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SENATE RESOLUTION
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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 |
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valiantly throughout this country's history and who have |
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sacrificed so much in this country's behalf; and |
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WHEREAS, When our veterans need compensation for illnesses |
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or disabilities incurred as a result of their service, it is |
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incumbent on our government to respond as expeditiously as |
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possible; currently, however, the United States Department of |
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Veterans Affairs is facing a substantial backlog of disability |
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claims, and the amount of time that it takes to process these |
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claims has risen 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 |
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from 200,000 to 450,000; on average, it now takes six months to |
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process a claim for compensation related to an illness or injury, |
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and it is estimated that such cases will take an average of eight |
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months to complete in 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, Veterans of the United States armed forces have |
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earned the infinite gratitude of all Americans for their |
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steadfast courage and devotion to duty, and they are deserving of |
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swift assistance in their time of need; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 82nd |
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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 United States veterans; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate forward |
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official copies of this Resolution to the president of the United |
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States, to the secretary of the United States Department of |
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Veterans Affairs, to the president of the Senate and speaker of |
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the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and |
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to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the |
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request that this Resolution be entered in the Congressional |
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Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of |
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America. |