The Huffington Post recently published a column by Sara Warner in which she praised Wisconsin’s recently enacted Asbestos Trust Fund Transparency law (2013 Wisconsin Act 154). The article was notable for a number of reasons.

First, the Huffington Post is a left-of-center publication that doesn’t normally side with businesses. Second, the column agreed with the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council’s position that the law is not only decidedly not harmful to veterans, but the law actually helps veterans by ensuring that unscrupulous plaintiffs’ attorneys do not deplete the trust funds through double-dipping.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

Two things make this a veterans’ issue:

First, while many trust fund claims were no doubt driven by lawyers, they were signed — under penalty of perjury — by veterans or their survivors. Of course, people just signed whatever the lawyer told them to sign. But, as the Garlock case showcased, companies have made it clear that clients, not just lawyers, are subject to questions, thus reopening some old cases.

Secondly, anybody actually “gaming” the system reduces the funding available for legitimate claims, meaning that veterans seeking trust fund compensation are paid less than they would have been otherwise.

To see how veterans’ groups are front-and-center, you only need look at Wisconsin, which passed a state FACT Act this year. Alerted by FACT opponents, groups like the Wisconsin VFW and the Wisconsin Military of the Purple Heart expressed concerns that vets face more hurdles for compensation.

Republicans, usually known for supporting military issues, found themselves accused of being anti-vet. But then the state AMVETS group supported the legislation, saying that “in short, this bill is about transparency and fairness to protect our veterans with an emphasis on availability on assets for our current and future veterans.”