Last year, Senator Ossoff brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass his bipartisan bill designed to make it easier for veterans to access the service benefits they deserve
Sen. Ossoff secures nominee archivist’s commitment to quickly clear backlog of veteran records requests by the end of 2023
Washington, D.C. – US Senator Jon Ossoff continues his work to help Georgia veterans gain access to their service benefits without delays.
Last year, Senator Ossoff passed his bipartisan Access for Veterans to Records Act of 2022, The goal is to make it easier for veterans in Georgia and across the country to access records that are often required to access critical care and benefits earned through their service to the nation.
Yesterday in a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senator Ossoff secured a commitment from Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, United States National Archives and Records Administration nominee veteran records archivist Backlog of inquiries from the National Personnel Records Center about veterans’ military records.
dr Shogan pledged to work with Senator Ossoff to expedite completion of the veterans’ records backlog by December 2023, if confirmed in the position. Shogan also committed to making her first visit as an archivist at the National Personnel Records Center to begin clearing the backlog.
Sen. Ossoff’s Veterans Records Act requires the archivist to submit a plan to Congress outlining how to reduce the backlog and provide the agency with additional resources to ensure veterans have timely access to their records have. The law also creates new guard rails to prevent future record deficits.
“Veterans need access to their records of military service, which are kept in archives. And the good news is that last year, with the support of Chairman Peters, I introduced and passed the bipartisan Veterans Access Records Act to address the significant backlog of requests for access to military service records.” said Sen. Ossoff during the hearing.
Click here to watch Senator Ossoff’s interrogation:
Below is a transcript of Sen. Ossoff’s questionnaire:
IT IS. OSSOFF: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. dr Shogan, nice to see you again. Congratulations again on your nomination. You and I have discussed this topic before, so you won’t be surprised to know that I look forward to hearing your commitment to work with me to resolve the significant delays veterans are experiencing in accessing their service records.
“As you know, Dr. Shogan, Veterans need access to the Military Service Records maintained in the Archives in order to access their VA Perks and other services to which they are entitled as a Veteran. And the good news is that last year, with the support of Chairman Peters, I introduced and passed the bipartisan Veterans Access Records Act to address the significant backlog of requests for access to military service records.
“At your hearing last September, you committed to working with my office to address this backlog. So, I want to ask you again, now that my bipartisan legislation is law, will you commit to working with me quickly to clear the NPRC backlog of veteran inquiries?
DR “Senator, thank you for that question. Absolutely.”
IT IS. OSSOFF: “How do you understand the latest on this backlog? What efforts are currently being made to counteract this? What do you think needs to be done if and when you take up this post to abolish it?”
DR “Senator, I think there’s good news on that front. The backlog has dropped to around 330,000 requests. The backlog was over 600,000 requests, so that’s good progress. And the projected timeline for completion or clearance of the backlog is December 2023.
“And if confirmed, I have promised to make my first trip as a United States archivist to St. Louis to the National Personnel Records Center to see operations on the ground to see where we can find deficiencies to find out.” to ensure we use contractual powers to the fullest extent possible to ensure work gets done in a timely manner.
“And also to look at other creative solutions where, while ambitious, we can push that deadline to December 2023. I think we could all agree that we want that to happen as soon as possible.”
IT IS. OSSOFF: “Thank you, Dr. shogan.”
