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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Citizens of the United States owe an incalculable |
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debt to the nation's military personnel, who have served valiantly |
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throughout this country's history and who have sacrificed so much |
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in this country's behalf; and |
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WHEREAS, When our veterans need compensation for illnesses or |
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disabilities incurred as a result of their service, it is incumbent |
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on our government to respond as expeditiously as possible; |
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currently, however, the United States Department of Veterans |
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Affairs is facing a substantial backlog of disability claims, and |
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the amount of time that it takes to process these claims has risen |
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significantly; and |
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WHEREAS, The total number of pending claims for disability |
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compensation increased from 448,000 in April 2010 to 756,000 in |
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April 2011; during that same period, the number of claims taking |
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longer than four months to complete more than doubled, rising from |
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200,000 to 450,000; on average, it now takes six months to process a |
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claim for compensation related to an illness or injury, and it is |
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estimated that such cases will take an average of eight months to |
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complete in 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, Veterans of the U.S. armed forces have earned the |
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infinite gratitude of all Americans for their steadfast courage and |
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devotion to duty, and they are deserving of swift assistance in |
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their time of need; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby urge the nation's commander in chief, the |
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executive branch of the federal government, and the United States |
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Congress to assign top priority to alleviating the backlog of |
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disability claims by U.S. veterans; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, |
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to the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |