The Best Way to Honor Our Fallen Heroes Is by Keeping Our Promises to Our Veterans May 25, 2024 Dear Friends,Each year, Memorial Day serves as a time to honor our fallen servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation and our freedoms. This solemn day also acts as a reminder of our responsibility to safeguard the freedoms that these heroes so valiantly defended. As we gather to spend the long weekend with family and friends, it is incumbent upon all of us to reflect on their bravery and consider how best to honor their sacrifices. While we can never truly repay the debt we owe to those who have died in the service of our country, we can honor their memories by keeping our promises to the veterans who returned home and by supporting the families they left behind. Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve maintained a firm commitment to doing just that. In 2022, I was proud to cast my vote for the Honoring our PACT Act — the first-ever comprehensive effort to treat exposure to toxic substances as a cost of war. This bipartisan legislation, which represented the largest expansion of veterans benefits in over 30 years, ensures that veterans living with the effects of toxic exposure — including exposure to burn pits and Agent Orange — have full access to the care and benefits they’ve earned. I was particularly proud to push for the inclusion in this bill of provisions from my Fort McClellan Health Registry Act, which recognizes and seeks to address the lasting health issues many veterans have faced after being exposed to toxic substances at that base. Now, less than two years after President Biden signed this legislation into law, we’re already seeing the PACT Act pay significant dividends for our veterans and their families. This week, the Biden Administration marked a major milestone in the implementation of the PACT Act with the announcement that more than 1 million benefit claims have now been approved under this groundbreaking law. Since the enactment of the PACT Act, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has delivered more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits to more than 888,000 toxic-exposed veterans and their survivors, helping heroes in every state and territory access the care and services they deserve. The VA is delivering these benefits at the fastest rate in its history, processing 28 percent more claims this fiscal year than the previous all-time record. And more than 5.4 million veterans have already received free toxic exposure screenings under the PACT Act — ensuring that doctors can identify and treat any life-threatening conditions as early as possible. These are incredible successes, but our work to support our veterans and military families is still far from complete. Sadly, veterans and their families are frequently impacted by scammers seeking to defraud them of their hard-earned benefits. Fraudsters and for-profit educational institutions target veterans’ earned education benefits and disability payments, often doing significant damage to their livelihoods through deceit and deception. That’s why last month, I was proud to cast my vote in support of two initiatives to help veterans recoup benefits lost to these schemes. These measures include: The Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act, which provides for the restoration of education benefits to defrauded veterans and institutes penalties on offending for-profit institutions, and The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act, which allows the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to accelerate reimbursements for veterans with disabilities who have been defrauded of their benefits.Each of these bills passed the House with unanimous or near-unanimous bipartisan support, and I urge the Senate to take up and pass this urgent legislation without delay. This Memorial Day and every day, I stand in awe of the unimaginable sacrifices made by the brave men and women who have laid down their lives to preserve the freedoms we hold dear. Only by doing our part to keep our promises to our veterans and their families can we truly honor those who gave what Abraham Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion” to our nation and the values it represents. Going forward, I’m more committed than ever to honoring that devotion by making certain our veterans and their families have the resources they deserve. As always, thank you for reading. Your friend, DID YOU KNOW?My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:On Wednesday, June 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, in honor of Women Veterans Recognition Day, my office is joining with the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center to host a Women Veterans Health Public Forum!The event will be held in the Stratton VA Medical Center’s 3rd Floor Auditorium, located at 113 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208.At the forum, you’ll have the chance to meet with my staff and representatives from the Albany Stratton VA Women’s Health Clinic, a dedicated VA health service program that provides care for women, by women.Tables will be set up around the room where you can learn more about:Maternity careInfertility servicesPACT Act benefitsHow to enroll in VA health benefitsHow my office can help you secure the benefits you’ve earnedAnd much more!If you or someone you know is interested in attending this exciting event and learning more about women’s health benefits from the VA, you can email [email protected] by Friday, June 7th to RSVP.