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Jim Silkenat, National President, American Bar Association

There are a lot of reasons the Department of Veterans Affairs has a huge backlog of disability claims. One is the vast number of new claims VA receives: about a...

Federal News Network Staff

July 16, 2014 5:10 pm

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wfedstaff | April 17, 2015 7:21 pm

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There are a lot of reasons the Department of Veterans Affairs has a huge backlog of disability claims. One is the vast number of new claims VA receives: about a million per year. A second is the sheer complexity of the process and the statutes and case law behind it. VA seems to be acknowledging the complexity of the system in a new partnership it’s just formed with the American Bar Association. The new Veterans Claims Assistance Network will offer pro-bono legal services to veterans so that they can put together fully-developed claims. Jim Silkenat is the national president of the American Bar Association. He explained how the program will work on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.