U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown discusses new VA healthcare at Veterans Roundtable in Mansfield

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on Wednesday discussed new and expanded Department of Veterans Affairs' healthcare and disability benefits for veterans who have been harmed by toxic exposure while serving in the military.

Brown, D-Ohio, spoke at a roundtable hosted by VFW Post 3494 on Ashland Road in his hometown of Mansfield.

Veterans are eligible for this expanded care due to Brown’s bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022.

Brown has held 37 roundtables and events around Ohio to help raise awareness and help veterans access care.

“This law is the most comprehensive expansion of care for veterans who faced toxic exposure in our country’s history,” Brown said. “We’re working to get the word out to veterans across Ohio, and it was an honor to talk with local veterans in my hometown. If you were exposed to toxins while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned. Period. No exceptions.”

The legislation is named after SFC Heath Robinson, a central Ohio veteran who died in 2020 at age 39 from lung cancer after exposure to burn pits during a one-year deployment in Iraq in 2006.

The PACT Act is the result of a yearslong effort by Brown, veterans and advocates to secure access to Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare and disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxins, according to Brown's office. He now is working with Ohio veterans, their families and advocates to bring additional attention to provisions in the PACT Act and urges all Ohio veterans and family members to visit www.va.gov/pact to find out more about how to claim benefits.

Ohio veterans who would like more information on available resources can reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 (press 1), text 838255 or visit www.veteranscrisisline.net.

Brown, who co-authored the PACT Act with Sen. Jon Tester, told the crowd the U.S. Defense Department and chemical companies lied to the American people and veterans about the exposure from Agent Orange after Vietnam. He said veterans coming back from Vietnam and other places had to fight their own VA to get the care they earned and deserved.

Gary Utt, a member of the Richland County Veterans Service Commission and an Army veteran, said the agency is working to help veterans and their widows. There are more than 8,000 veterans living in Richland County.

"It's hard getting veterans to come to us and sometimes veterans don't even know we exist," Utt said. "We try to get out and let people know we're here for them."

Larry Moore, a past commander of the VFW Post 3494 and executive director of the Summit County Veterans Service Commission, said he is concerned that bad actors have been preying on veterans by seeking to access their earned Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. He said unaccredited consulting groups the VA calls "Claim Sharks" make promises to veterans, and especially aging veterans, to get them more money and VA benefits quicker.

"They're charging exorbitant amounts of fees, which is illegal to do. If you are not accredited by the VA, you are not allowed to file or prosecute a claim," he said.

"We file those claims for free in the 88 counties," Moore said.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Veterans exposed to toxins can get help at VA