Working for Veterans' Benefits

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I commend the hard work and the efforts and the passion that Representative Takano, the ranking member on the committee and previous chair, has given to this issue. The hard work finally has paid off, and for that we thank him.

For far too long, our Nation has failed to honor its promise to all our veterans who are victims of toxic exposures. It is our sacred obligation, I believe, to take care of the troops we send in harm's way--that is the American way--and to take care of them and their families when they return home.

Sadly, nearly 3.5 million veterans have been exposed to the contaminants such as burn pits, toxic fragments, radiation, and other hazardous materials during their deployment.

Until the mid-2010s, the burn pits were commonly used in Iraq and Afghanistan and other locations to dispose of waste collected at military bases.

Well, we have discovered that the aftermath has resulted in drastic impacts to those veterans. Nearly 3.5 million deployed veterans were exposed to burn pits in the last 30 years. Think about that, 3.5 million veterans. Mr. Speaker, 70 percent of the disability claims involving these toxic exposures were denied--they were denied by the Veterans Administration, and that is just wrong--leaving many of them, including 750,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, without any benefits. That is disgraceful.

House Democrats and President Biden fought like hell to change this, and we did. The PACT Act is the largest expansion--think about this-- the largest expansion of benefits for service for toxic-exposed veterans in over 30 years through the hard work of Representative Takano and other members on that committee joining with our Democratic Caucus.

We have added over 23 presumptive conditions, or categories as was noted before, for burn pits and Agent Orange and expanded the VA healthcare to millions of veterans, including those who served in Vietnam, the Gulf war, and post-9/11 eras.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years later, we are beginning to see the results. It is long overdue. More than 5.6 million veterans have received screenings for toxic exposures. Over 1 million veteran claims have been granted by the Veterans Administration, a 75 percent approval rate for PACT Act-related claims.

What a change.

Nearly 24,000 veterans in my district alone, the 24th District in the San Joaquin Valley, are eligible for benefits, including 2,100 processed claims and a total of over $5.17 billion in retroactive awards for PACT Act-related benefits for veterans and their survivors. This is a sea change. It is a big deal.

I thank President Biden, and I thank Secretary McDonough for their help. I thank all those Members who have been involved in this for their hard work. I am proud to have been a cosponsor and to have voted for this historic law that has improved the lives of veterans in my district and nationwide and their families, for the families sacrifice, as well, and we should never ever forget that.

In closing, we must continue to build upon the success and to ensure that our veterans can retire with the dignity and the respect they deserve because they have earned it. They have earned it.

The bottom line is this: For those men and women who are currently serving our country, we thank you, and we think of you every day. For the veterans and their families--as I said, the families sacrifice, as well--a grateful nation can never ever say thank you enough.

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