nehemiah
September 1st, 2006, 11:36:58 AM
you know who you are. and by supporting the troops in their VA claims - you are NOT supporting the troops.
It's like inviting the wolf into the chicken house," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charley Burch, describing the Senate's vote Aug. 3 to allow paid attorneys, for the first time in over a century, to represent veterans in filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
...
Lawyer groups, particularly legal advocates for veterans, did lobby for the change, along with a few retired appellate court judges and some of the smaller veterans groups. But they did so, they said, because veterans deserve the right to hire a lawyer, from the start of the claims process, to deal with increasingly complex laws and regulations and in recognition that valuable assets - tax-free VA disability benefits - are at stake.
"This thing sounds innocuous," Burch countered. "They're saying, 'We are giving veterans a choice. Choice is always good.' Well, choice isn't always good. What really scares me is this thing is flying below the radar," not drawing much attention even though it soon could become law.
...
Following the Civil War, Congress first imposed a limit of $5 on fees lawyers could charge to assist veterans with their pensions and bonuses. The cap was raised to $10 a short time later but hasn't been raised since. The practical effect, McKay explained, is to bar lawyers from representing veterans until they exhaust a lengthy administrative process of their claims and get an adverse decision from the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
By that time, McKay wrote, "a case has been lost, often because the veteran did not present the correct claim, or properly present available evidence -- technicalities that could hurt the case on appeal even after a lawyer is involved." He gave examples of injustices suffered by individual veterans for lack of a lawyer's care and knowledge early in the process.
...
Craig feels it's "a matter of fairness," said committee spokesman Jeff Schrade. "The chairman feels very strongly that veterans are adults and they can spend their money however they want to spend it."
...
Veterans groups are divided. Testifying in support of Craig's bill were the Vietnam Veterans of America, the National Veterans Legal Services Program and a few former chief judges of the U. S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Legal counsel at initiation of a claim "would give that claim a legal continuity," said Rick Weidman of VVA. "Legal counsel is the right of all Americans, except veterans. This is an injustice."
...
Joseph Violante, DAV's legislative director, said the bill "sends the wrong message to our brave troops fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere -- that they need to hire an attorney to obtain the benefits a grateful nation has provided."
Said Burch: "There are no shortcuts, though that's the assumption. 'Hey, all I need is to get an attorney and I can cut through this.' That's not true. There is one route...and sometimes it takes a lot of time."
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,112059,00.html
"gives them the wrong message"? :rofl:
the fact that they NEED an attorney to get what they have earned is shameful. joseph violante needs a kick in the head. idiot.
It's like inviting the wolf into the chicken house," said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charley Burch, describing the Senate's vote Aug. 3 to allow paid attorneys, for the first time in over a century, to represent veterans in filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
...
Lawyer groups, particularly legal advocates for veterans, did lobby for the change, along with a few retired appellate court judges and some of the smaller veterans groups. But they did so, they said, because veterans deserve the right to hire a lawyer, from the start of the claims process, to deal with increasingly complex laws and regulations and in recognition that valuable assets - tax-free VA disability benefits - are at stake.
"This thing sounds innocuous," Burch countered. "They're saying, 'We are giving veterans a choice. Choice is always good.' Well, choice isn't always good. What really scares me is this thing is flying below the radar," not drawing much attention even though it soon could become law.
...
Following the Civil War, Congress first imposed a limit of $5 on fees lawyers could charge to assist veterans with their pensions and bonuses. The cap was raised to $10 a short time later but hasn't been raised since. The practical effect, McKay explained, is to bar lawyers from representing veterans until they exhaust a lengthy administrative process of their claims and get an adverse decision from the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
By that time, McKay wrote, "a case has been lost, often because the veteran did not present the correct claim, or properly present available evidence -- technicalities that could hurt the case on appeal even after a lawyer is involved." He gave examples of injustices suffered by individual veterans for lack of a lawyer's care and knowledge early in the process.
...
Craig feels it's "a matter of fairness," said committee spokesman Jeff Schrade. "The chairman feels very strongly that veterans are adults and they can spend their money however they want to spend it."
...
Veterans groups are divided. Testifying in support of Craig's bill were the Vietnam Veterans of America, the National Veterans Legal Services Program and a few former chief judges of the U. S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Legal counsel at initiation of a claim "would give that claim a legal continuity," said Rick Weidman of VVA. "Legal counsel is the right of all Americans, except veterans. This is an injustice."
...
Joseph Violante, DAV's legislative director, said the bill "sends the wrong message to our brave troops fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere -- that they need to hire an attorney to obtain the benefits a grateful nation has provided."
Said Burch: "There are no shortcuts, though that's the assumption. 'Hey, all I need is to get an attorney and I can cut through this.' That's not true. There is one route...and sometimes it takes a lot of time."
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,112059,00.html
"gives them the wrong message"? :rofl:
the fact that they NEED an attorney to get what they have earned is shameful. joseph violante needs a kick in the head. idiot.