By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
President Joe Biden recently announced that due to the PACT Act, nearly 900 thousand veterans and survivors who were exposed to toxins while serving in the U.S. military have received disability benefits over the last two years.
In Aug. 2022, Biden signed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law, which has provided benefits for more than 888,000 veterans and survivors who sustained injuries and illnesses while serving in the U.S.
The legislation was named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a combat medic who passed away from a rare form of lung cancer.
In a White House statement obtained by the AFRO Pres. Biden stated, “our nation has a sacred obligation to properly prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return home.”
“Sometimes military service can result in increased health risks for our veterans, and some injuries and illnesses like asthma, cancer and others can take years to manifest,” he added.
Veterans sometimes run into challenges connecting their injuries and illnesses to their time served, therefore the president signed the PACT Act into law to help veterans establish a direct connection between the two.
“The PACT Act eliminated these barriers and ensures veterans get the care and service they deserve,” said Biden.
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough recently held a press call to discuss the president’s bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.
Tanden told reporters, the statute is “the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years.”
“We owe them a debt that we can never repay,” she said. “Since taking office President Biden has enacted 30 bipartisan bills to better support veterans.”
The president is also working on other key legislation that supports veterans in every area of their lives, such as helping veterans find employment, ending homelessness and protection for veterans to prevent them from becoming victims of scams.