By C. Eugene Emery Jr.
PROVIDENCE -- Veterans are now waiting nearly 11 months for the first-time claims to be processed by the Veterans Administration. But the wait in Providence is only one quarter of that average.
Data from the Veterans Administration show that newly-discharged soldiers trying to get into the VA benefits system -- including veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- typically face a delay of 316 to 327 days, a problem that is evolving into a scandal for the Obama administration.
Yet the delay is far less acute for vets here, where the wait time to provide service-related benefits is 83 days, the lowest in the nation, according to data from the Center for Investigative Reporting.