Home California Rep. Jerry McNerney Statement on VA Inspector General Report on Oakland VA Office

Rep. Jerry McNerney Statement on VA Inspector General Report on Oakland VA Office

by ECT

Washington, DC – After a nearly six-month review of the Oakland Veterans Affairs Regional Office, the VA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report today showing the Oakland VA had failed to maintain records of thousands of veterans’ claims.

“Veterans who contact their local VA shouldn’t have to wait years for a response,” said Rep. McNerney. “But losing these letters and other records is completely unacceptable.”

“I’ve spent my congressional career advocating for the veterans in my district and around the nation. This report is yet another unfortunate example of mismanagement at the VA and illustrates the need for transparency at the Department. I will use my seat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to oversee the VA’s activities until these lapses are a thing of the past.”

Key findings of the report on failures at the Oakland VA Regional Office (VARO) include the following:

  • “(OIG) substantiated the allegation that Oakland VARO staff had not processed a significant number of informal requests for benefits dating back many years.”
  • “Some of these informal claims dated back to July 2002.”
  • “Oakland VARO staff did not perform an adequate review or take actions needed on all of the unprocessed informal claims found by staff when the office was undergoing a construction project.”
  • “Because of the poor record keeping, (OIG) could not verify the VARO’s original document count of 13,184 unprocessed informal claims or the 2,155 identified as requiring additional review or action. We also could not confirm that only 537 informal claims remained to be processed following the special project team’s review.”
  • The OIG also confirmed that the Oakland VA office identified at least 13,184 unprocessed claims in 2012, some stretching back over a decade. However, the Veterans Benefit Administration is unable to verify that the 13,184 claims were ever processed or whether the veterans have received the benefits they earned.

To view the full report, please click here.

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