Sponsors
The bill expands veterans' access to legal representation and builds a pipeline of attorneys through modest, predictable federal funding, at the trade-off of added VA administrative burden and roughly $50 million in spending over five years.
Veterans will gain expanded access to legal assistance for VA benefits claims and appeals, increasing chances they receive entitled benefits and improving navigation of the VA claims process.
Veterans can obtain representation in fiduciary-appointment appeals and other legal matters, helping protect their financial and legal rights.
Establishes predictable federal funding ($10 million per year for five years) to sustain legal clinics and train future lawyers who will serve veterans, supporting long-term capacity and legal education pathways.
The program's broad scope to assist with civil, criminal, and family matters could require significant administrative oversight and increase workload for the Department of Veterans Affairs, potentially complicating implementation and diverting VA resources.
Taxpayers will bear the authorized cost—about $50 million over five years—to fund the program.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes the VA to support university law school legal programs serving veterans and authorizes $10M per year for FY2027–FY2031 to carry out that support.
Introduced April 21, 2026 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress April 21, 2026
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to support one or more university law school programs that provide legal assistance to veterans, including representation in VA fiduciary-appointment appeals and proceedings, filing and appealing VA benefits claims, and other civil, criminal, and family legal matters the Secretary approves. It authorizes $10,000,000 to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2027–2031 (total authorized = $50,000,000) to carry out this support. One brief section only sets the law's short title and does not change substantive law.