This bill, known as the SAFEGUARD Veterans Act of 2026, cracks down on fraud and abuse targeting veterans seeking benefits. It reinstates criminal penalties for people who charge veterans unauthorized fees for help filing VA benefit claims, with fines and potential imprisonment of up to one year for violations, along with bans from representing veterans for one year after a first offense and ten years after subsequent violations. The legislation requires that only people officially recognized by the VA can assist veterans with claims, and establishes new protections including an online searchable list of approved representatives, warnings on VA websites about potential scams, and a system for veterans to report people charging illegal fees. The bill also requires the VA to add questions to claim forms asking whether veterans were charged for filing assistance and directs the VA to improve warnings about predatory practices. Additionally, it restricts the use of automated telephone equipment to make repeated calls to federal agencies. The VA must complete a rulemaking process within 90 days and submit staffing and funding estimates to Congress for enforcing these rules.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.