A suggested message for the governor follows:

We, the Military Officers Association of America, made up of individuals from all military branches and uniformed services (Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps) who are all eligible for veterans administration disability benefits are strongly opposed to you signing SB 315 and HB 398 and request, in the interest of all Virginia Veterans who might need to file a disability claim, please veto this legislation.

This legislation was put forth at the urging of Veterans Guardian, a "claim shark" company who provided campaign contributions of $2,000 per legislator who would support this bill and oppose the bill put forth to protect veterans from unscrupulous claim sharks.

1) The "claim sharks" do not follow federal law as outlined in Title 38 USC, that was to ensure that veterans do not pay a fee (in the case of these "claim sharks", 5 times the value of their expected future monthly benefits) for filing an initial veteran disability claim with the Veterans Administration (VA).

2) Because these "claim sharks" are not certified, they are not allowed access to the veterans' records of those they work with.  These companies collect the date of birth, service information and social security numbers and routinely check to see if a veteran has been awarded a benefit, even years after their interaction for increases that they did not assist with.

3) In Virginia, were any other action to commit fraud against a citizen of Virginia to occur, the Attorney General would protect the citizen and fight the fraudster; here the government wants to ensure that fraud committed against veterans is legalized.

4) Currently there are two national issues occurring: first, there is a civil class action veteran lawsuit against Veterans Guardian for misrepresenting veterans being served and committing fraud against them; second, the VA is conducting a review of 1.1 million claims filed over the past 10-years to determine the extent of claim shark fraud.

Again, for these reasons, we strongly ask you to veto this legislation.

[Your Name]
MOAA member
 

You can contact Governor Spanberger through her office by phone, online form, or mail.

Phone Contact
You can reach the Governor’s Office directly by calling 804-786-2211 to speak with staff or leave a message regarding your concern or request. 

Online Contact Form
Virginia’s Constituent Services Office provides an online form to communicate with the Governor.  You can submit comments, requests, or questions through the official Virginia.gov contact page at:
     https://www.virginia.gov/contact/
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required, and the office will respond if your inquiry requires a reply.

Mailing Address
For written correspondence, you can send mail to the Governor’s office at:
     Office of the Governor
     P.O. Box 1475
     Richmond, VA 23218