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Veterans Legal Support Act of 2026
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide support to university law school programs that are designed to provide legal assistance to veterans, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide financial support to university law school programs that offer legal assistance to veterans. Eligible programs may help veterans represent themselves in appeals and proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs related to fiduciary appointments, file and appeal claims for VA benefits, and address other civil, criminal, and family legal matters. The bill authorizes $10 million in annual funding for these programs for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (3)
- Apr 21, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- Apr 21, 2026 Introduced in House
- Apr 21, 2026 Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E349)
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 21, 2026
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide support to university law school programs that are designed to provide legal assistance to veterans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Legal Support Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSITY LEGAL CLINICS THAT ASSIST VETERANS.
(a) Support Authorized.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may provide support to one or more university law school programs that are designed to provide legal assistance to veterans.
(b) Eligible Programs.—Programs of university law schools which may receive support under subsection (a) may include programs that assist veterans with—
(1) representing veterans in appeals and proceedings before the Department of Veterans Affairs related to the appointment of fiduciaries;
(2) filing and appealing claims for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary; and
(3) such other civil, criminal, and family legal matters as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031. <all>
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