Those who have served know the military rules: Be on time, do it now. Once they file disability claims with the Department of Veteran Affairs, however, veterans wait, and wait longer. This is an injustice to our veterans and ill serves our communities.

The VA's Oakland regional claims office has the dubious distinction of the slowest response to disability claims - on average 320 days, compared with 241 days for the VA's 57 regional offices overall. A VA inspector general report on Oakland found a 38 percent accuracy rate. The VA's stated goal is to clear claims in 125 days with 98 percent accuracy.