On Tuesday, the House unanimously passed H.R. 675, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2015, which includes numerous provisions aimed to increase support to veterans with service-connected disabilities, improve the veterans disability compensation appeals process and increase efficiencies as well as transparency within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
H.R. 675 was introduced on February 3, 2015, by Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-LA). The bill contains important provisions that mandate the disclosure of the average processing times for claims as well as the percentage of claims submitted for which benefits are awarded, according to Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar.
The Congressional Budget Office reported that enacting H.R. 675 will decrease mandatory spending by $4 million over a 10-year period.
“Ensuring our veterans get COLA increases at the same rate as Social Security recipients is just common sense. Many of the veterans that will benefit by this legislation suffered debilitating injuries in combat and deserve the full care and benefits they earned,” stated Gosar.
“Furthermore, reports still show that waiting times for disability claims are outrageously long. Until the VA can prove that it is capable of living up to the standards our veterans deserve, Congress will continue to push for greater accountability and reforms from this department that has failed so many of our nation’s heroes.” Gosar concluded, “The VA still has a long way to go in order to regain the trust of our nations veterans, but today’s actions in the House will greatly assist with keeping this department honest while streamlining the veterans claims process.”