Proposed Legislation to Ensure Relief for All Toxic-Exposed Veterans
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced a year-long, bipartisan initiative to deliver health care and benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to all toxic-exposed veterans.
The Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act would establish a presumption of service connection for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers associated with smoke from burn pits, which were used extensively to dispose of various types of waste in these war zones. The legislation is set to move this summer. If it passes, it would allow veterans exposed to burn pit smoke and other battlefield toxins to receive more medical care and disability benefits in the years ahead.
In addition to requiring new medical exams for all veterans who file toxic exposure claims, the bill provides benefits to veterans with radiation exposure during deployments during the Cold War and adds hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy on the list of illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.
The PACT Act's priorities include:
Extend VA health care eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans;
Establish a framework for future assumptions on connections related to toxic exposure;
Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA’s service presumptions;
Extend presumptions relating to Agent Orange exposure;
Improve federal research on toxic exposure;
Improve VA’s services for toxic-exposed veterans; and
Invest in the claims process, personnel, and facilities.
“This bipartisan legislation is the most comprehensive toxic exposure package the Senate has ever delivered to veterans in this country’s history," the Senators wrote. "Together, we will continue working until Congress delivers on its commitment to passing long-lasting solutions and comprehensive reforms for those who served our country.”
The Congressional Budget Office has not yet provided the total cost of the legislation, but a version of the legislation advanced in the House in March was prices at $207 billion over the next decade. The high price tag was in part a reason the House vote splintered along partisan lines.
