VA Unable to Fix GI Bill Problems Before Spring Semester
By Debbie Gregory.
It looks like the IT system failures that resulted in 340,000 GI Bill students being shorted on their fall semester Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) has not been fixed. As of November 8th, the backlog was currently impacting at least 82,000 GI Bill students, it doest look like a fix will happen before the beginning of the spring semester.
Two sections of the Forever GI Bill, which extends or expands many benefits, change the way the VA pays a monthly housing stipend. Previously the stipend was based on the ZIP code of where the veteran lived — now it’s based on the ZIP code of where he or she goes to school.
This, apparently, upended the entire system, and left the VA with a huge backlog of claims to be processed.
According to John Lawrence, the undersecretary at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the VA is working on “fallbacks” for the likelihood that problems will continue past the start of the spring semester.
Based on testimony, Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said “we have no earthly idea” when veterans can expect the system will be functioning, or how much the fix will cost.
Many are frustrated that there is no solution in place. No cases as yet have been filed of veterans who have been unable to enroll because of the system failures.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert M. Worley II, the director of education services at the VBA, noted that about 1,000 veterans had been waiting more than 60 days for housing allowance payments that could exceed $2,000 per month. He said about 11,000 had been waiting for at least 30 days.
Worley appeared to be first in line to take the fall for the VA’s failures. He is slated to be removed as director of education services and is being re-assigned within the VBA.
For the time being, benefits claims-processing employees are working mandatory overtime, and the agency has brought on an additional 202-person processing staff. The VA said it is processing an average of 16,000 claims per day, but expects that the backlog will continue through the rest of the year.
