In this age where politicians, political activists and the public agree about almost nothing, most will at least concur on the need to treat our veterans well and to aggressively expedite their benefit claims in a manner identical to the promptness with which they presumably carried out orders during their military service.

So we’re quite happy to salute the addition of 100 new employees to the Waco Veterans Affairs Regional Office to do just that — expedite benefit claims and address a problem that recently became serious enough in the Houston VA office that Gov. Rick Perry ordered the state to help out the VA.

We believe it’s right the federal government shoulder its responsibilities in this critical area — and so it has. Thursday’s announcement about help on the way came from Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

Yes, Edwards is a target for some right-wing political forces these days, but he has worked harder than most when it comes to ensuring benefits not only for veterans and families of active-duty military personnel but arms, equipment and proper medical care for those hard-working soldiers, airmen and Marines placed in perilous straits.

The backlog of benefit claims became something of a scandal a few months ago. Pending claims in the local office totaled 18,647 at the end of the 2009 fiscal year. A backlog of 20 percent of those had been pending 125 days or longer — in other words, more than four months.

No veterans anywhere in America, let alone in Texas, should have to wait excessively long periods for claims to be processed — and Edwards, as the VA appropriations subcommittee chairman since 2007, is in a terrific position to smooth out things for our veterans, just as he often has in the past. Even those in the opposing party such as U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, tell us that Edwards has worked tirelessly in this key area.

During Thursday’s announcement of more workers to help out veterans, VA Secretary Shinseki, former commander of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, acknowledged the claims process is complex “and it’s grown over time and created a backlog that we are trying to go after this year.”

Waco VA office director Carl Lowe’s expanded, 803-employee workforce — many of them likewise veterans — will be able to offer improved services for veterans and their families, including 16 hours of daily claims-processing. More hours, Lowe says, mean more claims getting addressed to reduce some of the backlog. The local office, which serves 164 counties extending from El Paso to Texarkana, from Austin to Waco to Amarillo, processed about 126,000 claims in 2009.

Hiring is under way for the new positions. About 500 applications have been received since the jobs were posted. Pay is $38,790, plus health care and retirement benefits.

Yes, some of our conservative friends may decry the creation of more jobs specifically tied to the federal government’s apron strings. But we believe the federal government has ironclad responsibilities to its citizens in various areas — and punctually addressing veterans benefits is certainly among them, especially considering the promises that our nation has made.

Let’s be straight: Benefits aren’t perks for veterans. They’re obligations by our government and we the people in return for services rendered far beyond what most Americans are willing or prepared to offer these days.

When the men and women who serve this country finally come home from the two wars that have occupied so many of them over the past decade, they’ll likely be accompanied by significant medical needs. Can we afford to be miserly when they seek assistance after our own hour of need is past?