Tech Glitch at VA Leaves Thousands Without Education Payments
A technology glitch at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is delaying education payments for up to 75,000 recipients, leaving students short of funding for the semester.
The glitch is impacting congressionally appropriated payments to children and spouses of veterans who receive education assistance through the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance Program, part of the GI Bill. The program provides benefits for children and spouses of veterans who have died, are missing, or have a permanent and total service-connected disability, under Chapter 35.
New Processing System Blamed
Veterans advocacy groups say the glitch started in August, when the VA upgraded to a new claims processing system. However, they say that Congress was not told until September, and was initially told that only 900 recipients were impacted. Shortly after, the government was shut down, and IT staff who could fix the glitch were furloughed and the GI Bill hotline was shut down.
“VA never put anything out to schools. They never let the schools know that there was a problem. They never let students know that there was a problem. They told Congress it was a minor glitch. They have never taken accountability for what has happened here,” said Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) director of government and legislative affairs Ashlynne Haycock-Lohmann.
VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz blamed the issue on the “effects of converting claims from the legacy system to a new claims processing system” combined with the government shutdown and a high volume of applications in the fall.
Kasperowicz says students will be paid as soon as possible but says it could take until December to get all payments out.
But Haycock-Lohmann said the shutdown was not the main problem and that VA needs to ensure that the delay in benefits does not happen again.
“The government wasn’t shut down in August when the technology failed,” she told reporters. “These are benefits that are guaranteed. They are appropriated. VA needs to figure out a long-term solution to this technology, because we cannot keep doing this.”