Senate passed the PACT Act. Here's how it could help Pennsylvania veterans

After a rejection by the Senate in late July, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act passed 86-11 on Tuesday, August 2, with many senators who voted against it changing their minds.

The major sticking point for many Republicans during last week's vote was what they claimed to be a "budget gimmick" by Democrats to include $400 billion of discretionary spending, which Pennsylvania Republicans like Sen. Pat Toomey say is unrelated to veteran benefits.

Toomey voted against the bill last week and again on August 2, stating earlier that day he would only vote yes if his amendment to move the $400 billion from discretionary spending to mandatory spending be considered.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), mandatory spending is government expenditures which are established by statute for a specific purpose either indefinitely or for a set term, and require acts of Congress to change. Discretionary spending is overseen by House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and is reviewed or reallocated each year by appropriation acts.

Related:Camp Lejeune compensation bill from Cartwright, North Carolina reps passes House

“The oldest trick in Washington is to craft a bill to help vulnerable Americans, and then sneak in an unrelated provision that would never pass on its own. That’s exactly what Democrats are doing with the PACT Act,” said Toomey on Monday, August 1.

After the failed vote, legislators rallied to try again, seeing the bill finally succeed.

PA Senator Bob Casey voted yes to the PACT Act on Tuesday, as well as during the vote last week.

“I’m glad the Senate passed the PACT Act today, but this should have happened a week ago." Casey said. "After holding up this bill because they were mad about unrelated legislation, Senate Republicans finally came to their senses and stopped blocking legislation to take care of veterans who were exposed to burn pits or Agent Orange during their military service."

Casey added, "This legislation is an historic win for veterans and our country, and it will save lives. We will never be able to fully repay our servicemembers and their families for their sacrifice, but we can, and we must, take care of them now.”

Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-8), one of the bill's sponsors, said following Tuesday's successful vote: “After years of commitment to this issue, I am grateful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle — including those Senators who voted to advance the bill in June and then flipped their vote against the PACT Act last week — agreed to pass this crucial legislation so that poisoned Camp Lejeune veterans can finally seek justice.

"The service members who signed up to defend their country and the people who supported them at Camp Lejeune were let down by their government in a big way," Cartwright continued, calling the legislation, "...an important step forward to ensure military families, civil servants and contractors can receive the benefits and health care they deserve."

Cartwright vowed to continue advocating on behalf of veterans and their families.

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, the U.S. government provided Marines and their families staying at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina contaminated tap water. The harmful chemicals in the water vastly exceeded safety standards. Some chemicals were at 240 times the permitted level, others were as much as 3,400 times what is considered a safe level. This exposure likely increased the chance of these Marines and their families contracting cancer and other deadly diseases.

The PACT Act will allow these veterans and their families access to compensation through the Federal Tort Claims Act. According to Cartwright's Office: "This type of claim would already be permitted anywhere else in the United States, but because of a unique provision in North Carolina law, this legislation is necessary for those harmed at Camp Lejeune to finally to seek justice."

What does the PACT Act do?

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the PACT Act will bring the following changes:

• Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras

• Adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures

• Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation

• Requires VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every Veteran enrolled in VA health care

• Helps the VA improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures

New illnesses identified as presumptive conditions — meaning likely caused by one's military service — include a dozen cancers (Brain, Gastrointestinal, Glioblastoma, Head, Kidney, Lymphatic, Lymphoma, Melanoma, Neck, Pancreatic, Reproductive, and Respiratory) as well as asthma that was diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease (ILD), pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis.

If a veteran's application for compensation for one of these was denied prior to the PACT Act's passage, the VA recommends filing a supplemental claim to restart the process under the new legislation.

More information regarding the PACT Act and other aspects of veteran compensation is available online at VA.gov.

Veterans from Pennsylvania react

Several Wayne County residents spent time at Camp Lejeune. Among them include Lake Ariel resident and retired marine, James D. English, Deputy Commander of the American Legion 15th District Department of Pennsylvania. English noted he has a complaint filed on record for medical a condition he developed which he has been told must become malignant before anything can be done about it.

When asked about the PACT Act failing to pass the Senate last week, English replied, "I felt like it was stalled already," noting he's issued several appeals in regards to his condition. "It didn't seem to get anywhere and I didn't think this bill was going to change anything."

Also at Camp Lejeune was Chester Grodack, a retired marine who also resides in Lake Township. Grodack expressed a desire to read the fine print on what the bill had to say before passing judgement on it.

"What's in the bill is what counts," he said, noting that different people will often read the same thing and understand it two different ways. Calling for better public access to this information, and encouraging the public to engage with it when available, Grodack added, "When it comes to the government, everything is complicated with fine print."

An online copy of the Honoring Our PACT Act is available for the public to read online at Congress.gov.

Complaints about the PACT Act

Sergeant Major Mark Baylis, founder and CEO of the VALOR Clinic Foundation, has been focused upon the effects of chemical and radiation exposure upon servicemen and women since the inception of his organization.

Along with finding shelter and resources to treat mental health conditions, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, Baylis has been a proponent for treating soldiers for any and all conditions that stem from their time in service to the country.

But when you ask Baylis about the PACT Act 2022, the most he can say is "It's a start."

"I'm encouraged by some of the stuff, particularly that they added Johnson Atoll (an unincorporated island used by the U.S. military for nearly 70 years); it was never recognized before," Baylis said. "But the window is much narrower than the actual presence of Agent Orange there, which is kind of crazy."

Baylis said that he has worked with local veterans who experienced exposure to chemicals in other areas that, again, are not being considered in the discussion.

At a storage facility on an Air Force base in Alaska that once served as a shipping location for Agent Orange throughout the Pacific. Baylis noted that he had previously been able to help veterans from that base get assistance for Agent Orange exposure, and yet the location does not show up in the PACT Act.

"Why isn't it on the list? Apparently the VA knows that because because they recognized that on on veterans claims from veterans right here in (Monroe County, Pa.) before, but it's not on the list. Why not?" Baylis said.

Furthermore, Baylis called attention to Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, better known as K2, and the U.S.S. Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, as glaring omissions when it comes to addressing toxic exposure to veterans.

In Nov. 2020, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on K2, releasing a fact sheet on the site that detailed instances of "petrochemical contamination and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter 10 (PM10) and tetrachloroethylene, burn pits" and "radiation exposure."

"Our Subcommittee’s bipartisan investigation revealed clear evidence that K2 veterans were exposed to toxic and environmental hazards. Yet, the VA has refused to provide the full range of treatments and benefits these veterans deserve. I remain committed to advocating on behalf of our K2 heroes and look forward to hearing the VA and DOD’s plans to right this injustice,” Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, said at that meeting.

However, according to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, "To date, VA continues to deny that illnesses suffered by K2 veterans are service-connected," despite the fact that numerous soldiers who served at the base reported instances of cancer following service, in addition to numerous reports of miscarriages.

When asked about the reaction from some veterans who have said that the PACT Act 2022 will accomplish little for them, Baylis noted that "people are pretty cynical with the VA at this point."

"I think it's really expensive and the bureaucracy moves really slow, unless somehow it gets on the radar screen for higher ups, or somebody above the VA causes the VA to move," Baylis said. "It's just so busy running their day to day operations. They do a lot, don't get me wrong. They do a lot, and they get so busy managing what they're doing, and I don't know that they have a department that goes and looks for things that should be service connected."

Pursuing that mission to expand assistance for service members, Baylis indicated that he "debated putting together a packet and going and sitting down with with Representative Cartwright and giving him a briefing," noting that veterans who have experienced chemical and/or radiation exposure often suffer from housing and mental health issues as well.

Baylis continues to deal with the ramifications of exposure to veterans every day, interacting with those who continue to struggle with health concerns among other issues. And while the passing of the PACT Act 2022 has helped a bit with that mission, the fight continues.

"I've got different vets with service connected for Taiwan: two of them have since died, they were so badly affected, but there's one of them up in Pocono Pines, still here in Monroe County, he's a Taiwan vet," Baylis said. "We have a leukemia vet in Saylorsburg as a result of the Scott Air Force Base where we didn't get service connected. These places are well documented, and they're not on the list."

When the Pocono Record reached out to the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center for comment on the passing of the PACT Act, William Klaips, PE, executive assistant to the director, offered a statement from VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

"Veterans who were exposed to toxic fumes while fighting for our country are American heroes, and they deserve world-class care and benefits for their selfless service. The bipartisan PACT Act will help VA deliver for those Veterans — and their survivors — by empowering us to presumptively provide care and benefits to Vets suffering from more than 20 toxic exposure-related conditions," the statement reads, in addition to providing contact information for the VA — "you can learn more about the PACT Act at VA.gov/PACT or by calling us at 1-800-MyVA411."

The statement rounds out with gratitude for President Joe Biden, "who made this day possible by fighting like hell for our nation's Veterans."

"Once the President signs this bill into law, we at VA will implement it quickly and effectively, delivering the care these Veterans need and the benefits they deserve," the statement concludes.

But for those like Baylis, who happen to see all that the bill won't cover, it simply remains "a start."

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Here's how PA veterans can benefit from the PACT Act