05-05-2025
Legislation would protect Nebraska veterans' benefits from ‘predatory claim sharks'
A veteran attends a county fair. ()
LINCOLN — For-profit consultants make millions each year charging veterans for help in filing benefits claims. Nebraska is moving to crack down on what some call 'predatory claim sharks.'
It is already against federal law for companies not accredited with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans fees for help in claiming benefits. But in 2006, a 'clear enforcement method' vanished from federal law, State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst told the Nebraska Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee in March.
New York, New Jersey and Maine are among states that recently passed protections against 'claim sharks,' who McKeon said use 'aggressive tactics and false promises.'
'Our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our nation deserve better than this,' McKeon, a veteran, said at the hearing for his Legislative Bill 693. 'We owe them a duty to protect them from being defrauded.'
LB 693 would change state law so that anyone receiving compensation for preparing, advising or consulting someone for earned veterans' benefits or making referrals for such services would commit a 'deceptive trade practice' unless otherwise allowed by state or federal law.
Attorneys, agents or companies properly accredited by the federal VA, for instance, would not be impacted by LB 693, according to the Nebraska chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
A previous version of the bill was introduced in 2024 by former State Sen. Tom Brewer of north-central Nebraska, a decorated veteran and former Government Committee chair.
Brewer's bill did not move forward. This time, McKeon's LB 693 has advanced unanimously from the Government Committee but hasn't yet been scheduled for debate. It is McKeon's personal 2025 priority bill, increasing the likelihood it could be scheduled.
Attempts to regulate the for-profit industry have stalled in Congress.
Among those supporting the Nebraska legislation are major veterans service offices that offer free services, including:
AMVETS.
The American Legion.
Marine Corps League.
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Nebraska Veterans Council.
Disabled American Veterans.
Paralyzed Veterans of America.
Military Order of the Purple Heart.
County Veterans Service Officers Association of Nebraska (including those from Lancaster, Dawes and Sioux Counties).
At the bill's hearing, Ray Colas of Veterans Benefits Guide and John Blomstrom of Veterans Guardian opposed LB 693. Neither service is accredited with the VA.
Colas said LB 693 could create unintended consequences. He said many veterans are unaware of free services that exist but Veterans Benefits Guide tries to publicize those options.
'They still sign on the dotted line because they know they need help or, for purposes of convenience, prefer to use our services fully,' Colas testified.
Blomstrom, a Marine Corps veteran for Veterans Guardian, said he was concerned LB 693 would limit an 'option' that he said should be protected under the First Amendment. He said his organization ensures veterans 'have an option' amid the VA's 'very archaic, broken system.'
Colas said his organization could support LB 693 if it more closely mirrored federal law for accreditation. Blomstrom said consumer protections were a better route than accreditation.
Ken Yount, state commander for the Nebraska chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner that organizations like his have met with lobbyists for the out-of-state companies in 'good faith.' However, such companies have refused 'to be held to the same ethical standards' of VA accreditation or accept a reasonable fee cap, he said.
'They claim to give veterans 'another choice,' but what they're really offering is exploitation,' Yount said. 'Veterans deserve better — and Nebraska has the chance to stand up for them.'
Mike Sheets, on behalf of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Nebraska and the Great Plains Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said his organizations provide services at no charge while still advocating for veterans beyond one-on-one services
Sheets said veterans swear their oath to protect the country, 'knowing that we would be protected by lawmakers, ensuring that we are not preyed upon by for-profit companies.'
Spike Jordan, a county veterans service officer in Dawes and Sioux Counties, said veterans 'who put life and limb on the line' for the county often exit with physical and mental wounds that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
'We owe our heroes more than the symbolic debt of our gratitude,' Jordan said in a statement.
McKeon, one of three veterans on the Government Committee, said the status quo is unacceptable and that LB 693 is about doing 'the right thing.'
'Protecting our veterans must be our top priority that shouldn't be delayed,' McKeon said last month. 'Our heroes deserve better than to be continued to be taken advantage of by the scammers.'
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