Veterans Affairs committee  My own disclosure is that I come from a municipal environment. If there's one thing I've learned about the federal bureaucracy, in a problem like this it's like squeezing a stress ball. Even in our own organization we do this—it's like squeezing. You put this pressure on and some

Veterans Affairs committee  They have two avenues. If they've been before the board before and turned down, they have to come back to the board by law. Or they can apply for a departmental review.

Veterans Affairs committee  These are people who already went under the old policy, which was much more restrictive.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, it is 16 weeks from the date they register and we register them for a hearing.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. The 16 weeks includes the date they registered for a hearing until they get their decision.

Veterans Affairs committee  Usually after a hearing it's six to eight weeks.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's the reality. That's why we have worked toward trying to find more simplified processes to move a lot of these through faster.

Veterans Affairs committee  It is always a challenge when you sit as an independent person. I come out of the criminal justice system. I spent my life in a system that has unique parts and everybody has an independent role, but it is a system. I firmly believe that the system is only as good as its weakest

Veterans Affairs committee  We certainly make no distinction concerning female veterans and their timelines. I will acknowledge that we hear from female veterans and from Dr. Breeck that this is just one of the 700 unique challenges that women face in the context of both getting medical services and having

Veterans Affairs committee  We are closing in on about 4,000 applications this year.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have the advantage of having BPA, the Bureau of Pensions Advocates, and the Legion as partners. One thing we did early in our tenure was to start to have significantly more outreach to and collaboration with both of those organizations, coordinating with them to work more coll

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, I'm trying not to turn it into a competition.

Veterans Affairs committee  It varies. We have claims that are years old and we are hearing of cases that were just decided by VAC last April, which is quite remarkable. During my earliest time here, you wouldn't have seen a case that was less than a year old. We know they're getting entitlement. How long t

Veterans Affairs committee  First, yes, tinnitus is a classic example. For quite a bit of time, VAC had a narrow view of entitlement for tinnitus. The board had been essentially granting a broader view of the same guidelines. VAC has more recently indicated that they are taking that broader view. As I said