NORFOLK, Va. — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is getting swamped with PACT Act claims related to toxic burn pit exposure.
The department said, due to extremely high demand, some veterans who sought to electronically submit their intent to file for benefits via the VA's website have received error messages while doing so.
The VA said it has "resolved nearly all of the technical issues" with the website, but "out of an abundance of caution" has extended the deadline to apply for retroactive benefits from Wednesday to next Monday.
In a news release, the department said: "No veteran or survivor will miss out on a single day of benefits due to this issue."
According to new information from the White House, more than 843,000 veterans have applied for benefits. Broken down by state, North Carolina and Virginia rank in the top six for number of applications submitted.
President Joe Biden celebrated the first anniversary of the program becoming law at a VA hospital in Utah.
"We're determined to address this problem come hell or high water," he said. "We have many obligations as a nation. But we only have one truly sacred obligation. And that's to equip those we send into harm's way, and care for them when they come home."
The Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois), was critical of the program roll-out.
In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, Bost said: "VA's failure to anticipate and prepare for the increased volume of submissions as the PACT Act deadline approached is unacceptable."
If you want to submit a claim, you can by clicking this link: https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/