Biden to highlight vets benefits milestone during NH trip
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May 21—President Biden will speak with veterans and their families at the Westwood Park YMCA in Nashua Tuesday to mark the milestone of the Veterans Administration approving one million claims under a new law to care for soldiers exposed to toxic substances while serving in the military.
The claims have been granted to nearly 900,000 veterans and their families including more than 3,300 from New Hampshire, administration officials said.
The program granted first-time benefits to 605 new veterans in New Hampshire while the law enhanced what another 2,700 veterans and their families already were receiving, White House officials said.
Biden signed the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act in August 2022, which created a presumption of benefits for those with medical conditions linked to having served either at home or abroad near sites with toxic contamination.
"He has believed for too long too many veterans who got sick fighting for their country had to fight the VA for their care, too," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough during a call with reporters on the eve of Biden's visit to the Granite State.
White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden said Biden also directed that the law be fully implemented this year even though it allowed the reforms to be phased in over a 10-year period.
"This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent," Tanden said referring to Biden's son, Beau, an Iraq War veteran who died from cancer in 2015.
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., held outreach events last year to alert veterans of the need to apply for the PACT Act benefits before an application deadline.
About 75% of those who have applied for the benefits have gotten them with the average medical rating of the veterans judged to be 70% of total disability, administration officials said.
McDonough said five million veterans have received screenings for potential toxic exposures and the law has helped fuel an increase in veterans applying for government-paid health care.
From October 2023 to last February, the VA treated 25,000 more new patients compared to that period a year earlier, administration officials said.
Staffing at the VA has been up 30% in recent years, and agency officials said this has reduced the long wait times for new patients seeking an appointment or a referral to another health care provider.
