“Improving access to mental health counseling and finally making a dent in the mountain of disability claims are the top priorities for the House Veterans Affairs Committee in 2013,” says Rep. Jeff Miller, the panel’s chairman. The committee “needs to focus on why the backlog continues to grow” at Veterans Affairs, stressed Miller, who is entering his third year in charge of the panel that oversees VA. Miller said “he’s also considering pushing for an extension in the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program … and wants to get to the bottom of VA’s spending on conferences and travel.”