[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson PACT Act of 2022

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I want to thank the Senator from Maine for 
the recognition. I appreciate it very, very much.
  I will be very brief. I ask for up to 5 minutes, which I will use 
less than that.
  Today is a historic day. Today, the Senate has agreed to move one 
step forward to the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson PACT Act of 
2022. I want to thank Ranking Member Moran and Senators Boozman and 
Heinrich for working with me to help deliver this bipartisan solution. 
It is the most comprehensive toxic exposure package for our veterans 
that Congress has ever delivered in this country's history. Frankly, it 
is one that has been years in the making. Actually, it has been decades 
in the making.
  Named after a veteran who died from exposure to a toxic burn pit, 
this bill will address decades of inaction and failure by the U.S. 
Government to do the right thing by delivering toxic-exposed veterans 
their long-overdue healthcare and benefits.
  This bill spans generations of veterans. It expands the presumption 
of Agent Orange exposure for those who served in Vietnam. Yes, that is 
right. That is what I said. We still haven't done right by the Vietnam-
era veterans, but this bill makes it right. It adds new service-
connected conditions to Agent Orange, including hypertension.
  This bill also expands healthcare for more than 3\1/2\ million post-
9/11 combat veterans and service-connects two dozen conditions caused 
by burn pit exposure, from cancers to lung disease.
  To pull this off, we have to give the VA the resources it needs to 
better serve vets. This bill does that by funding more employees to 
process claims, upgrading claims processing technology, authorizing 
innovative ways to hire and retain VA healthcare staff, and investing 
in VA facilities across the country.
  Passing this bill in Congress and getting it to the President's desk 
is the only way to keep our end of the bargain to our All-Volunteer 
military. This cannot be overstated: Freedom is not free. There is a 
price to pay. We send men and women in uniform off to fight wars on our 
behalf. You don't have to be a veteran exposed to Agent Orange and burn 
pits to understand that price.
  The fact is that hundreds of thousands of veterans in my State and 
across this country are already paying for it, and they can no longer 
wait. So now is the time, folks. We are going to get back from Memorial 
Day. We are all going to be at Memorial Day events, and we are going to 
be celebrating the folks who gave the ultimate sacrifice. When we come 
back, we need to vote and celebrate the folks who have survived but yet 
have the impacts of toxic exposure.
  I would encourage your support for this bill when we get back the 
week of June 6.
  I yield the floor.