Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement ahead of the Senate’s passage of the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2021 (H.R. 3967).
“When young men and women make the choice to dedicate their lives to serving our nation, they rightly expect their country will take care of them when they return home,” Rubio said. “For far too long, our government has failed to deliver on this promise. But today, the Senate will finally pass legislation to provide many veterans the care they desperately need and selflessly earned. It took far too long, but we never gave up on our veterans because they have never given up on our country. I hope the House will quickly pass this bill so President Biden can finally sign it into law.”
The core of the PACT Act includes key provisions from Rubio’s Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act (S. 952), which he introduced with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) last year. Specifically, the bill creates a presumption of service connection for more than 20 categories of diseases and streamlines the process for veterans to obtain benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Related:
- March 26, 2021: Rubio, Gillibrand Introduce Landmark Burn Pits Legislation to Help Veterans
- April 13, 2021: ICYMI: Rubio Delivers Bilingual Remarks at Press Conference Announcing Landmark Burn Pits Legislation to Help Veterans
- April 15, 2021: ICYMI: Rubio Joins Greg Kelly on Newsmax to Discuss Burn Pits Legislation
- September 2021: ICYMI: Rubio-Gillibrand: Time to Act on Toxic Burn Pits
- February 1, 2022: Rubio: Veterans Deserve Better Than Half Measures
- February 14, 2022: ICYMI: Rubio: It’s Past Time That Congress Fights for Veterans
- March 3, 2022: House Passes Landmark Burn Pits Bill to Get Veterans Presumptive Benefits
- March 29, 2022: Rubio: Senate Needs to Act on Burn Pits
- April 25, 2022: Rubio Calls VA Burn Pit Actions a Half Measure
- May 18, 2022: Rubio, Gillibrand Praise VA Burn Pit Agreement
- May 27, 2022: ICYMI: Rubio and Gillibrand Call for Passage of Burn Pits Legislation
- June 7, 2022: VIDEO: Rubio Applauds Senate Vote on Burn Pit Legislation – Press Releases