Tester on the PACT Act benefits, and fast approaching deadline to receive

Helena, Montana – The PACT Act is a piece of legislation that U.S. Senator Jon Tester not only supported but also campaigned for in the legislative chambers. A significant deadline to receive the full advantages of the PACT Act is approaching.

Great Falls Vet Center
615 2nd Avenue North
Great Falls, MT 59401
Friday, July 28, 2023, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

To be eligible for retroactive payments, veterans or their survivors must submit benefit claims by August 9 for any medical issues attributable to hazardous exposure.

The Chairman of the Affairs Committee, Senator Tester, and our Bradley Warren had a conversation on how you at home could benefit the most.

“[The PACT Act] really is a great bill, it really is a giant step forward for the folks who served this country, making sure we live up to the promises,” Sen. Tester said. “The challenge is now, there are some deadlines that veterans need to know about.”

Tester emphasized the August 9 deadline for PACT Act enrollment, stating that while anyone can join up at any moment, if you want the advantages from when the measure was first signed into law a year ago, you must do so by that day.

You can sign up for the PACT Act in a number of ways, including through the VA website, any veteran service officer or organization, or Sen. Tester’s office.

The VA currently projects that 3.5 million veterans could be eligible, with a 79% acceptance rate.

“The truth is that toxic exposure has been around every conflict since World War I, and maybe even before that,” Sen. Tester said. “What we saw, and as we worked on this bill for several years before we got it passed, we had folks coming in and testifying, and we had folks that had double lung transplants, we saw folks that had cancers, we saw plenty of folks who just couldn’t breathe. And quite honestly, if you’re a veteran and you served in the middle east, you know this stuff. A lot of Americans did not, a lot of folks I serve with did not, so we had to get up and we had to tell the story.”