Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, vowed to get veterans the health care they deserve with the passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.
The bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this month by a vote of 342-88, and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. According to an Aug. 2 release from Hirono’s office, the bill is “comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to expand VA health care for veterans with health conditions related to burn pit and Agent Orange exposure.”
“Millions of service members have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic materials while enlisted in our armed forces,” Hirono said in the release. “They have risked their lives in service to our country, and we have a duty to ensure they receive the proper care and support for conditions caused by these toxic exposures.”
Hirono, a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, helped produce the bill to give veterans access to the care they need and deserve, the release reported. Passage of the bill was reportedly threatened after 25 Republican senators who had initially voted to advance the bill pulled their support, citing political objections.
“I am glad we’ve finally passed this critical bill, but it is shameful that passage was needlessly delayed by Republicans more interested in playing political games than delivering for our veterans," Hirono said in the release. "With the lives of toxic-exposed veterans hanging in the balance, depriving them of life-saving health care for even one additional day is completely inexcusable."
The bill is named for Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who served in Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard. He died in 2020 from toxic exposure as a result of his military service, the release reported.
According to the release, the bill will expand VA health care eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans; establish a framework of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure; add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to the VA’s list of service presumptions, including hypertension; expand presumptions associated with Agent Orange exposure; support federal research on toxic exposure; and improve the VA’s resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans. Clarity in the claims processing, returning veterans to the workforce and updated health care facilities are added objectives.