The State Senate unanimously passed legislation to ensure Alaska veterans are aware of free Veteran Service Organization services that they are entitled to. A VSO is a partnership between the state, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and non-profit organizations for veterans that assist veterans with legal representation, medical supplies, and various other services. Currently, however, many veterans are not aware that VSOs provide services free of charge and, instead, pay hefty fees to for-profit providers.
Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Senator Josh Revak, who’s a U.S. Army Veteran, requires for-profit providers who offer compensated veterans services to provide veterans a written disclosure form listing the free alternatives prior to taking them on as a client. Additionally, any advertisement for veteran benefit services will be required to include a disclosure that indicates that a VSO offers these services free of charge.
Sen. Roger Holland, “Yeah, SB 40 is a great bill. More information is always better than less information and we understand a lot of the challenges veterans have when they’re coming off of active duty or coming off of injuries or whatever. This is just to give them more options. This is to make them more aware of what alternatives they have as opposed to whether they seek help in the private sector from many of the charitable groups or nonprofit groups that could provide assistance.”
Sen. Mike Shower, “This bill does something similar, and it puts people on notice that are bad actors that want to take advantage and prey on veterans as well, that’s another great step, I think. If we go down that path of telling people that we’re going to honor our veterans. We’re going to take care of them. We’re not going to take advantage of them. It is a positive step. It’s a good move. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
There are 18 Veteran Service Officers in Alaska who work under organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Legion, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), and the Director of Veterans Affairs. These organizations are responsible for aiding and advising veterans free of charge. SB 40 passed the Senate by a vote of 19-0. It is now on its way to the Alaska House of Representatives for consideration.