Political Quotes

“Almost exactly a year ago, on August 10, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Honoring our PACT Act, which has been correctly described as the largest healthcare and benefits expansion in the history of the Department of Veterans Affairs. This was the result of a 5-year effort by veterans service organizations, from The American Legion to the Iraq and Afghan Veterans of America, and many others, to bring external pressure on Congress to pass a measure which will knock down barriers so that people who are suffering the ill effects of toxic exposure will actually have the care they earned by wearing the uniform of this country and serving in some of the most difficult parts of the world. After that measure was signed and had to overcome a last-minute filibuster by Senate Republicans, which resulted in a 5-day sleep-in on the steps of the Capitol when they finally relented and allowed a bipartisan vote to move forward and the bill to the President's desk, there was a lot of concern as to whether or not the VA would actually move quickly to enact and implement these measures. A year into the law, I am happy to report that over 300,000 PACT Act claims have been approved; over 100,000 new veterans have been enrolled in VA healthcare from the PACT Act planning population; and over 4 million toxic exposure screenings have been provided. The toxic exposure screening is a quick 10- to 15-minute review to find people who may be eligible for PACT Act benefits.…”