WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday, May 21, that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open-air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The law, approved with broad bipartisan support following years of advocacy by veterans, their families and service organizations, has also led to more than 145,000 people enrolling in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement that the law has made “tangible, life-changing differences for” veterans and their survivors.
“That has meant more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans as well as access to no-cost VA health care across all 50 states and the territories,” McDonough said.
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during the call that the law, known as the PACT Act, “represents the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans, including veterans exposed to burn pits and certain veterans exposed to radiation and Agent Orange.”
“This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent,” Tanden said. Biden’s son, Beau, died at 46 years old in 2015 from brain cancer.
The approval rate for benefits under the PACT Act is about 75%, according to a senior administration official.
In Wisconsin, the department has received applications from 26,219 veterans under the program, and so far has granted 16,711 claims. The VA has enrolled 1,850 new people from Wisconsin under the PACT Act’s authority/
Biden is set to make the announcement during a trip to Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Burn pit exposure
Congress struggled for years before reaching a compromise on when and how to provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to open air burn pits during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hazardous chemicals, medical waste, batteries and other toxic substances were disposed of in those burn pits, typically located on military bases. Service members had no choice but to live and work alongside the smoke, often breathing it in.
The law added 23 illnesses to the list of conditions that the VA presumes are connected to military service, eliminating the arduous and complicated process that many veterans had to undergo to try to get health care and benefits for those diagnoses.
Before the bill became law, veterans often had to prove to the VA that their illnesses were connected to their military service if they wanted to receive benefits or health care for those illnesses.
The U.S. Senate voted 84-14 in June 2022 to send the legislation to the House, where it was delayed for weeks over a dispute about incentivizing health care providers to move to rural or very rural areas.
The bill passed the House following a 342-88 vote in July, after that section was removed from the package. Senators voted 86-11 in August to send the bill to Biden’s desk.
The president signed the bill during a ceremony on Aug. 10.
“When they came home, many of the fittest and best warriors that we sent to war were not the same,” Biden said during the event. “Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”
The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.
The VA has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.