Washington — Veterans groups are up in arms over a plan to outsource the processing of new GI Bill education benefits.

The groups, which include the powerful American Legion, worry that an inexperienced contractor will not provide the same level of service as do employees of the Veterans Affairs Department. They say that the agency should simply hire more staff members to meet the new law’s requirements.

But the department, which announced its intention to hire a contractor in July, says the new law’s requirements will tax agency resources.

On Thursday, Congress entered the fray, demanding answers from VA administrators at a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat and chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, minced no words, saying he had “grave doubts” about the plan.

“I don’t have confidence that it’s being done right,” he said, adding later, “I don’t trust them.”

“If Halliburton gets this, you guys are in trouble,” he said.

Department officials, in turn, attempted to reassure the panel, noting that the contractors would be responsible only for developing and overseeing a “rules based” automated claims-processing system. Agency employees, the officials stressed, would continue to review rejected claims, staff the department’s call center, and answer online inquiries.

“The VA does not anticipate the loss of federal employment for any employees,” said Keith Pedigo, the department’s associate deputy under secretary for policy and program management. —Kelly Field