“Trouble with implementing changes to the GI Bill has left lawmakers skeptical when it comes to new systems at the Department of Veterans Affairs. But the VA’s appeals modernization efforts are playing out far more smoothly, according to its stakeholders.”
“Byrne painted a rosy picture of the modernization efforts. The Veterans Benefits Administration exceeded its production targets for FY 2018 by 12.5 percent, resolving more than 168,000 appeals, 62 percent more than in FY 2017. It did this by opening its new Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) to all veterans, though the Board of Veterans Appeals did not begin adjudicating RAMP cases until October.”
“David McLenachen, director of the Appeals Management Office at VBA, told the committee that RAMP helped the VBA deliver 34,000 decisions, each in an average of 120 days. The time frame for such decisions before the RAMP program was three to seven years…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA’s confidence about appeals modernization timeline soothes congressional skepticism – By David Thornton, December 13, 2018. Federal News Network.
