Senate to VA: Answer the Phone

Frustrated lawmakers bashed the Veterans Affairs Department at a Senate hearing Wednesday for not handling the most basic service task -- answering the phone when veterans seek information from the department's National Call Center.

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., told VA Secretary Eric Shinseki that often when his constituents contact the NCC "the phone rings . . . [but] no one is there. I had high hopes for the National Call Center, but it is not working well." If veterans do manage to connect with someone, that individual often lacks the right information, Johanns said.

The VA National Call Center (800-827-1000) is supposed to serve as a clearinghouse for information about a range of veterans benefits -- compensation and pensions, education, vocational rehabilitation, employment, home loans, and insurance. Johanns told Shinseki that in his view, VA created an expectation of service that it has not fulfilled...