Covering the issues that will impact veterans and their families.
Federal Legislation
For advocacy or government affairs inquires please reach out at contact@vetsknowthefacts.com.
The CHOICE Act
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The Certified Help Options in Claims Expertise (CHOICE) for Veterans Act of 2023 (HR 3132) strengthens and builds on previous Congressional efforts in this space while protecting the rights of the veterans to choose a government, non-government, or private provider to assist them with their claim and protects lawful businesses in the United States that are providing consulting services. It’s an effort by three-star general Congressman Jack Bergman (R-MN).
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CHOICE was introduced by three-star General, Representative Jack Bergman in May 2025.
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With more than 19 million veterans and only 5 million currently in possession of a disability rating, additional support from accredited third-party providers is critically and urgently needed to support veterans, the government, and VSOs, and to help alleviate the VA backlog of claims.
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Join our grassroots movement and urge your Congressman or woman to co-sponsor CHOICE by sending an email.
The GUARD Act
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This bill would establish 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.
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Representative Chris Pappas, a Democrat from New Hampshire, proposed the legislation in February 2025.
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The GUARD Act completely eliminates reputable, private sector companies such as Veterans Guardian. Veterans are already being underserved and the backlog of claims continues to rise. Veterans Guardian believes that veterans should have the option to choose who helps them with their VA Disability benefits, and that there should be protections in place to ensure veterans are not taken advantage of; some protections include fee caps, the prevention of upfront fees, and eliminating conflicts of interest by removing doctors from company payrolls.
The Military Spouse Hiring Act
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The Military Spouse Employment Act is a bill seeks to incentivize employers to hire military spouses by providing an income tax credit.
The act is designed to address the employment challenges that military spouses often face due to frequent relocations and deployments. Military spouses may find it difficult to establish and maintain a career due to the demands of military life, and the act aims to help alleviate some of these challenges by providing a financial incentive for employers to hire military spouses.
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This bill was introduced in 2021 in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Carter, a Republican from Texas.
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“America’s talented military spouses consistently make enormous sacrifices for our freedoms, safety, and security that often go overlooked. One such sacrifice includes moving from one assignment to the next, making it difficult to secure employment and increasing employers’ barriers to hiring them.
Veterans Guardian applauds U.S. Senators Kaine, Boozman, Hassan, & Rounds for introducing the Military Spouse Hiring Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that will play a vital role in expanding employment opportunities for military spouses. This legislation will amend the tax code to incentivize businesses to hire military spouses, enhancing local economies and communities around the country. We owe it to our men and women in the military to remove any barriers preventing them from achieving their financial goals; it is the least we can do to honor their service to our country.”
The PACT Act
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The PACT Act, which stands for Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act, adds to the list of health conditions that are assumed, or "presumed," to be caused by exposure to these toxic substances.
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The act was first introduced on June 17, 2021, by Representative Mark Takano, a Democrat from California. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 256–174 on March 3, 2022, and passed the Senate by 84–14 on June 16, 2022.
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The PACT Act aims to provide greater support and resources for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances during their service. This includes expanding access to VA health care and benefits for veterans who are suffering from health conditions related to toxic exposure, as well as establishing an outreach program to ensure that eligible veterans are aware of these benefits.
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“With the passage of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (or PACT Act), Congress took a significant step forward toward delivering on its promises to better support our nation’s veterans.
Veterans Guardian salutes House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee leadership and staff for their hard work to pass in passing this legislation. The PACT Act will strengthen health coverage for burn pit victims by rightfully shifting the burden of proof away from the veteran and formally recognizing the links between various illnesses and these burn pits.
State Legislation
For advocacy or government affairs inquires please reach out at contact@vetsknowthefacts.com.
Eliminating Veteran ability to choose expert help
These are the state versions of the GUARD Act that completely eliminate private claim consultants, and with them the ability for Veterans to receive expert help when preparing their VA claims.
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SB 206
Status: Enacted
Tell your legislator to amend this law so it protects Veterans from predatory actors while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable private expert help with their claims.
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HB 2842
Status: Passed House Government Committee
Tell your legislator to oppose this bill unless they amend it so that it stops predatory ‘claim sharks’ without banning reputable, VA‑accredited private experts from helping Veterans with their claims.
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SB 694
Status: Enacted (Signed by Governor; effective 2026)
Tell your legislator to amend this law so it protects Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims. -
HB 25-1047
Status: Dead
A win for Veterans!
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HB 6858, HB 6874 & HB 6909
Status: One active Attorney General consumer‑protection bill and related prior measures touching “claim sharks”; some proposals have already died in committee.
Tell your legislator to oppose any new legislation that targets “claim sharks” unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory actors while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 31
Status: Reported out of committee and placed on the House Ready List.
Tell your legislator to oppose this bill unless they amend it to provide regulations that allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 652 & SB 608
Status: HB 652 is an active filed bill; SB 608 (2025) advanced in the Senate but is now dead for this session.
Tell your legislator to oppose any veterans‑benefits bill that targets “claim sharks” unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory actors while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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SB 1080
Status: Stalled in the Senate (recommitted to State Affairs after being placed on the floor calendar).
Tell your legislator to oppose this bill unless they amend it to provide regulations that allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 2214
Status: Dead – A win for Veterans!
Lawmakers rejected this bill, which would have limited how Veterans could pay for help with their benefits claims and risked restricting their ability to choose private expert help.
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LD 2259
Status: Enacted
Tell your legislators and the Governor that you oppose this law because it effectively strips Veterans of their ability to receive paid expert help with their VA claims, and urge them to fix it this year so it targets predatory “claim sharks” without blocking reputable, VA‑accredited private experts.
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HB 267 & SB 928
Status: HB 267 passed the House but died in the Senate Finance Committee; SB 928 received a hearing in Senate Finance but did not advance.
Tell your legislator to oppose any effort to revive these bills unless they are amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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SF 1894 & SF 1959
Status: Enacted; key veterans policy language advanced, but the original accreditation requirement was amended before final passage.
Tell your legislator to oppose any future effort to revive stricter “claim shark” language unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory actors while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 80, HB 399 & SB 300
Status: HB 399 has had a public hearing and remains in House committee, while SB 316 has advanced in the Senate as a bill on compensation for services in veterans benefits matters.
Tell your legislator to oppose these bills unless they are amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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AB 145
Status: Stalled in the Assembly after being rereferred to the Ways and Means Committee; no further action was taken before the end of the 2025 session.
Tell your legislator to oppose any effort to revive this bill unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 245
Status: Dead – a win for Veterans this session (action was postponed indefinitely after a Do Pass committee report).
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HB 3751 & SB 150
Status: SB 150 has been enacted as Chapter 326, prohibiting most compensation for helping with veterans’ benefits claims except as allowed by federal or state law; HB 3751 was the House companion and did not advance.
Tell your legislator and the Governor that you oppose this law unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 5043 & SB 71
Status: HB 5043 has been enacted as Rhode Island’s “claim shark” law, prohibiting most paid assistance with VA disability claims except as allowed under federal law; SB 71 remains in committee as the earlier Senate companion.
Tell your legislators and the Governor that you oppose this law unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 1076
Status: Dead
A win for Veterans!
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SB 594
Status: Filed and referred to the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee; no further action has been recorded yet.
Tell your legislator to oppose this bill unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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H.103
Status: Enacted – H.103 has been signed into law as Vermont’s “claim shark” statute, prohibiting most paid assistance for services involving veterans’ benefits except as allowed under federal law (effective July 1, 2025).
Tell your legislators and the Governor that you oppose this law unless it is amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 736
Status: Used to create a Veterans’ Benefits Matters Work Group to study compensated help with VA claims; the General Assembly has adjourned, and any new restrictions would have to be reintroduced in a future session.
Tell your legislator to ensure that any future bill based on this work group’s recommendations protects Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 2423, HB 2949 & SB 4, SB 36
Status: These “claim shark” bills were introduced and received committee referrals and hearings, but none advanced to final passage in the 2025 regular session; SB 4 is recorded as having died in committee.
Tell your legislator to oppose any effort to revive these bills unless they are amended to protect Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while preserving Veterans’ ability to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
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HB 210
Status: Dead
A win for Veterans!
Regulating claim sharks + protecting Veteran choice
These are the state versions of the CHOICE Act that protect Veterans from bad actors in the VA disability claims space while creating a path forward for private claims consultants to be able to give Veterans expert assistance in filing their claims.
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HB 2612 & SB 1703
Status: These bills failed this session, but they are a better model for Arizona because they regulate “claim sharks” while still allowing Veterans to choose reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with their claims.
Tell your legislator to support future bills modeled on HB 2612 and SB 1703 that stop predatory “claim sharks” and protect Veterans’ right to choose trusted private expert help with their VA claims.
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HB 25‑1233
Status: Dead this session – this bill failed in committee but offered a better approach by protecting Veterans from predatory “claim sharks” while allowing reasonable, transparent compensation for reputable, VA‑accredited private expert help with VA claims.
Tell your legislator to reintroduce and support a bill modeled on HB 25‑1233 that caps abusive fees, bans kickbacks, and requires clear disclosures, without stripping Veterans of the option to choose trusted private expert help with their claims.
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HB 108 & SB 910
Status: HB 108 has passed the House and awaiting hearings in the Senate. SB 73 has been tabled in favor of HB 108
Tell your legislator to support HB 108 to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 108 & SB 603
Status: Filed
Tell your legislator to support these bills to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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SB 603
Status: Hearings scheduled
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 3087 & SB 1825
Status: Hearings held
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 1607
Status: Passed House
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 2213
Status: Hearings held
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 736
Status: Passed out of House
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 1102 & SB 316
Status: Hearings held
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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SB 66
Status: Passed out of committee
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 1169
Status: Passed House
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 2836
Status: Passed House
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 5419
Status: Hearings scheduled
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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HB 1238
Status: Passed, with Governor for signature!
A win for Veterans!
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HB 342 & SB 362
Status: SB 362 passed Senate
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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SB 1222
Status: Passed Senate, but the Assembly was adjourned. This bill will need to be passed next session without political influence taking away from productive and bipartisan policy.
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.
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SB 658
Status: Hearings scheduled
Tell your legislator to support this bill to allow Veterans the opportunity to choose private expert help with their claims.