Official urges better handling of veterans' claims following reports

WASHINGTON - Saying that "there are flaws and we must act on them," a top official with the Department of Veterans Affairs is directing his staff around the country to take corrective steps based on recent news stories that revealed problems in its handling of disability benefits.

While at times critical of news coverage of his department, VA Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper wrote in a memo that recent articles by Knight Ridder and others "have some validity - we would be foolish not to read, learn and improve" from them.

A March 6 report in Knight Ridder newspapers detailed poor VA oversight of veterans groups, as well as long delays and inconsistent handling of veterans' claims.

"I expect each of you to read the basic articles, digest the underlying message and then take action to ensure you and your people learn from these writings," Cooper wrote in a March 17 memo to the agency's regional offices and other VA officials. "We may take umbrage at these articles, but we must learn from them and continue to improve by correcting the errors, the approach and the perceptions."......MORE......

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