DUPONT — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey visited a local VFW post on Friday to raise awareness of expanded federal benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service.
Signed into law in 2022, the PACT Act broadened eligibility for permanent Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits for the millions of veterans who may have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances during military deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and surrounding areas.
That includes an estimated 3.5 million post-9/11 veterans. So far, however, only an estimated 600,000 eligible veterans have taken advantage of those benefits, Casey explained during a press conference at VFW Post 4909.
The Veterans Administration system is in the process of hiring additional personnel to handle the expected flow of eligible veterans, he added.
“There will be millions more that will be booking appointments,” Casey said. “The VA has said it is confident it will be able to handle them.”
Joining Casey at the news conference were Bernie McDonald, PA State Commander AMVETS; James Spagnola, Luzerne County Director of Veterans Affairs; John David, Commander VFW Post 4909; and Elaine Lello, Mayor of Dupont.
“Many who would have been eligible for these benefits have passed,” Spagnola said. “But many veterans and their families will receive the benefits they deserve.”
Casey said American veterans have long suffered from exposure to toxic substances, but the VA had not recognized the effects of toxic exposure on veterans or provided care to those suffering from such exposure.
Named in honor of a veteran who died because of toxic exposure during his time in military service, Casey said the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is historic legislation that will deliver all generations of toxic-exposed veterans their long-overdue VA health care and benefits.
Casey said that during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military disposed of excess materials and waste by incinerating them in large “burn pits,” often located near bases.
“These burn pits contained hazardous materials and as a result, burn pits emitted toxic fumes,” Casey said.
According to a survey by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 86% of veterans of these wars were exposed to burn pits during their time in the service. Researchers have linked burn pit exposure to dozens of medical conditions, including chronic bronchitis, constrictive bronchiolitis, asthma and lung cancer, he explained.
“This legislation would add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA’s presumption list so that veterans can easily access health care to cover treatment of these conditions,” Casey said.
The Honoring Our PACT Act would also:
• Improve the VA’s presumption process and the ability of veterans to receive care for new toxic exposures by creating a framework for the establishment of future toxic exposure-related presumptions of service connection
• Bolsters the VA’s toxic exposure resources by providing every veteran a toxic exposure screening at VA medical appointments and increasing toxic exposure-related education and training for VA health care and benefits personnel
• Strengthen toxic exposure research by conducting studies on the mortality of veterans who served in Southwest Asia during the Gulf War, Post-9/11 veterans’ health trends and veterans’ cancer rates
• Set up the VA to successfully support the increased needs of veterans by boosting the VA’s claims processing capacity, strengthening the VA’s workforce and investing in 31 new VA health care facilities in 19 states.
“The Honoring Our PACT Act would help our veterans exposed to toxins in the line of duty access the benefits they rightfully earned and make it much easier for future veterans to get those benefits without facing many of the hurdles that existed far too long,” Casey said.