Senate Offers Input on GI Bill Claims Process

Week of November 23, 2009

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-N.C.) recently wrote Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to suggest ways to improve the processing of the post-9/11 GI Bill. The letter outlines potential improvements, including:

(1) utilizing staggered work hours at the Education Call Center so West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii veterans have ample opportunities to contact VA;
(2) working to generate award letters automatically, which currently take a significant amount of time for VA staff to process manually; and
(3) establishing a centralized website for educational institutions to reduce confusion and improve communication.

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