Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) today provided an update on the U.S. Senate Floor regarding the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. This legislation would deliver all generations of veterans suffering from toxic-exposure health care and benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“I want to speak this morning to America’s veterans and provide an update on our work to get our toxic exposure legislation across the finish line,” said Sen. Moran. “The Senate is in the midst of considering the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our PACT Act. This historic and bipartisan legislation will deliver on the promise we made as a country to take care of our service men and women both when they deploy and when they come home.”
During his speech, Sen. Moran highlighted support from several Kansas veterans, including John Buckley, a retired U.S. Army Colonel from Andover, Kansas Representative Pat Proctor, a retired U.S. Army Colonel from Leavenworth, and former Deputy Commanding General of Support for Fort Riley’s First Infantry Division William Turner from Manhattan.
“This country is good at recognizing the physical wounds of war, and we are getting better at recognizing the mental wounds of war,” continued Sen. Moran. “But no longer can we ignore the wounds of war from toxic exposure—the wounds, like Agent Orange before it, that may not arrive until years later. Throughout the remaining procedural votes on the Heath Robinson Act, I urge my colleagues with remaining questions or concerns to reach out so that we can all, together, deliver on this promise to those who have borne the battle.”
Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to deliver all eras of toxic-exposed veterans their earned health care and benefits under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the first time in the nation’s history. Among its many priorities, the package will expand health care for Post-9/11 combat veterans, create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure, expand VA’s list of service presumptions, and improve resources to support VA’s claims processing.
Bill text of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 can be found HERE.