Norton Testifies on Her Bill to Fund Law School Clinics to Address Backlog of VA Disability Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released Norton's testimony on her Veterans Legal Support Act of 2019, which would authorize funds for law school clinical programs to assist veterans filing for and appealing Department of Veterans Affairs claims for benefits and with other legal matters. Norton, who taught law as a tenured professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, cited as the need for her bill the 400,000 veterans waiting for claims to be processed. Norton testified Thursday before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. Norton testified that the bill would help to meet the demand for legal services at little cost to the federal government.
Norton's testimony, as prepared for delivery, follows:
Testimony of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
H.R. 5019, the Veterans Legal Support Act of 2019
July 16, 2020
Chair Luria, Ranking Member Bost, and members of the subcommittee, I want to thank you for holding this very important hearing. I am pleased to testify on my Veterans Legal Support Act of 2019 (H.R. 5019). I am also grateful to Chair Takano for his consideration of this bill.
My bill would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide financial and other support to law school clinical programs that provide legal assistance to veterans, such as with filing and appealing claims for VA benefits and foreclosures.
There are already at least 22 law schools that have clinics devoted to veterans' legal needs, including the William & Mary Law School Veterans Benefits Clinic, which serves as a national model and was the first recipient of a "best practice" certification from the VA. There are many other law schools, such as the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, that are interested in starting their own VA-certified clinics. We believe that more law schools would be interested in assisting veterans once this bill passes.
More than 400,000 veterans are waiting for their disability claims to be processed by the VA. With the assistance of lawyers and law professors, clinical programs provide free legal resources to assist veterans with their VA benefits and other legal needs. Given the huge need, this bill builds on existing experience to meet the demand at little cost to the federal government.
I was a tenured professor of law and continued to teach one seminar after being elected to Congress. I saw the expert assistance that clinical programs provide.
Again, I appreciate your holding this important hearing on this bill and look forward to working with you to pass it.