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LaMalfa Decries Oakland VA's Failure To Account For Thousands Of Claims

North State Congressman Doug LaMalfa says he intends to keep the pressure on the Oakland office of Veterans Affairs where he says over 14,000 claims for benefits were locked in a file cabinet and forgotten about — some for over 15 years.

Speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, LaMalfa said he recently went to the VA center in Oakland and was told that the claims did not exist. However, the Office of Inspector General confirmed they did exist. 

“The VA’s Office of Inspector General investigation confirmed the discovery of 14,000 claims in a filing cabinet, confirmed that some of these claims dated back to the 1990s, confirmed that thousands of these claims had not been processed and confirmed that the staff at Oakland VA had not been directed to properly store these claims,” LaMalfa said. 

LaMalfa says some of the veterans waiting for benefits have died while waiting for benefits from the VA. He says a special projects team is continuing to look into the matter not only in Oakland, but also at other VA centers nationwide.