By Ellie Borst
President Joe Biden celebrated the one-year anniversary of signing into law new measures to help veterans suffering from toxic exposure, but many victims still await justice
In a speech Thursday, Biden encouraged those eligible to file a claim to reap some of the cash benefits available thanks to the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.
The PACT Act set aside $280 billion to cover 23 illnesses linked to burn pit or toxic chemical exposure. In the past year, the Department of Veterans Affairs has delivered more than $1.85 billion in benefits, screened more than 4.1 million veterans for health conditions related to toxic exposures and has processed 458,659 claims, according to a White House fact sheet.
Under the PACT Act, as long as a veteran has a doctor’s note that connects illness to exposure, the VA will automatically
approve that claim.
