Thousands of military veterans and their families are waiting months and even years for paperwork needed to obtain veteran benefits due to a massive backlog of requests, according to a report.
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is facing a backlog of about 500,000 records requests, leaving some veterans and their families in the lurch, according to a report by Fox News.
For example, 90-year-old Susana Mallinson has been waiting for more than a year for her husband Frank’s military service records from the NPRC, so that she can apply for spousal benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Her husband served during World War II in Japan, and died in 2000.
“It’s very stressful. At times I cannot sleep, thinking ‘why is it so hard? Something that belongs to me, something that is there,” she told Fox News.
A group of Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are calling for a congressional hearing on the backlog, which was reportedly exacerbated by a reduction in federal workers’ hours at the NPRC due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) and 19 other Republicans wrote a letter dated July 12, 2021, to committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to request the hearing.
“America’s veterans fought for us, but the federal government isn’t even willing to return to work to provide veterans with their records,” Comer told Fox News. “The result: almost half a million requests from veterans and their families delayed for months. This is an utter tragedy and a poor reflection on the gratitude we should pay to the brave men and women and their families who served our country.”
Maloney said she is also committed to finding a solution, telling Fox News, “Much more must be done to bring service to the level our nation’s veterans and their families deserve.”
“I will not rest until this issue is resolved, and I will continue to explore what actions our Committee can take to ensure our nation maintains its commitments to our veterans,” she said.
Meanwhile, veterans and their families await their records for a variety of reasons, including needing them for proof of honorable service to obtain VA benefits, or other things such as eligibility for military burial honors or veterans programs.
NARA is reportedly transitioning to post-pandemic operations and employees are being recalled back to work on-site beginning July 19. The agency is reportedly bringing on more than 100 new staffers, doubling the number of contractors on-site.
However, in the meantime, families continue to wait.
Clay Bonnyman’s grandfather, Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, was killed in action in the Battle of Tarawa during World War II. Bonnyman went to Tarawa and found his grandfather’s remains, but is still waiting to obtain his records — something he told Fox News may never happen.
“There’s tons and tons of veterans, tons and tons of families that are trying to get records, that those requests, they’re just going to pile up and pile up and pile up and who knows if they’ll ever be fulfilled,” Bonnyman said.
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