Press Release - President Biden's PACT Act Event in Utah

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the signing of the PACT Act into law by President Biden, putting into place the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. Named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, this historic legislation is delivering timely benefits and services to veterans—across all generations—who have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country.

On the anniversary yesterday, the President joined veterans and their families at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. He discussed how this historic, bipartisan legislation has delivered lifesaving health care and benefits to more than 340,000 veterans and survivors.

Fox News 13 talked to Justin Brown, a veteran with the Hill Vets Foundation who was in the audience for the President's remarks, who said of the legislation, "it will ensure that if any of us get sick, any of our peers, our brothers and sisters-in-arms get sick, they are taken care of and their families are taken care of."

In the past year, the Administration has helped veterans in every state and territory receive the services and care they deserve.

Read more below:

Fox 26 (Houston): Biden on anniversary of PACT Act for veterans
[8/10/23]

President Biden touted one year anniversary of the PACT Act. It's a law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. FOX's Madeleine Rivera explains why the measure is personal for the president.

Associated Press: Biden is in Utah to mark the anniversary of the PACT Act expanding veterans benefits
[Chris Megerian, 8/10/23]

President Joe Biden evoked the memory of his late son and praised leaders from both parties for unifying behind veterans Thursday as he and Utah's Republican governor paid tribute to a year-old law that is delivering the largest expansion of veterans benefits in decades. The president and Gov. Spencer Cox visited the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to promote the PACT Act, which is intended to improve health care and disability compensation for exposure to toxic substances, including burn pits that were used to dispose of trash on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. […] But the empathetic, deeply personal tone Biden struck Thursday and his praise for bipartisanship were departures from stops earlier this week in Arizona and New Mexico, when he criticized Republicans for failing to support legislation to combat climate change and to increase domestic spending.

[CBS VIDEO] Biden marks 1-year anniversary of PACT Act
[8/10/2023]

In Utah on Thursday, President Biden celebrated the one-year anniversary of the signing of the PACT Act into law, which expanded health care services to veterans who were exposed to toxic fumes from burn pits in bases in Iraq and Afghanistan

Reuters: Biden marks anniversary of toxic burn pit legislation during Utah trip
[Nandita Bose, 8/10/23]

President Joe Biden visited a U.S. veterans' medical center in Utah on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the signing of legislation that provides aid to veterans sickened by gases from military toxic burn pits. […] Biden said he did not want to see today's veterans suffer the way U.S. veterans who fought in Vietnam did by having to prove that exposure to Agent Orange during that war had caused health problems later. "The PACT Act means today's veterans and their families won't suffer the same painful frustrating delays and denials," Biden said.

CNN: Biden heads to Republican Utah to promote his bipartisan bonafides
[Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein, 8/10/23]

President Joe Biden is turning to a reliably Republican state – and its GOP governor – to highlight one of his key bipartisan accomplishments he's trying to sell to voters heading into 2024. The visit to Utah, where he arrived Wednesday, caps a four-day sales pitch through the West as he seeks to convince skeptical voters of the impacts of his economic and legislative achievements. […] Biden on Thursday touted a key plank of his so-called "unity agenda": Caring for US veterans. The president will visit the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City for remarks celebrating the one-year anniversary of the passage of the PACT Act, a bill that provides critical health care benefits to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.

Fox 13: Biden's visit was both political and personal for crowd
[Ben Winslow, 8/10/23]

The crowd attending President Joe Biden's event commemorating the PACT Act had many reasons to be there. For some, it was political. For others, it was personal. "As a Salt Lake City native, Navy veteran, post-9/11 veteran, what an honor to have the President of the United States come to our VA medical center," said Justin Brown, a veteran with the Hill Vets Foundation. […] Terry Schow, a service officer with the American Legion, called the PACT Act the single most important legislation "in my lifetime."

Axios: Biden highlights veteran health care during Utah visit
[Kim Bojórquez, 8/10/23]

President Joe Biden commemorated the one-year anniversary of signing the PACT Act, a law that expands health care benefits for veterans, in Salt Lake City yesterday. Why it matters: The PACT Act provides additional health care benefits to veterans who have been exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other dangerous materials. […] Context: Biden said his son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, lived near a toxic burn pit for a year in Iraq while serving in the U.S. military. "We only have one truly sacred obligation and that is to equip those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home — and when they don't," he said at the George E. Wahlen Department of VA Medical Center.

UPI: Biden to meet military families in Utah to mark anniversary of law to help toxic-exposed veterans
[A.L. Lee, 8/10/23]

President Joe Biden will meet with veterans and military families in Utah Thursday to highlight the ongoing impact of legislation he signed one year ago that expanded health benefits to hundreds of thousands of veterans injured by toxins while on active duty. […] During his remarks, Biden will emphasize veteran healthcare rights as a critical component of his legislative agenda, and point to his administration's continuing commitment to provide health protections to more than 340,000 toxic veterans across the country. […] Since the law was enacted, the VA has processed more than 1.65 million veteran claims in the past fiscal year -- which was 16% more than the previous all-time record. The administration has also accepted 458,659 PACT Act claims in the past year.