By Juwon Nichols. Read it in the Washington Examiner.

Too often, American veterans return from foreign wars only to find themselves stranded at home. Sometimes, veterans’ longest battle is navigating the VA claims system or attempting to receive assistance from the Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) created to help them.

I’ve experienced that indifference from both sides of the government. I completed basic training in the Air Force National Guard after 9/11 and provided stateside support to soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. During my training, I developed tinnitus from a fall and PTSD from superiors’ racial abuse. I filed for full benefits through the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and my case drags on, without closure, years later.

I also served as a program manager for the War Department, acting as a civilian liaison coordinating veterans’ care between the U.S. Navy and the Department of Veterans Affairs. I was horrified to see fellow soldiers with traumatic brain injuries, crushed vertebrae, and mental health challenges denied treatment due to bureaucratic red tape or simple inaction.

Unfortunately, these problems continue under VA Secretary Doug Collins. The VA still has a backlog of almost 70,000 claims, and four out of every 10 claims are initially denied.

I’m a disabled combat veteran and widower who left a high-paying job in D.C. to drive a delivery truck. I used to spend my days supporting humanitarian missions overseas with my brothers-in-arms; now, I returned to my hometown so my family could help me raise my daughter as we grieve her mother’s death.

I’m fighting to best take care of my family. And while I’m grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for supporting me, there are hundreds of thousands of veterans on a waitlist who deserve that same help.

Nearly one in four veterans enrolled in the VA health care system lives in a rural community like mine, where getting care often means driving hours to the nearest VA medical center. Those veterans also tend to be older and sicker, yet the VA continues to struggle with giving veterans timely access to the care that they need and deserve. 

Like other veterans, I took an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. I served my country with dignity, got married, and had a beautiful daughter. And after a deployment and being honorably and medically discharged, I embarked on a lucrative career in government contracting.

By Bishop Garrison. Read it in The Defense Post.

This past May in North Carolina, a federal district court judge ruled that non-accredited organizations cannot serve as “agents” on behalf of veterans navigating the medical claims process. 

While designed with the admirable goal of protecting veterans, the ruling can and will have a negative impact on their support and critical care if not properly addressed.

I know this firsthand. My own claim has been denied twice and is currently on appeal — not because of any failure on the part of VA staff, who have been nothing but professional and supportive, but because small gaps in documentation at the outset can prolong, or entirely reset, the process. That complexity is precisely why outside help matters.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has worked hard to reduce its backlog to 100,000 pending claims from a high of 580,000, serving a veteran population of nearly 9 million. Progress has been real. 

By Linda Hersey. Read it in Stars and Stripes.

A class action lawsuit involving tens of thousands of veterans whose disability appeals were erroneously closed by the Department of Veterans Affairs will be heard in federal court this summer to determine whether a proposed settlement agreement is fair and reasonable.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to review the proposed settlement on Aug. 13, with the agreement representing veterans and their survivors whose claims were closed by the VA between Dec. 12, 1990, and Feb. 6, 2025, according to court documents. Army veteran J. Roni Freund and Mary S. Mathewson, the surviving spouse of Army veteran Marvin Mathewson, jointly filed the lawsuit in 2021 after their appeals for disability benefits were deactivated due to a malfunction in the Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System.

The court certified the case in March as a class action representing more than 90,000 veterans and their families who were similarly affected.

By Mark Lucas. Read it in Fox News.

No president in modern history did more for veterans than Donald Trump in his first term. His administration delivered the "Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act," the "Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act," and the Forever GI Bill, each one a win for veterans. That legacy was set to grow even further in his second term. Now career VA bureaucrats are blocking the reforms that would extend it. That will cost veterans their lives, and it could cost Republicans the midterms.

The most significant of these reforms was the "VA MISSION Act of 2018," which gave veterans the right to choose between VA and community care. Congress is now debating the "Take Care of America’s Veterans Act," built in part on that same MISSION Act foundation, with a vote expected in the coming weeks.

The Biden administration rolled back those MISSION Act gains. Access to community care narrowed and wait times at VA facilities grew. A VA inspector general investigation found that delays at the Fayetteville, Ark., VA contributed to a cancer patient’s death. In Hampton, Va., the VA cut off chiropractic care for veterans managing chronic pain, leaving many of them choosing between opioids and no treatment at all.

Veterans expected a second Trump administration to reverse that damage. Instead, career staff inside the VA have worked to slow it down, failing to consistently follow the MISSION Act or Secretary Doug Collins’s reform guidance. Many of them built their careers inside that system, and they resist anything that gives veterans more reason to walk out the door for care. They do not believe in the choice Trump won for veterans in 2018. They would rather keep veterans inside a failing system than lose control of it.

By Walter "Woody" Woodring. Read it in The Washington Times.

Two weeks ago, I sat in a Veterans Affairs waiting room for a scheduled appointment. Next to me was a fellow veteran who had already been waiting for 90 minutes to be checked in.

He got up, walked down the hall and found someone to ask why he was still waiting. The answer: Nobody was coming to that waiting room to check anyone in.

He was one person in one waiting room, but his story is the same for more than 550,000 other veterans still waiting for VA promises. Do the multiplication, and you get a disturbing number.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins took office in February 2025, pledging to “deliver timely access to care and benefits for every eligible veteran, family member, caregiver and survivor” and to put veterans “at the center of everything VA does, focusing relentlessly on customer service and convenience.”

By Jeremiah Solven. Read it in the Daily Signal.

As a former Army Ranger, I understand that no plan survives first contact. When conditions change, missions evolve. Veterans deserve a benefits system that operates with that same mindset. 

But that’s not what’s happening when our country’s heroes return home injured. 

A recent federal court ruling makes clear the failings of our current benefits system. Instead of adapting strategies to shifting realities, it’s entrenching itself in positions that are clearly detrimental to veterans’ well-being. 

In that case, a federal court ruled against Veterans Guardian, a fee-based veteran service organization that helps veterans navigate the claims process. Ultimately, lawyers and courts will decide the legal questions surrounding this case. My concern is not whether Veterans Guardian wins or loses; it is why so many veterans feel they need outside help in the first place. 

By Donyale Hall. Read it in the Washington Examiner.

My father served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force. After he retired as a master sergeant, he spent years trying to get the disability benefits he had earned. He died before he could. I have carried that with me ever since, and I have spent years working to make sure other veterans do not face the same wall.

So when a federal judge in North Carolina issued a ruling last month that could make it a crime to pay someone to help you file a VA disability claim, I took it personally. Because it is personal.

On May 20, Chief Judge Catherine Eagles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a ruling that defines the word “agent” so broadly that almost any paid assistance with a VA claim could be treated as illegal. Under the court’s reading, helping a veteran decide what to claim, gathering supporting documents, or even tracking a mailed packet could constitute unlawful agency under federal law. The veteran can review every page himself and still be told that the person who helped him prepare it broke the law.

You can’t read that statute and come away thinking it covers a veteran’s neighbor helping him fill out forms.

By Patrick McSpadden in Stars and Stripes.

When I retired from the Air Force after 21 years of service, I quickly learned that navigating the Department of Veterans Affairs disability system could be nearly as challenging as some of the bureaucracies I had spent a career working inside. Between medical records, supporting evidence, deadlines, and unfamiliar terminology, the process was far more complicated than I expected.

That is why a recent court ruling involving veterans’ claims assistance deserves a closer look.

The May 20 ruling by a federal judge in North Carolina in Ford v. Veterans Guardian VA Claim Consulting upended the long-standing understanding of who may lawfully provide paid assistance to veterans pursuing VA disability claims, reigniting the debate over accreditation, consumer protection, and veterans’ access to representation. 

If the ruling was supposed to solve the challenges veterans face navigating the VA disability system, it missed the mark.

By Irene Watkins in Townhall.

I grew up in a military household. As a daughter and sister of veterans, and someone who made a career working in U.S. military strategy and serving government agencies, I’ve spent my entire life around those who wear the uniform.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about a recent federal court ruling that affects not only veterans themselves, but the families, doctors, caregivers, and community advocates who help those veterans navigate the VA's complicated benefits system.

A federal judge issued a ruling on May 20th, effectively stating that individuals acting as “agents” in the preparation of veterans’ disability claims must be accredited with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In this case, the court ruled that consulting firm Veterans Guardian didn’t have the legal authority to assist veterans with preparing and filing VA claims because it wasn’t officially VA-accredited, as federal law requires.

That law exists, in part, to provide veterans free claims assistance through VA-accredited Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) such as the American Legion, VFW, and county veterans service officers. But perhaps quite concerningly, it also helps the accredited trial attorneys, who make a lot of money handling those claims, by eliminating the competition.

On the day of his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (the United States DOGE Service). Since then, spending has been scrutinized, government offices have been reorganized and staff decimated, a federal hiring freeze was implemented, sensitive data has been shared with temporary government employees, deregulation has begun, and scores of federal contracts and grants have been terminated.¹

These changes have caused widespread chaos and uncertainty for federal agencies, civil servants, and entities that rely on federal funding to provide essential services to the public. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not escaped that chaos, and concerns exist among VA staff about the impact on DOGE’s work inside the agency and the impact it will have on the veterans and the families the agency serves.²

Concerns about service from the VA are only amplified by the agency’s own troubled past — years ago, whistleblowers and watchdogs exposed a lack of oversight and accountability within the agency, and “excessive wait times” that likely resulted in preventable hospitalizations and even deaths.³

An effective government, one that serves its people and its veterans well, must rely on watchdogs and whistleblowers, but oversight is not enough. We also need ethical and transparent governance, wise spending decisions, effective contracting laws, and a strong civil service with expertise in serving the American people. The president’s “DOGE agenda” undermines all of these.⁴

By Julie Ferland in the Washington Examiner

The House Appropriations Committee may have finally given veterans and taxpayers the chance to see whether high-priced lawyers are helping service members get Department of Veterans Affairs benefits — or whether they are fleecing everyone for hundreds of millions of dollars. 

In late April, committee Members voted 58-0 to approve a fiscal 2027 budget for veterans. There is a lot here for veterans to celebrate, but one of the most important provisions is buried deep in a nearly 100-page report accompanying the bill. On page 29, under the heading, “attorney fees,” the committee directs the VA to deliver a report on “the aggregate costs associated with veterans and dependents obtaining attorney representation in VA appeals.” 

By Ken Sutton 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 Jeramiah Solven in Stars and Stripes.

Doug Collins, the man in charge at the Department of Veterans Affairs, recently wrote that the VA “means world-class health care coverage” and offers a panoply of benefits and aids for Americans who served. In the Capitol, members of Congress are pushing the CHOICE for Veterans Act, a piece of legislation designed to help veterans navigate the VA claims process more quickly.

I hope these efforts genuinely help veterans. But we don’t have to wait for relief from our struggles. We have always stepped up to help our brothers and sisters in arms, with new innovations, ideas and solutions cropping up every day.

The example that most stands out to me lately is RateYourVSO.com, a new tool that helps veterans evaluate which Veteran Service Organization can best guide them through the often daunting VA benefits claims process. I’m not affiliated with RateYourVSO or with Combat Veterans of America, which runs it. However, people solving problems and helping veterans in concrete ways is always a good thing. The VA has admittedly struggled in the past with accessibility and reform. Veterans remember the wait-list scandal that broke in 2014, when the VA inspector general found “appointment scheduling issues” at 77 VA medical centers, with one facility having “manipulated wait-lists to meet department standards, delaying appointments for veterans.”

By Dean Forest in The Blaze.

I served in combat with the U.S. Army. Like many veterans, I know that men and women who come home carrying the physical and mental costs of war rely on disability payments to maintain mortgages and keep their families afloat. These funds help people rebuild lives that were permanently changed during their years of service and sacrifice.

Navigating the VA's disability system is rarely simple. Many veterans are already coping with serious injuries, mental health challenges, or financial stress as they transition back to civilian life. Confronting a complicated bureaucracy on top of that can feel like fighting another battle — which is why veterans should have access to a range of options for help.

The current system often leaves veterans with limited options, partly because when disability claims are delayed and pushed into drawn-out appeals, attorneys are allowed to collect a percentage of the veteran’s eventual award. The longer the process drags on, the larger the payout.

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid $394.7 million to accredited attorneys over the past year — money taken directly from veterans who fought to earn those benefits. The CHOICE Act (H.R. 3132) would help ensure that those benefits stay with the veterans who earned them, not the lawyers who see them as a payday.

By Todd Tiahrt in The Wichita Eagle.

Kansas has long prided itself on being a state that stands behind its veterans. From tax relief to employment preferences and outdoor access benefits, Kansans have consistently supported those who served.

That commitment reflects a simple belief: when men and women step forward to defend this country, we owe them not just gratitude, but results. Yet for many veterans, securing the Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits they have earned remains far more difficult than it should be.

By Russell B. Lemle. Read it in The Hill.

Earlier this month, in alignment with directives from President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Secretary Doug Collins announced his intention to eliminate over 70,000 positions from the Department of Veterans Affairs. For emphasis, he pointedly added, “So get used to it.”

Collins quickly signaled what he plans to cut. During a speech for the American Legion, he criticized the billions spent on suicide prevention efforts, noting that the yearly veteran suicide number — roughly 6,500 — has barely changed. In a follow-up interview, Collins repeated his indictment of VA suicide prevention, and declared that the “programs and operations have serious vulnerabilities for fraud, waste and abuse.”

Collins has a willing partner in Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. In a recent blistering letter to the VA, Bost wrote, “It is unfathomable that the mental health budget has increased by billions of dollars each fiscal year, yet the suicide rate, tragically, has not budged.”

Bost’s and Collins’s framing of these topline statistics flagrantly disregards how VA’s suicide prevention efforts have effectively and efficiently produced life-saving advances.

By Haley Fuller. Read it in Military.com

As Congress returns for 2026, veterans’ advocates are pressing lawmakers to focus less on slogans and more on execution. That argument sits at the center of the non-partisan nonprofit, Mission Roll Call, which says it “amplifies the voices of veterans and their families” by using digital polling to capture what people actually need, including those who do not belong to traditional veterans’ organizations. 

The group says it has reached more than 1.3 million veterans and supporters and built its agenda around recurring survey feedback rather than leadership-driven priorities. 

Jim Whaley, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served as a Master Army Aviator, now leads the organization and describes its value proposition in blunt terms: speed, scale, and fidelity. In an interview, he said Mission Roll Call collects responses “unfiltered” and then shares what it hears directly with policymakers and the media, without routing those opinions through layers of internal committees.

That approach targets a practical problem, Whaley says Congress often underestimates: many veterans fall outside the traditional networks that typically communicate with lawmakers. The United States has roughly 18 million living veterans, a population spanning every state and a wide range of ages and service eras.

By Donyale Hall in The Sacramento Bee

My father came from humble beginnings in the farmlands of Floyd County, Virginia. As soon as he turned 18, he joined the U.S. Air Force, which shaped 26 years of his life. After my father was honorably discharged as a master sergeant, he moved to Delaware, where he spent years trying to claim the veteran disability benefit checks he had earned.

Like many veterans who gave their lives to military service, he passed away before he could succeed. I’m concerned this sad outcome will happen to many California veterans.

By Armando Castro in SD Rosta

When I came back from Afghanistan, I thought the worst was over. But figuring out how to claim my veterans’ benefits turned out to be another war, one fought with confusing forms, unanswered calls, and endless delays.

For months, I tried to handle it all myself. I called the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offices, and most of the time, no one answered. I sent in documents, only to be told later they couldn’t find them. Every step seemed designed to wear you down.

By Jeramiah Solven in USA Today

I recently got some good news: The Department of Veterans Affairs finally acknowledged my combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, a step that will help me get treatment to move forward into the next stage of my life.

The bad news is that it took me more than five years, hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to get this far. But I’m one of the lucky veterans who navigated the morass of bureaucracy by working with a private company – a resource that could go away for California’s 1.5 million veterans if state lawmakers pass Senate bill 694.

By Irene Dana in DC Journal

California has long been a pioneer in caring for veterans. In 1921, it created a home loan program to help those who served in World War I—more than two decades before the federal VA loan existed. That single policy meant opportunity, dignity and stability for generations of veterans and their families.

That’s why Senate Bill 694, now before the California Senate, is so concerning. Rather than building on that proud legacy, it would restrict who veterans can turn to as they navigate the maze of the Department of Veterans Affairs by banning private consultants entirely, instead of regulating bad actors and placing safeguards so veterans don’t get scammed. For the 1.5 million veterans who call California home, this isn’t progress—it’s a step backward at the very moment when they need better options.