There has been a tremendous amount of press coverage recently regarding the backlog of claims pending before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The most recent data indicates there are approximately 900,000 claims pending, and more that 55% have been pending more than 125 days. The linked press release from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs documents the some of the policy initiatives taken by the VA to decrease the backlog, http://veterans.house.gov/press-release/more-promises-from-va-as-backlog-continues-to-increase. However, Veterans do not have to stand idly by and let the bureaucracy control their claim… be aggressive in ensuring that your VA Claims file is complete and that you have clearly indentified all legal arguments connected to your claim.