U.s. congressman Rodney davis proudly representing the 13th district of illinois

U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), and Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) today led a bipartisan group of 74 House members in requesting that the Department of Veterans Affairs grant read-only access to congressional offices working to help veterans receive the benefits they have earned. With roughly 70,000 pending cases and the VA missing its goal of eliminating the claims backlog by the end of 2015, allowing this access will help congressional staffers alleviate some of the frustrations felt by those stuck in the backlog.

"While other agencies allow caseworkers to track their claims through an online system, the VA does not and remains one of the most difficult agencies to get updates for constituents who have requested our help," said Davis. "My office has more than 90 open cases with the VA - more than any other agency. By allowing congressional staff access to this information, we can help get veterans the timely answers they need and deserve. I hope the VA will work with us to implement this commonsense change that will create much-needed transparency within the system and help eliminate the backlog of cases."

"A year ago, this coming April, we sent a letter to Secretary McDonald requesting that read-only access be granted to our congressional staff so they may better serve the veterans we represent. This request is a win-win for everyone; veterans, the VA, and congressional staff. It is unfortunate that our veterans continued to wait extended periods of time for their claims to move through the VA backlog. Granting read-only access will help expedite the claims process and help alleviate the workload faced by the VA and the congressional staff processing these claims. Our veterans have given our country so much, have honorably served, and red tape should not meet them during their time of need," said Yoho.

"After sacrificing so much in service to our nation, it is disgraceful that veterans are still waiting for their claims to be processed to access the benefits they have earned," said Murphy. "By allowing our staff, who are already working closely with the VA, to access these electronic records directly, we can cut through some of the red tape to update our veterans in a more timely manner. I hope the VA will work with us to enact this common-sense change so we can better serve our nation's heroes."

Read-only access would enable Congressional staff to work more collaboratively and time-efficiently with the VA's Regional Office staff. Davis has introduced H.R. 3335, the Access to Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, to require the VA to grant congressional offices access but Davis is hoping the VA will make this change without requiring legislative action. Text of the letter reads as follows:

Dear Secretary McDonald,

As members of Congress, helping our veterans receive the benefits and care they so rightfully deserve is one of our top priorities. While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made progress in reducing the veterans’ claims backlog, we continue to believe that more needs to be done to advance a VA policy regarding congressional access to veterans’ electronic claims files- CITRIX, MAP-D, SHARE, VBMS, VACOLS, and Virtual VA.

As you are aware, at the present time, only VA staff, certified lawyers and Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) have permission to access these files. While we appreciate the complexity and concerns that have been raised regarding privacy, legal, and regulatory issues, as well as information technology system security limitations, we are confident that the combined efforts of the VA and Congress can adequately address and alleviate these potential barriers. By working in a collaborative manner on this issue we will help improve service to veterans and their families - a goal we can agree we share.

In previous correspondences, your office informed us that in order to provide even limited access to electronic claims files to congressional staff, the VA would have to transfer the access of other representatives currently utilizing the system: VSO service officers, private attorneys, and VA claims agents. According to your office, this would be necessary because the “system” is currently only capable of providing access to a single representative at a time. In our combined experience, by the time a constituent advocate begins working on a veteran’s case they are the only staff working the issue because all other avenues have been exhausted. Given that our staffs are typically contacted in many cases as a last resort – after having first sought help from the VA or a service officer - to help veterans navigate significant issues they are facing at the VA, we request further information clarifying why congressional offices continue to be denied access.

Additionally, while the VA has indicated that it is working hard to expand veterans’ on-line self- service capabilities we are concerned with the turn-around time of this project and the impact it will have on veterans currently awaiting a claims judgement. Could you please provide an update on the progress of this initiative, as well as detail how the VA intends to assist veterans who lack access to a personal computer or broadband? Could you also address if the VA intends to hold training seminars to explain the program to older veterans who may have difficulty navigating online systems without assistance?

Finally, we are also requesting a status update on the proposed user-centered design sessions that had been discussed as a means to bring together member offices, veterans, VA privacy and security experts, and policy staff to workshop possible solutions that would meet both our needs to provide constituent services and uphold privacy protection laws. We urge the VA to establish a timeline for such sessions to take place in the very near future. This is an issue that simply can no longer be delayed.

We look forward to your timely response and continued engagement on this issue. In the meantime, our offices will be exploring legislative action that Congress can take to help initiate the necessary changes to ensure our veterans’ needs are being met. Thank you for your time and attention regarding these critical issues.

Sincerely,