Klobuchar pushing legislation for streamlined VA website

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is pushing bipartisan legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to create a more streamlined website as early as next year.

The bill would require the VA to create something similar to a website established by the U.S. Department of Defense, which allows users to find everything they need quickly and in one place.

Klobuchar said the current VA website is difficult to navigate. She said the site is unnecessarily confusing for veterans trying to find out which services and benefits they are eligible for, and falls short of what a contemporary website should do.

"It is notoriously frustrating to navigate and it's not comprehensive," Klobuchar said. "A veteran has to search the entire VA website and still won't come up with the right information. The VA has made some attempts to improve it but really the effect has been to scatter existing information across the internet and making it even more difficult to find."

There are about 24 million veterans nationwide, including more than 400,000 in Minnesota.