Marathon to pass the PACT Act ends as Senate passes bill to support Vets affected by Burn Pits & Toxins

Legislation to expand health care and other benefits to potentially 5 million Veterans exposed to toxic airborne chemicals during service cleared the Senate on Aug. 2 and headed to President Joe Biden for signature.

The final vote on the so-called PACT Act, which Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, said is the “largest expansion of Veterans’ health care benefits in decades,” was 86-to-11, a victory secured in part due to an intense, Veteran-led pressure campaign, which included demonstrations on Capitol Hill.

“No more — no more — will Veterans go to VA hospitals and be told, ‘Get a lawyer, go find some arcane, ridiculous proof before we’ll give you help,’” Schumer said during a celebratory news conference after the vote, in reference to some Veterans’ experience of seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). “Now they’ll get the help.”

An earlier version of the Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 — fully named the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 — passed the Senate on June 16 by a vote of 84-14. In early July, the House approved a similar but slightly amended bill, which became S. 3373.

By late July, more than 40 Veterans service organizations (VSOs) had endorsed the measure, and its passage seemed assured.

But when the amended House measure came back to the Senate for technical fixes and final approval, 30 Republicans lawmakers changed their vote, scuttling the legislation.

The resulting political firestorm on Capitol Hill received national media coverage, boosted by demonstrating Veterans, who camped out on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, and the vocal public shaming of senators by former “The Daily Show” host and Veteran-activist Jon Stewart. Senators held news conferences to curse out their vote-changing colleagues. VSOs urged members to lobby the vote switchers. Statements from organizations and lawmakers’ offices bearing the hashtag #PassThePACTAct poured onto social media platforms.

The pressure worked on 37 Republican senators, who joined 49 Democratic senators in pushing the bill across the finish line. Media reports said that Stewart, Veterans and their family members became emotional as they watched the momentous vote from the Senate chamber.

“Veterans who were exposed to toxic fumes while fighting for our country are American heroes, and they deserve world-class care and benefits for their selfless service,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement on Aug. 2.

Millions of Veterans impacted

According to a fact sheet issued by the White House, the legislation has the potential to impact millions of Veterans — and families and caregivers — who served during multiple eras.

“Named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, this historic legislation will help deliver more timely benefits and services to more than 5 million Veterans — across all generations — who may have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country,” the White House said.

Among other things, the PACT Act directs VA to assume that Veterans with 23 respiratory and other illnesses — including hypertension — were harmed during service, making them eligible for VA compensation, health care and other benefits.

The measure requires VA to collect data and conduct research on service members’ exposures in combat to dangerous airborne chemicals. According to a House report on the bill, these incidents occurred during Vietnam, when many troops inhaled the toxic defoliant known as Agent Orange; during the Persian Gulf war, when service members ingested smoke from burning oil wells; and in the post-9/11 era, when soldiers breathed chemicals from open-air pits of burning waste.

According to self-reports from some of the 230,000 Veterans who have joined VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, health impacts include breathing issues, birth defects, cancer, infertility and random chronic symptoms, the report said.

The legislation makes it easier for a broader group of Veterans to prove they earned a VA service-connected disability rating, a prerequisite needed to obtain most benefits.

In addition, the act doubles, from five to 10 years, the time post-9/11 combat Veterans have to enroll in VA health care, the fact sheet said, and creates a one-year open-enrollment period for Veterans who fall outside that window.

“These expansions mean that more Veterans can enroll in VA health care without having to demonstrate a service-connected disability,” the White House said.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation provides a mandatory appropriation and other direct spending to fund the projected expansion in benefits, the cost of which CBO estimated in June could be $278.5 billion over 10 years.

Learn more

Review the White House fact sheet on the PACT Act: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-at-the-first-meeting-of-the-task-force-on-reproductive-healthcare-access

View VA’s “The PACT Act and your VA benefits” page: https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits