Its like inviting the wolf into the chicken house, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charley Burch, describing the Senates vote Aug. 3 to allow paid attorneys, for the first time in over a century, to represent veterans in filing disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Burch, 74, spent 18 years after he retired from the military helping veterans in Virginia apply for VA disability benefits. As a claim agent on state salary, Burchs help was free to any Virginia veteran. He says he knew the ins and outs of filing a successful disability claim, better than any lawyer he knew, and he didnt charge a fee. Like some of the largest veterans services organizations, including Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign War, Burch strongly opposes a bill that he says helps lawyers, not veterans.