Pappas Helps Pass Honoring Our PACT Act

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, helped to pass the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021, or the Honoring our PACT Act. Congressman Pappas is an original cosponsor of this bipartisan comprehensive legislation to finally address toxic exposure as a cost of war by addressing the full range of issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans', including access to earned benefits and healthcare through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and take action to protect our active duty personnel from future exposures.

"It's well past the time that we address the impacts of toxic exposure that have been endured by members of our military," said Congressman Chris Pappas. "Our men and women in uniform have already faced numerous threats to life and limb for their service. It is our responsibility to minimize the risk that environmental and toxic hazards pose, and provide the care, benefits, and support that these veterans have earned. This legislation will provide that care while taking proactive action to prevent future exposure, and I urge the Senate to take up this legislation as quickly as possible in order to protect our veterans and service members."

Background:

The Honoring our PACT Act is a comprehensive legislative package that will open up health care to over 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service and finally recognize exposure to burn pits and airborne hazards. It will create presumptions for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers, shifting the burden of proof off our veterans. This means that if a veteran served in a particular theater at a particular time, they will be presumed to be exposed to toxic substances and therefore potentially eligible for health care and benefits. Critically, this bipartisan legislation will also streamline VA's presumption decision making process, so that Congress does not have to keep intervening, and our veterans don't have to wait decades for help.

Pappas helped to shape this legislation by authoring the following included provisions:

Provisions to enact his PFAS Registry Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a national database for service members and veterans experiencing health problems possibly due to contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS chemicals, like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have emerged as a widespread contaminant to the drinking water sources of military bases across the country due to their use in firefighting foam employed by the Armed Forces. These provisions would allow military personnel and veterans to receive updates on recent scientific developments on the effects of PFAS exposure, availability of possible treatment options, and information on what resources may be available to address their health concerns.
An amendment to require coordination between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to proactively educate and protect active duty personnel from future exposures. The departments will be required to make active duty personnel aware of the potential risks of toxic exposure, and ways to prevent such exposures. These forward-looking provisions ensure that DOD and VA create a strategy for awareness and prevention of toxic exposures that will protect our active duty servicemembers from harm, save lives, and lower VA costs associated with toxic exposure cases moving forward.
The Honoring Our PACT Act of 2021 has the support of eleven Veterans Service Organizations (VSO), the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The American Legion (TAL), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Minority Veterans of America (MVA), and Burn Pits 360.

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