Editorial: A familiar VA pattern

[CommunityEditor]

Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.

Lawmakers conditioned by years of regular and recurring VA snafus were not so sanguine. Rep, John Boozman, R-Ark., said he’d almost feel more comfortable “if VA came to us with problems.”

That caution proved well founded. Two months into the new GI Bill era and more than a month after the fall term began at most colleges and universities, at least 12,000 veterans are waiting on late payments for tuition, living costs and books.

That’s more than 44 percent of those who have applied for new GI Bill benefits for the fall term. And the problem may be much bigger; VA says it cannot give precise figures on veterans seeking immediate benefits payments.

most schools are being patient about delayed payments for tuition and fees. But late living stipends and book allowances — cash payments made directly to students —cause serious problems.

Veterans report having to seek loans from parents, get part-time jobs and even consider dropping out because they can’t make ends meet out of their own pockets.

VA officials — who knew that the new program would be wildly popular, and that autumn always brings a spike in claims for education benefits — are now in the familiar position of trying to play catch-up as Post-9/11 GI Bill applications continue to pour in.

Claims processors are being put on overtime, and there is little else to be done except hope VA can turn this around to provide timely payments to all who qualify.

But it’s yet another reminder for Congress that it needs to keep a close watch on VA, even when officials swear that all systems are go.

[ANRYUGYO]

In all the publicity surrounding our soldiers and veterans struggling to make ends meet while waiting for the payments from their “New GI Bill” benefits to arrive, one group has been almost completely overlooked. Many dependents of 100% service connected disabled veterans have also been waiting for their Dependent Educational Assistance (DEA) to arrive. I am the dependent of a 100% disabled Desert Storm veteran and I applied for DEA for the first time in April. The April delay was purely confusion in the service connection status of my spouse and was resolved after an appeal to the VA. I was granted a certificate of eligibility for DEA in June. It is now October and I am still waiting for the first check to arrive. When I contacted the VA I was told that I had been caught up in the rush of New GI Bill applicants and that my claim was being processed. Being a spouse of a disabled veteran I have learned patience with the VA system, but it has also given me the experience to empathize with those New GI Bill veterans waiting for payments. What has not been discussed is a plan for emergency payments to dependents who are also attending school full time and struggling to make ends meet while caring for their 100% service connected disabled spouse.

S.Millar
Timberon, NM