Rep. Dave Loebsack D-Iowa, met with around 35 people Monday as part of a “Serving Those Who Served” tour.

At a public forum in Iowa City, Loebsack met with veterans, their families, and interested parties to talk about their opinion of the Veterans Administration, especially in light of the recent backlog of claims.

Loebsack said the issues with the administration are problems for both Republicans and Democrats.

“Accountability is something that clearly has been lacking for a lot of years,” he said. “I think that we can all agree on that one. But now, we just have to find out how extensive that lack of accountability was.”

The complicated paperwork system that the veterans need to maneuver through before entering the VA cause many veterans in need of help to give up.

When asked what can be done on a legislative level to help people transition from active duty to the administration, Loebsack said increasing the number of staff at the claims office to properly process each claim and speed up operations by moving from paper to electronics.

On the eve of Memorial Day, Loebsack helped pass legislation that ensure veterans would be properly screened for traumatic brain injuries and receive treatment.

The legislation also allows soldiers with mental-health disorders to be eligible for health care, as well as extended rehabilitation benefits and receive chiropractic care.

— by Ting Xuan Tan