[Vision2020] Bill Would Allow Higher Fees for Lawyers Who Help Veterans

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (May 4, 2006) News Roundup Edition of the Army Times with a
special vote of thanks and gratitude to Senator Larry Craig -

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Bill would allow higher fees for lawyers who help veterans

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer

The chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee says it is time to
drop a Civil War-era rule that prohibits lawyers from being paid more than
$10 to help veterans with benefits claims.

Other lawmakers have made similar attempts over the years, but the May 4
announcement by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, that he was introducing a bill to
drop the prohibition marked the first time a veterans' affairs committee
chairman supported the proposal.

Under current law, lawyers may help veterans but cannot be paid more than
$10 as long as a claim is handled administratively. Only after a benefit
decision is appealed to court, which can take three to five years from when
the initial claim was filed, can an attorney be paid higher.

Today, 85 percent of veterans appealing their initial benefits decision get
help from veterans' service organizations or other nonprofit groups, Craig
aides said. 

Craig is joined in the effort by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., an Air
Force reserve judge who is a member of the veterans' committee and chairman
of military personnel subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"This overdue change will significantly improve veterans' access to the VA
and expedite just outcomes," Graham said in a statement. "In today's
complicated world, legal assistance in navigating the system is more timely
than ever. I thank Chairman Craig for his leadership in this effort."

Their bill, S 2694, is called the Veterans' Choice of Representation Act. It
would repeal a ban that Craig aides said began when it was possible to
become a lawyer without attending law school.

Although discussions have taken place over the years to allow paid legal
representation, the federal government and many veterans' groups have
resisted changing what has been viewed as a generally nonadversarial process
for filing claims in which benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to a
veteran. 

Opinion has changed, though, among veterans groups in recent years. Many
associations now provide legal representation for members or recommend
lawyers when a veteran is dissatisfied with the administrative handling of a
case and requests judicial review.

"I suppose that some would still warn that lawyers are not to be trusted,
but the reality is that the laws are complex and I want veterans to have the
option of hiring an attorney to help navigate the system, if they choose,"
Craig said.

While calling the current system "outdated," Craig stressed he is not
advocating lawyers are necessary to file every claim. "Although I believe
veterans should have the option to hire attorneys, they should not be
discouraged in any way from utilizing the valuable free services now
provided by many dedicated representatives of veterans' service
organizations."

"We must ensure that the system continues to serve veterans in a friendly,
nonadversarial manner - regardless of the presence of an attorney or any
other representative," Craig said.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.