U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act being signed into law. Senator Fischer voted in favor of the PACT Act, which became law on August 10, 2022.
“Last year, I was pleased to vote in favor of the PACT Act. We need to keep raising awareness about this important law so that every eligible veteran can access the benefits they have earned,” said Senator Fischer.
Eligibility and Deadlines:
There is no deadline to apply for PACT Act benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, veterans and survivors who apply for benefits before August 9, 2023, may be eligible to receive benefits backdated to August 10, 2022—when the PACT Act was signed into law.
Recently, some veterans submitted intent to file applications related to the PACT Act and received error messages. The VA announced that veterans who received these error messages will have their applications honored as meeting the August 9th deadline, and may be eligible to receive benefits backdated to August 10, 2022.
Legislative Background:
Named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson who died in 2020 from toxic exposure as a result of his military service, the PACT Act is comprehensive legislation to expand health care for post-9/11 combat veterans, create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure, expand VA’s list of service presumptions, and improve resources to support VA’s claims processing.
As of July, the VA has received more than 744,000 PACT Act-related claims. More than 103,000 veterans with PACT Act-related eligibility have also enrolled in VA health care since October 1, 2022.