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Legal advocates urge California funding for no‑cost VA representation as claims backlog grows
Summary
Legal directors and nonprofit advocates told the Assembly committee that attorney representation at the initial claim stage improves approval rates and speeds benefits; they recommended state funding to expand no-cost legal help for low‑income and unhoused veterans.
Legal-services providers and county veteran service officers told the Assembly Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs that the VA claims process increasingly needs attorney involvement and that California should fund free legal representation to prevent delays and erroneous denials.
Moe Seeder, legal director at Swords to Plowshares, described a sharp rise in claims since the PACT Act and said private attorneys cannot charge for initial VA claims, creating a gap…
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