There has been a lot of debate over whether or not Social Security Administration disability awards becoming “too easy” to get. The Wall Street Journal reported that the SSA is under increasing pressure from Congress to form new rules which would force disability benefit applicants to present the government with all relevant medical information, even records that go against their case.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is dealing with a lengthy backlog and it doesn’t look like the cavalry is coming to help anytime soon. A VA bill that would have expanded benefits for former service members failed to pass through a vote in the U.S. Senate. The measure, which was sponsored by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, would have cost $20 billion over the next decade and came four votes shy of passing.
In many regions of the U.S., it may be difficult to find an experienced attorney in the areas of veterans disability and social security disability. This makes it exponentially more difficult to win disability benefits, as there may be tactics for success that an individual would otherwise miss.
Although there has been progress reported in slimming down the backlog for veterans benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Military Times is reporting that the issue is not going the way VA officials would like currently. The backlog of cases pending for four or more months has risen by approximately 1,000 cases, nearly reaching 400,000, according to VA officials.
