(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – After receiving a response from the VA Secretary that additional personnel will be assigned to reduce the VA Fiduciary Appointment backlog, Rep. Rich Nugent (FL-05) issued the following statement:

“Several months back, I started hearing from constituents who were waiting, in some cases, more than a hundred days for a fiduciary appointment with the VA.  On a case by case basis, my office would intervene and the appointment would promptly be scheduled, but for the untold numbers of veterans and families who didn’t think to call their member of Congress, the situation was totally unacceptable.  Families were unable to receive retroactive benefits they were due because the VA did not have a sufficient number of case examiners to cover the veteran population in Central Florida.

“On December 8^th, I sent a letter to Secretary Shinseki demanding that a solution be found and found quickly to address the backlog.  I am happy to say that I received a response from him this afternoon stating that ten additional case officers will be brought on to address the problem.  It is the first substantive response that I have received from an executive branch agency this year.  Considering it’s going to help our veterans, I’m glad it was on this issue.    

“When I told the veterans that I would get the backlog fixed, I meant it.”

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