Republicans demand briefing on backlog of veterans’ records

A group of House Republicans on Thursday demanded a briefing from National Archives chief David Ferriero on how he intends to eliminate a bureaucratic backlog born out of the coronavirus pandemic that could force some veterans to wait up to two years for certain benefits.

The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, where many of these paper records are stored, shut down in March 2020, along with many other government buildings. The building has sat empty, with employees working remotely.

Meanwhile, records requests, most of which require someone to physically search for documents within the building, piled up. The backlog has grown to more than 499,000 requests, a spokesperson for the National Archives told Roll Call in April, and will take 18 to 24 months to clear once the center is staffed at full capacity.