Veterans shouldn’t have to worry about lawyers taking their benefits

I served in combat with the U.S. Army. Like many veterans, I know that men and women who come home carrying the physical and mental costs of war rely on disability payments to maintain mortgages and keep their families afloat. These funds help people rebuild lives that were permanently changed during their years of service and sacrifice.

Benefits are meant to help families recover from the physical and mental costs of war, yet they too often become a revenue stream for law firms that specialize in VA appeals.

Navigating the VA’s disability system is rarely simple. Many veterans are already coping with serious injuries, mental health challenges, or financial stress as they transition back to civilian life. Confronting a complicated bureaucracy on top of that can feel like fighting another battle — which is why veterans should have access to a range of options for help.

The current system often leaves veterans with limited options, partly because when disability claims are delayed and pushed into drawn-out appeals, attorneys are allowed to collect a percentage of the veteran’s eventual award. The longer the process drags on, the larger the payout.

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid $394.7 million to accredited attorneys over the past year — money taken directly from veterans who fought to earn those benefits. The CHOICE Act (H.R. 3132) would help ensure that those benefits stay with the veterans who earned them, not the lawyers who see them as a payday.

Federal law limits attorney fees in most VA disability cases at 20% of a veteran’s backpay award. Those guardrails exist for a reason: Without them, veterans’ benefits risk becoming just another profit center for the litigation industry.

Organizations representing trial lawyers spend millions lobbying Congress each year on issues affecting litigation and attorney compensation. Veterans’ disability claims are no exception. When legislation like the CHOICE Act seeks to limit attorney fees and protect veterans’ benefits, the trial bar mobilizes to protect its financial interests.

This opposition raises a simple question: When the debate is about veterans’ benefits, whose side are these lobbyists really on?

Does increasing the share of benefits that go to legal fees serve those who wore the uniform?

Benefits are meant to help families recover from the physical and mental costs of war, yet they too often become a revenue stream for law firms that specialize in VA appeals.

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Veterans deserve strong advocates. The system should prioritize protecting them, not increasing the financial incentives tied to their benefits in an already strenuous process.

The complex VA benefits process can attract bad actors looking to profit from veterans navigating a complicated bureaucracy. Reputable companies that assist veterans with disability claims have been among the loudest voices calling for stronger oversight and clear rules to eliminate those abuses.

The CHOICE Act would establish guardrails that veterans deserve, including stronger consumer protections, limits on fees, and accountability for providers that violate the rules.

Congress must put veterans and their families first. The priority should not be filling trial lawyers’ deep pockets, but ensuring the system truly serves veterans’ best interests. When powerful lobbying organizations treat those benefits as a potential revenue opportunity, the system risks losing sight of whom it is meant to serve.

Our country made a promise: If you serve, and if service leaves you injured or disabled, the nation will stand behind you. The benefits belong to the veterans who earned them and not to the lawyers or lobbyists who see them as a revenue stream. Congress should pass the CHOICE Act and ensure those benefits serve the veterans they were meant for.