WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Kay Hagan  announced that Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric Shinseki will dispatch a senior official to the Winston-Salem Regional Office (RO) to help address its backlog of veterans' disability claims.  Allison Hickey, the VA's Under Secretary for Benefits, will visit the Winston-Salem office in the next few months after Hagan urged Secretary Shinseki in March to send a top official from Washington. 

"I'm pleased that, at my request, Secretary Shinseki will send the Under Secretary for Benefits to Winston-Salem to help us ensure veterans can access their hard-earned benefits in a timely manner," Hagan said.  "While I believe this decision marks a step forward for our state's veterans, I will not be satisfied until the VA eliminates the backlog and refines procedures to prevent future backlogs from developing. We owe this to our brave men and women who have sacrificed too much to face unnecessary delays with the VA, and I renew my call for President Obama to take direct, public action to address this problem."

 In her request to Secretary Shinseki in March, Hagan cited the more than 7,000 veterans who have been waiting at least a year for the Winston-Salem office to rule on their disability claims and the more than 700 veterans who have been waiting more than two years.

In April, Hagan and 66 of her Senate colleagues called on President Obama to take direct, public action to end the backlog, which has prevented more than 53,000 veterans in North Carolina from receiving the benefits they are due.

In the last year, delays for disability claims have gotten worse for North Carolina veterans. Most claims from North Carolina veterans are processed at the Winston-Salem office, including those from the Fayetteville and Cape Fear region. On average, the Veterans Benefits Administration's claims office in Winston-Salem requires 324 days to process a claim, up from 253 days this time last year. The wait time marks one of the longest in the Agency's southeastern region.

Last Saturday, Hagan's office co-hosted a VA benefits events in Jacksonville where staffers helped more than 150 veterans with their claims. VA personnel were on hand to assist veterans in signing up for online e-benefits and answer questions about claims and appeals that have already been filed.