman first of all Colonel shirle thank you so much for your service we're gratefully appreciative of it for it and I just
▶ 0:59:22want to thank you again for your continued service and being here today to help all the aviators to come afterwards to your family um I hope you know we'll say a prayer for you tonight appreciate you being here uh want to ask some questions of of Miss Boyd Robert uh this morning and that we know the board of veterans appeals is already facing a lot of delays veterans are literally waiting years for their claims and their cases to be heard so keeping the attorneys who are reviewing these claims
▶ 0:59:52uh should be a priority but instead it seems like the BB is making decisions that push people away like limiting promotions enforcing return to office rules that don't make sense um we're trying to fix these even if just a little so our veterans can get their claims in a timely manner uh cure members regularly work with the board of veterans appeals as accredited attorneys um how crucial do you think it is for board attorneys to be skilled and knowledgeable in their roles it is absolutely vital those
▶ 1:00:22attorneys are more or less the front line in reviewing a veteran's claim and assisting the VJ that they are assigned to um some veterans claims files can be thousands of pages long so that attorney is tasked with digging through the files selecting and understanding what the most important evidence is in the record and putting together a draft decision that the VJ can then review so again they're really sort of the critical
▶ 1:00:52first line and it's absolutely understandable that they have to have a very high level of skill and knowledge to to do the job and and so we want the VA to have and use whatever tools it needs to to attract the best and brightest attorneys it can find and to incentivize them to stay there so they get that knowledge basing can can actually review these claims more efficiently absolutely great do you think that arbitrarily capping the promotion potential of board
▶ 1:01:23attorneys is a good thing or a bad thing and getting the best and brightest to stay and review these claims more efficiently well well we don't think it's a good thing we think that they should have the opportunities to advance and that you know those most skilled attorneys that choose to say and actually make it their career are the folks that are there to help some of the other newer people as well who are coming in and I I did know that was something that afg talked about in their written statement and so they are actually you know really contributing
▶ 1:01:53to the life and the culture at the board and and that's important I appreciate that I also want to ask you about another issue that we've dealt with frequently in the subcommittee uh since I've been here at least and that's sharks the unscrupulous actors some of the illegal companies that are taking hundreds of millions of dollars from our veterans every year under the guise of of helping them process these claims and look I know veterans are frustrated we have to do a better job of making these claims easier to navigate
▶ 1:02:23uh we also have to understand that they need options um I believe they do you know there are thousands of companies that are accredited and those representatives are ready to help can you talk a little bit about the importance of informing Veterans of the legal accredited options available to them and how would representative Peters Bill help with that well we maintain that more information is always good for veterans and that when people are making a decision about whether or not
▶ 1:02:53they want to do a claim on on their own or seek assistance with the claim we feel that it's critically important that a veteran understand that there are accredited veteran service organizations there are accredited attorneys and there are accredited agents and we really support anything that will help veterans caregivers survivors family members be more informed about who's going to be assisting them thank you very much Mr chairman I yeld back thank you sir Mr fluger you recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman
▶ 1:03:24um again I'd like to thank my friend uh Andy Pablo shli for being here uh and for sharing your testimony as well as all the other Witnesses for your time today today we have three peer reviewed Aviator cancer studies uh that have occurred in the last four years and their findings are in full agreement veteran flyers and all fixed Wing seats fleets ranks roles share in significantly elevated rates of cancer so what do we do next and that's the the reason that we're here exploring the aces act Common Sense tells us that we
▶ 1:03:54need to ask what is causing the cancer uh and there's no other study underway or planned except for the aces act that can help our veterans with the why of their cancers and we certainly will not obtain this information from another cancer incident study that reconfirms the high rates of cancer we know that now it's about the why it's about the what what's causing it um and what I want to talk about is the cost of inaction if we don't do something uh and if we pivot away from getting to the cause of these cancers we're in fact telling
▶ 1:04:24our veteran flying s uh you're on your own and furthermore we're not going to help you figure it out we're not going to help you figure out what made you sick uh and it's my friend Pablo and others that we both know that that we have served with that we flew with u that suffer so my first question for you Pablo is tell us about your journey and what would have been different had we had the aces act already and how would your journey have differed yeah thank you Congressman flug I'll I'll answer that
▶ 1:04:54in a couple different ways ways you know right now we are uh we're hanging out our veterans and our active duty uh a crew members to to dry a bit we've identified that they are sicker than the human population that they or the US population that they're pulled from um at a micro scale my son is a freshman in college he already has his private Pilots license he's a passionate Aviator and he's already considering going into the air force to be a fighter pilot I don't know if I can back him
▶ 1:05:25up on that right now I have concerns for that when you expand that out now across all the different veterans organizations that are backing the aces act that's a lot of America's military families that are questioning whether or not they should send their sons or daughters into America's cockpits right now because cancer is not a fun thing I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy and so we do need to figure out the what and the why behind it so that we can mitigate that and so we can put clear
▶ 1:05:55defined able measurable uh instruments into place to mitigate those risks to protect our aviators and that they can continue to do our nation's business what a a great point you know and and we think about it from the family members of those who have children that want to go serve um you know are we prepared do we believe that our country is doing everything they can and I want to say thank you to the VA in advance I know they're going to testify here and thank you Mr chairman raik and member for this opportunity
▶ 1:06:25what words uh of advice do you have to the VA I think they try to do their best every single day but but now we have knowledge and we must act what what words would you have for the VA specifically yeah I think we need to act and we need to act in a a timely manner you know uh as you mentioned earlier and I said in my own testimony we have very clear evidence at this point of the incidents you know we recognize that people who are pulled from the US population these are not people that walk right off the street these are
▶ 1:06:55highly screened medically physically before they join the military if you become a military Aviator you go through additional screening I personally went through an entire day of being poked and prodded in every way shape and form before I even began my flying career so I was a healthy incredibly healthy individual when I entered at 22 years old and less than 20 years later I had stage four cancer so there's something wrong there so we need to act uh and we we know we have there's something going on we just need to figure out what that is and again and that's why
▶ 1:07:26we need to work together between the National Academy of Sciences who's being directed to conduct a study work with the VA on the study and then report back to the approprate agencies on what actions we need to take this is anecdotal um and not to put you on the spot with math in public but both of us know many of our friends that have have gone through these battles I mean any estimate or idea of how many friends that we both know that you've served with that have gone through uh cancer at a very early
▶ 1:07:56early age in their lives um I know of dozens uh you know I personally know probably around a dozen individuals who have gone through cancer some who are with us today some who are not with us today um and when I think about it on the civilian side or outside the military air crew population uh for those who are under say 50 years old I know two I know two uh
▶ 1:08:26and one was a baby so it's the statistics are there uh and it's very very personal to me I lost a squadron commander who died of cancer um just a few years ago um and every once in a while I get a phone call say hey Pablo I just found out I have cancer what do I do so it is very very personal and it happens day in and day out thank you for testifying for your courage for the fight that you're you're going through right now and for being here today Mr chairman y back thank you Mr
▶ 1:08:56fer Dr Morrison you recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chair uh thank you to our Witnesses for being here today to testify about the legislation before us today I want to begin by thanking the chair and ranking member for their leadership on providing a cost of living adjustment for our veterans our veterans have earned these benefits and it's critical that we pass this legislation to allow them to keep Pace with inflation um Miss Boyd rber I'd like to begin with you uh as you know the rate of claims for military sexual trauma
▶ 1:09:27has increased significantly in recent years up 18% from last year up 40% from a decade ago I'm grateful to my colleagues Representatives Kim and binski for introducing bipartisan legislation to better train the VBA Workforce to handle these highly sensitive Claims can you speak to the importance of having VA and contract examiners who are well prepared to manage claims for veterans who may have experienced MST sure um um as we noted in our testimony we think
▶ 1:09:57it's just really critical that people who are filing these claims are not important generally because even if the claim
▶ 1:10:28is not specifically about MST there could be some other things in the claims process that is somehow related to that that it's important for them to have that kind of sensitivity training and and be attuned to the experiences that some of these folks have had thank you uh Colonel sherle um thank you for your service uh for your sacrifice and for being here with us today I'm so sorry to learn of your diagnosis but I'm heartened by your resolve um and of working with your friend and my colleague representative Luger
▶ 1:10:58on the ases ACT um both of my grandfathers were pilots in World War II and I have tremendous respect and admiration for aviators and recognize the unique risks that you face in your military service um you and U representative fluger got into this a little bit but I I would I'm wondering if you could share a little bit more your perspective on how additional Research into cancer rates among aviators and air crew could help identify some of the unique health risks uh associated with flying
▶ 1:11:29and also how would you suggest making such research complimentary to ongoing initiatives at VA and DOD I think it's incredibly important um to identify the what and the why that's causing the cancer uh the sooner we do that the better uh we've spent since 2021 proving time and time again that there is a higher incident rate among our air crew it it's funny when uh congressman fluer and I was learned to fly and throughout our flying career
▶ 1:12:00we were always taught to maneuver our aircraft in relation to the threat understand your threat environment and mitigate those threats as best you could to accomplish your mission uh we talked about servac to air missiles enemy aircraft air to air missiles and things like that we never talked about what could be happening within our own cockpits within our own aircraft that could be making us sick and so the quicker we understand and can clearly identify what those threats are within our own cockpit with
▶ 1:12:30our own operating environment that is unique to military Aviation the quicker that we can protect our air crew regain the faith of our air crew in our government and allow them to continue to serve the way they want to to defend our nation thank you you know your comments about your son uh hit me particularly hard my husband's an army combat veteran he comes from a long tradition of military servic as many military families do and continue that tradition and I think your hesitation about encouraging your son
▶ 1:13:00speaks volumes and we need to listen to that uh I wish you and your family all the best my prayers to you and thank you for your testimony uh with that I yield back Mr chair thank you Dr Morrison General you recognize sir for five minutes thank you Mr chairman and thank you for having uh this hearing today because this um I'll just say in some cases it's overdue like so many things um but the bottom line is never it's never a bad time
▶ 1:13:30to try to to do the right thing going going forward and so thank you all for being here uh um M Rober um can you elaborate on why VA should always obtain the complete service Personnel records for every veteran seeking benefits based on military sexual trauma sure uh the Personnel Service record and medical records from service are really the critical
▶ 1:14:00piece really of most claims disability compensation claims but these would be particularly important in the case of military sexual trauma because often times that Personnel record may contain some of the critical markers that VA needs to consider when it's deciding the claim okay and kind of going down that road a little bit can you elaborate a little bit on why you support the improving VA training for military sexual trauma CL Nam act sure because again we think that it's really important I think representative
▶ 1:14:31Kim mentioned that some of that training is only happening once every five years it seems that um that training should be happening on a much more regular basis so uh examiners and claims processors are up to speed with the most important information the most sensitive information for treating these and as we do um evaluate all the the cases that before uh and are you know filed
▶ 1:15:01and reviewing Personnel records and whoever might have a look at that to make a good decision going forward you used in your testimony the word accreditation in this particular case should well in any case but let's just say this particular case staying with the subject who who or what entity should be responsible for the accreditation
▶ 1:15:32of those entities are you talking about the claims processors what whatever if you're accrediting because again I specifically I was listening and you use the term accreditation well and no matter what it is I mean it's going to be one of two entities it's either going to be the Veterans Administration if they're going to be accrediting people to to review and adjudicate all of those whatever it happens to be or evaluate can you just put
▶ 1:16:02a little meat on the bone of what it means to you about accreditation and who has the responsibility for that I I would in terms of the VA claims processors and the examiners I think that is really a question for VA in terms of who are the right people and what what I heard you say is VA is responsible for doing that and I'm not trying to be argu I'm trying to be I'm trying to get a a handle on when we're talking about accredited
▶ 1:16:32I think we're talking about accredited Representatives who might be helping a veteran and those folks are accredited by VA yeah so VA has the responsible responsibility for accrediting and holding accountable those Representatives who would be representing those individuals or families absolutely okay I just wanted to to make sure and clarify that whose Court the ball for validating when you think about because um those of us who've served in the military here
▶ 1:17:02whether you're you know you're flying you're driving a ship you're on the ground whatever it happens to be we all get a if you will accredited in the case of uh in piloting we get certified every year or two that we can actually fly the airplane and do it right okay and okay so that's kind of where I was driving on this accreditation piece because there's a got lot of good folks working in the VA who are trying to do the right thing and
▶ 1:17:32it's important upon who's ever running the Veterans Administration to make sure the accreditation process is airtight for those you know families seeking to get help that's all so with that Mr chairman i y back M Rober are you good do you want do you want to respond you oh no no okay I think we're good miss Miss Christopher Lucy how are you doing down there don't think you don't think you got came all the way to Washington DC without some I'm going to engage with you okay thank
▶ 1:18:02you you're getting a little lonely so I just could you elaborate a little bit more because the the hard date is seems to be 1998 but we know that as a veteran myself not I don't know if my spouse necessarily wants to be buried with me that's a discussion she and I need to have together but um I do I do appreciate and respect um the importance of that could you just elaborate to the committee um uh what I could tell you in our case which was very unique because Denny and Lois died together they're buried in a common grave in
▶ 1:18:33Mexico City uh I am a resident of Washington County we're proud of our Cemetery I decided it's time to honor my brother it's time to do something to recognize his service and those serving with him because a military wife as she knows what she does when we went through the process we were all amazed that her information could not be put on Denny's Stone because of the time of
▶ 1:19:03the death and what I could tell you on the front of my brother's Stone I Put beloved Son brother and uncle and the reason I did that is because I wanted to make sure that my children grandchildren great-grandchildren nieces and nephews will know about this Uncle because he died how many years ago on the back of the stone was to be Lois's information and I I wanted it to say beloved wife and best friend when I realized Lois her
▶ 1:19:33name's not going to be there I did not put husband on the front of the stone it broke my heart that we were not able to recognize the fact that he was a husband and had a beloved wife that's why I pursued this uh process I I was shocked to see that there was a date and that we were not able to do this and I believe everyone around me was surprised too we weren't aware of this however as I have said I am forever grateful
▶ 1:20:03of all the help that I've received from everyone involved in the situation yes ma'am and you will most certainly continue to get it I thank you much Colonel get you a good drink I'm coming at you you ready yes Mr chairman the ex Okay so the exam that that you were given and when and when your doctor called you're like hey you have cancer and
▶ 1:20:33your your your stage four was that a was that an annual exam or was there something specific that you went in for is this something that the aviators will get while they're on active duty and you're just happen to hit or was were you in there for something specific and we hey we found it as far as exit strategy goes you know I can only speak for myself but they weren't diving over barrels to get me to go to all these exams before I they were like hey appreciate you later right
▶ 1:21:04and before I answer chairman LR be' remiss if I didn't recognize and thank you and your family's service to our nation U on behalf of my family thank you um no my cancer was discovered not during a routine exam and I will Echo your con your statement that uh military aviators would rather not see the doctor because the doctors's one of the few people in the world that can ground them and prevent them from doing the thing that they love which is fly and so that's a culture that we'll need to overcome within the military uh my cancer
▶ 1:21:34was discovered uh not during a routine exam but because I was seeing my doctor for another issue I had some I had some pain in my lower back is what it was and I was doing some physical therapy uh and they ordered a x-ray and in the X-ray a very sharp Captain and the Air Force the technician notice a occlusion as they call it uh my lower left area and said it could be part of the colon uh but uh we don't know and so of course I was busy with work and it was a three months before I came back
▶ 1:22:04did another x-ray that occlusion was still there and then after a CT scan that's how they found the cancer so there so there there lies the most important question in the room is how do you convince a culture my previous career is same same mentality how do you prevent it how do you convince the cult culture that this is going to be necessary because the last thing after going everything that you and every other pilot has to go through to get in get in that aircraft
▶ 1:22:34is to have somebody who's not a pilot take them away right I think the culture is already shifting I've seen it on active duty we now have dedicated pilot gyms nutritionists uh physical therapists that are helping the pilots address issues in a uh supportive uh he Health way uh and not grounding them is doing so um and that culture is already shifting so good we're going to it's going to have to be them that's on board and we can legislate that all day long but
▶ 1:23:05they if they don't want to you know the deal I mean if you're if you're a veteran you understand what exactly what I'm saying we're not going to show up yeah and then inevitably you know bad things will most certainly happen but thank you again for your service um Mr yakum Sir you recognized for five minutes thank you Mr chairman for holding this hearing today and thank you to our Witnesses for being here I was proud to reintroduce HR 647 the ensuring veterans final resting place
▶ 1:23:35Act of the 20 at the beginning of the 2025 uh this earlier this year under current law if a veteran family chooses to have the VA furnish a commemorative plaque or ear for their loved one they may inadvertently forfeit their right to later inter the veteran at a national cemetery that would require either a headstone or marker uh at the grave site this issue came to my attention because one of my constituents Mrs Jerry Simmons was attempting to get a plaque for her late husband
▶ 1:24:05husband Gary a veteran while working with the VA to secure Mrs Simmons a plaque for her late husband we discovered a problem current law forces military families to make a choice between an N or plaque or internment at a national cemetery not both however a simple choice to temporarily hold a the veterans ashes in a VA ear nullifies the veterans eligibility to be buried in a national
▶ 1:24:35cemetery after after honorable service to our great country we certainly don't want to prevent veterans from being laid to rest in National cemeteries if they wish this bill would provide much needed flexibility in difficult end of life the insuring insuring veterans final resting place Act of 2025 would allow a Survivor to choose to have their veteran loved one interred in a VA
▶ 1:25:06Cemetery even if the Survivor initially chose and earn or plaque in lie of internment at AV vaa Cemetery we Grant veterans the final honor to be intered on Solen grounds at our national cemeteries but those Logistics are left to Veterans families the death of a family member is always difficult and seldom do the arrangements smoothly sometimes families don't immediately know if they want to have the
▶ 1:25:36remains of their loved one interred at a national cemetery or they simply may not want to part with the ashes right away so they may opt for an NN or plaque this snap decision has permanent consequences as the law is currently written we must allow The Grieving families of Americans veterans the flexibility to wait to choose whether or not to inter their loved one at a national cemetery and we shouldn't deny veterans
▶ 1:26:06that right simply because their remains were placed in a VA earn Miss Witter is it difficult for families to make an informed decision about whether to place their veteran loved ones remains in a VA furnished earn or lay them to rest in a VA National Cemetery thank you for the question um I appreciate the work the committee has done on this issue we've worked with VA and the committee on this so I think it's really important to remember that the veteran
▶ 1:26:37earns funeral and burial benefits but so does the spouse they're both entitled to them and I'm sure the Chairman's wife would in fact like to be lay to rest with him when the day comes despite what you think um but I've spoken to a lot of veterans and their spouses and the overwhelming message I get is I want to keep my spouse's remains in an ear and then we'll both be buried together they're two separate benefits it's not double dipping um but as it stands at the moment
▶ 1:27:07if you accept the earn benefit and keep your spouse with you for 20 years then they are now forbidden from being buried but you could still be buried in the cemetery I think that's a complicated thing I think it adds extra stress and what you're what the VA is doing in that situation is is expecting The Grieving loved one to make a decision in the moment with long-term consequences they have to plan a funeral grieve a loss work through all of that and then at the same time they
▶ 1:27:37have to figure out their own final disposition the spouse has to decide well do I want to be have a ground burial or do I want to put the veteran and and not have them with me so I think it's unfair and I think it would be a small Mercy for the VA to allow those grieving families to keep their loal with them thank you and Miss Rober can you elaborate on why you believe Congressman Barrett's Bill HR 1039 would ensure that the VA uh receives the assistance it needs to improve its vast number of notice
▶ 1:28:08letters well I think by having a center with um people who have experience in those types of um letters or issues and also having Advocates and experts who will be assisting in that process would sort of continue part of what actually has already started in the last Congress so we think that is good work that should continue thank you and Mr chairman I yield back thank you Mr yum thank you for your
▶ 1:28:38testimony and joining us today you're now excused and we will wait for the third panel to take seats did we have a high school class walk in and join the committee where are you guys from somebody stand up and with a loud thunderous voice thas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is that a state
▶ 1:29:08in Virginia okay from what uh Science and Technology well welcome to the committee of Veterans Affairs sure eventually we'll get into Science and Tech we're happy to have you are you enjoying your day in Washington DC yes hang out a little bit longer that
▶ 1:29:53change e
▶ 1:30:46is everyone ready Miss Moses how are you today good morning sir I'm well how are you I'm great thank you for joining us today um thank all the witnesses from the Department of Veterans Affairs are we ready to rock and roll everybody got a good deep breath and a glass of water the lead witness for VA is Miss Kenisha Brittain assistant Deputy under Secretary of field operations at the veterans benefits Administration Miss Britain is accompanied by Miss Moses senior principal adviser for vba's compensation Services
▶ 1:31:16Miss Ley uh I'm Sorry Miss Lisa say it one more time PA Bond okay I'm from east Texas I was going to try to get that out but pause Bond got it all right executive director of cemetery operations it's the national cemeter administrations and Mr Evan dier all right outstanding active acting Deputy Vice chairman at the VA board of veterans appeals I please I I I ask that all the witnesses please
▶ 1:31:46stand and raise your right hand do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to provide is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you got thank you let let the record reflect the witnesses answered in the affirmative Miss Britton you now recognized for five minutes to present the Department's testimony good morning chairman Latrell ranking member McGarvey and other members of the subcommittee thank you for inviting
▶ 1:32:16us here today to represent our views on several bills that would affect the Department of Veteran Affairs programs and Services joining me today are Miss Jocelyn Moses senior principal advisor compensation service veterans benefits Administration Miss Lisa paban executive director Cemetery operations National Cemetery Administration and Mr Evan diert acting Deputy Vice chairman Board of Veteran appeals
▶ 1:32:47while my written testimony details the views on the bills including areas of concern and support report I would like to highlight several bills in my opening remarks first VA fully supports the intent of HR 530 the ases ACT VA would like to work with the committee on edits to the legislation to allow the department greater flexibility and make sure the bill does Not Duplicate efforts already undertaken by DOD VA supports both HR
▶ 1:33:17of 647 the insuring veterans rest final resting place Act of 2025 in HR 1344 the Dennis and Lois Chris fooki act the department would like to discuss a more Equitable cost solution for HR 647 the department fully supports HR 1344 while suggesting amendments to eliminate the date of death limitations to ensure eligibility with minimum estimated costs VA
▶ 1:33:47supports the intent of 10 HR 1039 to clear Communications for veterans claims act in hr1 1286 while suggesting amendments to allow VA sufficient time and flexibility to comply with it and legal requirements the VA also suggests additional amendments that would allow time to work through the federally funded research development Center's recommendations the department fully supports the review every
▶ 1:34:18veterans claim Act of 2025 that would prevent denial solely based on a veteran's fail failure to attend a scheduled disability exam VA would like to expand the bill language however to include pension claims and ensure a comprehensive review of all evidence within a claims file the department fully supports the review every veterans claim Act of 2025 VA also supports the improving VA training for military
▶ 1:34:48sexual trauma claims act while offering several amendments to avoid duplicate requirement ments and make sure the bill aligns with the existing VA practices the current training is comprehensive robust and efficient and VA would support amendments to the bill to make sure it improves training requirements the VA would also support sensitivity training for contracted medical examiners but recommends modifying the legislative text to reflect the appropriate
▶ 1:35:18roles of individuals involved the department is also supportive of the survivors benefits delivery Improvement Act of 2025 and the veterans compensation cost of living adjustments Act of 2025 VA would suggest certain amendments to the survivors benefits delivery act to improve timely benefits delivery Outreach strategies and resource alignment for survivors the VA fully supports the cola bill in its
▶ 1:35:48current form finally VA does not support the veterans appeals trans transparency Act of 2025 and the board of veterans appeals attorney retention and reduction backlog act the veterans appeals transparency act would impose serious administrative burdens on the board while also causing major confusion and misperceptions among veterans the attorney retention and backlog reduction act conflicts with the specific classification regulations
▶ 1:36:19lacks Clarity on impr improving decision quality and and could seriously impact the board's operations and budget Mr chairman this concludes my statement we appreciates the con the Congressional intent and welcome the opportunity to work closely with Congress on all the bills on today's agenda my colleagues and I are prepared to respond to any questions you or members of the subcommittee may have I would be remiss if I did not
▶ 1:36:49thank all of the veterans dependents caregivers survivors and others here today advocating for veterans and their families again thank you thank you the written statement of Miss Brit will be entered into the hearing record we'll now move to questions recognize the ranking member thank you very much Mr chairman um Mr Dyer is that correct thank you as I understand it the board of veterans appeals has stopped or is planning to stop its program to reimburse attorneys for bar dues
▶ 1:37:21um look it's this is one of the of those things I mean I know I was an attorney in Kentucky you have to pay D bares to be a lawyer that that's part of it and it's a couple hundred bucks prob about $300 in Kentucky to to be a licensed attorney um but you know this is one of those things that could be a morale killer uh at the VA and so can you confirm for me has the board of veterans appeals terminated this benefit for its attorneys or or does it have plans to and if
▶ 1:37:51yes why thank you uh ranking member McGarvey at this point I can't say that any final action has been taken on it I can tell you that it is something that has been discussed to this point our primary focus is on making sure that our budget is as robust as possible to continue employing as many attorneys and staff as we can to do the mission of the board I appreciate that used a lot of buzzwords there though um so I'm just G to ask you in pretty simple Kentucky terms is this
▶ 1:38:21something you're planning on doing I would assume so okay I think in Washington that's as close as you can get to a yes why again sir in looking at our budget projections for this year looking down the line in terms of anything that we can do to prioritize keeping the highest number of attorneys staff and judges to continue working this down that is what we want to do yeah and I'm not asking this question for the attorneys who work at bva
▶ 1:38:51I'm asking this for the people they serve mhm the veterans we know there's a two-year backlog we know that there is a problem right now with retention and recruitment um we know that the only way to get rid of this backlog is to go through it the the pile is not going to get smaller unless we are intentional about getting through these claims so our veterans can get the care they they can deserve and I think things we're doing like this we're not allowing for promotion on one hand we're taking things away on the other hand this is how you kill morale in an
▶ 1:39:21institution and who get hurt are the veterans that's what we're trying to get to here um did anybody consider how this might impact morale especially you know since you're already forcing these board attorneys to stop teleworking to come back to an office that doesn't even have space for everybody uh I heard today from Miss Britain potentially opposing allowing another level for attorneys which makes no sense to me whatsoever have you guys thought about the impact this would have on the people who work there
▶ 1:39:52and then again on the veterans that's where this goes respectfully ranking member McGarvey there are a couple things that I would want to push back on a little bit in terms of our overall retention our statistics have shown that since 2018 our overall attrition rate has dropped from 13.9% to 7.7% and looking specifically at gs14 attorneys the highest level that you can Ascend without being a supervisor at this point um that is even
▶ 1:40:22lower than 4% this year since what you're telling me is again this is Washington speak you're losing people and you can't afford to and you're taking things away from why you're losing people so we agree on that we are losing people but we agree on that so I bring this up because we were making some progress we actually we're making some and but you mentioned in your testimony that this is now at risk the progress is now at risk so we should be working hard to secure
▶ 1:40:52the progress to get those numbers even lower not doing things that are actually going to undo it and it seems that what we're doing uh so at the very least we let's promote our good employees to match their peers at other agencies let's take care of our employees because these employees the reason to take care of them is not just to take care of employees is to take care of our veterans and we we can talk about all the Recruitment and Retention statistics they're not good enough
▶ 1:41:23and recognize that the people being hurt are the people who put on the uniform and we've made a promise to that I don't think we are doing a good ad job honoring so I appreciate you all being here today Mr chairman I you back thank you Mr McGarvey Mr s sir you recognize for five minutes uh Mr dard I've got a series of uh fairly simple questions yes or no hopefully yes sir um on average how many years the first one's
▶ 1:41:53real simple do veterans wait for a VA board of veterans appeals decision on an appeal uh in the board's AMA direct review docket the direct review docket if you'll allow me to consult my notes sir uh currently as of March 23rd uh direct review was one and a half years that's uh what I thought so does va still send veterans notice of appeal rights which tells them that the board own average issues a decision within one of
▶ 1:42:24appeals on the direct review docket so Congressman S I believe that you're speaking specifically about the notice of appeal rights that would accompany a rating decision correct uh it I believe that it says that we have a goal of 365 days sir a goal yes sir can you tell me what the average is uh so right now for veteran and dependent cases for live veteran independent our average days pending is 329 days okay then
▶ 1:42:54is it true that the law requires the board of veterans appeals to issue decisions in docket order yes it is sir yes or no is it true that many veterans have been waiting since 2019 for a decision on their appeal I will say yes sir uh do you believe that veterans deserve transparency from the board this is a real simple rhetorical question almost so that they can make inform decisions on how to pursue their very own claims yes we do Congressman s uh this is exactly why I filed the transparency
▶ 1:43:24Bill Mr chairman I back thank you Mr self Mr fluger Sir you recognized for five minutes yeah thank you Mr chairman and I want to thank everybody uh here thank you for your service uh it may seem that I'm going to ask some hard questions but it's only to uh to actually help those that I've served with those that you're already helping um and to do it in a way that is targeted to use a pilot term um that will prevent and will continue to find the reason so as
▶ 1:43:54as I mentioned I think y'all were here for the for the previous uh questions um we have peer-reviewed studies DOD has done these we know that there are correlative factors between certain types of cancer uh flying uh you heard my good friend Pablo testifying um now it's time to Pivot to the what it is time to Pivot to what is causing this why is this happening uh when you sit in a cockpit that has a giant radar that is filled with electronics
▶ 1:44:25that is exposed to the Sun that I mean there's so many different factors and and there's a lot of work already being done so miss Britain again thank you currently today I'll just start with the simple question of with the packed act um if a veteran Aviator is diagnosed with cancer after he or she leaves the service is that condition automatically presumptive Under The Pact act thank you for that question sir I would defer to Miss Moses to provide a answer
▶ 1:44:56uh so thank you very much for that question uh so in regards to whether or not the condition would be presumptive it definitely would depend on which specific uh condition was diagnosed happy to take that back for uh specifics to answer your question I think I'll I'll just go ahead and throw a guess out here that it's not and that's the problem that I think we're trying to address here is that we now know through three studies that are peer-reviewed that there is a linkage
▶ 1:45:26between flying healthy individuals who are literally the most physically fit uh people they've been picked out of the society because they are physically fit we had to go through enormous amounts of um medical examinations in order to fly no we don't want to go to the doctor but we we were you know we had to under undergo lots of tests and the cancer rates just for the that I mentioned are 24 to 30% higher in
▶ 1:45:56this population of very healthy people than the normal civilian population um so miss Brittain you mentioned in your in your oral testimony um that you want to work with with the committee what edits do you see right now that we're proposing in Aces that the VA wants to suggest sir we don't have any specific eics at the time um what we are doing is still working to under understand the studies uh that DOD is conducting
▶ 1:46:26um but I will defer to Miss Moses to add further thank you so much M Britain um we don't want to limit uh the conditions to the 11 um conditions that are listed we want to make sure that we are comprehensive uh we understand that there are also existing research studies underway uh we would like to leverage uh the data that is existing uh to identify what additional ways that we can identify causal factors and I'll just push back just a little bit on that because why wouldn't we go with what the National Academy
▶ 1:46:56of Science is already recommending they know that these 11 are correlative so let's hone in on that as a starting point and go from there why are we waiting because and I'll ask this um can you explain how waiting years for the dod studies uh to you know finish out serves veterans now because we're like we're in kind of crisis mode right now sure thank you very much for that question uh and if you allow me to clarify we're not stating that uh we're an objection to the 11 conditions
▶ 1:47:27we just don't want to restrict to those 11 so we do support uh we're in agreement with the 11 but we want to make sure that we're not restricting or limiting to those 11 do do you agree or Miss Britain do you agree that moving with a an extreme sense of urgency right now is the right course of action yes sir we do agree is VA committed to moving with that extreme sense of urgency right now to help Pablo to help this could be me I I mean I mean literally we're talking about people this could be Mr Bergman who who's a pilot the general
▶ 1:47:57we we are 100% committed to resolving this sir in the most timely manner as possible um and will y'all commit today to briefing the secretary who also is an Air Force Veteran by the way um on on this issue on the aces act on the need for Aces act uh to move with extreme urgency certainly sir we are always excited to brief the second on these type of issues thank you again thank you for what you do
▶ 1:48:28um the the questions although direct uh are built upon some frustration that I have over the last three years because it's three to four years we've been working on this and in that 3 to four year period both Pablo and myself know many people who have been diagnosed now in their 30s 40s and 50s which is uh you know the rates are just extremely high the data points to a need for Aces act we have a bamal bipartisan piece of legislation
▶ 1:48:58Aces act Senator Mark Kelly Mr Tom Cotton myself and many others in the house and the Senate want to see this go we're counting on you thank you for the work that you do to help so many veterans I mean that sincerely and Mr chairman again thank you for allowing me to wave on to this committee for such an important issue this is my top priority thank you Mr F Absolut honor to have you and we're going to carry this this for you all the way to the to the Finish Line uh Miss Britain I'm going to put this at you but I got a feeling you're going to deflect
▶ 1:49:28over Mr Dyer the veterans appeals transparency act your feeling is correct sirer it's gonna be a good day in Washington DC tell me why that it's a no-o and before you start on that can you give me an idea on the the overall on the dockets how many outstanding um claims are currently in place uh respectfully Mr chairman in terms of the dockets
▶ 1:49:59I don't have that in front of me but that's something I'm happy to take back to the record and report back to you on you have a plus or minus somewhere because I got a feeling it's like in the hundreds of thousands so I believe the last statistics I sh I saw 197,000 if I'm remembering correctly from our report on Monday okay and from on report from Monday yes sir all right now I'm going to let you dig in a little bit on this why why the VA is shooting this down sir we have three primary
▶ 1:50:29concerns as it comes to this bill is written we definitely share this committee's desire to increase transparency as it comes to Veterans appeals uh but those three concerns that we've got are number one when we've done this in the past we've opened ourselves up to litigation at the veterans court when you're listing out these are the docket dates that we're doing if you're a person who sees well looks like this range and I'm not part of that you're going to get concerned and when you get concerned the place that you go is to
▶ 1:50:59the court of appeals for veterans claims to file a RIT to say what are these people doing we had to spend a lot of time working with our fellow council at General Council to say well this is what happened in this particular case and here's why we couldn't move that and even if we had a lot of good reasons that that particular case couldn't move it took up a lot of time on our part to prepare those declarations that's okay something tells me this this goes through many lawyers hands before you put it in front of
▶ 1:51:29Congress well I'm not going to say that's a problem and I so there's risk aversion in here yes yes sir wholeheartedly 100% yes okay that doesn't fix the problem I understand the defensive posture that they're taking and for the VA I got it it's not solving the problem so I mean to put everything absolutely lay it out the biggest thing that I would say chairman Latrell is that knowing that
▶ 1:51:59information isn't going to help a veteran look at his or her claim and say this is the best path for me one thing I would argue against are you a veteran sir I apologize no sir okay the one thing that I would argue and this go this transcends the veteran Community but the one thing that we really really like is is being informed yes sir from step off to Mission success the more information we have MH you want you I say this every committee you know the veteran committee boy we we Hard to Handle you know we get spun up and down quickly
▶ 1:52:29and one of the reasons we do that is if we have not been given the information that we want need and is continue we feel that the more important information that we can provide sir are those statistics regarding average days pending average days to complete that if you can look at that and know this is going to take this long this is going to take this long I feel like this is the better path for me to go on the direct docket because I want to answer as quickly as I can or I want to go on the evidence docket
▶ 1:52:59because I've got something else to submit but I also want to make sure that I can take that to the board rather than back to VA in the office this is going to keep VA in its current position correct by shooting but since the VA disagrees on this this piece of legislation that that's going to keep the POS are the same in the VA certainly we're willing to continue to work with the committee yeah it would not change
▶ 1:53:30I would I would have I think I would have been happier if there would have said amendments we VA will provide amendments instead of saying VA just does not support because you just immediately said no instead let's figure out how to get the yes I I appreciate that sir okay um we're not I'm I'm not giving up on this little guy right here so this is going to be some discussions that we're going to continue to have and I would recommend that the VA lawyers included figure
▶ 1:54:00out again how to how are we going to get the yes instead of no because at the end of the day he and I and the other members we got to have to home and talk to our veterans all right so since we have to do that guess who you have to talk to you got to talk to us yes sir all right and then had something for Miss Moses but you have anything else for second round the question
▶ 1:54:44answer okay so thank you to all the witnesses for testifying today and let me close with this you guys are I I I really respect and admire you guys for working with the VA it's not an easy task it is it is a big machine that is very very complex and those of us that you have to deal with again aren't easy to deal with um please continue to do what you do and all just understand that even if you're going to sit up in front of this committee me as the chair and the ranking
▶ 1:55:14member you I'm going to wire brush you if it's necessary okay because it's not a perfect space and and we will absolutely die trying to get us there okay because the veterans deserve that right um and I'll pass it off to rank M for your Clos remark sir thank you Mr chairman and I I agree with that and look too many times I think the VA comes in front of us and says no instead of trying to get to yes
▶ 1:55:45and why that's a problem is it's because our veterans who are feeling the consequences of it and we've got to make sure we are busting through the status quo to do everything we can to help our veterans and regardless of what you might see in Washington right now I think this committee remains committed to that mission so appreciate that I ask unanimous consent that the statements
▶ 1:56:15for the records uh statements for the record we have received be entered into the hearing record hearing no objection so order to ask unanimous consent that all MERS have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include exrain material hear no objection so ordered I thank the members in the witness for their attendance and participation day this hearing is adjourned and one one more thing for the panel and I as a Navy guy I don't ever like to give Marines credit for anything just because it's a Navy Marine thing but I always
▶ 1:56:45when when I'm up here I being in combat I was always impressed they Marines always went like hey look this is we're not going to make it back going that's the mentality of a marine and our ser and service members across the board but again you know I thought this at the Marines because they say I can't tell you how many time Marines saved my life and I was a special special forces operator and it so it's really even bad since I'm a Navy Guy special forces guy but
▶ 1:57:16um I sit up every day when we're in here thinking like hey look man no every service member said I will now I'm not saying that you don't but every single day remember that every single veteran you got to deal with at one time or another said hey look I'm going I'm going to provide that blanket of Freedom that we sleep under every single night I'm that man or woman all right and I know boy they're hard to get a hold of
▶ 1:57:46God I mean sometimes I talk to my B I'm like yo you were just out of control but they've earned that right because they put on the uniform and protected us while we sat back here in the United States okay fair enough that only that's supposed to be off the record I should have said that but thank you very much