At his NPRC meeting on Monday, Rep. Davidson learned that despite unprecedented cooperation between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Archives and Records Administration to vaccinate NPRC employees—the Office of Personnel Management and the National Archives are limiting the facility to 25% capacity. At this rate, the backlog will not be eliminated until the end of FY 2022. Records requests that took only 10 days to fulfill before the pandemic, will take years without further action.
“I’m disappointed that there is no plan to staff the center to capacity, despite prioritizing employees for vaccines. Congress sent millions of taxpayer dollars to the National Archives to address this problem. 2022 is too long to wait for America to keep its promises to our veterans,” Davidson said after meeting with the NPRC. “As a former Ranger, I know challenges are real, but I also know leaders find a way to accomplish their missions in the face of challenges. Congress has provided the resources and NPRC’s timeline is simply unacceptable.”
The bipartisan letter from Reps. Davison, Ross, and Bost to the Biden Administration and the National Archives, calls attention to the significant backlog of veteran records requests that has mushroomed during the COVID 19 pandemic.
The letter, signed by 121 Republicans and 64 Democrats, asks the President to prioritize NPRC employees for vaccinations and testing, as well as to properly staff the call center. The representatives also hope to see a plan to get employees back to work full time and consider hiring additional employees or adding extra shifts to eliminate this backlog.
“More than 870,000 North Carolinians are veterans, and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for their service to our country. The records request backlog at the National Personnel Records Center is a disservice to them and their families, and it is an issue the Biden administration must remedy quickly,” said Congresswoman Ross.
“This backlog is preventing veterans from gaining access to essential services, including education benefits, healthcare services, and COVID-19 vaccinations. Our veterans and their families deserve better. I urge the administration to use every available resource at its disposal to ensure all veterans have access to the services they have earned. I’m honored to join my colleague, Congressman Davidson, in bringing to light this critical issue.”
“It’s past time for the National Personnel Records Center to resume their normal operations in a safe manner,” said Ranking Member Bost. “Without question, the NPRC provides an essential service. They play a vital role in supporting VA to help veterans access the benefits they have earned. I thank my friend, Rep. Davidson, and our 185 other colleagues for joining me in sending this letter to the President and Director on behalf of the almost half a million veterans who are stuck waiting.”
Veterans advocacy groups, Concerned Veterans for America and Military-Veterans Advocacy endorsed the letter.
“In an already challenging time, veterans should not have to bear the consequences of bureaucratic red tape. Each day waiting on records stuck at the National Personnel Records Center is a day critical services or care are out of reach. We thank Representative Davidson for his leadership and join him in calling on the VA to do everything possible to care for those who served our nation,” said Nate Anderson, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Executive Director.
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BACKGROUND ON NPRC BACKLOG
Just under 500,000 records requests remain unfilled by the National Personnel Records Center, which is the national depository for all service records. Veterans need these records to access VA benefits they earned while serving the country. Everything from medical care to student loans to burial services—and even COVID vaccinations—require proper documentation.Without these records, veterans have had to wait inordinate periods of time to access their promised benefits. Others, unfortunately, have been buried without honors as their families could not obtain the records in time.
The COVID 19 pandemic caused the NPRC in St. Louis Missouri to shutter. As the requests continued coming in, the center attempted to reopen the facility at limited capacity for emergency requests, but a surge in COVID cases caused the center to close a second time.
In December, Congress allocated relief funds to the center, in hopes that an infusion of funds would help the center to resume full operations. So far, that has not happened.
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that NPRC employees would be prioritized for vaccinations, an important first step in addressing this embarrassing oversight.