This, as reports indicate VA will be late with up to 14,000 G.I. Bill payments due November 1.

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... Is a "we are sorry" the solution to the G.I. Bill payment fiasco?  I think not.  Especially when a late-breaking story in the Military Times says that up to 14,000 G.I. Bill payments due November 1 may not make it out on time:

Up to 14,000 students may not receive living stipends Nov. 1 as the Veterans Affairs Department continues to dig out of a backlog of claims for the Post-9/11 GI Bill — but there will be no more emergency payments for those who don’t get paid on time.

Read the complete article here ...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/mil
itary_gibill_paymentdelays_102809w/

Use our search engine from more about ...
... the G.I. Bill ... here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=g.i.+bill&op=ph
... Tammy Duckworth ... here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=duckworth&op=and

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VA issues apology over slow student payments

BY KAVITA KUMAR
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/stor
y/50ACC11C05C1FE4C8625765C00172A6A?OpenDocument

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs apologized to college students waiting on their delayed checks to pay the rent and buy textbooks and said they are taking a number of steps to try to speed up the process.

"I am here to say we are sorry," Tammy Duckworth, the assistant VA secretary, said at an event Monday afternoon at the University of Missouri at St. Louis about the new Post-9/11 GI Bill.

In recent months, the department has been inundated with more than 290,000 applications for the new program, which took effect in August. The new GI Bill has often been described as the largest extension of veteran educational benefits since the original GI Bill was signed into law in 1944.

To help cope with the backlog, Duckworth said, the department has hired 700 people to help process claims, increased communication with colleges and paid out more than $175 million in $3,000 emergency checks for veterans who have not received payments.

"We're going to be your advocate, not your adversary," she added.

She said delays were due to factors such as colleges taking longer than expected to verify information, and a large influx of applications. The 20- to 24-day usual turnaround on processing claims is now running closer to 34 days, she said.

Anthony Pattichot, who served in the Navy and is now a student at UMSL, went to the VA's regional office in downtown St. Louis a couple of weeks ago to get an emergency check after his monthly allowance did not show up on time. With bills mounting, he was getting low on cash and his car had broken down earlier in the semester.

He said the VA office cut him a check on the spot.

"It took longer for me to find parking than to actually get the check," he said.

Some veterans have had better overall luck in getting their payments.

Jonathan Hartzler, who started going to UMSL this fall under the new GI Bill, said the process was fairly smooth for him and he was surprised how quickly the money began showing up in his bank account.

David Unterwagner, director of the St. Louis VA regional office, said he
believes most veterans in the region are being served.

"We've certainly had some bumps," he said, adding that his staff has been
working weekends to help move the claims along.

UMSL has 212 veterans going to school this semester on GI benefits. That's an increase of about a dozen students from last semester. About 75 of the students are using the new bill.

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Tammy Duckworth, G.I. Bill