KEY TAKEAWAYS: A Louisiana bill addressing paid assistance for veterans seeking disability benefits failed on the final day of the 2026 legislative session. Lawmakers objected after a conference committee rewrite removed a previously agreed-upon compromise restricting consultant fees. The deba te centered on whether unaccredited consultants should be allowed to charge veterans for help with VA disability claims. Despite the bill’s failure, lawmakers approved a resolution requiring annual reports on VA claims processing wait times in Louisiana.   A compromise over who can help disabled veterans obtain the benefits they’re owed collapsed on the final day of the 2026 legislative session. Senate Bill 208 by Sen. Stewart Cathey Jr., R-Monroe, was intended to fix a 2024 state law ruled unconstitutional in federal court, where an appeal is pending. The law, which Cathey also wrote, sought to legalize unaccredited claims consultants who help veterans file disability claims in exchange for a portion of their benefits. Instead, Cathey’s new bill fell short in a 45-46 House vote Sunday and a 19-19 Senate vote Monday. Lawmakers objected to the closed-door rewrite that stripped out key provisions Cathey had agreed to add to his proposal. One of those lawmakers, Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, said he believes major policy changes should be debated publicly rather than added in a conference committee, in which three members from each chamber meet privately to work through legislative logjams. “The thing went through the whole process telling us we were going in one direction, and then we went in another direction,” Owen said. “I don’t like the conference committee thing for changes like that. It builds distrust.” The dispute behind Cathey’s bill has divided veterans, centering on whether they should be able to pay unaccredited consultants for help getting disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Federal law allows private consultants and attorneys to assist with VA claims, but they must obtain accreditation by passing an online test and providing character references. They cannot charge veterans for help with initial claims but may collect fees for work on appeals and disability rating increases that gain veterans more benefits. Rep. Jay Gallé, R-Mandeville, said veterans often don’t realize free claims help is available from accredited nonprofits such as Veterans of Foreign Wars. Consultants have countered that some veterans prefer their paid services over the free assistance offered through nonprofits. In 2024, Louisiana became the first state to pass a law to create regulations for unaccredited consultants. It prompted an immediate legal challenge from John B. Wells, a retired Navy commander and VA-accredited lawyer from Slidell. U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson of Louisiana’s Middle District, an appointee of President Barack Obama, ruled in September that Louisiana’s statute violated the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, which prevents state laws from superseding federal law. Attorney General Liz Murrill has appealed that ruling. Cathey introduced Senate Bill 208 on behalf of the consulting industry to make his 2024 law constitutional. Rather than work against the legislation, Louisiana Veterans Affairs Secretary Charlton Meginley offered a compromise. It would have prohibited consultants from profiting off initial claims while allowing them to earn fees from appeals and rating increases, just like accredited representatives can. Cathey agreed to the compromise at his bill’s first committee hearing on March 17. It was advanced from the Senate floor without opposition a few days later. It also sailed through the House with unanimous votes, with only a minor amendment from Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, at Cathey’s request. When the Senate was asked to concur in the House amendment, Cathey rejected it and forced the measure into a conference committee where he rewrote the bill, stripping out the compromise. Cathey said the consulting groups that initially supported the agreement back in March had changed their minds. “The language that we put on in the Senate…was a mistake, and it wasn’t caught until we had gotten through the process,” Cathey said in an interview Monday. After the session ended Monday, Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Hammond, said in an interview the consulting firms realized they would lose money if the original compromise had passed. Mizell criticized Cathey’s maneuver when she realized the conference report gutted the provisions that had drawn unanimous support earlier in the session. She argued Cathey’s final proposal would have directly benefited only the unaccredited consultants. “It’s an acknowledgement that you care more about the people doing the charging than the people at the mercy of those doing the charging,” Mizell said. Cathey said unaccredited consultants fill gaps in helping veterans navigate an overburdened VA system, and he accused Meginley of undermining his legislation. “I feel like the VA secretary going and lying about legislation is dishonest,” Cathey said. “At the end of the day, I’m just trying to help veterans and give them every resource, and he’s trying to deny them resources.” Meginley declined to address Cathey’s allegations but pointed to data showing the share of Louisiana veterans receiving VA benefits increased 6% last year, tripling the national growth average of 2%. “People shouldn’t be making profits off veterans’ disabilities,” Meginley said. “We are very grateful for the legislators being so deliberative in their discussions in truly learning about this process.” Shortly before the Senate adjourned Monday, Cathey won support for a last-minute resolution directing Meginley’s agency to submit annual reports on wait times for VA claims in Louisiana. The first report is due Feb. 1. ...read more read less