WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department hopes to cut the average wait for disability claims by Sept. 30 to 160 days from the current wait of six months.
Ronald Aument, the VA's deputy undersecretary for benefits, told The Washington Times the agency plans to hire 400 people to help chip away at a backlog of 600,000 claims that can extend a veteran's wait for a disability decision to a year.
"Once these additional people come fully trained and productive, then I'm confident we'll make a major dent in the backlog," Aument told the Times.
Dan Bertoni of the Government Accountability Office said the long waits may get longer because the agency expects more claims.
"We had a claims system that didn't work well in peacetime, and it's certainly showing strain now," Bertoni told the Times.
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said the situation is unacceptable.
"For some veterans, this is not mere inconvenience. It is financial and potentially emotional disaster," he said, the Times reported.
