Shaheen issues statement on PACT Act becoming law
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement after President Biden signed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 into law. The bipartisan bill previously passed the Senate with a vote of 86 to 11.
“It’s past time service members impacted by toxic exposures can access the treatment and care they deserve. The PACT Act expands health care services for veterans recovering from exposure to burn pits – which is especially crucial for our post 9/11 veterans – while also making critical improvements to the claims process,” said Shaheen. “Today, with the President’s signature on this historic bipartisan legislation I supported, our nation made important progress to finally deliver for our veterans and combat toxic exposure. I’m proud Congress finally got to this done.”
Specifically, the PACT Act will expand health care for Post-9/11 combat veterans, create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure, expand the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) list of service presumptions and improve resources to support the VA’s claims processing. A one-pager on the bill is available here.
As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Shaheen has long championed and supported measures to help veterans who’ve been exposed to toxic or hazardous materials. In the fiscal year (FY) 2020 defense bill that was signed into law, Shaheen supported a provision addressing the health evaluations of service members who have been exposed to open burn pits or toxic airborne chemicals. Open burn bits were used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the FY2021 NDAA that became law, Shaheen also supported an amendment offered by Senator Tester (D-MT) that would require the VA to provide benefits for veterans suffering from four diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The amendment was based on standalone legislation authored by Senator Tester, which Senator Shaheen cosponsored. Shaheen sponsored bipartisan legislation, the PFAS Registry Act, which would create a national database for service members and veterans experiencing health problems possibly due to contamination from PFAS. In addition, Shaheen cosponsored the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which was signed into law in 2019 and created a permanent legislative fix to help ensure “Blue Water” Navy veterans get the disability and health care benefits they deserve as a result of exposure to Agent Orange.