Philly VA whistleblower testifies at hearing

A woman who blew the whistle on alleged misconduct at Philadelphia's Veteran's Affairs office testified about the problems Friday at a Congressional hearing.

Kristen Ruell broke down in tears while describing the working conditions at the VA regional benefit office in Germantown.

The 7 year employee is in charge of quality control there.

She says other staffers mishandle veterans' claims and even manipulate dates to make older claims appear newer.

During a hearing in Burlington County she blamed much of the backlog on a point system that rewards employees for getting certain claims done ahead of others.

She said she is speaking out because she feels terrible over the mis-treatment of veterans who have served our country.

"I just feel bad, it's not fair to them. And they sacrifice their life for us and I think that they deserve more than a quick look at their claim, and better computer programs, and people treated nice at work so that they can care again," Ruell said.

The Philadelphia VA office oversees benefits for more than 825,000 veterans in the region.

The office first came under fire in July when an Inspector General report uncovered problems with record management.

The VA has blamed the mistakes on confusion over agency policies.