In a blow to Veterans Groups seeking to force the VA's hand in speeding its disability adjudication procedure, a
federal judge ruled that such a fiat from the bench exceeded his authority, and that such action was for the Congress and the VA to determine. Bully for you, Judge Walton, for doing your job correctly. The VA makes rules, the Congress provides oversight. It is the proper function of the Congress to regulate the departments, not the judiciary. It isn't often these days that we see true judicial restraint (and it is likely to become even more rare once PEBO starts to appoint judges), but when we do see it, it is wonderful.
It's not bad news for vets per se - it's bad news for these veterans groups. VA benefits are very complex to administer. The good news is that recent vets - if they use the Benefits Delivery at Discharge system - get pretty prompt adjudication with a modicum of effort on their part. All the hard cases are older veterans long separated from the military whose service connection is toigh to prove.
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