Veterans of Foreign Wars to Pappas: “Thank you for holding the line.”

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the nation’s largest and oldest war veterans service organization, praised Congressman Chris Pappas’s (NH-01) legislation that would protect veterans from predatory ‘claim sharks,’ or unaccredited claim representatives who illegally charge veterans unauthorized fees while assisting them with filing a VA benefits claim.

During a Joint House and Senate VSO hearing, Duane Sarmiento Commander-in-Chief of VFW praised Pappas’s bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act, which would reinstate criminal penalties for unaccredited claim representatives who charge unauthorized fees while assisting veterans with filing a claim for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation benefits. 

During his remarks, Pappas reiterated the need to pass his bipartisan legislation: “I've talked to a number of constituents that have been caught up in this, they've reported that they have been paying an arm and a leg to these claim shark companies for services that are offered for free by VSOs, including VFW.  It's one of the reasons why I'm continuing to push in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion for this GUARD VA Benefits Act.”

Commander-in-Chief Sarmiento outlined the need for Congressional action to address claim sharks, and concluded his remarks to Rep. Pappas by saying: “We know how important this is…You allow us to come into your office and talk to you and your staff personally. That's what we do…And I want to thank you for holding the line. Thank you so much for that.”

Pappas concluded his testimony by saying: “We can't let Congress off the hook. We need to pass this at the federal level.”

Click here to watch the video of Rep. Pappas during this hearing.

Background:

Pappas’s legislation has been praised by the Veterans Service Organization community:

“The VFW proudly supports this legislation to hold claim sharks accountable for charging predatory fees to VA claimants. If our own accredited service officers illegally charge veterans for claims help, they can be fined or sent to jail. We believe everyone should be held to that same standard and this fundamental consumer protection will weed out those seeking to get rich off of veterans’ earned benefits. We want to thank Representatives Pappas, Amata, Fitzpatrick, and Van Drew for their bipartisan leadership in helping to protect service members, veterans, and their families from claims sharks seeking to prey on them,” said Pat Murray, National Legislative Director, Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"NH VFW fully supports this legislation, we do not need scammers preying on our Heroes. We have had many conversations and have seen first-hand what hardship some Agencies and So-called Law offices have caused to Veterans by illegally charging Veterans wrongfully in completion of benefits paperwork being submitted to the VA. These bad actors need to be held accountable when they break the laws," said Leon Rideout, State Commander, New Hampshire Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“For many of our nation’s disabled veterans, VA disability compensation can be the difference between making ends meet and more severe outcomes such as homelessness. That’s why it’s so vitally important that veterans are properly represented by accredited individuals and institutions when applying for VA benefits. DAV applauds Rep. Pappas for introducing the GUARD VA Benefits Act, which will help ensure disabled veterans receive VA-accredited representation while deterring predatory practices that seek to bilk our nation’s heroes of their earned benefits,” said Joe Parsetich, National Commander, Disabled American Veterans.

“This bill will go further to protect our Veterans from scams from unauthorized vendors charging fees in the beginning process of a Veteran attempting to gain VA benefits, specifically compensation and pension benefits. Further I would like to see these non-accredited agencies be banned from advertising through media sources, as this is where most of our younger Veterans are seen as pray to them,” said Andrew Patterson, NH State Veterans Council Vice Chair, New Hampshire Disabled American Veterans.

The legislation is also supported by Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The American Legion, National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), AMVETS, National Association of Counties (NACo),  Military-Veterans Advocacy, Blinded Veterans Association, National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium, and the National Veterans Legal Services Program.

In February 2023, Pappas reintroduced the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act alongside Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (AS), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), and Congressman Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02). 

In February 2022, Pappas called for and received a briefing from VA on its strategy to raise awareness of and better protect veterans from these predatory practices.

In April 2022, Pappas chaired a joint Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Accreditation Program for individuals who assist veterans with VA disability claims. Testimony given at the hearing highlighted the rise of unaccredited disability claims consultants who target veterans for financial exploitation and the importance of reinstating criminal penalties to deter bad actors.

In August 2022, Pappas first introduced the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act to reinstate criminal penalties for unaccredited claim representatives who charge unauthorized fees while assisting veterans with filing a claim for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation benefits.