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My husband Matt is a retired Marine gunnery sergeant. I spent years fighting to get him the care he earned after Iraq and Afghanistan. Then I went to law school so I could be a better advocate, and I’m proud that I was able to help other veterans access their disability benefits, for free. I am running for Congress because I want to continue to advocate for the men and women who served.
Which is why I was so troubled to learn about Jack Bergman’s record of supporting companies known as “claim sharks” that make thousands of dollars off disabled veterans who apply for the benefits they’ve earned by serving our country.
Dennis Lennox recently wrote a column in The Alpena News that accuses me of distorting Jack Bergman’s record on veterans. He is incorrect. If anything, Bergman’s record of turning his back on veterans is worse than what the ad suggests. But I appreciate that Lennox has given me an opportunity to educate the public about claim sharks and their practices.
Here is what the companies Mr. Lennox calls “professionals” actually do. A disabled Army veteran asked one of them, Veterans Guardian, for help with his disability claim, a form he could have filed himself or with free help from any accredited service officer. Veterans Guardian billed him $21,360, five times his monthly benefit. This May, a federal judge ruled Veterans Guardian had been charging veterans in violation of federal law.
Though Veterans Guardian charges exorbitant fees, an investigation by The War Horse found they push employees to rush veterans through the process. Employees become ineligible for full bonuses if their calls with veterans run longer than eight minutes. One told a reporter, “Do I make any extra money and try to provide for my kids better? Or do I give these veterans the time and the attention that they deserve? That’s our options.”
Some of these companies even demand veterans’ VA logins and access to the bank account where benefits are deposited, so the fee comes straight out of the disability check.
Veterans Guardian’s political action committee wrote Jack Bergman a check in February 2023. Seven weeks later, he introduced a bill that would legalize the claim shark industry’s practices. Then in February 2025, the company’s two owners gave him $12,000 each, and three weeks later he reintroduced it.
All told, about $64,000 from the company’s PAC, owners and owners’ family has flowed into Jack Bergman’s campaign and political committees. Veterans Guardian’s owners rank among his biggest donors.
And what does Jack Bergman’s bill do? Mr. Lennox says it “regulates” these companies and “caps” their fees - at an exorbitant $12,500. The bill even allows fees larger than the back pay a veteran receives, forcing them into debt to these companies.
It also wipes the slate clean for companies like Veterans Guardian that charged veterans illegally before it passes. And it overrides state consumer-protection laws, including Michigan’s, so our attorney general could not step in to protect our veterans from being ripped off.
Forty-four attorneys general - 20 Republicans, 23 Democrats and one independent - signed a letter asking Congress to crack down on these companies. When was the last time you saw that many Republican and Democratic politicians agree on anything?
The VFW, the DAV, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Blinded Veterans Association and the Military Officers Association of America have all urged Congress to crack down on these companies too.
At a time when the cost of gas and groceries is skyrocketing, asking our veterans to pay thousands to access the benefits they've earned is shameful. They deserve better than Jack Bergman's failed leadership. If elected, I will work on behalf of those who served our country and their families, not bad actors who seek to profit off them.
Callie Barr of Traverse City is the Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan’s 1st District. She is an attorney, a Marine wife and a veterans advocate.