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.
The ruling has serious First Amendment problems. Courts are supposed to interpret statutes in ways that avoid constitutional conflicts when a reasonable alternative exists. This court declined. The Third Circuit has already found in a related case that Veterans Guardian’s services are likely protected speech under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court just applied strict scrutiny to restrictions on paid counseling in Chiles v. Salazar earlier this year. This ruling runs directly into that precedent.
