# 119-hr-9105: SAFEGUARD Veterans Act of 2026

119-hr-9105, SAFEGUARD Veterans Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9105
- As of: 2026-10-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9105
- Congress: 119
- Title: SAFEGUARD Veterans Act of 2026
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-06-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH)
- Cosponsors: 16
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-03

## Summary

**Recriminalizes charging veterans unauthorized fees** and builds a transparent, VA-run accreditation system for people who help with VA benefit claims. This bill would create criminal penalties and bar offenders from VA recognition while requiring public lists, disclosure forms, and stronger safeguards against predatory communications. - Veterans: Stronger protections. Charging a veteran unauthorized fees would be punishable by fines or up to one year in prison, and offenders would be barred from VA recognition for one year for a first violation and 10 years for each subsequent violation. - Claimants and accredited helpers: Claimants could only get assistance from VA-recognized agents or attorneys or those under their direct supervision. The VA must add fee questions to claim forms, let claimants name their helper, and maintain an online list of accredited, suspended, or excluded persons updated at least quarterly. - VA operations and oversight: The VA must complete rulemaking within 90 days and review recognition rules within 180 days. The department must build an accreditation system with 99.9% uptime that accepts complaints and report staffing and cost estimates for administering Chapter 59 in budget submissions.

## Cosponsors (16)

- Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] (D-IL), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (R-NE), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bynum, Janelle S. [D-OR-5] (D-OR), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2] (D-MN), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Golden, Jared F. [D-ME-2] (D-ME), 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Courtney, Joe [D-CT-2] (D-CT), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- VA list, complaints, and warnings: benefit, low. The bill would require the VA to run an online, searchable list of recognized agents and of people who are suspended or excluded. The system would let agents certify their status and let clients file complaints about misconduct. Every VA claim form and filing portal would have a question asking if…
- VA rulemaking, review, and budgets: benefit, low. The bill would make VA include cost and staff estimates for administering recognition rules in the documents it sends with the President's budget. Not later than 180 days after enactment, VA would review recognition regulations and send findings and recommendations to the House and Senate Veterans'…
- Ban on automated robocalls to agencies: benefit, low. The bill would prohibit using automated calling equipment that, after being turned on, makes repeated calls and exchanges information with phone numbers assigned to a federal department or agency when the equipment is run by someone other than the call's intended party. This aims to curb autonomous…
- Stop unauthorized fees for veterans: mixed, medium. The bill would make it a crime to charge a fee for preparing, presenting, or prosecuting a VA benefits claim except where other law allows. Violators could face a federal fine, up to one year in jail, or both. The VA would have to bar violators from being recognized as agents or attorneys for one y…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act
- 119-hres-70: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains…
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-9105 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9105)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2048)
- [119-hres-70: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-70)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9105 (as of 2026-10-03).