Gallego Celebrates House Passage of the Honoring our PACT Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) proudly voted for H.R. 3967, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act or Honoring our PACT Act. The bill, passed in the House with bipartisan support, treats toxic exposure as a cost of war and expands access to earned benefits and healthcare through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for toxic-exposed veterans.
"When I served in Iraq, we slept next to burn pits. Words cannot express how meaningful passing this legislation is to me,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. "I have watched fellow Marines deal with the diagnoses and conditions tied to the toxins we were exposed to overseas. I have often wondered if I’m a ticking time bomb —a feeling I know is shared by the 240,000 veterans who signed up for the burn pit registry. The treatment of conditions linked to toxic exposure is a cost of war, and today Congress recognized that once and for all. I thank Chairman Takano for leading this effort, and I urge the Senate to swiftly send this long overdue legislation to the president’s desk."
The Honoring our PACT Act expands healthcare to over 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service. The bill shifts the burden of proof off our veterans and creates service-connection presumptions for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers.
The legislation also streamlines VA’s presumption decision making process, so Congress does not have to continue intervening and our veterans do not have to wait decades for help.
11 Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) including the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The American Legion (TAL), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Minority Veterans of America (MVA), and Burn Pits 360, among others, support the comprehensive bipartisan package.