One year into his job as chief of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Secretary Eric K. Shinseki reaffirmed his commitment to focus on reducing the backlog of pending disability claims. The number of veterans awaiting resolution of claims for pensions, health care, and disability compensation is nearing one million and rising steadily. Citing four pilot programs aimed at streamlining the often byzantine claims application process, Shinseki promised, "We are going to break the back of the backlog this year," in an April 6 statement. Veterans can probably expect in the near future to have the VA provide them a checklist of items they will need to complete their applications. Also, Shinseki said that the VA will switch modes from adversary to advocate for applicants, improve communications, and debug the system before there is any chance that glitches be incorporated in plans to automate the application system.
