Some Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claimaints will have an extra 90 days to respond to communications as the VA deals with delays brought on by supply chain and staffing problems faced by the contracted vendor for the Government Publishing Office (GPO).

The GPO's delays in printing and mailing notification letters to veterans and survivors may impact the ability of some claimants to meet required deadlines via written communication with the VA. To protect veterans from missing important filing deadlines, the VBA is extending claimant response periods by 90 calendar days for claimants with letters dated between July 13 and Dec. 31, 2021.

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If a claimant fails to meet the new notification timeline for a required response -- making benefit or service selection, for example -- or fails to show up for a scheduled compensation and pension medical examination, VBA will not take adverse action (deny, reduce, or terminate benefits) unless:

1. The claimant is contacted and there is documentation of their right to respond;
2. The requested information has been received; or
3. The response period has lapsed.

The VA announced the move in a Nov. 30 news release. In further information provided to veterans service organizations, the VBA said it expects the issue “will be resolved by the end of December, and the entire backlog will be cleared by mid-January. GPO added an additional facility which ‘went live’ on December 2nd and VBA added an additional vendor to assist which will greatly increase our capacity.”

For questions on this matter, veterans and claimants can contact the VA at 800-827-1000.

Veterans who filed an appeal with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals can click here for information specific to board correspondence, scheduled hearings at the Board, and receiving your board decision.