PACT Act

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) voted in favor of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive ...

The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. This law helps us provide ...

- A one-time accrued benefits payment. You may qualify if you’re the surviving spouse, dependent child, or parent of a Veteran who died from a service-connected disability.Learn about VA DIC Note: If we denied your claim in the past and we think you may be eligible now, we’ll try to contact you. You can also file by mail, in person, or with the help of a trained professional. We encourage you to apply during this 1-year period so we can provide you with any care you may need now or in the future. You can also enroll at any time during this period and get any care you need, but you may owe a copay for some care. We’re extending and expanding VA health care eligibility based on the PACT Act. We encourage you to apply, no matter your separation date. We call this having a presumption of exposure. If you have a presumptive condition, you don’t need to prove that your service caused the condition. The PACT Act is perhaps the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history. This page will help answer your questions about what the PACT Act means for you or your loved ones. The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law. He has said the bill “makes good on our sacred obligation” to care for veterans and ...

The legislation expands access to health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs for millions who served near burn pits. A group of veterans and their families have been camping out at the Capitol since that vote. The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today spoke on the Senate floor advocating for his amendment to fix a budget gimmick in the Promise to ...

Senator Toomey’s amendment does not reduce spending on veterans by a single dollar or affect the expansion of care and benefits in the underlying bill. That’s exactly what Democrats are doing with the PACT Act.” The PACT Act as written includes a budget gimmick that would allow $400 billion of current law spending to be moved from discretionary to mandatory spending.

Today's passage of the PACT Act is a landmark victory for veterans of all ages, of all conflicts and their families. Too many of our veterans have suffered ...

Your long, tenacious fight for veterans’ rights and the stand you took on fire watch this weekend is the model of effective, grassroots advocacy for generations to come. Because of their efforts and the work of veteran advocates, the voices of sick and dying veterans was finally heard and the future health care of today’s and tomorrow’s veterans will finally be made right. “Today’s passage of the PACT Act is a landmark victory for veterans of all ages, of all conflicts and their families.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after voting to pass the PACT Act and help our nation's veterans:.

· He lobbied the Department of Veterans Affairs to address the long wait times for veterans seeking health care in San Antonio and to address the improper scheduling practices and extended wait times for veterans seeking health care across the entire State of Texas. “I’m proud to support the PACT Act and all our nation’s veterans. It also means stopping the Democrats’ irresponsible spending spree and curbing inflation and price increases that hurt all Americans, including our veterans.” · He successfully added a provision to the Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations bill requiring the VA Secretary to provide Congress with a plan to address the long wait times for veterans seeking health care at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. The final bill, with the amendment included, passed the Senate unanimously. · He fought on behalf of veterans following reports of mismanagement and misconduct at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). · He fought on behalf of the religious liberty of veterans to prohibit the sale or transfer of the Mount Soledad veterans’ memorial.

The legislation passed the vote Tuesday by a margin of 86 to 11. The legislation is now headed to the desk of President Biden for his signature.

The legislation initially passed the Senate in June by a vote of 84 to 14 where it went to the House for approval of the Senate’s amendments. In recent years, the VA has recognized that nearly 3.5 million post-9/11 veterans suffered prolonged and pervasive exposure to burn pits and other toxic chemicals they could not avoid. Toomey’s amendment would have changed a large portion of the funding from mandatory to discretionary. Tester refuted that claim saying mandatory funding was needed rather than discretionary funding to ensure the program could address future toxic exposure needs by the VA. Daines voted against the cloture vote last week along with a group of other Republican senators. Our men and women in uniform held up their end of the bargain, and I’m proud we’re finally holding up ours.” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., both voted in favor of the final passage Tuesday evening and praised the outcome.

“Last month, the House of Representatives once again passed my Honoring our PACT Act, and today, the Senate voted to do the same. ... "America's veterans demanded ...

It has the strong support of 42 Veterans Service Organizations, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, the Biden-Harris Administration, and advocates Jon Stewart and John Feal. “Last month, the House of Representatives once again passed my Honoring our PACT Act, and today, the Senate voted to do the same. We have held true to our promise, held true to the pact we have made with America’s veterans, held true to our belief that toxic exposure is a cost of war.

In an 86–11 vote, the Senate voted to pass the legislation which expands health care benefits for veterans—after the comedian trashed Republicans for ...

I’m used to the lies, I’m used to the hypocrisy…. “I made a promise to him. “I hope we learned a lesson.” After failing to reach the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate last week, the PACT Act passed in an 86–11 vote, and now goes to President Joe Biden for signing. A longtime fighter for veterans’ and 9/11 first responders’ health care benefits, he was emotional at a press conference after the bill passed. “You successfully used the Byzantine Senate rules to keep sick veterans suffering!!!!

The PACT Act is Named in Honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson of Ohio; Brown is the Longest Serving Ohioan on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

In May, Brown hosted a press conference call to advocate for this legislation. “Providing health care and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war. We will now move forward knowing our mission and promise to Heath has been fulfilled and that no more families will have to suffer like ours did,” said Susan Zeier, Danielle’s mother, Heath Robinson’s mother-in-law and Burn Pits 360 advocate. The legislation is named in honor of Heath Robinson, a Central Ohio veteran who deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard, and passed away from cancer in 2020 as a result of toxic exposure during his military service. “I am thankful for the support of Senator Sherrod Brown throughout this tragic journey. The legislation will deliver comprehensive benefits to all generations of veterans who have suffered due to toxic exposure for the first time in our nation’s history.

The bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 is the biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 ...

For the millions of veterans who may have been exposed to harmful toxins, this bill means quicker access to health care services and other benefits. I want to thank Chair Tester and Ranking Member Moran as well as Chair Takano and Ranking Member Bost for their tireless work to pass this major reform, and the courageous veterans and advocates whose tenacity and heart ensured this legislation got done. I called for this legislation in my State of the Union address, as part of my Unity Agenda to help bring together our nation.

11 Senate Republicans opposed a bill Tuesday that funds research and benefits for veterans who were impacted by toxic substances while they served.

- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho - Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah - Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. - Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho - Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah The block caused backlash from veterans groups, lawmakers, and comedian and veterans' advocate Jon Stewart.

The U.S. Senate passed the Honoring Our PACT Act on Tuesday night in an 86-11 vote, expanding health care for 3.5 million of America's veterans who were ...

Senate Senate Senate Senate Senate Senate “We should absolutely help veterans who have contracted illnesses as a direct result of toxic exposure during their service. “Unfortunately, Democrats wrote in a $400 billion hole in the discretionary budget they can fill with spending totally unrelated to veterans,” the spokesperson said. “Many want to go to a family physician or one that’s closer to them,” Lankford said. “My concern about this bill has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill,” Toomey said. Those veterans had a high-profile ally in Jon Stewart, the former “Daily Show” host. But supporters of the bill noted that Republicans had previously supported the measure’s mandatory spending.