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A familiar VA pattern

Veterans Affairs Department officials told Congress in late June that preparations for the Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill were going swimmingly.

Lawmakers conditioned by years of regular and recurring VA snafus were not so sanguine. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., said he’d almost feel more comfortable “if VA came to us with problems.”

That caution proved well founded. Two months into the new GI Bill era and more than a month after the fall term began at most colleges and universities, at least 12,000 veterans are waiting on late payments for tuition, living costs and books.

That’s more than 44 percent of those who have applied for new GI Bill benefits for the fall term. And the problem may be much bigger; VA says it cannot give precise figures on the total population of veterans seeking immediate benefits payments.

most schools are being patient about delayed payments for tuition and fees. But late living stipends and book allowances — cash payments directly to students to cover those costs — cause serious problems.

VA officials — who knew that the new program would be wildly popular, and that autumn always brings a spike in claims for education benefits — are now in the familiar position of trying to play catch-up as Post-9/11 GI Bill applications continue to pour in.

Claims processors are being put on overtime, and there is little else to be done except hope VA can turn this around to provide timely payments to all who qualify.

But it’s yet another hard reminder for Congress that it needs to keep a very close watch on VA — even when officials swear that all systems are go.

DISCUSS: The editorial