Vets Split Over Veterans’ Attorney Legislation

Disabled American Veterans commander Bradley S. Barton says that the Veterans’ Choice of Representation Act that would allow lawyers to charge veterans for helping them file a claim for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs is unnecessary and would increase costs to veterans. He said the VA is required to assist veterans in filing for benefits and that “veterans can get free help from the DAV’s professionally trained National Service Officers or other organizations in navigating the VA claims process.” Barton added that the VA itself is opposed to the idea. The Veterans of Foreign wars also rejects the legislation. Proponents of the act, such as the Vietnam Veterans of America, reply that current federal and case laws give criminal defendants, illegal aliens and enemy combatants the right to legal counsel, but not veterans, until their claims have gone through years of processing.