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Committee advances Veterans Empowerment Act to limit fees charged to veterans for VA claim services
Summary
Legislation to regulate companies that charge veterans for help filing VA disability claims advanced out of committee after broad testimony supporting guardrails on fees, required disclosures and criminal/deceptive-act remedies.
The House committee on Monday advanced the Veterans Empowerment Act, a bill intended to regulate private entities that assist veterans with Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims and to cap the fees they may collect for successful claims.
Representative Chris Judy, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the legislation creates guardrails for firms that assist veterans in filing or reopening VA disability claims. The bill would require written fee agreements, prohibit charging more than five times the monthly increase awarded to a veteran (or up to a $12,000 cap as stated in committee discussion), and prohibit charging fees unless the veteran is awarded an increase or new benefit. The sponsor also said the bill would require advisors to disclose free veteran service officer (VSO) options and to perform background checks for any…
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