- President Joe Biden is about to travel to New Hampshire to discuss the impact of the PACT bill, which aims to help veterans exposed to toxins.
- Since the law was enacted in August 2022, more than 1 million claims have been approved, benefiting approximately 888,000 veterans across the United States
- According to government figures, benefits provided under the PACT Act total about $5.7 billion.
President Joe Biden aims to tout his legislative achievements in this election year, traveling to New Hampshire on Tuesday to detail the impact of a law that helps veterans injured in burn pits or other toxic exposures during their service. Get key benefits.
The U.S. government said on Tuesday that, based on raw data, more than 1 million veterans’ applications have been approved since Biden signed the so-called PACT Act into law in August 2022. This means that approximately 888,000 veterans and survivors in all 50 states are legally able to receive disability benefits.
Benefits to veterans and their survivors total about $5.7 billion, according to the government.
As PACT’s one-year anniversary approaches, thousands of U.S. veterans continue to receive additional benefits
“I think the president has long believed that too many veterans who get sick serving and fighting for our country also have to fight the VA for medical care,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters Monday.
President Biden speaks at an American Jewish Heritage Month event in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 20, 2024 in Washington. Biden will travel to New Hampshire to detail the impact of a law that helps veterans receive critical benefits due to exposure to burn pits or other toxic substances while serving. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
The PACT Act is relatively low-key compared to the president’s other legislative achievements, such as a bipartisan infrastructure law and a sweeping tax, climate and health care package, but it is a deeply personal one for Biden bill.
He blamed the burn pits for the death of his son, Beau, who died of brain cancer while serving in Iraq, and has repeatedly vowed that he would enact the PACT Act into law. Burn pits are where military bases dispose of chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste and are used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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But before the PACT Act became law, the VA denied 70 percent of disability claims involving burn pit exposure. The VA is now legally required to assume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers are linked to burn pit or other toxic exposures, without veterans having to prove the link.
