By: Stephanie Kalota
Founder, Veteran Legislative Voice & AHG Correspondent
On August 10, 2022, The Honoring Our PACT Act was passed and signed. This act established presumptive conditions for the Gulf War and post-9/11 wars, which are known to be related to toxic exposure to burn pits. According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “two years later, more than 1.1 million toxic-exposed veterans and survivors are receiving PACT Act-related benefits… In addition, more than 156,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care under a PACT Act enrollment authority. VA has also screened more than 5.6 million for toxic exposure-related health conditions under the PACT Act…” The White House released a press release, including that the act was “Named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, this historic legislation is delivering timely benefits and services to veterans—across all generations—who have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country.” Not only that, “the survivors of veterans who died from a toxic related illness, the PACT Act provides a pathway to benefits including monthly stipends, access to home loans and education benefits as well. Surviving veteran spouses with children could qualify for over $2,000 per month and funding toward college tuition.”
But as we are coming up to the general election, it’s important to remember what happened before the passage. After the PACT Act was largely approved, Senators added one last amendment, which added a lot of government funding to the bill that had nothing to do with VA disability. So, Senator Toomey called this pork barrel spending and claimed that the funding was not going to help veterans. He led the charge to disapprove the bill as a whole, where Senator Ted Cruz iconically fist-bumped another senator. This, of course, caused a high uproar with veterans and local veterans protesting the Capitol. But in reality, this funding was to establish facilities for veterans because the AIR Commission was killed. It was dead because it recommended closing or downgrading veteran medical facilities, and this also caused an uproar. The AIR Commission recommended the closure and downgrading and facilities because it predicted where the veteran population would decrease. So why would politicians like Senator Toomey lie? Passing this bill could be seen as a win to the opposing political party. But how could they lie? That’s because of the Speech and Debate Clause, which protects them in whatever they say.
So please verify what politicians say before deciding who to vote for this November.
