PACT Act To Provide Expanded Resources and Benefits to Veterans

Jocelyn Mallette is a Black woman with brown eyes and curly, shoulder-length hair. She is wearing a teal blouse, gold necklace, and black suit jacket, and she is standing against a warm camel-colored wall. By Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette

On August 10, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. The PACT Act was championed by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). This bipartisan effort was the largest single bill in American history to address our service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxic substances. Among its many provisions, this bill will provide much-needed access to health care and disability benefits for veterans harmed by certain toxic exposures, including water contamination at Camp LeJeune.

The bill will:

  • Expand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans, which includes more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans;
  • Create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure;
  • Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA’s list of service presumptions, including hypertension;
  • Expand presumptions related to Agent Orange exposure;
  • Strengthen federal research on toxic exposure;
  • Improve the VA’s resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans; and
  • Set VA and veterans up for success by investing in:
    • VA claims processing;
    • VA’s workforce;
    • VA health care facilities.
      • Including approving a lease for a VA outpatient clinic near Jacksonville, NC, in an estimated amount of $61.5 million.

As many attorneys who provide pro bono legal support to veterans well know, navigating the complex processes related to the VA can be challenging at times. The PACT Act also specifically includes the critical tools and resources to ensure that the VA itself can effectively implement the bill.

As a veteran, I am personally grateful for organizations like the NCBA’s Military & Veterans Law Section, who work hard to assist North Carolina’s veteran population and bridge the gap between our ideals and our realities. Former North Carolina Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who is running for U.S. Senate, has acknowledged the impact of this legislation.

“Truly standing up for our veterans means ensuring that they have the critical resources, health care, and support they need – and an important way to do this is by passing this commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will make a big difference for many North Carolinians and Americans.”

Those who opposed the bill cite its cost of more than $300 billion over the next decade.

Retired Army Colonel Randall Stagner commented on this reasoning with a passionate explanation: “This is the cost of war. It doesn’t end when you get men, materials, the tanks, the aircraft downrange. It ends when that last veteran from that conflict is taken care of.” The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, vows that the VA stands ready to implement the PACT Act, and he encourages veterans who might be eligible for benefits under the law to visit VA.gov/PACT for more information.

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