The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing Wednesday on a claims backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee chairman, said 70 percent of 895,000 current claims have been pending for more than 125 days. “The significant backlog in processing claims is why the first hearing the committee is holding under my leadership is addressing this issue,” he said.

“It is my view, and I believe the view of every member of this committee, that when men and women put their lives on the line defending this country, they must be treated with respect and dignity when they return. Not with red tape and bureaucracy, not with, in some cases, years of delay.”

To the VA’s credit, Sanders said, more than 1 million claims were processed in each of the past three years, more than ever before. He welcomed the “very ambitious goal” set by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki of eliminating the backlog by 2015.

What Sen. Sanders' opening remarks.