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NICHOLSON WANTS TO CUT DELAYS IN VETS' PAY, BUT
LEAVES JOB TO HIS SUCCESSOR -- VA Secretary
suddenly
full of good ideas for agency as he prepares to
leave.
VA Secretary Jim Nicholson
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Story here...
http://www.guardian
.co.uk/worldlatest/story
/0,,-6951006,00.html
Story below:
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VA Head Wants to Cut Delays in Vets' Pay
By HOPE YEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Departing Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson
called for new measures Wednesday to reduce intractable delays in
veterans disability pay, saying his successor will have to ``think
outside the box'' to alleviate strains on the agency.
Nicholson, whose last work day is Friday, also cautioned that the next
VA secretary will have to be careful in navigating improvements and
pointed to lingering difficulties in coordinating care with the
Pentagon. But he declined to say what kind of leader the VA needs to
accomplish those goals.
``These decisions are really all the president's,'' Nicholson demurred
in an interview with The Associated Press.
Speaking at times wistfully but optimistically on a range of topics,
Nicholson acknowledged making mistakes during his embattled 2 year
tenure, which saw significant budget shortfalls, an embarrassing data
theft of veterans' personal information and the award of bonuses to
high-ranking officials.
But he noted steps in improving mental health care, achievements in
creating VA advisory committees to hear veterans' concerns directly, and
insisted the VA was well-positioned to fulfill its mission.
Pointing to delays in disability benefits, Nicholson reiterated that
1,100 new processors won't be enough to reduce monthslong delays,
particularly as the VA prepares to take on additional responsibilities
from the Pentagon in awarding payments.
He urged Congress to pass legislation that would shorten the appeals
time veterans have to challenge decisions, which he said contributed to
the delays averaging 177 days. With current efforts, the VA has said it
can only hope to reduce delays to 145-150 days.
Nicholson also urged creation of a pilot system that would let veterans
get benefits almost immediately without having to prove their claim
first, subject to random audits for validity that could come later. Such
a proposal has been touted before by Harvard professor Linda Bilmes and
some Democrats in Congress, although no action has been taken.
``The process ought to be very critically reviewed towards altering it
and shortening it by legislation, because we have to follow the law the
time windows to shorten the whole process,'' he said. ``It means
veterans will have to speed up a little bit in their responses, and
other agencies. like DoD will have to speed up their responses.''
``If we're going to truly expedite this and make it truly fast, it's got
to be subject to review,'' Nicholson added.
His comments come as the Government Accountability Office released a
report Wednesday which found that even after months of review, the Bush
administration had yet to find clear answers to some of the worst
problems afflicting wounded warriors, such as delays in disability
payments and providing personalized care.
Investigators noted that several task forces and a presidential
commission had urged an overhaul of the disability system by giving the
VA a greater role. But no one had studied the impact the additional
duties would have on an already-strained VA system.
``It is infuriating that so little has changed,'' said Paul Rieckhoff,
executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
``Officials pledged to take action after the deplorable conditions at
Walter Reed were uncovered in February, but it has been more than seven
months and veterans continue to wait for adequate care.''
On Wednesday, Nicholson acknowledged that added burdens on the VA was a
concern but said it was manageable if the VA hired even more claims
processors than the 1,100 already hired.
``The answer is that the VA will be able to do it,'' Nicholson said. ``I
think the mood of the president and Congress is such, when we put this
revised system into place, they will help provide'' more money and
staffing.
On other issues, Nicholson:
-Echoed President Bush's prediction that Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton will win the 2008 primary, but declined to predict who the
Republican nominee might be.
``I don't have a preference,'' said Nicholson, a former Republican
National Committee chairman, speaking of the GOP candidates. ``I know
most of them are people that will continue to have great concern and
priority for veterans that this president has had.''
-Declined to speculate who might succeed him. Among the names mentioned
have been current VA deputy secretary Gordon Mansfield; Thomas Harvey,
assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs; and
former Arizona prosecutor Richard Romley, who served for three months as
a special adviser on information security after last year's theft of
26.5 million veterans' data.
``I think the president will pick a good person to come here,'' said
Nicholson, who has briefed Bush several times on a successor. ``I think
the next secretary, I hope, will want to continue the transformations
that we put in place here: information technology, mental health
initiatives, the polytrauma, the preventive health measures.''
Nicholson, 69, repeated his ardent belief that the VA overall was in
good shape, expressing regret for veterans who slipped through the
cracks but arguing that recently cited problems involving lapse in
mental health, suicide prevention and wait times were primarily
anecdotal.
``When I travel around the country, and I welcome you and other
reporters to go to our facilities and ask them, 'How's our care.' It's
overwhelmingly, they're very effusive about how good their treatment
is,'' he said.
``They're an inspiration. I would like them to know how much we care for
them here at the VA,'' Nicholson said. ``And we're here for them.''
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Larry Scott --
