The PACT Act: Expanded Benefits for Delaware Veterans are Finally Here

Dear Friend,

There are 80,000 veterans like me living in Delaware. One of the greatest things we can do to honor their service is to make sure our veterans and their families have the benefits and support that they have earned through their service when they return home.

Last week, I had the honor of hosting our annual Delaware Veterans Summit to highlight the PACT Act. Delaware’s own President Joe Biden, Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough, our Congressional Delegation, Governor Carney, and many of our fellow veterans joined me at the Joseph R. “Beau” Biden National Guard/Reserve Conference Center in New Castle. We gathered to help spread the word about the expanded VA benefits now available thanks to the PACT Act, which I proudly supported this past summer, and President Biden signed into law.

The PACT Act expands access to VA health care for upwards of 3.5 million Post-9/11 veterans, many of whom were exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones around the world. This truly historic law does right by an entire generation of veterans who have defended our country over the past two decades. It brings millions of new veterans into the VA health care system. I was so pleased to have been a part of the effort to secure this much-needed aid, and to be able to inform my fellow veterans now that the law is enacted.

As a 23-year veteran of the Navy and Naval   Reserves, and the last serving Vietnam veteran in the   U.S. Senate, this issue is personal for me. But this   new law and these new benefits will only be a   success if we can make sure veterans here in   Delaware and across the nation know that they and   their families may be eligible to sign-up for health   care benefits they have earned through their service.

If you’re a veteran or know someone who might have served overseas, tell them to go online to VA.gov/PACT, visit your local VA hospital, or talk to a local Veteran Service Organization representative and sign-up for these new benefits thanks to the PACT Act. This bill will save lives—and we need to make sure we get the word out with your help. God bless,

Tom Carper