VA Secretary Denis McDonough discusses compensation for veterans affected by burn pits
Amna Nawaz:
One year ago this week, President Biden signed the PACT Act, fundamentally changing how veterans could receive disability compensation for war-related illnesses.
Before that, they had to prove their sickness was related to military service, an often impossible bar. Under the PACT Act, veterans have to prove deployment to one of the included countries, like Iraq or Afghanistan and others. They also must suffer from one of 23 listed medical conditions, such as brain cancer, asthma, or chronic bronchitis.
More than 801,000 veterans and their survivors have filed claims since the act was signed. The VA posts online data for one condition covered by the new law, asthma. There were 36,000 claims for asthma. Half were approved and half were denied.
So, overall, how is the implementation of this act proceeding?
Denis McDonough is the secretary of Veterans Affairs, and he joins me now.
Welcome back to the "NewsHour."
Denis McDonough, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Thanks for having me, Amna. Happy to be here.
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