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My father came from humble beginnings in the farmlands of Floyd County, Virginia. As soon as he turned 18, he joined the U.S. Air Force, which shaped 26 years of his life. After my father was honorably discharged as a master sergeant, he moved to Delaware, where he spent years trying to claim the veteran disability benefit checks he had earned.
Like many veterans who gave their lives to military service, he passed away before he could succeed. I’m concerned this sad outcome will happen to many California veterans.
Under California’s current laws, paid consultants can help veterans with their claim forms for flat fees, hourly rates or contingency fees — paid only if veterans receive disability payments.
But Senate Bill 694, authored by State Sens. Bob Archuleta, D- Pico Rivera, and Sabrina Cervantes, D- Riverside, would only allow Veterans Affairs-accredited attorneys, agents or volunteers from veteran service organizations, like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), to help with disability claim forms.
The bill might have died if several prominent politicians didn’t try so hard at the last minute to influence its passage before the session’s end in September. They failed. But to save the bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed it on to the Rules Committee. Now, this holdover bill will get a January vote.
Legislators supporting SB 694 say it will protect veterans from predatory companies trying to cheat them. I agree that veterans should be protected, but as an Air Force veteran, an entrepreneur who has supported the growth of businesses owned by disabled veterans and an ex- U.S. Department of Labor employee who helped veterans take back their lives with meaningful careers, this bill breaks my heart.
If SB 694 passes, the most effective option for most veterans — reputable, professional benefits consultants charging fees to help veterans get benefits they deserve — will be made liable for prosecution.
These credible consultants, many of whom have helped California veterans for years, are often owned and staffed by veterans. They have strong empathy and passion for helping veterans, and they go through professional training to maximize successes for them.
Those trusted organizations would suddenly be forbidden from helping their clients if SB 694 were to pass, leading to serious problems for veterans whose claims were submitted but not yet fully processed. Consultants would be forced to abandon California’s veterans midstream, leaving them alone to deal with any complications.
Most California veterans needing help with benefit applications will likely have no other choice but to use Veteran Service Office volunteers. These are well-intentioned people, but they are often overburdened and under-equipped to handle veterans’ complex cases.
Many veterans also live too far from Veteran Service Office locations. Many VFW offices and posts in California have closed, putting these volunteers out of reach for many.
California veterans understand the importance of getting Veterans Affairs benefits applications correct the first time. They know the Veterans Affairs claims system is unforgiving and difficult to navigate. They understand through the horrible experiences of others that applications must be perfect the first time. If not, they risk joining the roughly 30% of veterans whose Veterans Affairs benefits claims are denied each year. Once a claim is denied, for even the smallest of reasons, veterans must wait up to seven years for their appeals to be heard by a judge.
With so much at stake, shouldn’t a veteran in need decide whether a volunteer or a professional helps them get their disability checks? Not all of California’s veterans can navigate the red tape of Veterans Affairs, but they are all capable of making their own decisions. Why should politicians — many of whom haven’t even served in the armed forces — decide who helps us?
California’s legislators should be heavy-handed with predators who steal from veterans, but there are other ways to protect them. Enforce greater contract transparency. Ban practices like credential harvesting. Require audits to ensure these businesses are complying with the law.
Branding all paid consultants as criminals dishonors veterans who want to make a life in the civilian world by doing what we were trained to do in the military: help our fellow servicemen under duress.
Donyale Hall is president of the Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance. She is also a U.S. Air Force Gulf War-era disabled veteran and a military mother.
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