	Background

In its July 1999 Morton decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ruled that the VA did not have a duty to assist in developing claims unless they were “well-grounded” as required by federal statute. VBA’s Efforts To Implement the VCAA Have Not Resulted in Full Compliance with the Law

To implement the VCAA, VBA has issued guidance, obtained and responded to regional office staff questions, conducted an informal review of cases, and issued clarifying instructions based on the questions it received and the results of its review. VBA Is Focusing on Increasing Production to Address Its VCAA-Related Slowdown

VBA is addressing its claims processing slowdown by taking steps to increase production and reduce its claims inventory. To meet this goal, VBA plans to complete about 839,000 rating-related claims during the fiscal year. Conclusions

To its credit, VBA has taken a number of steps over the last year and a half to provide guidance to its regional offices on the proper application of the VCAA requirements for both new and pending veterans’ claims.
What GAO Found

The Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 was passed in response to concerns expressed by veterans, veterans service organizations, and Congress over a 1999 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims that held that the VA did not have a duty to assist veterans in developing their claims unless they were "well-grounded." The Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) has taken a number of steps, including issuing guidance, revising and supplementing this guidance based on questions raised by regional offices, and reinforcing the guidance based on the results of its accuracy reviews. Despite these efforts, VBA has found problems with consistent regional office compliance with the law. While taking steps to implement the act, VBA is also focusing on significantly increasing production and reducing the claims inventory to manage the slowdown in case processing. In fiscal year 2002, VBA plans to complete 839,000 claims to reduce its inventory to 316,000 claims.