the monkey we will hear from tom murphy and -- then we will hear from tom murphy and edna macdonald. and sondra mccauley. mr. bll be accompanied by arronte, director of san diego benefits inspections division. it will include written statements from the disabled american veterans, tragedy assistance program for survivors and sulin schafer. i thank you all for being here today. i now yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. thank you, mr. chairman, for holding a hearing on this very important topic. i also want to thank the witnesses for their attendance this morning. first, i would like to applaud the va for reducing the benefits backlog by 34 percent since march 2013. we hope that the va can maintain their momentum and end the decades old backlog. our numbers show that you are on pace to indeed reach the secretary's goal by 2015. i ask you to relay this message keep up the good work. as vba continues to work through its transformation, it is important that we are working towards solutions that will improve the processes of providing veterans the benefits they have earn

tom murphy, director compensation service or company name by ms. edna macdonald, director for national regional office. the third panel will host ms. ms. sondra mccauley, deputy assistant inspector general for audit and evaluations with office of inspector general u.s. department of veterans affairs who will be accompanied by mr. brent arronte, director of san diego benefits inspections division. additionally the hearing record will include written statements from disabled american veterans. the tragedy assistance program for survivors than ms. schaffer's wife of the veterans with instructions complete, thank you for being here today. i now yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you wrote in this important hearing. i also like to thank the witnesses here today for their time and trouble to come and share information with us. first, i want to applaud the va for reducing the benefit by 34% in march of 2014. we know the va can maintain this momentum and we are optimistic. we want to end this

tom murphy, director compensation service the veterans benefit administration, all so this sub one ofthe regional office. we also welcome sondra mccauley, deputy assistant general for audit evaluations of the office of inspector general department of veterans affairs. ms. mccauley is accompanied that mr. brent arronte, director of san diego benefit inspections division. we appreciate your attendance today. complete amid statements will be in the hearing record. mr. murphy, you're now recognized for five minutes. >> chairman runyan, ranking member tightness, thank you for providing me the opportunity to discuss va policies and procedures for adjudicating complex disability claims. the company today by ms. edna macdonald of the regional office. the vba continues to express an increasing number complexity number complexity of regional issues you between 2011 and 2013, the average number of issues and claims increased by 31% from 5.52 mike 72. in response, bba implement the new operating model. epa has noticed increase in complexity from the newer generations of veterans who participated

tom murphy director of compensation service with the veterans benefits administration accompanied i miss edna macdonald director of the regional office and the third panel will host ms. sandra mccauley deputy assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations with office of the inspector general u.s. department of veterans affairs who will be accompanied by mr. mr. brett bronze director of san diego benefits inspections division. additionally the hearing record will include written statements from disabled american veterans, the tragedy assistance program for survivors and the wife of an air force veteran derek shafer with those instructions complete i thank you for being here and i yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for holding this important hearing. i also would like to thank the witnesses you mentioned who are here today for their time and trouble to share information with us. first i want to applaud the va for reducing the log by 34% since march of 2013. we know that the va can maintain this momentum and we are optimist

meek murphy, certainly people leak tom coburn and myself and a lot of other conservatives very upsetlike the "wall street journal" says, it passes, because republicans just can't. i understand what tom says, you don't worry about the politics except when the politics takes you to 18% approval rating and you know -- >> i'm a coburn groupie, too. it's from a safe state. we got to when non-states to have enough power to make coburn the chairman of the committee and do something. it's easy to scoff at how plex work. it's gravity. this deal is theters step to a beggar victory to have more power to do this stuffch it's naive to think otherwise. >> amen. >> and you are exactly right. tom comes from a good republican state, oklahoma. i'm glad there are guys leike hm and guys like mike lee from you that you out there fighting the good fight. but at the same time, we got to worry also about the kelly ayotts in new hampshire and pat too ma toomey's in pennsylvania. let's go to catty kay, what's coming up next? i understand we have a great primary down in the great state the great repub leg of t