“This is a big one,” President Donald Trump said Wednesday as he signed into law a bill to reform and speed up the appeals process on disability ratings at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
At the American Legion’s annual convention in Reno, Nevada, Trump praised the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 that he said would enable veterans “to get decisions in a fraction of the time.”
According to the White House, more than 470,000 veterans currently are awaiting appeals decisions on their disability ratings as they seek improved benefits. Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, who stood next to Trump as he signed the bill, has said that some appeals cases can take as long as six years to process.
Following the signing, Trump handed the pen to Charles E. Schmidt, national commander of the 2.2 million-member American Legion. He handed a folder with a copy of the bill to Medal of Honor recipient Donald E. Ballard.
