Hassan, Pappas highlight PACT Act 2-year anniversary with veteran roundtable
MANCHESTER, NH – Earlier this year, the VA announced that more than one million PACT Act-related claims had been approved, including for more than 3,300 Granite State veterans.
Ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Honoring Our PACT Act this weekend, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan and Congressman Chris Pappas along with Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA) Subcommittee of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee (HVAC), joined New Hampshire veterans for a roundtable conversation on PACT Act implementation and veterans experiences.
“It was great to hear from veterans, Veterans Service Organizations, and representatives from the VA about how PACT Act implementation has progressed in New Hampshire and how we can improve the process for veterans,” said Hassan. “It was also important to hear from the VA about its inaccurate budget projections, and while we work in Congress to ensure that the VA gets the resources it needs to deliver the benefits that veterans have earned and deserved, we also need to prevent similar miscalculations from happening again.”
“Two years ago, the PACT Act was signed into law, finally recognizing toxic exposure as a cost of war and fulfilling our promise to veterans who became sick due to their time in service. To date, thousands of New Hampshire veterans have filed PACT Act-related claims and have enrolled in VA care for the first time,” said Pappas. “As we continue outreach efforts to veterans and monitor VA’s implementation of this landmark legislation on the Veterans Affairs Committee, I’ll continue to have conversations with the New Hampshire veteran community to ensure they are being heard, their needs are being met, and that every toxic-exposed veteran and their survivors gets the benefits they need and have earned. Thank you to our veterans, VSOs, and VA representatives for joining this roundtable conversation and for the work you do every day to advocate and deliver for our veterans.”