CHILLICOTHE --U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said growth in the backlog of veterans claims needing attention prompted him to draft the Veteran's Service Outreach Act, which would require the Veteran's Affairs Administration to notify veterans of resources in their community that can help.
In a conference call Wednesday, Brown said veterans have reported spending more than an hour on hold waiting to access benefits and facing struggles in submitting paperwork to get their claims processed.
"Our veterans should not be placed on hold when they try to access benefits they should receive," Brown said.
As of March, 25,226 veterans were awaiting decisions about their claims, 70 percent of which had been pending for 125 days or more. Veterans can now file their claims electronically, and while Brown admits that's a good thing, he said many veterans still might need assistance in navigating the system and filing out all their paperwork correctly.
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