[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE VETERANS LEGAL SUPPORT ACT OF 2018

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 26, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Veterans Legal 
Support Act of 2018, which would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) to provide certification and support to law school 
clinical programs that provide pro bono legal and support services to 
veterans, including, among other things, assistance with disability 
claims and appeals 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 for this idea 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's David A. Clarke 
School of Law, that are interested in starting their own VA-certified 
clinics.
  More than 600,000 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 in processing their claims. My bill would merely build on what 
some law schools have begun to do for the last several years. More 
needs to be done to sustain and increase these programs.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, a concrete measure that 
would assist our veterans, who have repeatedly put their lives on the 
line for this country.

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