VA Official Working To Reduce Claims Backlog Resigns
On Friday, the Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary responsible for reducing the backlog of veterans' benefits claims resigned. Claims are considered backlogged if they are more than 125 days old. The number of backlogged claims peaked at 611,000 in March 2013. Last week, VA reported that the claims backlog fell to under 74,000. VA Secretary Robert McDonald announced Allison Hickey's resignation in a statement and did not specify why Hickey was resigning. Principal Deputy Undersecretary Danny Pummill will replace Hickey, serving as acting undersecretary.
- "Top Veterans Affairs Official Allison Hickey Resigns" (Kesling, Wall Street Journal, 10/16).
- "VA Benefits Chief Allison Hickey Resigns" (Shane, Military Times, 10/16).