DENVER—U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) is urging veterans in Colorado’s Seventh Congressional District who are eligible to apply for PACT Act benefits before August 9, 2023 to receive 12 months of backdated compensation.
“Our veterans answered the call to serve our country, and I'm committed to ensuring they have the benefits and resources they earned,” said Pettersen. “My team and I have been reaching out to veterans across Broomfield and Jefferson County, out to Chaffee and Fremont Counties — and everywhere in between — to get the word out about the historic expansion of benefits in the PACT Act and how they can file today to get retroactive benefits.”
This August marks the one-year anniversary of President Biden signing the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act into law, which expanded Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. There is no deadline to apply for PACT Act benefits, but if a veteran files a PACT Act claim – or quickly submits an intent to file – by August 9, they may receive benefits backdated to August 10, 2022.
To file a benefits claim, veterans can visit www.va.gov/pactact or contact Pettersen’s office at 303-274-7944 for assistance.
The PACT Act includes measures to:
Expand and extend eligibility for VA health care for veterans with toxic exposures and veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras
Add 20+ more presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic exposures
Add more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation
Require VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every veteran enrolled in VA health care
Help improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures
