WASHINGTON — VA announced that Veterans and their survivors have filed more than one million claims for toxic exposure-related benefits under the PACT Act since President Biden signed it into law Aug. 10, 2022. VA has processed more than 551,000 of these claims, granting 77.9% of them and awarding more than $2.2 billion in earned benefits to Veterans and survivors. Supporting Veterans and their families is a core pillar in President Biden’s Unity Agenda for the nation, and today’s announcement helps deliver on his promise to comprehensively address military related toxic exposure.

Thanks to the largest outreach campaign in VA history, Veterans and survivors are applying for their earned benefits at record rates. In this fiscal year alone, Veterans and survivors have submitted 2.29 million total claims (PACT and non-PACT) — 40.4% more year-to-date than last fiscal year, which was the previous all-time record. Veterans have also submitted more than 2.1 million “intents to file” during this fiscal year — 53.1% more than all of last fiscal year and also an all-time record.

The PACT Act is the biggest expansion of Veteran health care and benefits in decades. VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to file a claim — or submit their intent to file a claim — for PACT Act-related benefits now.

“Thanks to President Biden, the heroes who fought for our country are now getting health care and compensation for the conditions that followed them home from war,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “We’re proud that more than one million Veterans and survivors have applied for their hard-earned benefits to date, but this is just the beginning — and we won’t rest until every Veteran and every survivor gets the VA health care and benefits they deserve.”

Partly due to the PACT Act, VA is delivering more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever before. Key results to date include:

• Delivering benefits to Veterans and their survivors: VA has processed 1.85 million total Veteran claims (PACT and non-PACT) thus far in this fiscal year —15.7% more to date than last fiscal year and already surpassing last year’s all-time record total of 1.7 million claims processed.
• Increasing Veteran access to health care: Since Aug. 10, 378,995 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care. This includes more than 158,691 enrollees from the PACT Act population (Vietnam, Gulf War, and Post-9/11 era Veterans).  
• Screening Veterans for toxic exposures: More than 4.4 million enrolled Veterans have received 5-minute screenings for toxic exposures from VA under the PACT Act.

Right now, there is also a special enrollment period for Veterans to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Specifically, until 11:59 p.m., local time, Sept. 30, Veterans who deployed to a combat zone, never enrolled in VA health care, and left active duty between Sept. 11, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2013, are eligible to enroll in VA health care without first applying for disability compensation benefits. VA encourages all of these Veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn more and sign up for VA health care before the deadline.

VA is delivering health care and benefits at record rates partly due to a dramatic increase in hiring at VA. For the first time in VA’s history, the Veterans Health Administration has over 400,000 employees and the Veterans Benefits Administration has over 31,000 employees — and both organizations are growing at the fastest rates in 20 years. Moving forward, VA will continue to modernize and expand capacity to deliver health care and benefits to Veterans as quickly and effectively as possible.

For more information on VA’s implementation of the PACT Act, visit the PACT Act Dashboard. VA is publishing this dashboard every other Friday to document the implementation of this legislation and showcase its impact on Veterans and survivors. The next dashboard, which will reflect the data in this release, will publish on Sept. 15. 

Veterans and survivors may apply or learn more about the PACT Act by visiting VA.gov/PACT or calling 1-800-MYVA411.

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WASHINGTON — VA released a PACT Act Year-In-Review Dashboard showcasing the care and benefits that VA has delivered to Veterans and their survivors since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law on Aug. 10, 2022. Partly due to this historic law, VA is delivering more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever before. Key results to date include:

• Delivering benefits to Veterans and their survivors: VA has delivered more than $1.85 billion in earned PACT Act benefits to Veterans and their survivors. VA is delivering these benefits to Veterans at the fastest rate in our nation’s history, processing 1.65 million total Veteran claims thus far in this fiscal year (including 458,659 PACT Act claims) — 16% more year-to-date than the previous all-time record.
• Increasing Veteran access to health care: Since August 10, 332,252 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care — which is nearly 50,000 more enrollees than during the previous year. This includes more than 113,719 enrollees from the PACT Act population (Vietnam, Gulf War, and Post-9/11 Veterans).  
• Screening Veterans for toxic exposures: More than 4.1 million Veterans have received free, 10-minute screenings for toxic exposures from VA under the PACT Act — a critical step to catching and treating potentially life-threatening health conditions as early as possible.
• Spreading the word to Veterans and their survivors: Thanks to the largest outreach campaign in VA history, Veterans and survivors are applying for their earned benefits at record rates. In this fiscal year, Veterans and survivors have submitted 1.95 million total claims (including 843,448 PACT Act-specific claims) — 37% more than last year and on pace to break an all-time record. Veterans have also submitted 1.65 million “intents to file” during this fiscal year — 44% more than last year and also on pace to break an all-time record.

The PACT Act is here to stay, and Veterans and survivors can apply anytime for the care and benefits they’ve earned. Veterans and survivors who apply (or submit their intent to file) for PACT Act benefits by 11:59 p.m., ET, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023 will be eligible to have their benefits backdated to Aug. 10, 2022 — the day that President Biden signed the PACT Act into law. This is an extension from the original deadline of Aug. 9, 2023. VA encourages all Veterans and survivors to visit VA.gov/PACT to apply — or submit their intent to file — today.

“Thanks to President Biden, millions of Veterans who fought for our country are now getting health care and compensation for the conditions that followed them home from war,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “We’re proud that so many Veterans and survivors have already benefited from the PACT Act, but this is just the beginning: we won’t rest until every Veteran and every survivor gets the VA health care and benefits they deserve.”

For more information about how one year of the PACT Act has helped Veterans, visit VA’s PACT Year-in-Review Dashboard. This dashboard is a special highlight edition of VA’s regular PACT Act dashboard, which VA publishes every other Friday to document the implementation of this legislation and showcase its impact on Veterans and survivors. The Year-in-Review Dashboard includes national and state-level data on PACT Act benefits and health care.

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Throughout July, VA will host 50+ Summer VetFest events across all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. The events will be casual summer gatherings featuring Veterans, their families, Veteran advocates, and the VA health care and benefits professionals who serve them. At the events, VA staff will be ready to help Veterans apply for PACT Act-related benefits (or submit an intent to file), enroll in VA health care, get screened for toxic exposures, and more.

VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to file a claim — or submit their intent to file a claim — for PACT Act-related benefits now. Veterans who do so by Aug. 9 may have their benefits, if granted, backdated to Aug. 10, 2022, the day that President Biden signed the bill into law.  

“There are millions of Veterans and survivors across America who are eligible for new health care and benefits, and we will not rest until every one of them gets what they’ve earned,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “That’s what this Summer VetFest is all about: educating Veterans, their families, and survivors — and encouraging them to apply today.”

Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law, VA has delivered more than $1.4 billion in PACT Act benefits to Veterans. Additionally, more than 665,000 Veterans have applied for PACT Act-related benefits, more than 3.7 million Veterans have received the new toxic exposure screenings, and more than 287,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care (this is 40,000 more enrollments than during the same timeframe last year, and it includes 94,000 enrollees from the PACT Act target population) .

The PACT Act Summer VetFest is just one component of VA’s nationwide PACT Act Veteran outreach campaign, which is the largest coordinated outreach campaign in VA history. The campaign has one goal: ensuring that every eligible Veteran and survivor gets the PACT Act-related health care and benefits they have earned. Highlights of the campaign to date:

• Within one hour of the Senate passage of the PACT Act, VA launched VA.gov/PACT — a one-stop-shop for Veterans and survivors to learn about and apply for PACT Act-related care and benefits. Since then, the website has garnered more than 13.4 million page views from 10 million unique visitors.
  • VA is executing an aggressive national and local earned media campaign, seeking to inform Veterans and survivors about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply. Between Aug. 10, 2022, and June 9, 2023, these efforts have helped generate 30,000+ news articles and 24,000+ broadcast items about the PACT Act.VA is executing a nationwide, targeted advertising campaign across streaming video (Hulu, Roku, YouTube); print (Military Times, Military.com, USA Today); radio (satellite, traditional); podcasts; signage (including Times Square ads, D.C. Metro ads, airports, billboards, and more); sponsorships (such as Military and Armed Forces Bowls); digital advertising, including Search (Google and Bing), Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, iHeartRadio, ESPN online, RallyPoint, and more. To date, VA has spent more than $7.5 million on PACT Act advertising, driving millions of visitors to VA.gov/PACT, and generating hundreds of millions of impressions. Through Public Service Announcement distribution along with vendor negotiations, VA has also achieved $7.9 million in added value between October 2022 and May 2023, more than doubling the media value of PACT Act efforts. By the Aug. 9 filing deadline, we anticipate that VA will spend more than $11.4 million. This campaign is focused on reaching all eligible Veterans and survivors, especially those who have not previously come to VA for benefits or care.Since Aug. 10, 2022, VA has hosted hundreds of PACT Act-related events across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico with Veterans, their families, caregivers, survivors, and Veteran advocates. This includes a PACT Act Week of Action in December, when VA hosted more than 120 events across the nation. At the events, Veterans applied for benefits, got screened for toxic exposures, enrolled in VA health care, and learned more about what the PACT Act could mean for them and their families.VA has developed a library of PACT Act flyers, videos, and fact sheets to help Veterans understand what this new law means for them. The videos have been viewed more than 4 million times across platforms, and the resources have been shared directly with Veterans, VA facilities, Veterans Service Organizations, and other partners nationwide. VA has also released PACT Act flyers and information in more than 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
  • VA has sent more than 300 million PACT Act-related e-mails to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors, which were opened more than 94 million times.

VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to apply for their earned PACT Act-related health care and benefits now. Veterans and survivors can apply or learn more about the PACT Act by visiting VA.gov/PACT, by calling 1-800-MYVA411, or by attending one of July’s events.

For more information about VA’s implementation of the PACT Act, visit the PACT Act Dashboard. VA is publishing this dashboard every other Friday to document the implementation of this law and showcase its impact on Veterans and survivors. 

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The PACT Act is the most significant expansion of Veteran benefits and care in more than three decades, empowering VA to help millions of toxic exposed Veterans and their survivors. Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law Aug. 10, more than 213,000 PACT Act-related claims for benefits have been submitted. Additionally, more than 959,000 Veterans have received VA’s new toxic exposure screenings, with nearly 39% reporting a concern of exposure.

“The PACT Act is the least we can do for the countless men and women…who suffered toxic exposure while serving their country,” said President Biden during the PACT Act bill signing ceremony. “It means access to life insurance, home loan insurance, tuition benefits, and help with healthcare. It means new facilities, improved care, more research, and increased hiring and retention of healthcare workers treating Veterans.”

From the moment the PACT Act was signed into law, VA’s priority has been getting Veterans the benefits they deserve as quickly as possible. VA sped up the timeline for many Veterans to get their PACT Act benefits by several years by deciding not to phase in PACT Act benefits through 2026, as written into the legislation, and instead make all new PACT Act presumptions of exposure and service connection applicable Aug. 10. January 1 is the earliest date that VA will have both the authorities and capabilities necessary to fully process all PACT Act claims.

“We at VA are ready to process these claims and deliver PACT Act-related care and benefits to toxic exposed Veterans and their survivors,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “To all Veterans and survivors: don’t wait, apply now – we will get you the care and benefits you deserve.”

“Right now, VA is delivering more benefits, more quickly, to more Veterans than ever before – and we are ready to deliver PACT Act benefits to all Veterans starting January 1,” said Josh Jacobs, senior advisor for policy, who is currently performing the delegable duties of the Under Secretary for Benefits.

To prepare for the influx of PACT Act claims, the Veterans Benefits Administration has been aggressively hiring and training Veterans service representatives, rating Veterans service representatives and legal administrative specialists around the nation. Over the past two years, VA has hired more than 2700 individuals to help process Veteran claims. As a result of these efforts, VA is processing Veteran benefits claims at the fastest rate in VA history: in 2022, VA completed more than 1.7 million VA disability and pension claims for Veterans, an all-time VA record that broke the previous year’s record by 12%.

While VA did not have the capabilities to begin fully processing PACT Act claims for all Veterans until Jan. 1, 2023, VA was able to expedite processing for terminally ill Veterans beginning Dec. 12. VA continues to prioritize processing claims for terminally ill Veterans, Veterans with toxic exposure-related cancers, Veterans experiencing homelessness, Veterans older than 85 years old, Veterans experiencing financial hardship, and Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients. In most cases, if a Veteran files a claim within the first year after the President signed the bill, the effective date for benefits will be Aug. 10, 2022.  

VA is currently executing the largest Veteran outreach campaign in its history to inform Veterans, their families and survivors about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply for the health care and benefits they have earned. As a part of that effort, VA hosted a PACT Act Week of Action between Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, during which the Department hosted more than 120 events across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

For more information about PACT Act and how to file a claim, visit va.gov/PACT. If Veterans, their families, caregivers, or survivors have questions about PACT Act and wish to speak with someone to help, they may call 1-800-MyVA411 at any time.

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WASHINGTON — This weekend, VA will kick off a PACT Act Week of Action to inform Veterans, their families, and survivors about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply for the health care and benefits they have earned.

Between Dec. 10 and the 17^, VA will host more than 90 Week of Action events across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These events will feature Veterans, Veteran families and survivors, VA leaders, members of Congress, local elected officials, Veterans Service Organizations, state directors of Veterans Affairs and more — all of whom are working together to spread awareness about the new health care and benefits available to Veterans and survivors. Many of these events will have VA staff present to help Veterans apply for benefits, get screened for toxic exposures and enroll in VA health care.

“There are millions of Veterans and survivors across America who are eligible for new health care and benefits, and we will not rest until every one of them gets what they’ve earned,” said Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “That’s what this PACT Act Week of Action is all about: educating Veterans, their families and survivors — and encouraging them to apply today.”

A full list of events can be found here. Additional participants in the events include Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Donald Remy, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Tanya Bradsher, VA’s Chief of Staff; Dr. Shereef Elnahal, VA’s Under Secretary for Health; Josh Jacobs, VA’s Senior Advisor for Policy Performing the Delegable Duties of the Under Secretary for Benefits and others.

The PACT Act is the largest expansion of Veteran health care and benefits in decades. Since President Biden signed it into law Aug. 10, more than 176,000 Veterans have applied for PACT Act-related benefits and more than 503,000 Veterans have received the new toxic exposure screenings, with nearly 39% reporting a concern of exposure.

The PACT Act Week of Action is just one component of VA’s nationwide PACT Act Veteran outreach campaign, which is the largest coordinated outreach campaign in VA history. The campaign has one goal: ensuring every eligible Veteran and survivor gets the PACT Act-related health care and benefits they have earned. Highlights of the campaign to date include:

• VA.gov/PACT: Within one hour of the Senate passage of the PACT Act, VA launched VA.gov/PACT — a one-stop-shop for Veterans and survivors to learn about and apply for PACT Act-related care and benefits. Since then, the website has garnered over 4.5 million page views from more than 3.1 million unique visitors.
• Earned Media: VA is executing an aggressive national and local earned media campaign, seeking to inform Veterans and survivors about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply. Between Aug. 10 and Nov. 30, these efforts have helped generate 8.5K news articles and 3.9K broadcast items about the PACT Act — with a total potential reach of 28.4 billion.
• Paid Media: VA is executing a nationwide, targeted advertising campaign across TV, streaming, radio, podcasts, YouTube, Google, Bing, Twitter, Facebook, Military Times, Military.com, USA Today, RallyPoint and more. VA is launching a new PACT Act PSA and running a Times Square video ad on toxic exposure care and benefits. To date, VA has spent more than $3.1 million on PACT Act advertising, garnering approximately 100 million impressions. This campaign is focused on reaching all eligible Veterans and survivors, including those who have not previously come to VA for benefits or care.
• Print, digital and video resources: VA has developed a library of PACT Act flyers, videos and fact sheets to help Veterans understand what this new law means for them. The videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across platforms, and the resources have been shared directly with Veterans, VA facilities, VSOs and other partners nationwide.
• Direct mail: VA has sent 136 million e-mails with PACT Act information, videos or frequently asked questions.

VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to apply for their earned PACT Act-related health care and benefits now. Veterans and survivors can apply or learn more about the PACT Act by visiting VA.gov/PACT, by calling 1-800-MYVA411 or by attending one of next week’s events.

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While VA does not have the authorities or capabilities to begin fully processing PACT Act claims for all other Veterans until Jan. 1, 2023, VA was able to expedite processing for terminally ill Veterans to Dec. 12. This ensures terminally ill Veterans will receive their earned benefits and health care on the earliest possible date.

“These Veterans have stepped up to serve our country in the times when we needed them most — and now it’s our job to step up for them,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “It’s the right thing to do to get these heroes the world-class health care and benefits they’ve earned as soon as possible, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Dec. 12 is the earliest date VA could begin processing claims for terminally ill Veterans. Until Jan. 1, 2023, VA will only finalize decisions on PACT Act claims that result in a grant of benefits for terminally ill Veterans. Claims that cannot be granted immediately will be held for further evaluation after publication of sub-regulatory guidance implementing the PACT Act.

When VA can begin processing all PACT claims Jan. 1, 2023, VA will continue to prioritize the processing of PACT Act claims for terminally ill Veterans. At that point, VA will also prioritize PACT Act claims filed by Veterans with cancer, Veterans experiencing homelessness, Veterans older than 85 years old, Veterans experiencing financial hardship and Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients.

From the moment that the PACT Act was signed into law VA’s priority has been getting Veterans the benefits they deserve as quickly as possible. VA sped up the timeline for Veterans to get their PACT Act benefits by several years by deciding not to phase in PACT Act benefits through 2026, as written into the legislation, and instead make all conditions in the PACT Act presumptive on Aug. 10, the date President Biden signed it into law.

Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law on Aug. 10, more than 176,000 Veterans have applied for PACT Act-related benefits. VA is currently executing the largest Veteran outreach campaign in its history to inform Veterans, their families and survivors about the PACT Act and encourage them to apply for the health care and benefits they have earned. As a part of that effort, this week, VA is hosting more than 90 events across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as a part of a PACT Act Week of Action.

For more information about PACT Act and how to file a claim, visit va.gov/PACT. If Veterans, their families, caregivers or survivors have questions about PACT Act and wish to speak with someone to help, they may call 1-800-MyVA411 at any time.

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The PACT Act added presumptions of service connection for more than 20 new conditions, including various cancers. These presumptions help Veterans get their earned benefits by reducing the evidence necessary for VA to find that a condition was caused by burn pits or other toxic exposures. They also simplify the claims process by eliminating the need to establish a link between the Veteran’s service and the claimed condition.

Since the PACT Act was signed into law August 10, Veterans have filed nearly 125,000 PACT Act-related claims. Of those claims, nearly 14,000 are for cancers covered by the PACT Act.

“We are working hard to get benefits to all Veterans who qualify under the PACT ACT as soon as possible, and Veterans living with cancer are at particular risk,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Expediting claims for these Vets will ensure that they get the care and benefits they need and so rightly deserve.”

This decision is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader efforts to care for those with cancer and end cancer as we know it. In addition to prioritizing claims for Veterans with cancer, VA will continue to prioritize the processing of claims for Veterans with terminal illnesses and those experiencing homelessness.

VA will begin processing all PACT Act-related claims Jan 1, 2023. In anticipation of the surge in new claims, VA is hiring at 56 regional offices and 39 other special processing and call centers within the United States and Puerto Rico. Learn about the positions and how to apply.

For more information about PACT Act and how to file a claim, visit va.gov/PACT. If Veterans, their families, caregivers or survivors have questions about PACT Act and wish to speak with someone to help, they may call 1-800-MyVA411 at any time.

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This expansion will increase health care eligibility for hundreds of thousands of toxic-exposed Veterans. Additionally, VA has already expanded health care eligibility for certain Veterans of the Vietnam War. More detailed information about this expansion can be found on VA.gov/PACT.

President Biden signed the bipartisan PACT Act into law August 10, authorizing one of the largest expansions of VA health care and benefits in U.S. history. Veterans can go to VA.gov/PACT to apply for health care or learn more about what this bill means for them and their families.

“This expansion will bring generations of new Veterans into VA health care, and increase the health care benefits of many more, which will result in the one outcome that matters most: better health outcomes for Veterans,” said Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “I highly encourage these Veterans to apply now for the health care they’ve earned and deserve.”

Beginning on Oct. 1, Post-9/11 Veterans who did not previously enroll in VA health care will have a 1-year window to enroll if they:

• Served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War, or
• Served in a combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after Nov. 11, 1998, and
• Were discharged or released from active service between Sept. 11, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2013.

Also on Oct. 1, Veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War will be eligible for care. This includes Veterans who, in connection with service during such period, received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Service Specific Expeditionary Medal, Combat Era Specific Expeditionary Medal, Campaign Specific Medal, or any other combat theater award established by federal statute or executive order.

Starting now, Vietnam-era Veterans who served in the following locations and time periods are eligible for care: The Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975; Thailand at any U.S. or Royal Thai base between Jan. 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976; Laos between Dec. 1, 1965, and Sept. 30, 1969; Certain provinces in Cambodia between April 16, 1969, and April 30, 1969; Guam or American Samoa (or their territorial waters) between Jan. 9, 1962, and July 31, 1980; Johnston Atoll (or on a ship that called there) between Jan. 1, 1972, and Sept. 30, 1977.

 While the expansion of PACT Act-related health care eligibility is staggered over the coming years, VA has made all conditions outlined in the PACT Act presumptive for benefits as of August 10, the day President Biden signed the bill into law. Eligible Veterans and survivors are encouraged to apply for those benefits now at VA.gov/PACT.

More information about VA’s implementation of the PACT Act can be found in this fact sheet.

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“We at VA are ready to implement the PACT Act and deliver for toxic-exposed Veterans and their survivors. If you think you might be eligible for PACT Act benefits, here’s what you need to know:

• You can apply for PACT Act-related benefits now by filing a claim at VA.
• As President Biden announced at the bill signing, we are making all 23 presumptive conditions in the PACT Act eligible for benefits effective today, August 10.
• You can learn more about the PACT Act by visiting VA.gov/PACT or calling 1-800-MY-VA-411.

“Thank you to all of the Veterans, survivors and family members who fought tirelessly to make this day possible, and thank you to President Biden for keeping our nation’s promise to those who served. We at VA will stop at nothing to make sure that every Veteran and every survivor gets the PACT Act-related care and benefits they deserve.”

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Kelly O’Keeffe | Contributed

On August 2nd, the U.S. Senate passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robison Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, sending it to President Biden’s desk for signature. At the heart of the legislative package are provisions authored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) to establish a presumption of service connection for 23 conditions, including respiratory conditions and cancers for approximately 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards.

Dr. Ruiz, the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Burn Pits Caucus, has helped lead the charge in Congress to address the military’s use of toxic burn pits since the death of his constituent, Jennifer Kepner, an Air Force medic from Cathedral City, CA who died from pancreatic cancer that was linked to her burn pit exposure overseas.

“Today is a victorious day for our nation’s veterans. In memory of Cathedral City veteran Jennifer Kepner, I have fought tooth and nail to get veterans the presumptive benefits and care they need, earned, and deserve,” said Dr. Ruiz. “With the Honoring our PACT Act now on its way to the President’s desk, we will finally recognize Jennifer’s vision for her fellow veterans. I urge President Biden to swiftly sign the PACT Act into law! Our veterans have waited for too long.”

The Honoring our PACT Act also includes language from the Congressman’s bill, the Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act, to expand eligibility for care to veterans who participated in a toxic exposure risk activity while serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

The legislative package is now on its way to President Biden’s desk after Senate Republicans blocked final passage last week.

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