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Today, Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-02) voted to pass ambitious, bipartisan legislation targeting military toxic exposure to help millions of veterans get the care they need after serving our country. Rep. Luria’s leadership on this issue helped shepherd the legislation through the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
The legislation passed today incorporates two key pieces of Rep. Luria’s agenda to ensure that our veterans get the health care they deserve. Included in the Honoring Our PACT Act is Rep. Luria’s COVENANT Act, which provides a list of locations and illnesses related to toxic exposure that qualify a veteran for benefits, and her Veterans Disability Claims Notification Improvement Act legislation that modernizes veteran claim decisions through electronic means.
The bipartisan passage of the Honoring Our PACT Act makes it clear that our nation needs to better recognize the adverse effects toxic exposure to burn pits and airborne hazards have on the lives of our servicemen and women. Elaine Luria’s vote today will provide Virginia veterans better and faster access to the health care they need and deserve after dangerous toxic exposure.
The Honoring Our PACT Act will:
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Provide health care to as many as 3.5 million veterans exposed to airborne hazards and burn pits
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Automatically qualify veterans with specified conditions from toxic exposure for VA health care and disability benefits
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Streamline the VA’s review process and require standardized training & conduct outreach
174 House Republicans voted against delivering this care to our service members.
“Elaine Luria is committed to delivering for our veterans and making sure service members can lead healthy lives when they return home,” said DCCC spokesperson Monica Robinson. “Thanks to Rep. Elaine Luria’s leadership and House Democrats, millions of veterans who’ve been forced to wait to receive care are now much closer to the care they deserve.”
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