ATLANTA — The Secretary of Veterans Affairs says he’s working to make it easier for veterans to get their disability payments.
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The comments come after his office faced backlash over a rule that would have tied those benefits to a veteran’s health.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins spoke at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, where he met with lawmakers and addressed questions about changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Collins sidestepped some questions about the VA’s reversal of a rule that would have linked a veteran’s disability payments to their health, focusing instead on what he says is an effort to make the process of getting disability benefits easier.
“I think the biggest thing is just to not only pray for our troops, pray for our leadership, pray for the president and all the leaders as we go through,” Collins said.
Collins also asked for prayer as military operations in Iran continue.
During his visit, he said his administration is working to simplify the process for veterans applying for disability benefits.
“We had an almost 18-page document to start getting your disability. One of the pages actually said, ‘Give us your military history.’ I said that’s stupid,” Collins said. “So right now we’re in the process of actually lowering that down to about three to four pages. It’s going to help them go through it much quicker.”
But questions remain about the policy that was ultimately reversed.
In a letter to Collins, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff demanded more information about the proposal, which he said would have linked a veteran’s disability rating to how well they were managing their health.
“The policy you proposed would force veterans to choose between their health and receiving the disability benefits they have earned,” Ossoff wrote.
The VA later reversed that policy.
Collins also responded to criticism that job cuts last year may have gone too far and could affect the VA’s standard of care. The secretary insisted that it is not the case, but acknowledged the agency still has work to do.
“We’ve been able to process three million claims. We’ve dropped the days from 137 days to 77 days, dropped the backlog over 100,000,” Collins said. “So I think what we’re doing is still, we’re still finding our footing. But we’re also saying there’s a focused difference.”
Channel 2 Action News also asked Collins about being named the so-called designated survivor for the president’s State of the Union speech for the second year in a row.
Collins said it was an honor but would not discuss the president’s decision.
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