Disabled vets denied dignity as VA claim backlog becomes unbearable

My husband and I visited our families for Independence Day. For millions of Americans, that's a typical summer tradition. For us, it was an extraordinary day. Kyle is an active-duty naval officer who has spent several years of our marriage deployed overseas and across the United States.

Kyle and I expected the challenges of military life: the deployments, the stresses on mental health, even the risk of homelessness or divorce that looms over many military families. Yet the one issue we weren’t prepared for — one we are keenly aware of as Kyle approaches retirement — is the shock of seeing firsthand the Department of Veterans Affairs repeatedly fail those who have served.

The VA made all veterans a promise: dedicated care after service. Today, that promise is broken daily.

From December 2023 until June of this year, I served as the ombudsman for my husband's ship, the USS Harry S. Truman. My role was to bridge the gap between command and families, ensuring that they had access to critical resources and could reach command in case of emergency. In that position, I watched closely as families ahead of ours navigated life after active service, applying for the VA benefits they had been promised.

What I’ve observed is nothing short of betrayal.

A broken promise

Veterans aren't just denied their hard-earned benefits by bureaucratic red tape. Their entire lives are often put on hold, causing untold mental health, family, and professional suffering in addition to what is endured during deployments.

One of the most common struggles veterans and their families face is the historic backlog of claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs. While the number has improved in recent months, nearly 185,000 backlogged disability claims remained unprocessed as of June.

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Veterans regularly spend months — or even years — in limbo, trying to secure the benefits they’ve earned while dealing with disabilities incurred while serving.

Partially disabled veterans with treatable conditions like tinnitus or various levels of post-traumatic stress disorder want to work in the private sector, but they need specialized care to do so. Getting approval for that care is a nightmare, with many giving up altogether or resorting to expensive — or sometimes shady — advocates for assistance.

Lawmakers must step in

That's why states and Congress must intervene where the VA has failed. In Rhode Island — my home state and possibly our future home — the legislature introduced the Save Act, a state-level version of the federal Choice Act. Both bills aim to expedite the benefits process by allowing veterans to hire certified consultants. Importantly, these measures would safeguard veterans from exploitation by setting payment caps, ensuring that providers have VA approval, and mandating that consultants only receive payment after veterans do.

Unfortunately, Rhode Island's legislature rejected the Save Act, instead passing a more restrictive bill that prohibits veterans from consulting experts during their initial claims for benefits. Despite this setback, momentum in several states and Congress to support veterans is encouraging.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins says he’s made progress on the backlog, but decades of mismanagement and corruption can’t be unwound in a matter of months. Moreover, a supposed 25% reduction in claims backlog raises troubling questions: How many veterans were hastily denied to meet bureaucratic quotas?

I’ll be old and gray before this bureaucratic nightmare is fixed — if ever.

Our veterans deserve better

When Kyle first raised his right hand, America made him — and all veterans — a promise: dedicated care after service. It’s the same promise that has been made to veterans for decades in return for enduring stressful deployments, risking both their lives and family bonds. Today, that promise is broken daily. Families are subjected to unbearable delays and bureaucratic hurdles, often forced to fight for benefits they've already earned or tragically never receive.

I’ll always cherish Independence Day 2025, which took us up and down much of the East Coast — together, for once, as an entire family. It offered a glimpse into the life we dream of when Kyle retires — a life we earned together through sacrifice. The VA should help us realize that dream, not obstruct it.

It's past time for lawmakers and VA leadership to fulfill their obligations and put veterans first.