WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and two Republican colleagues introduced a bill in Congress that would block companies from using auto-dialers to call federal agencies to harvest private information about disabled veterans. Because the bill amends telecommunications law, it is in the hands of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Bacon, an Air Force veteran, cosponsored the measure to help protect disabled veterans. "Our veterans should never be targeted by bad actors trying to profit off their hard-earned benefits," said Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general and member of the House Armed Services Committee. "The bill takes a commonsense approach to crack down on predatory practices and protect veterans from exploitation," he said.

A 2025 NPR investigation of Trajector Medical found that the Florida company used auto-dialer software to access a Veterans Affairs benefits hotline meant for veterans. The company dialed into the VA benefits hotline system to monitor benefit payments for thousands of its clients and automatically sent a bill if their payments increased. Bills from the company can range from hundreds of dollars to more than $20,000.

Former Trajector Medical employees told NPR the company's "CallBot" auto-dialer program places tens of thousands of calls monthly to a VA phone hotline intended for veterans to track their claims status and monthly payments. The program responds to the hotline's automated prompts by inputting veterans' Social Security numbers and birthdays to detect increases in their disability rating and trigger automated billing. Trajector Medical charges a one-time fee equal to five times the increase in monthly payments veterans receive from the VA after filing with the company.

Trajector Medical told NPR that it discloses its monitoring practice to veterans, though many veterans told NPR they did not understand that the company was monitoring their benefit payments in that way. In a statement, the company said it supports the legislation. "We rely on happy clients to self-report their successes due to our medical evidence services," the statement said.

A federal lawsuit filed this month in California alleges Trajector Medical failed to obtain knowing consent from veterans or adequately disclose how CallBot uses their personally identifying information. The company said the lawsuit is without merit and that it operates within the law.

Federal law prohibits charging veterans for assistance filing initial disability claims, but civil penalties were removed from federal law two decades ago, leaving federal regulators with fewer effective remedies. Pappas is also the sponsor of a separate bill to reinstate civil penalties and effectively ban for-profit claims consulting nationwide. The claims consulting industry has lobbied heavily for a competing bill that would legitimize the industry and set a $12,500 cap on fees. Both measures are pending in the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill in February that will impose penalties starting next year on any firm charging veterans for help filing initial disability claims. "We are closing this federal fraud loophole for good," Newsom said. In Louisiana, the PLUS Act, in effect since June 2024, allowed companies to charge veterans up to $12,500 for claims assistance. U.S. District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson ruled the PLUS Act unconstitutional in February, and the Louisiana Attorney General said she intends to appeal the ruling.