A rare moment of unity that Washington can build on
By Ken Sutton
Read it in The Richmond Times-Dispatch
The divide between Democrats and Republicans has widened so badly that division is just plain expected. Fights over affordable care, LGBTQ+ rights, and election laws have become so common that we barely even give them a second glance.
So, it was both eye-opening and refreshing last week to see Democrats and Republicans come together in Virginia over at least one important issue: the welfare of our veterans.
On April 13, Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia flexed her leadership and signed into law SB 315, the Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment (SAVE) Act, which protects veterans by regulating the paid consultants helping them secure disability benefit payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
By passing and signing the SAVE Act, Gov. Spanberger and nearly the entire state legislature struck a badly needed balance between protections, financial security and choice for veterans.
Before paid consultants came onto the scene in recent years, veterans had two bad options for VA benefits application help. First, there were the veteran service organizations (VSOs), like the VFW and American Legion, who used "accredited volunteers" to help veterans with their benefit applications for free. These well- meaning volunteers were overwhelmed, and they sometimes did more harm than good, unintentionally triggering VA rejections that put veterans' applications in limbo. Option two was lawyers, who charge hefty fees topping hundreds of dollars per hour.
Veterans were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They needed a third option: quality, inexpensive help, something in the middle that could help them get through a notoriously difficult and unforgiving benefits application process that made disability benefits hard to obtain.
That's why paid consultants began to offer services several years ago. Demand for them quickly rose - and so did opposition from the VSOs. They lobbied hard in federal and state legislatures, including Virginia's, to stymie what they viewed as a threat to their grand plan for shoring up their hopelessly shrinking membership. The idea: help younger veterans for free; give them a reason to walk through the doors. Then maybe they'll become members. Their membership numbers are still dismal.
Worse, VSO volunteers are unable to meet the massive and growing demands needed to support the needs of Virginia's 730,000-plus veterans. The VFW's leadership in Virginia has said as much in a recent letter announcing an end to their volunteer programs. Why? Because the demand was too great for them to handle. They admitted they were "not giving our veterans and their families the attention that they deserve to fully complete their claims." Yet, they still tried to convince politicians that expanding the pool of veteran support by allowing and regulating paid benefits consultants was a catastrophic move.
Fortunately, legislators and Gov. Spanberger saw through these nonsensical arguments and overwhelmingly passed the SAVE Act anyway, making it possible for veterans to choose between reputable paid consultants, hit-or-miss volunteers or expensive lawyers - and feel much safer with their choices.
The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, brings a range of strong protections. It will ban consultants from using paid referrals that can expand their business through deception. Clearly written contracts must be signed before any work begins.
Consultants' payments will be contingent on their success. If the veteran doesn't get an increase in benefits, these consultants simply don't get paid. Fees will also be capped, with upfront and non-refundable fees being eliminated. It will also protect veterans' identities, banning consultants from using international call centers, obtaining veterans' personal login credentials for the VA benefits portal, and gaining access to veterans' medical or financial information without a background and identity check.
Ken Sutton of Virginia Beach served 21 years in the U.S. Navy.
