On October 20, 2013, a local veteran filed for disability and compensation benefits with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As of April 13, 2014, the veteran is still on hold as his claim is in the "Evidence Gathering" stage, with a "Notice of Delay Posted" for documentation requested by the VA from a third party (Department of Veterans Affairs ). His claim is one of thousands that are in a backlog of VA claims. Over a year ago, the VA promised to act more quickly to help veterans. They did this despite much criticism of excessive bureaucracy (Emmons). As of April 21, 2014, there remain 602,000 claims being processed in the 56 VA Regional Offices (VAROs) nationwide, and 325,080, or 54%, of which are pending. more than 125 days (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) (Heller, Casey, and Morran 5). Nationally, the goal set by the VA is to eliminate the backlog of disability claims by the end of 2015. (Stars and Stripes) As of Veteran's Day 2013, the number of veteran disability claims totaled more than 400,000 currently in arrears, meaning claimants have waited more than four months – the VA's goal of getting the maximum allowable delay (Glantz, Overtime, New computer system that has made a significant dent in VA benefits backlog). There are various reasons given for the backlog by sources including Congress, the Administration, newspaper articles and government reports. Some of them include:1. Reports that over 500,000 claims reported in 1993 were due to mutual agreement on the complexity of claims.2. In 1994, a newspaper published an article citing the poor economic conditions of older veterans, leading to more compensation claims, overwhelming the VA.3. ...... half of the document ......s-backlog-44-percent.htm>.Philpott, Tom. Shinseki: Backward goals drew fire, even dollars. July 18, 2013. Military update. Web article. April 13, 2014. .Stars and Stripes. “Veteran: You shouldn't have to fight so hard for benefits.” Stars and Stripes March 22, 2014. Web. April 13, 2014. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Monday morning workload report. Spreadsheet. Washington DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, 2014. Excel spreadsheet. April 22, 2014. .Wright, Wayne. VA is even slower at processing disability claims. March 5, 2014. Online. April 13 2014. .