WATCH: Pappas Presses VA on Delays to Education Benefits to Veterans
Today at a hearing held by the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the subcommittee, pressed VA leadership on VA’s failure to pay required education benefits on time to over 75,000 veterans and their families and survivors. View Pappas’s remarks here.
Underscoring the lack of communication from VA to veterans, their families, and Congress, Pappas said, “We have not had that – in fact, in all my years on this Committee I have never experienced this level of stonewalling before… VA has issued little to no public acknowledgment for months regarding the seventy-five thousand beneficiaries whose benefits have been delayed. There has been minimal communication for months to schools and beneficiaries themselves. And there has been zero communication with Congress, unless you can count the letter that we received back that didn’t answer our questions at 5:45 yesterday. Three letters that were sent from members of this committee went unanswered for a month and a half.”
Stressing the length of time of four months for VA to share information, he said, “It took four months between this problem being identified and Congress being updated. Four months - during which tens of thousands of beneficiaries were left without any information. There’s just no excuse for such an egregious lack of communication around an issue that affects so many veterans. Any reasonable person would conclude that a deliberate, political decision was made to cut off communications with Congress and veterans to avoid accountability and hide the problem.”
Pappas shared a constituent story, saying, “One of my constituents from Manchester contacted our office and said: ‘Due to an error with the VA benefits system I have not received my education benefits so far this semester. The call-in line that I and the University of New Hampshire veteran center staff use to resolve such issues has been deactivated for the duration of the shutdown, leaving me dead in the water. My wife’s salary has so far covered our rent and food, but we are at risk of losing child care for my son due to non-payment as well as having to miss car payments.’ Financial stress put on him and his family is evident. It is also unacceptable.”
Background:
Pappas has sent multiple letters, with House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (CT) on this issue. Secretary Collins failed to respond to previous letters sent on October 9 and November 14 until yesterday evening, missing multiple deadlines to provide the requested information. VA acknowledged during a December 5 briefing that it never informed Congress of the issue impacting 75,000 beneficiaries, which started in August. VA is aware of the failed distribution of checks that is still affecting the finances of thousands, but deemed it unnecessary to communicate with the veterans, families, and survivors impacted or notify Congress and the public.