Vets disability claims backlog down to 200K cases, a post-pandemic low

The backlog of veterans disability claims this week fell to about 200,000 cases, its lowest mark since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

In testimony before Congress, Veterans Affairs leaders praised the milestone as evidence that new leadership is producing results at the department, noting a drop of more than 50,000 overdue cases since Trump’s second inauguration.

But the numbers have decreased by more than 200,0000 cases over the last 18 months, with most of that improvement coming during the final year of President Joe Biden’s term in office.

The disability claims backlog counts the total number of first-time benefits cases that have taken more than four months to complete. Over the years, the figure has become shorthand for how well or poorly department processors are keeping up with the department’s benefits workload.

During that period, department leaders said the 60,000 mark was realistically the lowest range the metric could reach, given that a significant portion of the hundreds of thousands of veterans benefits cases processed annually require extra time to review and adjudicate.

When the COVID pandemic began in America at the end of Trump’s first term in office, most benefits processing centers were temporarily shuttered, leading to a sharp increase in processing delays. By late 2020, the backlog had topped 200,000 cases.

The total ebbed and grew for the next two years until the passage of the PACT Act, which provided a host of new benefits to veterans exposed to burn pit smoke, chemical defoliants and other toxins during their military service.

VA leaders praised passage of that legislation but also warned that the increased workload would lead to increases in the backlogged case numbers. The backlog peaked at around 410,000 cases in late 2023.

Past administrators had estimated that the backlog would not return to the 60,000 mark until late 2025. The recent improvements in processing suggest that goal remains within reach.

However, continued progress could depend on potential cuts to the VA workforce in coming months.

VA Secretary Doug Collins has proposed dismissing up to 80,000 of the department’s 480,000 staffers as part of efforts to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.

In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Collins said that the backlog improvement over the last four months came even though “we didn’t have any more employees, and we didn’t have any more money to do that. We just got it done.”

He credited new department efficiencies and focus for the improvements.

But VA did add more than 9,000 benefits processors from fiscal 2022 to the end of fiscal 2024, a 34% increase in staffing. Officials from the previous administration had credited backlog improvements in recent years to the bigger benefits workforce.

Democratic lawmakers challenged Collins assertions that staffing had little to do with the improvements.

“It’s clear to me that the VA was successful in encouraging eligible veterans to apply for benefits, and they apparently were addressing those numbers very, very effectively,” Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga., told Collins during the hearing.

Last fall, VA officials announced the staffers processed more than 2.5 million claims in fiscal 2024, a new record for the department. Collins has said the pace of claims this fiscal year appears even higher.

The secretary has previously vowed to protect department jobs that provide direct benefits to veterans, including benefits processors. Details of force reductions are expected in coming months.