Biden touts milestone in veteran health care under PACT Act
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Hundreds of thousands of veterans are getting help from the VA for toxic exposure, according to the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden traveled to New Hampshire to tout the one million claims he says have been granted since passage of the PACT Act.
The VA says as part of those claims they’ve given out $5.7 billion to people in all 50 states.
The PACT Act was passed in August of 2022. The law is meant to help veterans get critical benefits if they’ve been exposed to toxins while serving.
“We continue to work around the clock to get veterans the benefits they deserve, and get them now,” President Biden said.
But there’s an important gap between those asking for help and those getting it. More than four million claims have been submitted since the PACT Act passed, which is far more than the one million claims that have been approved.
VA Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs says they’re making progress.
“We’ve actually reduced the backlog by more than 100,000 since December and January. And in fact, we are delivering more benefits to more veterans than at any other time in our history,” Jacobs said.
Though he acknowledges there’s a lot of work left.
“We are certainly not stopping here. We have much more to do,” Jacobs said.
President Biden says this issue is especially meaningful to him because he believes the cancer that killed his son Beau Biden was caused by burn pits he was exposed to during military service.
“My son Beau was one of those veterans, so this is personal to me and my family,” Biden said.
Both the President and the VA are encouraging more veterans and survivors to apply for PACT Act benefits.
“In America, we leave no veterans behind, that’s the motto,” Biden said.
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