Noteboom The Law Firm

Another Way They're Trying to Screw the Veterans

August 6, 2010 - When Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki sent the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2010 to Congress, he described it as "beneficial changes to enhance the efficiency and fairness of several Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs of benefits to Veterans and their families and to improve the procedures for the timely adjudication of claims and appeals for such benefits." Sounds Great, doesn't it?

The above quote is from Sec. Shinseki's letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi requesting his bill be considered for enactment. A more careful reader of the bill, however, will discover it is not as positive as Sec. Shinseki would have you believe.

Despite the positive spin on this bill, its passage would severely limit veterans' rights to disability compensation for both diseases and wounds. The overall "theme" to the bill is speeding up the disability claims process. The cost to make that happen however, means passing several anti-veteran and anti-lawyer clauses embedded in the bill.  

One way the bill aims at increasing the speed of the disability claims process is by eliminating the Board of Veterans Appeals judge's requirement of writing down support for his decision. Without a written record of a judge's reasoning, higher courts cannot be expected to accurately review that judge's decision. This is denying veterans the ability to make a solid argument against the reviewing judge's decision.

Exactly how this bill will speed up disability claims processes is unknown, despite the VA's claims. Current law gives veterans dissatisfied with decisions at the regional office level a year to file their notice of disagreement. This bill will cut that number down to 180 days, doing nothing but eliminating valid, otherwise timely, appeals.

The bill also seeks to limit attorney fee awards to only those cases where veterans are successful in being granted arrearages. This is a departure from lawyers being granted hourly fees from a separate fund by successfully overturning meritless board decisions forcing cases to be remanded. Essentially, immediate hourly fees will no longer be paid and lawyers will have to wait until their case is concluded to collect payment; a process usually stretching years.

Asking lawyers to work for free for years isn't reasonable and there aren't enough lawyers with the necessary knowledge willing to work pro bono. In the end, it is the veterans that are left without representation in a system rife with errors and red tape yet implementing new rules seemingly designed to cut off veterans' rights.