On Monday, the VA reported that the disability compensation claims backlog continues to decrease, down by more than 6,800 claims since last week. However, there are still more than 151,000 veterans in the backlog, meaning they have been waiting more than 125 days for a VA claim decision. The total number of pending claims has decreased by more than 5,800 since last week, but almost 426,000 veterans overall are still waiting on pending VA claims.

To eliminate the VA backlog by the end of FY 2015, the VA must reduce the number of backlogged claims by about 3,600 per week. Since March of 2013, the backlog has been reduced by more than 76%, with about 4,200 claims processed weekly. However many veterans continue to wait for pending appeals. This week, almost 302,000 veterans are waiting for an appeal decision.

Your opinion on the VA backlog and other issues is important to IAVA, and will help affect change for all veterans. We encourage our members to take some time over the next week to complete our 2015 Member Survey here, which will be closing soon. Share your voice and let us know the issues that are most important to you and your family. If you complete the survey, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free trip to NYC for Veterans Week. For more information about the trip to NYC, click here.

As Memorial Day approaches, thousands of Americans will take part in events across the country to honor our service members and veterans. We encourage you to join IAVA in these events, as we come together to remember the fallen at Arlington National Cemetery. If you would like to join us in honoring the fallen by pausing for a moment of silence on Memorial Day, please click here.