WASHINGTON — The PACT Act was the largest expansion of benefits for veterans and their survivors in decades.
It was designed to help vets exposed to toxic burn pits in America's Middle East wars of the past three decades more easily receive benefits and medical treatment for their service-connected disabilities.
So far, the Department of Veterans Affairs has received nearly 570,000 PACT Act claims and processed just over 250,000 of them.
"I am concerned that employees were not given enough time to comprehend these training materials, such as the over 70-page training manual, before they began processing PACT claims in January 2023," said Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas). "I think it is safe to say there is some work to be done to improve how employees are being trained and supported through this change, which ultimately affects the delivery of benefits to veterans."
The VA's Undersecretary for Benefits told the House Veterans Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee on Tuesday that Veterans Benefits Administration employees are "working diligently" to complete benefits claims "as quickly and completely as possible." But he acknowledged it's not easy.
"This is a massive benefit and it's not only a total increase in the number of claims, but it's adding new complexity to the work process, right?" said Joshua Jacobs, VA Under Secretary. "And so, we have to be very focused and disciplined to make sure that we're reinforcing the guidance and it's one of the key lessons from the implementation is we need to do more and we need to do better on training."
If you think you qualify for PACT Act benefits, you can apply by clicking here.