July 13, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig said today (Thursday) that it is "unacceptable" that the legal appeals of veterans continue to accumulate at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

"Immediate action must be taken by the Court to make sure these appeals will move quickly through the process. Veterans deserve it and Congress demands it," said Craig while chairing a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"Particularly now, with thousands of wounded servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we must ensure that our veterans receive timely decisions."

[See pictures from the hearing by clicking on: 2006 - July 13 - VA Courts backlog hearing.  To watch the hearing and/or read prepared testimony, click on: ?Battling the Backlog Part II: Challenges Facing the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is in the judicial branch of government and reviews decisions rendered by VA's Board of Veterans' Appeals. Most of those decisions deal with disability compensation. Just two years ago there were about 2,700 cases pending before the Court and it was taking in less than 200 new cases per month. But now the Court is taking in approximately 300 new cases per month ? and the number of pending cases is over 5,800. If trends continue, the number of pending cases could reach 10,000 in the next five years.

To address the problem, Chairman Craig asked Chief Judge William Greene about recalling retired judges.

"If this situation does not warrant a recall of judges, what would?" Craig asked.

Under current federal guidelines, retired judges receive the same pay as active judges ? currently $165,200 a year ? and can be called back to work if needed.

Other federal courts regularly recall judges, including the U.S. Tax Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. But as of today, the Veterans Court has not recalled any judges, although Judge Greene indicated at the hearing that he has been consulting with the retired judges about that possibility.

"My reaction is, as a fiscally responsible Senator, if we are not getting the bounce for the buck, we're going to cut the buck," Craig said. "I know the Court has some physical limitations on space, but I have seen the facilities and know that you could bring back two more judges. If we don't stem the backlog, this problem could get to the point where it is insurmountable."

U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) questioned Judge Greene about the productivity of the court, noting that the number of legal staff serving the judges has been doubled by Congress, while the amount of cases being finalized had dropped until recently.

Greene said that the Court, for the first time in six years, now has seven judges and that he has "every expectation that we will continue an upward trend" in getting cases finalized more quickly.

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