Veterans Benefits Administration: Clarity of Letters to Claimants Needs to Be Improved.

摘要

In fiscal year 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provided more than $23 billion in monthly cash benefits to approximately 3.2 million disabled veterans and their families through its compensation and pension program. In the same year, VBA mailed approximately 1.2 million notification letters to veterans and their families, informing them of VBA's decisions regarding claims that they had filed to receive compensation or pension benefits. VBA also sent about 1.2 million development letters in fiscal year 2001 requesting information that the agency needed to reach a decision on claims. Because these letters serve as VBA's official means of communicating its decisions to claimants and requesting information to support claims, it is important that the letters be clearly written and easy to understand.