Veterans' Benefits: Improvements Made to Persian Gulf Claims Processing

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO followed up on congressional concerns about Persian Gulf claims processing, focusing on whether: (1) there was a significant difference in allowance rates between the regional offices adjudicating these claims; (2) the rating and timeliness of Persian Gulf claims could be improved; (3) other veterans' claims are being cast aside in favor of readjudicating the Persian Gulf claims; and (4) there were any large mismatches between Gulf War claims and the resources to handle them in various regional offices.