HAGATNA, Guam — Staff from the U.S. House Veterans' Affairs Committee are set to visit Guam next week.

Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo says the purpose of the visit is to examine current Department of Veterans Affairs capabilities and to investigate the current claims processing system in the U.S. territory.

Bordallo has called on Congress to increase the VA presence on Guam. That could include the establishment of a regional VA office.

Currently, benefit applications are handled by the VA office in Hagatna, but processed in Honolulu. That means veterans applying for benefits on Guam often wait much longer than their stateside counterparts.