Lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to stop for‑profit firms that use automated calling software to monitor Department of Veterans Affairs lines and bill disabled veterans when their benefits rise. The measure would ban companies from using auto‑dialers to call federal agency phone systems — an attempt to disrupt a tactic investigators say has helped generate large fees for some veterans’ claim consultants.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D‑N.H.) and Rep. Don Bacon (R‑Neb.), joined by two other Republicans, sponsored the proposal after a 2025 NPR investigation into Florida‑based Trajector Medical. That reporting alleged the company employed an automated system, described by former employees as a ‘CallBot,’ to place tens of thousands of calls a month to a VA hotline. The bot reportedly navigated automated menus, entered veterans’ Social Security numbers and birthdates, tracked increases in disability ratings or payments, and then triggered billing for clients — sometimes without clear, informed consent.
Pappas called the practice ‘outrageous,’ saying it’s unacceptable to repeatedly hit government lines with a robo‑dialer and then charge veterans when their benefits change. Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, said the bill takes a commonsense approach to cracking down on predatory behavior and protecting veterans.
The companies involved operate in a legal gray area. Federal law bars charging veterans for help filing initial disability claims — services the VA and accredited nonprofits provide free — but civil penalties for violating that restriction were removed about two decades ago. That limits federal regulators’ ability to penalize firms that solicit fees for claim filing. Trajector told NPR it supports the proposed legislation and that it depends on satisfied clients to report successful outcomes tied to its medical evidence services.
Pappas has also introduced separate legislation to restore civil penalties and effectively ban for‑profit claims consultants nationwide. The industry regards that bill as existential and has proposed an alternative that would legalize the business model with a cap on fees at $12,500. Both measures remain stalled in the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Because the new auto‑dialer ban would change telecommunications law, the proposal was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. After the NPR investigation, 40 members of Congress urged the VA, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission to take action against predatory claims firms; Pappas says those agencies have not yet acted.
In the absence of decisive federal enforcement, several states are moving ahead. California passed a law that will impose penalties next year on companies charging veterans for initial claim assistance. In Louisiana, a prior statute that permitted fees up to $12,500 was struck down by a federal court, and the state attorney general plans to appeal.
Separately, a federal lawsuit filed in California accuses Trajector of failing to obtain knowing consent from veterans and of not adequately disclosing how its CallBot uses personally identifying information. Trajector called the suit meritless and maintains it operates within the law.