To the editor:

In a July 31 letter to the editor, Braden Tims praised Elise Stefanik for her support of military veterans. Tims neglected to mention her opposition to the PACT Act, one of the 174 — all Republican — “nay” votes in the House of Representatives.

In August 2022 President Biden signed the Honoring Our PACT Act into law. The VFW considers this act “the most significant piece of veterans legislation in history” as it “focuses on providing veterans who served in countries such as Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq expanded access to VA health care and earned disability benefits.”

The PACT Act will help veterans harmed by burn pit fumes and other toxins. The Veterans Administration lists 32 “presumptive conditions for airborne hazards and burn pit exposures” including brain cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, reproductive cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, emphysema and large cell carcinoma of the lungs.

The rejection of this legislation is more than heartless and disgusting. To willfully deny medical treatment to veterans who contracted life altering and threatening maladies in the service of their country is nothing less than evil.

The PACT Act included the Camp Lejeune Justice Act which allows approximately one million Marines, their families and civilian employees who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987, to file tort claims against the federal government for a host of maladies contracted from exposure to toxic water on that base.

The next time you hear someone praise Representative Stefanik for supporting veterans remember her despicable and shameless opposition to the PACT Act.

George J. Bryjak

Bloomingdale

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Sources

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“Airborne hazards and burn pit exposures” (accessed 2024) Public Health, http://www.publiclhealth.va.gov

Alfaro, M. (2022) “House bill to expand health care for vetrans exposed to toxins; 174 Republicans vote against,”

March 3, The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

“Camp Lejeune water contamination health issues” (accessed 2024) Veterans Administration, www.va.gov

“Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry” (accessed 2024) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, www.atsdr.cdc.gov

“One year of the PACT Act: A historic expansion of benefits and health care for veterans and their families” (accessed 2024) Veterans Administration, www.va.gov

“The most significant piece of veterans legislation in history” (2023) February 23, VFW, www.vfw.org

Tims, B. “Stefanik is champion of North Country veterans” (2024) July 31, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com

“The PACT ACT and your VA benefits” (accessed 2024) U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, www.va.gov