Watch or download Senator King’s questioning HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, U.S. Senator Angus King, today urged top officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to work on reducing backlogs in processing veterans’ PACT Act toxic-exposure claims. King encouraged Joshua Jacobs, VA Under Secretary for Benefits, to adopt automation technology nationwide to make processing benefits more efficient; referencing a current automation pilot program at Togus that has significantly sped up claim decision times.

The hearing comes shortly before the one year anniversary of the PACT Act’s signing and the August 9th deadline for Maine veterans to apply for backdated toxic-exposure benefits.

“Maine’s [Veterans Health Administration] and [Veterans Benefits Administration people have done an amazing job, we are screening at 10% above the national average. They've really done a great job on the outreach,” said Senator King. “We've got the backlog and we know it's going to grow, probably close to 400-500,000. Talk to me about how we use automation without losing the personal touch and the customer relationship.”

“So when we talk about automation, we're not talking full end-to-end automation. What we're talking about is automated decision support. So we're automating the administrative tasks to make it easier, less time consuming for our employees to search through records,” replied Under Secretary Jacobs. “We're looking to provide those tools, including at the Togus Regional Office, where they're one of our pilot sites. They're benefiting from the hard work of folks in the Montgomery RO, which were one of the earlier prototype sites, kind of at the bleeding edge.”

“We're talking about 40 day reduction in decision time – a significant reduction,” Senator King commented.

“We're significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to process claims to get to the first decision. We're enabling our employees to have more capacity to deliver more timely, more accurate, and more consistent decisions,” agreed Under Secretary Jacobs. “It's tools like this that have the potential to enable us to move away from things like mandatory overtime, which we've had to rely on to ensure that we're delivering the benefits that veterans deserve at the pace at which they're filing.”

Continuing his questioning, King also asked Under Secretary Jacobs along with Shereef Elnahal, VA Under Secretary for Health, about ongoing challenges with the length of time it takes for the VA to hire and onboard new staff.

“One of the things we've discussed in this committee is the long period between a hiring decision and onboarding. How are we doing on that front?” asked Senator King.

“[The Office of Personnel Management] has a standard goal of doing that within 80 days. At the end of June, we made about 10,000 employment selections, with 85% hired within 80 days,” replied Under Secretary Jacobs.

“How about you, Under Secretary Elnahal?” King continued.

“I think, Senator, the issue that we have in VHA is primarily—with hiring—is primarily what you just said. Right now our meeting is about 165 days to bring folks,” replied Under Secretary Elnahal.

“You’re going to lose good people in that time,” Senator King warned.

The PACT Act of 2022, a King-backed bipartisan bill, was signed into law last year by President Joe Biden to expand VA healthcare and compensation benefits eligibility for more than 3.5 million veterans with exposure to toxic hazards like burn pits, Agent Orange, and other dangerous substances. While PACT claims can be submitted at any time in the future, only claims filed by August 9^th, 2023 will be eligible for backdated benefits. After August 9th 2023, PACT benefits will no longer be backdated.

More information about PACT Act eligibility and filing a disability claim can be found at https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits. To file a claim, Maine veterans can call 207-621-6938 to schedule an appointment at Togus or another location.

As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator King works to oversee the VA and ensure the proper implementation of various programs, such as the PACT Act, the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act, and the John Scott Hannon Act. Senator King hopes to help improve the Department’s capacity by investing in its workforce, facilities, and other modernization efforts.