Friends,

I’m reaching out to make sure you heard about an important upcoming date regarding new veterans’ benefits!

This time last year, Congress passed the bipartisan Honoring Our PACT Act. It was one of the largest-ever expansions of benefits for vets, expanding care for over 3.5 million veterans. At its heart, the PACT Act means that more veterans that were exposed to toxic chemicals or burn pits while serving have access to the screenings and care they need to recover from any associated conditions or illnesses. It’s the least we can do for veterans that have sacrificed so much. 

More specifically, the PACT Act 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. It also adds more presumptive conditions related to toxic exposure and presumptive exposure locations. Finally, it requires that the VA provide a toxic exposure screening to every veteran on VA health care.

If you think you might be eligible, I encourage you to apply or find more information here. I also want to draw your attention to an important upcoming date. While there is no deadline to apply for benefits, if you apply by August 9, 2023, you could be eligible for benefits backdated to August 10, 2022.

The PACT Act was a historic step in expanding access to care, but I know that there’s a lot more to do to continue to support veterans and our military. In the past year, I’m proud to have voted to raise pay for our servicemembers by 5.2%, create a pilot program to pay Department of Defense childcare workers more, and invest more in military construction projects and shipbuilding in Virginia. I also broke ground on a new VA facility in Chesapeake that will cut commute times for 70% of Hampton Roads’ veterans. I will also keep fighting for improvements to military housing alongside Sen. Kaine. I’ll always look for more ways to improve pay, benefits, and health care for the brave men and women that serve this nation. 

If you ever want to share your thoughts about an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,