Via Veterans Today
WASHINGTON — A petition signed by a reported 26,000 veterans and sent to the White House on Tuesday calls for President Obama to fire Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, saying a change of leadership is needed to eliminate the lengthy backlog of veterans awaiting action on their disability claims.
In advance of the petition, the Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday released figures reporting that the backlog of claims pending more than 125 days is down by almost 20 percent from its highest point more than four months ago.
The VA progress continues a trend first reported in June, when department officials said they had reached “a tipping point,” with the number of cases awaiting action declining.
The claims backlog — those cases pending 125 days or longer — stands at 490,000, which is down from the 530,000 reported June 15, figures show. The VA says its total claims inventory of 773,000 is the lowest since April 2011, and down from 808,000 on June 15.
The group that organized the petition, Concerned Veterans for America, said the progress is not enough.
“There are still 500,000 veterans waiting in the disability claims backlog, and this is unacceptable,” the group said in a statement. “CVA is keeping the heat on and will ensure the voices of veterans are heard.”
The White House has praised Shinseki’s efforts to reduce the backlog.
Obama told a veterans group this month that the administration was “turning the tide” in the effort to reduce the backlog. “We are not where we need to be, but we’re making progress,” Obama said in an address to the Disabled American Veterans’ convention in Orlando Aug. 10. “In the last five months alone, it’s down nearly 20 percent.”
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