Rep. Courtney Statement on Senate's Vote to Pass the Bipartisan Honoring Our PACT Act
Press Release
Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) made the following statement this evening after the U.S. Senate followed the U.S. House of Representatives' lead, and voted to pass the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath RobinsonHonoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act (S. 3373) once and for all. The PACT Act would ensure that toxic exposure is finally treated 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).
Rep. Courtney is a co-sponsor of the PACT Act, and voted to pass the bill twice in the House of Representatives--first by a vote 256-174 in March, and then by an even wider bipartisan margin of 342-88 in July. The Senate also previously voted to pass the PACT Act with bipartisan support, by a vote of 84-14, before failing to advance the bill again last week. Today, the Senate voted to pass the PACT Act for the final time by a vote of 86-11. Now, the PACT Act will be sent to the President's desk to be signed into law.
"In meetings this week with my Veterans Advisory Boards in Enfield and in Norwich, and just about everywhere else, the number-one thing on the minds of our veterans has been the PACT Act," said Congressman Courtney. "There are millions of veterans--many here in eastern Connecticut--who served America honorably, and who are suffering from complications resulting from exposure to toxins and chemicals during their service. America owes these men and women a debt that can't be repaid, and when the Senate failed to advance the PACT Act last week it dealt a sucker punch to so many vets and their families who have worked hard for years to bring about this kind of monumental change at the VA. Our veterans aren't concerned with relitigating the Senate's failure last week--they just want this job to get done, and today I'm glad to say it finally did. The PACT Act is officially through the House and Senate, and it's going to be signed into law. We've been working for years to tear down the red tape over at the VA, and this bill knocks out a good amount of it--it instructs the VA to recognize twenty-three new illnesses and cancers as "presumptive' for disability compensation, shifting a huge burden off our vets. There's more work to do to secure earned benefits for all of America's veterans, especially those suffering from exposure to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, but this is a big step forward for millions of veterans and their families."
The PACT Act is a bipartisan package that will open healthcare benefits to over 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service. It concedes exposure to burn pits based on locations and dates of service, and will establish a presumption of service connection for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers related to burn pits and airborne hazards exposure, shifting the burden of proof off our veterans. Under the PACT Act, if a veteran served in a particular theatre at a particular time, they will be presumed to have been exposed to toxic substances and therefore potentially eligible for healthcare and benefits.
The bill will also streamline the 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.
Specifically, the PACT Act will:
Expand VA healthcare eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans, which includes more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans
Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related respiratory illnesses and cancers to VA's list of service-connected presumptive illnesses, including hypertension
Expand coverage for illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure, adding hypertension and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance to the list of presumptions for Agent Orange exposure
Create a presumption of exposure to radiation for veterans who participated in cleanup activities in Palomares, Spain, and Enewetak Atoll
Expand Agent Orange exposure to veterans who served in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll
Create a streamlined framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure
Require the VA to conduct outreach and provide resources to toxic exposed veterans
Strengthen federal research on toxic exposure, and improve data collection between the VA and DOD
Require the VA to provide standardized training to improve toxic exposure disability claims adjudication
Set VA and veterans up for success by investing in:
VA claims processing
Recruiting and retaining VA's workforce; and
Expanding VA's healthcare infrastructure via leases
The Honoring Our PACT Act has drawn support from nationwide Veterans' Service Organizations (VSOs) including 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, and more.
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