SWAMPSCOTT — Local veterans organizations are encouraging North Shore veterans and their families to apply for federal Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act benefits before the Aug. 9 deadline.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act into law, allowing veterans and their surviving family members to receive federal compensation for their exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances while serving their country.
The legislation added 20 new conditions to the list of presumptive ailments, with an assumed link to service, for which veterans are eligible for benefits. Although veterans can apply for benefits at any time, those who file a claim before Aug. 9 could receive backdated benefits from the past year.
Under the PACT Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs now presumes that the military service of Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans is connected to ailments such as respiratory cancers, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and head and neck cancers. For Vietnam War veterans, hypertension is now presumed to be connected to their service.
Lynn/Swampscott Department of Veterans’ Services Director Mike Sweeney said that many of these service-connected disabilities might also lead to benefits for veterans’ surviving spouses. He added that the legislation marked the largest expansion of veterans’ disability benefits in more than 30 years.
“These men and women who come home from war, who have had these lingering issues — the VA has been for so long making them prove that it was related to their exposure. Now, they don’t have those high barriers in order to obtain the benefits they deserve,” Sweeney said.
According to the VA, surviving spouses, dependent children, or parents of veterans who died from a disability linked to their service are potentially eligible for monthly VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments.
E.F Gilmore Disabled American Veterans Commander Jeffrey Blonder said he encourages veterans to apply, even if they do not believe their condition is linked with service or that they are eligible for PACT benefits.
“For example, if you suffer from high blood pressure and served in the Vietnam War, you could receive benefits without any further questions. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will assume it is linked,” Blonder said in a statement.
Those who wish to apply for PACT Act benefits can submit their claims online at va.gov, or through nationally recognized veterans organizations such as the DAV or the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
