Veterans wait months for records needed for benefits. What's the holdup at National Archives?

Veterans are waiting months to get copies of military service records that prove when they served so they can prove their eligibility for pension, mortgages and other compensation.

The backlog for documents like the DD214 started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the National Archives and Records Administration switched to remote work, and those workers could not access veterans' records because the documents are paper-based.

The backlog peaked at 603,000 requests in March 2022. By July, the backlog had fallen to 515,000, according to then-Rep. Fred Keller, R-Pa., who spoke on the House floor about the issue that month. The National Archives declined to comment on what the backlog is now.

Congress passed a law in December giving the National Archives $60 million to fix the backlog. The question is likely to come up at Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Colleen Shogan, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be archivist of the United States.

Here's what we know about the backlog:

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What is a DD214? How long is the wait for one?

The DD214 is the military’s standardized Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, an official government document that confirms a person’s military service to anyone looking for proof.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was uncommon for veterans to wait as long as three weeks for their DD214, said Richard Rudnick, who has been answering veterans' phone calls for 16 years at the nonprofit National Veterans Foundation.

“COVID basically cut it back to where they were like nine months behind at one point in late 2020,” Rudnick said. “It’s been steadily downward trending. Last time I checked personally, they were saying a month and a half, two months for a DD214.”

Which veterans are waiting for their DD214?

The National Archives backlog mostly affects older veterans, who served in operations such as the Vietnam War, Rudnick said. Veterans who most recently served get their records through the Pentagon, he said.

Additionally, the National Archives expedites requests for those who fall into three emergency categories: homeless veterans, veterans seeking medical treatment, and loved ones seeking to bury a veteran.

Military document at National Archives needed for pensions, mortgages, honors

Older veterans and their families may find themselves waiting on the National Archives backlog if they fall into the following situations:

• People who are applying for military pension benefits for the first time.

• Federal workers who are trying to confirm their years of service to get their government pensions.

• People who are already getting medical treatment but are applying for compensation for exposure to things like burn pits or Agent Orange.

• People who are seeking to get a mortgage through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Veterans who are trying to gain membership in a group like the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

• People who are tracking down a deceased loved one’s service record for a dedication.

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What has Congress done to fix the backlog of veterans records?

Congress passed the Access for Veterans to Records Act in December as part of a sweeping bill that funds the Department of Defense, and Biden signed it into law.

Among the law’s provisions:

• The National Archives gets $60 million to fix the backlog, including addressing cybersecurity and digital preservation.

• The archivist of the United States must ensure there is sufficient staffing to respond to 90% of records requests within 20 days or less.

• An internal watchdog at the National Archives will regularly report on the agency’s progress for two years.

Keller, from Pennsylvania, said the bipartisan law came after two years of pressure from Republicans in the House who opened an investigation into the veterans records backlog and introduced a bill to force the National Archives staff to go back to work in person.

When she introduced the bill on the House floor in July, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said: "Veterans and their families need these records to access critical services, including housing and health care."

Biden's archives nominee likely to be asked about backlog at confirmation hearing Tuesday

Shogan, Biden's nominee for national archivist, fielded questions about the backlog in a confirmation hearing in September before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – and could be questioned on it this week.

In September, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said his constituents are "deeply frustrated by the interminable delays accessing their military records." He said the problem has made Georgia veterans "skeptical after years of dealing with this that there can be a change. But there must be a change. Veterans deserve timely access to their records."

Later that month, then-Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said: "I know from personal experience how arduous that process can be. Both my father and grandfather were in the infantry in World War I and II, and I've gone through that process of requesting their military records, and it does take too long."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Veteran military records wait times: Why it's an issue for Archives