WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Friday celebrated the number of veterans enrolled in VA health care and benefits under a law he signed nearly two years ago, but said more needs to be done for troops stationed at a base in Uzbekistan in the early 2000s.
“Two years ago, I signed the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act, which provides the most significant expansion of benefits and health care for veterans exposed to toxic influences and their survivors in over thirty years,” Biden wrote in a statement.
The bill, which spent years seeking support in Congress, expanded health insurance and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances such as Agent Orange and open fire pits.
To date, more than one million veterans and 10,000 survivors of deceased veterans have begun receiving disability benefits under this law, for a total of approximately $6.8 billion in benefits earned.
Biden said in his statement that his administration would continue to investigate other illnesses suffered by veterans in an effort to obtain a “presumptive status” that could ensure they have access to health care and benefits without having to prove to the VA that their ailments are directly related to their military service.
The VA also plans to “close loopholes for certain veterans who were exposed to harmful toxins during their military service,” Biden wrote, without providing further details.
A White House fact sheet said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is examining the possibility of providing benefits to 16,000 veterans who served in Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan (also known as K2), between 2001 and 2005 because “several contaminants … were found in the air, water, soil or soil-air” there.
“The VA plans to take action to consider veterans who served in Uzbekistan as Persian Gulf veterans so that all veterans who served on K2 and have undiagnosed illnesses or medically unexplained chronic conditions with multiple symptoms can receive the benefits to which they are entitled,” it says. “The VA will also create new training materials for claims handlers and examiners on the hazards identified on K2.”
Since the law – known as the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act – took effect nearly two years ago, 739,421 veterans say they have enrolled in VA health care programs.
Of these, 333,767 veterans are covered by the new law, including those who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the wars following the September 11 attacks.
The numbers released on Friday are significantly higher than those reported in Biden’s speech marking the one-year anniversary of the law. At that time, a year ago, the VA announced that 408,581 veterans had applied for benefits and 348,469 of them had been approved.
But Friday’s announcement is somewhat similar to Biden’s announcement in May, when he welcomed the VA’s approval of one million claims under the law.
Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, said in a phone call with reporters at the time that the law had resulted in “more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans.”
The exact number of veterans with approved claims under the PACT Act was 1,005,341 as of Friday, while the number of approved survivors reached 10,777.
To date, a total of 1,251,720 veterans and 21,416 survivors have filed claims under the Pact Act.
The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information on how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act and how many applications have been submitted.
The VA has a calendar of in-person events, which can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to learn about PACT Act benefits.
