WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Trump’s long-promised hotline for veteran complaints officially launches on Thursday, but questions remain about the long-term plans for the new resource.
Exactly which officials will respond to the problems and how they\u2019ll be processed remain unclear. The call center is being billed as “the White House\/VA Veterans\u2019 Complaint Hotline,” but during the presidential campaign Trump suggested the idea as a way to directly report issues to the Oval Office without interference from VA leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Department officials said they will use information from the hotline to “improve the delivery of care and benefit services to all veterans, including their families, caregivers and survivors,” but offered no further specifics. White House officials have deferred questions about the effort to the VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cost of the hotline also remains unclear. VA officials said the soft launch will total $190,000, which includes one-time computer and phone setup expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
In later phases, the recurring cost for the telephone line and maintenance alone is estimated to be $5,700 per month. Money needed to pay salaries for around-the-clock operators has not yet been calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats on Capitol Hill have been skeptical about the effectiveness and cost of the hotline idea. Last month, in a hearing on the fiscal 2018 budget, House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., called it “a drain on (the VA\u2019s) IT budget.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n